Language and Cultural Diversity Project Launched In Support of International Education Week

Basking Ridge, NJ and West Chester, PA — Language Lizard, LLC and students in the Teacher Education Program at West Chester University of Pennsylvania are working together to design lessons that will inspire elementary school children to explore and learn more about other languages and cultures.

Ten students preparing to be teachers of elementary school children are collaborating with Anneke Forzani of Language Lizard and Dr. Heather Leaman from West Chester University in an effort to merge learning about and appreciation of language and cultural diversity with the teaching of social studies for students in Kindergarten to Grade 4. West Chester teacher candidates will be designing brief units of instruction using a variety of Language Lizard’s bilingual resources representing varied languages from Chinese to Yoruba. The detailed lesson plans will be available on the Language Lizard site (http://www.LanguageLizard.com) in early 2007.

The project is being launched during International Education Week (November 13-17), a joint initiative of the U.S. Departments of Education and State. More information about International Education Week can be found at http://iew.state.gov/.

Language Lizard, LLC offers bilingual books in over 40 languages as well as a free newsletter with information for parents and teachers trying to expose children to other languages and cultures. Readers can sign up at http://www.LanguageLizard.com or by calling toll-free 1-888-LLIZARD. Articles by Ms. Forzani and Ms Leaman with tips on improving multicultural learning at school and at home are available at http://www.languagelizard.com/newsresources.htm.

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