Rainbow Preschool pupils Henry Third (2) and Mia Tuilaepa (4) look at some of the new books given to the early learning centre by the Communities of Readers Project. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON
Of the Google Alerts I received this week, one from New Zealand really validated and intensified my collection development goals as an elementary librarian. Published on November 3, 2020 in Otago Daily Times, author John Lewis highlights a collaborative effort to bring books in languages other than English to an increasingly diverse population. Through this initiative, the National Library, Ministry of Education, Dunedin City Council, and others, partnered with the Community of Readers Project to address the need for their community. The project is slated to deliver 10,000 books in a variety of languages to early learning centers and other community organizations in the South Dunedin area. Kristen Glengarry, Dunedin City Council Arts and Culture relationship manager, states, "There's a realisation that, if we want to encourage children to read in a range of languages and find their own language, too." Echoing those statements, National Librarian Bill McNaught shares that reading provides important foundational skills in digital and critical literacies that are crucial for navigating today's complex informationally-driven society.
When I worked as an ESL teacher, I believed whole-heartedly that students need to continue to develop their native language skills. My primary goal was to develop multiple language literacies. But, finding books in languages other than English is a real challenge. And if they are available, cost is often prohibitive to develop the collection as extensively as I would like to. Maximizing the limited budget I have is a priority. Regardless of limited resources and funds, it is important to remain vigilant as collection managers and developers that we work to meet the unique learning needs of ALL of our learners in ANY language.
Lewis, John. Reading is Fun in Any Language. 2 Nov. 2020, www.odt.co.nz/news/reading-fun-any-language.
The quote you mention in your post makes a lot of sense. Students need to find their own language to be able to learn English as well. I like the idea of curating a collection of books that are other than English. I can imagine the difficulty budgets pose to make that happen. I wonder if there is an ELL association that librarians might be able to partner with for grants and/or fundraising to purchase books. Great post!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I also agree that it is so important for English Language Learners to continue to practice their native language as well. Their native language should still be a priority even when learning English. It is definitely hard to find books in students' native languages. I wish that some schools would provide money to get these certain kinds of books.
ReplyDeleteI like that you pointed out it is important for educators to remain vigilant when it comes to helping all of our students. I find that not just in language fields, but all teaching fields that sometimes the easier or faster route is chosen when deciding on materials or resources. We need to remember that if our decisions cause some students to be at a disadvantage then we need to work harder so everyone has the same opportunities.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree - promoting student's literacy in multiple languages is so important! While it can be a challenge to find these resources, I think supporting student's L1 will only continue to increase their English proficiency too. Thank you for sharing, Jaclyn!
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