Teaching in Two Languages: A Guide for K-12 Bilingual Educators

"The authors deliver a passionate, practical, and loving approach to teaching children whose first language is other than English. This is a source of both inspiration and practical strategies for those educating our newest emergent bilingual citizens."
―Sonia Nieto, Professor Emerita, Language, Culture, and Teaching
University of Massachusetts, Amherst

"Finally, a comprehensive and beautifully written guide to teaching bilingually. Full of creative strategies, practical mentoring, and well-chosen vignettes, this book is destined to become the standard text in bilingual methods courses."
―James Crawford, President
Institute for Language and Education Policy

"A truly intellectual text for all teachers of bilingual learners."
―María E. Torres-Guzmán, Professor of Bilingual/Bicultural Education
Teachers College, Columbia University

A hands-on guide to meeting the unique challenges of educating English language learners!

Bilingual education programs give students who are learning languages and content the opportunity to progress academically while gaining proficiency in English as well as their first language. Grounded in current research, this hands-on guide helps educators navigate the linguistic, academic, and cultural considerations of bilingual classrooms. 

Focusing on teachers′ day-to-day experiences, the authors present classroom-ready strategies such as 

• Guidance on balancing instruction in two languages, including age-specific needs and social and academic language development
• Tools for content-area teaching across the curriculum, including vocabulary development
• Recommendations on appropriate assessments
• Vignettes from schools and teachers illustrating solutions to challenges

Appropriate for a wide range of K-12 bilingual programs, Teaching in Two Languages is a comprehensive guide to language and content-area instruction for educators in any bilingual program or setting.

Sharon Adelman Reyes is program director for DiversityLearningK12, a consulting and professional development group specializing in the education of English language learners.

She holds a Ph.D. in curriculum design from the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she specialized in multicultural and bilingual education. Over a career spanning more than 30 years, she has worked as a teacher, principal, curriculum specialist, district administrator, college professor, and educational researcher. She has taught at the elementary, secondary, and university levels and is a recipient of the Kohl International Prize for Exemplary Teaching.

Reyes has co-authored three books: Diary of a Bilingual School (with James Crawford; DiversityLearningK12, 2012); Teaching in Two Languages: A Guide for K-12 Bilingual Educators (with Tatyana Kleyn; Corwin, 2010); and Constructivist Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners (with Trina Vallone; Corwin, 2008). Her publications also include peer-reviewed journal articles, a peer-reviewed book chapter, magazine articles, curriculum guides, and program reviews.

While holding academic positions at St. Xavier, Loyola-Chicago, and Gonzaga universities, Reyes developed and implemented undergraduate and graduate-level programs in bilingual/bicultural education and TESOL; taught in a graduate program in educational leadership in ELL contexts; and chaired the doctoral dissertations of students in related areas of research.

Since 1999, Reyes has worked directly with K–12 schools serving low-income communities to improve curriculum and instruction in ESL, dual immersion, transitional bilingual education, and literacy. Her consulting has included developing, guiding, and evaluating programs; providing teachers with field support and professional development workshops on site; and working closely with school administrators to facilitate these efforts.

She has presented in her field locally, nationally, and internationally, and has served as an educational consultant in school districts throughout the United States. Her current research interests include the preparation of educators and educational leaders for diverse classrooms and educational contexts, constructivist practice in ELL contexts, and bilingual schooling.

Tatyana Kleyn is an assistant professor at the City College of New York in the Bilingual Education and TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) program. In 2007 she received an EdD from Teachers College, Columbia University in international educational development, with a specialization in bilingual/bicultural education. Her dissertation focused on the intersections of bilingual and multicultural education in Spanish, Haitian Creole, Chinese, and Russian bilingual classrooms. In 2008 she received the second place Outstanding Dissertation Award from the National Association of Bilingual Education. Kleyn is also an associate at the Research Institute for the Study of Language in Urban Society (RISLUS) at The Graduate Center in the City University of New York. There she is involved in a multi-phase study (with Kate Menken) that focuses on long-term English language learners in secondary schools. She has published in the U.S. and internationally about the cultural, linguistic, and educational needs of the Garífuna people in Honduras. She is currently working on a book for teenagers called Immigration: Stories, struggles and debates (Scarecrow Press). Kleyn was an elementary school teacher in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, and Atlanta, Georgia.