Language Love on the West Coast Last month the government of British Columbia announced that their 2018 budget would include $50 million to support Indigenous language revitalization across the province. I’m very excited, of course, as there is more and more support for the work
New Year, New Focus Happy New Year! It’s hard to believe that another year has passed already! 2017 was a great year for our contributors at Esperanza Education – a year of personal and professional growth for all of us. It has been a year of change too, and 2018 brings a
Vocabulary of the Social Change Community Over a year a ago, I took a position as Provincial Organizer with Dogwood, an organization that brings together local people to defend air, land, and water in B.C. I notice that since then, I have adopted a new set of words and ways of using c
A Social Justice Approach for Everyone As described in my first ever blog post, Esperanza Education aims to promote social justice education throughout all aspects of our work and relationships. My own understanding of social justice has been influenced by philosopher Iris Marion Youn
2015 in Review As I reflect on the past year for Esperanza Education, I recognize that it has been a year of both stability and change. Esperanza Education is now in its 8th year of operation, and our Language, Learning, and Culture Blog has been running for 2.5 years. Our readership
Last year I asked readers to help me decide which language to focus on next: French or Punjabi. Well, I have to admit, I didn’t follow through on either plan! Although I have continued to use Duolingo for French vocabulary building, and have learned a few more Punjabi phrases fr
What is reflective practice in teaching? When new teachers go through their teacher training, a lot of time is spent on feedback and personal reflection – sometimes called reflective practice. You do something – plan a lesson, teach a lesson, develop a unit – see how
Check out this podcast interview of Esperanza Education founder Nicole Benson on the Map Your Learning website. She discusses her path as an educator, her experience living and working in Peru, what bringing social justice and language education together is all about, blogging, and mu
