Bilingual in America
by Suzanne Lasser, Yarina Sencion
Bilingual in America is an exploration into the beauty and challenge of being bilingual and bi-cultural in America. It's a celebratory exploration into the immigrant experience in America through language education and culture.
Episodes
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Critical Consumers of Curriculum
Palma Multilingual Educational Solutions, LLC led by Mario Palma, and his team, Jessica Canul Diaz and Jordan Montalvo, are committed to enhancing multilingual learning nationwide. With over 25 years of expertise, Mario and his team specialize in equipping educators with the knowledge and tools…
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Too Big & Too Important
Dr. Audrey Cohan is the Senior Dean for Research, Scholarship, and Graduate Studies at Molloy University, Rockville Centre, New York where she has worked for twenty-nine years, Dr. Cohan began her career as a special education teacher in New York City, working with students with special needs and...
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Aviation Is Sooo Delicious!
How many Latinos are in the field of aviation? Listen in to hear from Jonathan Tejada who was born and raised in the US by his Colombian parents and became interested in aviation as a young boy when they would travel to Queens, NY to watch planes landing and taking off at LaGuardia Airport. He...
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Uno, Dos, Tres, Andrés. Otra Vez!
123 Andrés is a husband-and-wife duo that creates children's music in both English and Spanish. They have performed for audiences across the US as well as in Puerto Rico, Panama, and Mexico. They are performers, songwriters, advocates, authors, podcasters, and teacher trainers. This year, 2024,...
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Maria Chinchilla Becomes A Butterfly
Just like the mariposas monarcas, María Chinchilla left everything that was familiar to migrate from Guatemala to New York at the age of seventeen. In her first published children’s book, Maria Becomes A Butterfly, María beautifully tells the story of how she weathered tormentas, discovered her...
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Language Myth Busters
Angela Alvarez-Cooper and Dr. Laura Florez Gomez, clinicians, advocates, leaders, and everyday experts, talk with us about language acquisition myths that impact students with language delays and language challenges. Listen in and bust these myths, as they have never served our multilingual...
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Common Circles: Changing Hearts & Minds
Marla Felton and Sue Spiegel join Bilingual in America to talk about the not-for-profit, Common Circles, founded by Marla Felton. Their interactive exhibit aims to increase empathy, decrease bias and help people find their shared humanity. After conducting extensive research, they have created a...
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Intensive & Intentional: A Conversation with Dr. Andrea Honigsfeld
Dr. Andrea Honigsfeld speaks with us about her soon-to-be released secondary professional resource, Growing Language & Literacy for Grades 6-12. This is a follow-up to her 2019 Heinemann publication by the same title for grades K-8. We discuss her use of TESOL levels, the four areas that she…
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The Legacy Continues: A Conversation with Dr. Isabel Campoy and Dr. Alma Flor Ada
Today we have the distinct honor of speaking with Dr. Alma Flor Ada and Dr. Isabel Campoy, educators, leaders, authors, advocates for multilingual education, and social justice trendsetters. Their children's books and poetry illuminate the richness of the Latino culture and their strong belief in...
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El Centro: "Our Community is Our Family"
Judith Aucar, Deputy Director of El Centro Hispano in Westchester, New York, joins us to talk about their 50th anniversary and how they will celebrate this important milestone. El Centro offers services to support all immigrants, regardless of language background, as they begin life in search of…
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David Rogers on DLENM'S MITOTE Podcast
David Rogers supports the work of Dual Language Education of New Mexico-DLeNM, whose mission is to promote the effective design and implementation of dual language education (www.dlenm.org) in New Mexico and beyond. As they continue to serve students, families, and educators, they have added the...
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Providing Language Learning Success
Valentina Gonzalez is an educational consultant for Rooted Linguistics and a content creator working with educators across the nation to support multilingual learners and their families. Her personal experiences as an immigrant fuels her passion for the work she does. She works with schools and...
