STARTALK has awarded the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) with a multi-year grant to create publicly accessible web-based resources that highlight U.S. federal government career pathways for heritage language learners in high school through college.

CAL has launched supplementary World Language resources to ensure that the revised 2021 Massachusetts World Languages Curriculum Framework is actionable and inclusive for all educators.

At the end of April, Vice President, Roberta Miceli, will leave her position at the Center for Applied Linguistics to pursue a career in professional leadership coaching.

Dr. Kate Moran has been selected to lead CAL's English for Heritage Language Speakers (EHLS) and Adult Education department as the Director of Adult Language and Communication.

The Center for Applied Linguistics has been a part of the America’s Languages Working Group since its inception, and will continue to play an important role in shaping the conversation around language equity and access in this country.

CAL researchers have developed a native language assessment tool for students of the Choctaw language in Mississippi. The project, "Annopa Tikbishtiya," or "Carry the Language Forward," is ensuring that the language flourishes and grows from generation to generation. "When you see a student demonstrate [proficiency in the language], it gives hope." -Jason Lewis

The Center for Applied Linguistics has named Dr. Patricia Baquedano-López the 2021 Charles A. Ferguson Awardee for Outstanding Scholarship.

CAL staff and partners, including Trey Calvin, Maria Cieslak, Dr. Joel Gómez, and Dr. Diane August, have published actionable recommendations for states and districts educating English learners during the on-going pandemic as a part of their work on a new IES-funded research center.

Did you know that the earlier editions of the Guiding Principles referred to the third pillar as “cross-cultural understanding” rather than “sociocultural competence?” The change in terms in the 3rd edition was deliberate. It reflects a shift in thinking in two important ways:  first, “cross-cultural understanding” infers that developing cultural competence is viable only in two-way programs attended by fairly equal numbers of English home-language students and “partner” home-language students and, secondly, that cultural competence may be limited to positive attitudes and feelings of self-esteem.

Researchers at the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) have developed online courses for parents and educators to aid in creating and sustaining effective ELPACs, or English Learner Parent Advisory Councils, impacting over 20% of public school districts in Massachusetts. 

After nearly a year of facilitating online professional development for educators across the U.S., Canada, and in international schools, I have learned that figuring out online teaching tools is akin to the language learning experience itself. With enough practice, you gain confidence, proficiency, and get to interact with people you otherwise might not meet at home.

Fortunately for educators of linguistically and culturally diverse students, students can practice and apply all four language domains—reading, writing, listening, and speaking–using online technology.

In addition to students' own literacy practices, these storytelling activities can also be key teaching opportunities for EL students because they use multimedia, therefore providing extra scaffolding through images, audio, and video. 

Starting January 2021, Dr. Ernest Morrell joins the Center for Applied Linguistics’s Board of Trustees for a 3-year term. A well-respected leader in the field of English education, the African Diaspora, and Media and Popular Culture, Dr. Morrell brings over a decade of research and writing experience to the board of 12.

"Languages bring people together, provide a positive pathway for mutual understanding and healing, and empower us to construct a better future. It’s not only what we say and how we say that matters –in any language, in any context—but also the actions we take."