immigration

Embracing your culture can be really good for you – especially if you’re a student. A recent study titled “Culture Predicts Mexican-Americans’ College Self-Efficacy and College Performance” found that Mexican immigrant students who identify and practice speaking their native language have higher grade point averages than those who are put in English-only environments in their schools. The reason? David Aguayo, the doctoral student who conducted the study, found that the stress levels of those students who found themselves in aRead More ...

For the DREAMers I know that our community at Spanglishbaby is a diverse bunch, and that we come from a variety of personal and political perspectives, so I’m a little nervous about writing a post about politics, but I’d like to share with you some of my reflections on the recent passage of AB 130, the California DREAM Act: The California DREAM Act allows undocumented students to receive financial aid, if financially eligible, from private and public sources. Under AB540,Read More ...

As I mentioned last week, NPR is dedicating the next few days to a series entitled Two Languages, Many Voices: Latinos in the U.S. about bicultural Latinos and their impact on education, technology, religion and entertainment. The first part in the series about the town of West Liberty in Iowa and how the majority of its population is Latino aired earlier today in Morning Edition. The story, along with an interactive map of how Latinos are reshaping communities are both available onRead More ...

Yesterday, I cried. And then, I got really angry. It happened when I read this story about what’s happening in Alabama after the most ludicrous immigration laws were passed there last week. Latino parents are withdrawing their children from schools there fearing a new law that requires schools to check students’ immigration status. How can this be happening? And, more importantly, what does it say about who we are as a people and the kind of society we’re becoming? SchoolRead More ...

Sunday’s here again and it’s time for us to share links that might be of interest to you regarding all things bilingual and multicultural. Enjoy! 1) Foreign Language Fun: Kids Tell Why to Learn a Language – “You’ve got to see this PSA from the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages for its Discover Languages campaign.  These precious kids are just too cute, and their message just too important to miss!” Too cute! ...