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A Conversation with Dr. Vilma Luz Cabán: The Heart of An Advocate
What does it take to truly make an impact in this world? Author Dr. Vilma Luz Cabán, well known as an educator and dedicated champion for women impacted by domestic violence and social and economic inequalities, has blazed a trail of success and passion. In her wide-ranging and often...
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Julia Chapa and EDU Specialist - Growing & Diverse
Julia Chapa has served emergent bilinguals as a Bilingual and ESL teacher in Texas for over 20 years. She has experience providing scaffolded instruction for second language learners, resulting in outstanding student achievement. In 2018, she began her company EDU Specialist, which supports…
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La Cosecha Dual Language Conference: Radical, Reflective, Regenerative.
Michael Rodriguez, Executive Director of Dual Language Education of New Mexico, reflects on this year's Dual Language conference, La Cosecha, that took place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, this past November, hosting more than 3500 attendees. And YES! We even have a save the date for next year's...
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Jesus Cervantes: Empowering & Encouraging Multilingual Learners
Jesus Cervantes is the National Director of Biliteracy and English Language Development (ELD) for Benchmark Education and a longtime advocate of bilingual education and Dual Language instruction. He has focused his career on providing English learners access to language and literacy. His areas of...
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Alexandra Güílamo: Championing Our Bilingual Birthright
A language learner in her own right, Alexandra Güílamo has spent more than twenty years serving a wide range of language learner programs. Alexandra is a former teacher, academic coach, elementary school principal, and district-level director in highly diverse urban and suburban school districts....
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Sketch Notes: From Abstract Ideas to Access
Claribel Gonzalez speaks with us about how sketch notes serve as an access point for abstract ideas and the various ways that images and visual literacy can support anyone but especially our Multilingual Learners (MLLs). Claribel has been a bilingual teacher, a bilingual coach, and a staff...
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Dr. Lillian Ardell: Stepping Up Versus Stepping Back
Dr. Lillian Ardell, founder of Language Matters, is a biliteracy advocate, coach & staff developer. At her core, she is an applied linguist with a passion for teaching and learning. She speaks with us about the work she does to disturb monolingual bias, help educators flex into the bilingual...
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From Bilingual to Socio-Cultural
Today. my co-host, Yarina Sencion, and I have the great fortune of speaking with Dr .Aradhana Mudambi, an accomplished, multilingual educator and social justice activist. We had the opportunity to make her acquaintance last year at La Cosecha, the annual dual language education conference, and we...
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Summer Expansion
While we are resting and recharging over the summer we are also working behind the scenes to get ready for Season 4. Listen in to meet Gaby Maldonado and hear who she is and what gifts she is bringing to BiLingual in America.
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VIVA EL MARIACHI! The White Plains High School Mariachi Band
While Mariachi bands date back to 18th-century Mexico, it wasn’t until the 20th century that the music transformed regional folk music into more of an urban phenomenon. During Season 2 of Bilingual in America, we first introduced the White Plains, NY High School Mariachi band as part of our…
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Maria Twena: No Longer In-Between
Bilingual children’s book author Maria Twena is a second-generation Latina, who felt very much like an outsider while growing up in New Orleans, Louisiana where she was balancing two languages and two cultures. Maria is the creator of the book series, MariVi: The Master Navigator, which will now...
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Let There Be Joy! A Conversation with Flor Bromley
Flor Bromley is a bilingual songstress originally from Peru. She is signed with 8 Pound Gorilla Records and has released three family albums. Her work has been praised by The Recording Academy, Red Tricycle, Broadway Workd, Parents Latina, Rockmommy, and The Toybook, among others. Her songs have...
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Areli Is A Dreamer
Areli Morales Romero was born in Puebla, Mexico, but was raised in New York City. She is a DACA recipient, and Areli Is a Dreamer is her debut children's book. A graduate of CUNY-Brooklyn College with a Bachelor's degree in childhood bilingual education, she currently works as a preschool…
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A Cocoon of Languages: A Conversation with Karlyn Tabb
Karlyn Tabb currently works at the German International School in White Plains, NY. Students attending the school learn language in a variety of ways. Some come from homes where German is not spoken or even part of their family tree. Karlyn, although not a native speaker, has family ties to…
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Linguistically Rich; Culturally Rewarding
Mayor Thomas Roach was born in White Plains, NY, and currently resides there with his family. He received his bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Albany and his law degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He was the first person in his family to earn a...
