Language News

Summer Training for High School Teachers of World Languages

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Whether your students are practicing their English, Spanish, Korean, German, or Arabic skills, language learning is a gateway toward another world: from new friends to diverse cultures to unexplored geographies.

Even areas of the world that have been viewed as traditionally English-speaking, namely the US and the UK, are witness to evolving demographics that reflect a growing need for multilingual students. 

According to the US Census Bureau, 21 percent of Americans reported speaking a language other than English at home in 2015--a figure that is anticipated to grow to 40 percent by 2030. Language communities like Arabic, Hindi, Chinese, Spanish, and Urdu have grown by double digits across the United States.

Training opportunities in the various world languages enable high school teachers to empower their multilingual students to succeed no matter the student's native language or current skill level and connect with their peers, from across the hall to across the globe.


RSVP TODAY: SUMMER TRAINING FOR TEACHERS OF AP AND NEWL 

ARABIC
Spoken by over 400 million individuals in over 26 countries including pockets of heritage speakers across the United States and the UK. Arabic is one of six official languages of the United Nations. As more and more students seek to learn or become professionally fluent in this critical world language, teachers of Arabic need substantive opportunities to share best practices and receive training to teach their bright, young students. 

ENGLISH
Often referred to as the "language of business," English continues to be an important language for students the world over to master: from oral proficiency to composition. This July, teachers can join the AP English Language and Composition institute in London or the AP English Literature and Composition institute in Oxford, endorsed by the College Board in affiliation with UC Riverside.

CHINESE
With approximately 12 percent of the world's population speaking Mandarin Chinese, this language is critical for American and British students to learn whether they wish to become entrepreneurs, work in healthcare, or public affairs, this language is in high demand, as witnessed by the success of the 100,000 Strong Foundation, which now seeks to bring Chinese language and cultural learning opportunities to one million Americans. Training for teachers in AP Chinese is available in various locations across the continental US.

KOREAN
The US alone is home to over one million Korean speakers, according to US Census data. Areas such as New Jersey, New York, and Los Angeles and its surrounding counties with New Jersey, in particular, have Diasporas of Korean Americans who continue to bring traditions from Korea to their communities in the US.

GERMAN
One of the major world languages spoken by approximately 95 million people worldwide, the German language opens the doors to Goethe and other classic literature, not to mention one of the second-most common languages of the scientific community at large. Teachers of German are invited to train in Vienna one of Europe's most influential German-speaking cities at the AP Summer Institute for German Teachers.

SPANISH
With numbers anticipated to reach over 600 million speakers by 2040, learning Spanish opens the floodgates to several countries of the world and their corresponding cultures including communities located in the United States. AP Spanish training in Spain (Seville or Madrid) allows teachers to hone their own Spanish language skills while forming potential partnerships with institutions in Spain for virtual exchanges and study abroad programs for students.

What other training opportunities or activities have helped you empower your students to become multilingual? How do you get your students excited about language learning? Share with us on Twitter using #LanguageMatters.