Breaking Down the Monolingual Wall

Essential Shifts for Multilingual Learners' Success

Preview this book

Ivannia Soto, PhD , is a professor of education and the director of graduate programs at Whittier College, where she specializes in language acquisition, systemic reform for English language learners (ELLs), and urban education. She began her career in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), where she taught English and English language development to a population of 99.9% Latinos, who either were or had been multilingual learners. Before becoming a professor, Soto also served LAUSD as a literacy coach as well as district office and county office administrator. She has presented on literacy and language topics at various... More About Author

Sydney Snyder, PhD, is a principal associate at SupportEd. In this role, Dr. Snyder coaches ML educators and develops and facilitates interactive professional development for teachers of MLs. She also works with the SupportEd team to offer technical assistance to school districts and educational organizations. Dr. Snyder has extensive instructional experience and has worked in the field of English language development forover 25 years. She started her teaching career as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guinea, West Africa. This experience ignited her passion for language teaching,... More About Author

Dr. Margarita Espino Calderón, born and raised in Juárez, is a Professor Emerita/Senior Research Scientist at Johns Hopkins University. Her research and development projects have been funded by the US Department of Education, National Institutes of Health, the US Department of Labor, The Carnegie Corporation of New York, and various State Offices of Education. One of her empirical studies “The Bilingual Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (BCIRC)” is featured in the What Works Clearinghouse. The Carnegie Corporation of New York funded her five-year study to develop Expediting Comprehension for English Language Learners (ExC-ELL)... More About Author

Margo Gottlieb, Ph.D., has been a bilingual teacher, coordinator, facilitator, consultant, and mentor across K-20 settings. Having worked with universities, organizations, governments, states, school districts, networks, and schools, Margo has co-constructed linguistic and culturally sustainable curriculum and reconceptualized classroom assessment, policy, and practice. As co-founder and lead developer of WIDA at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2003, Margo has helped design and contributed to all the editions of WIDA’s English and Spanish language development standards frameworks and their derivative products. She has been appointed... More About Author

Andrea Honigsfeld, EdD, is Professor in the School of Education at Molloy University, Rockville Centre, New York. Before entering the field of teacher education, she was an English-as-a-foreign-language teacher in Hungary (Grades 5–8 and adult) and an English-as-a-second-language teacher in New York City (Grades K–3 and adult). She also taught Hungarian at New York University. She was the recipient of a doctoral fellowship at St. John’s University, New York, where she conducted research on individualized instruction and learning styles. She has published extensively on working with English language learners and providing individualized... More About Author

Dr. Joan Lachance is an Associate Professor of Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She directs the TESL graduate programs and undergraduate TESL Minor. She is the co-author of the National Dual Language Education Teacher Preparation Standards and the Director of the CAEP Specialized Program Association in Dual Language Education called “EMMA: Education for a Multilingual Multicultural America.” She received her undergraduate degree in Secondary Education, Modern Languages and Linguistics from Florida International University. With Spanish as the language of program... More About Author

Marga Marshall is an Educational Consultant with experience in bilingual education in Spain and California. She opened the first TK-8 Two Way Dual Immersion English/Spanish School in Concord, CA as part of the district’s Magnet schools. Prior to becoming a principal, Marga Marshall was a bilingual teacher, an instructional coach, an English Learners coach, and a Dual Language coach. As an educator for over 24 years, her passion is bilingualism , biliteracy, and offering students the opportunity to learn a second language. Marga Marshall has always developed relationships with the community, staff, and teachers. Her leadership also involves... More About Author

David Nungaray is a forever dual language teacher and school leader at heart no matter what his current work title is. The children and families he worked with as an educator are one of his guiding forces in the work he continues to do in education. As a son of Mexican immigrants, native Spanish speaker, gay educator, and a first-generation college graduate, David is passionate about educational excellence and ensuring school systems best meet the needs of all learners. David began his journey in education as a founding corps member of Teach For America-San Antonio in 2010 where he served as a 4th dual language teacher. In his first year... More About Author

Rubí P. Flores Torres, M.A. is a native from San Luis Potosí, Mexico, Rubí is the Director of Professional Learning at the California Association for Bilingual Education.  She has extensive expertise working with schools on implementing and refining Dual Language and Multilingual Learner Programs.  Prior to this role, Rubí has served as a bilingual teacher, ESL specialist, dual language teacher, dual language instructional coach, dual language program coordinator and biliteracy curriculum developer.  She has worked in schools across Texas, Oklahoma, El Salvador, and California. She earned a Bachelor's Degree in Bilingual... More About Author

Lyn Scott, Ph.D., a native of the rural Midwest, is a credentialed dual language teacher in Massachusetts and California teaching in two-way immersion and transitional bilingual education classrooms for over two decades. As an elementary teacher he joined colleagues and parents in restructuring their neighborhood public school into a multi-aged, dual language immersion public school. Inspired by the work of Paulo Freire, he immersed himself in the Brazilian culture early in his teaching journey, reflecting on adult literacy pedagogies relevant to the dual language development of young learners in American schools. Lengthy experiences in... More About Author