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Bridging the Multilingual Reading World
Dr. Rocio del Castillo and Dr. Julia Cloat are changing the multilingual dual language landscape. Together, they have co-authored their first book, Teaching Reading in Spanish: A Linguistically Authentic Framework for Emerging Multilinguals. In addition, they have co-founded Via Educational...
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My Voice; My Gift: A Conversation with Jacarina Soto
We are closing March, Women's Herstory Month, with a bang! Jacarina Soto is a first-generation Afro-Dominican American who went from getting her college degree and working in corporate America to living a purposeful life running her own spiritually directed business. Jacarina is a trauma-informed...
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UP NEXT! The Manhattanville College Educational Forum
Susan Bretti, Thought Leader and Director of the Changing Suburbs Institute, shares all the details of the upcoming, once again in-person, 17th Annual Educational Forum. The forum is hosted by Manhattanville College in New York and will focus on Culturally Responsive Teaching. The conference…
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Yes! I Am Bilingual!: A Conversation with Special Education Teacher Jacqueline Cabrera
Jacqueline Cabrera, a seasoned special education teacher, wife, mother, and bilingual extraordinaire, shares her pearls of wisdom on bilingual language acquisition as it pertains to the uniqueness of all students.
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Generational Readiness
Today's episode highlights the transformational work of Dra. Veronica Benavides, the founder, and CEO of The Language Preservation Project. She and her team work to reverse the trend of language loss across generations. The Language Preservation Project team works with families and educators to...
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Re-Newing Ladino: A Conversation with Dr. Devin Naar
Dr. Devin E. Naar, a Judeo-Spanish language scholar, is the author of Jewish Salonica, and is an Isaac Alhadeff Professor in Sephardic Studies, Associate Professor of History, and faculty at the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies in the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of...
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Patricia Galluzzo & Virginia Calderon: Bilingual 'First Responders'
Today's episode focuses on recently retired Patricia Galluzzo and Virginia Calderon. These two women have worked for over a quarter of a century providing translation support and assistance as needed in both Spanish and English. Patricia came to New York at the age of 9 from her native Argentina,...
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Uno! Dos! Tres! Andres!
Andres Salguero was raised in Bogata, Columbia, and grew up with his father. He earned his Doctorate in music. Christina Sanabria, from Colombia, grew up in a Spanish-speaking household in America. She was always involved in theater and dance, and later earned a master’s degree in education from…
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The Dual Language Village: A Book Talk with Dr. Andrea Honigsfeld and Dr. Joan Lachance.
Dual language stakeholders…get ready! Today we are visiting with educators, authors, and consultants Dr. Andrea Honigsfeld, TESOL professor at Molloy University, in New York, and Dr. Joan Lachance, Associate Professor of Teaching English as a Second Language at the University of North Carolina....
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Beautifully Bilingual: Lorynn Guerrero - New Mexico's Teacher of the Year
Educator, Leader, and Change Agent Lorynn Guerrero is New Mexico's Teacher of the Year. She speaks with us about being beautifully bilingual at any stage of one's language learning journey, how she's left an impact at New America School La Cruces High School with the GRADS program, and how this…
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Dual Language Royalty - Part II: A Conversation with Dr. Virginia Collier and Dr. Wayne Thomas.
This week on BiLingual in America, we continue the conversation with Dr. Virginia Collier and Dr. Wayne Thomas. They met in 1980, and for the past 40 years have devoted their professional attention to Dual Language programs and their benefits for students. They discuss how students in DL programs...
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Dr. Virginia Collier and Dr. Wayne Thomas: Dual Language Royalty
Dr. Virginia Collier and Dr. Wayne Thomas are internationally known for their research on long-term school effectiveness for culturally and linguistically diverse students. Dr. Thomas is a Professor Emeritus of Evaluation and Research Methodology and Dr. Collier is Professor Emerita of...
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La Cosecha: Voicing In On an Annual Pilgrimage
On today's podcast, we continue to highlight scheduled speakers at La Cosecha Dual Language Conference, which begins on November 2nd. First, we hear from Dr. Barbara 'BK' Kennedy, founder of GlobaLingo Educational Consulting. BK is trilingual (English, German & Spanish), and has worked as a...
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Leaning into La Cosecha: Celebrating The Vitality of Language
Today's episode features Patrick Werito, Coordinator of Tribal Initiatives for Dual Language Education New Mexico, and Michael Rodriguez, Director of Dual Language Education New Mexico. These two forces share details of their ongoing work with the bi/multilingual communities in New Mexico and...
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Mario Palma and Dr. Kathy Escamilla on The Science of Reading
As more states and districts are embracing the “science of reading”, some educators and advocates have raised the question: Will these teaching methods work for English-language learners? Today we are joined by Mario Palma. Director of Bilingual ELL Solutions at American Reading Compan, and Dr....
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Tap, Tap, Tap. Speak, Speak, Speak.
Joy School® English is produced by Alegra Learning, an education company with this simple mission: a life full of meaningful connections. While they are headquartered in Provo, Utah, Alegra Learnings' impact is felt on an international level. Brothers Tal and Eli Eyre share the mission and…
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Michelle Caceres: Journey To A Dream
Three interesting statistics: The US has more immigrants than any other country in the world, Recent studies show that 40 million people living in the US were born in another country and Immigrants today account for 13.7% of the US population. With this in mind, today you will hear Yarina Sencion...
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Pearls of Wisdom, Part 2 with Dr. Ofelia Garcia
This segment is Part 2 of Pearls of Wisdom with Dr. Ofelia Garcia. If you missed Part One, you’ll definitely want to listen to that earlier episode. We begin this segment with Dr. Garcia reflecting on the importance of students being proud of who they are, their families, and their cultural…
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Pearls of Bilingual Wisdom with Dr. Ofelia Garcia
Sometimes as a podcast host you get to speak with a giant in the field and you just can’t get all of the conversation to fit into one episode so what are you to do??? Well, you decide to split the interview into 2 episodes! Yarina and I had a chance to speak at length with a well-known expert…
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Kids Take Charge
In honor of Bring Your Child to Work Day, program co-host Suzanne Lasser and I shared the Bilingual in America platform with Abraham and Emil, our respective bilingual sons. In the first part of this episode, the boys interviewed a language role model from their lives. Emil speaks with Marcela...
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Championing Common Causes: Partnering with CSI for their 16th Annual Educator’s Forum
Hi! I’m Suzanne Lasser and today, on BIA, co-host Yarina Sencion and I speak with Susan Bretti and Dr. Lauren Raubaugh about Bilingual in America’s partnership with Manhattanville College’s Changing Suburbs Institute aka CSI. The theme for CSI’s 16th annual educator’s forum, taking place…
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Xánath Caraza - Poet and Educator: "It's in the Atmosphere"
Xánath Caraza is an internationally acclaimed poet & author, with works translated into seven languages, and a professor at the University of Missouri in Kansas City. Today she speaks with Yarina Sencion about her multilingual life and the role each version of her identity plays in her work.…
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Dr. Nancy Cloud: Advancing Language and Literacy Development
Dr. Nancy Cloud, Professor Emerita of the M.Ed. in TESL Program and in the Department of Educational Studies at Rhode Island College, is a specialist in ESL, bilingual and dual-language education. Prior to her work in Rhode Island College, she coordinated the M.S. TESL and Bilingual Education...
About this show
Bilingual in America is an exploration into the beauty and challenge of being bilingual and bi-cultural in America. It's a celebratory exploration into the immigrant experience in America through language education and culture.
Hosted by
Suzanne Lasser, Yarina Sencion