Guest Speakers: Fred Genesee, McGill University Viv Edwards - University of Reading Eithne Gallagher - Educational Consultant Antonella Sorace - University of Edinburgh Elina Aavikko - International School of London Veronica Bourke - International School of Brussels Frances Bekhechi  - International School of Brussels  Dina C. Castro - University of North Texas Roma Chumak-Horbatsch - Ryerson University Antonia Cooper - International School of London Patrizia Cordin - University of Trento Alexandra D’Onofrio - University of Manchester Maria Frigo - Secondary school teacher/IAL teacher trainer Maria Teresa Guasti - Università Milano Bicocca Marousa Gourdi - European School Bergen Else Hamayan - Author and Researcher Karin Martin – International School of Carinthia Marjorie Myers - Key Dual Language School Daniela Perani - San Raffaele Hospital University Sergio Powel - International School of London Debra Rader - Educator, Author, Transition Specialist Ron Rosenow - Copenhagen International School Ludovica Serratrice - University of Manchester Karen Serritslev - Copenhagen International School Marco Tamburelli - University of Bangor Wilma Tonetta - Autonomous Region Valle D'Aosta      

The teachers of The Bilingual School of Monza Veronica Crippa Senior Italian elementary school teacher Kirsty Lottkowitz PYP coordinator, Upper elementary English lead teacher Silvia Sangalli Italian Language teacher Paz Tardio Spanish Language Teacher  

 

   

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  Tables of Contents Page 1: Our history, context, values and beliefs and the theme of the Conference Page 2: Welcome letter from the Founding Director of The Bilingual School of Monza Page 3: Conference Overview Page 4: Schedule for Friday (13 March, 2015) Page 9: Schedule for Saturday (14 March, 2015) Page 15: Presenter Bios Page 23: Map of the Conference Center Page 24: Special Thanks, Contact Information and Exhibitors    Our history, context, values and beliefs The Bilingual School of Monza was founded 20 years ago on the belief that Bilingual Education should be a model of education accessible to every child growing in today's globalised world. Bilingual education enhances interlingual and intercultural communication and lays the foundations for a world of peace where diversity is viewed as a resource and not as an obstacle. The Bilingual School of Monza caters for students aged 3-14 and through its rigorous international curriculum and unique approaches to teaching and learning through the medium of two or more languages, supports students become critical thinkers, open minded, effective communicators, problem solvers, risk takers and reflective learners. These are all essential skills and attributes for tomorrow's global citizens. The Bilingual School of Monza is a certified IB School and a member of the European Council of International Schools (ECIS). The Bilingual School of Monza will be celebrating its 20th Anniversary in March 2015 by organizing an international conference on the theme of: "Our Multilingual Schools: opportunities and challenges". One of our aims is to share the multiple benefits of bilingual education and inspire educators and other professional to become, in their turn, advocates and active practitioners in their respective professional fields. The theme of the conference embraces all these different aspects of language in Education and in society and the aim is to bring these challenges to the forefront and through a wider understanding and dialogue. The theme of the International Conference OUR MULTILINGUAL SCHOOLS: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES In many schools, lots of second language learners' home languages are being ignored and buried day after day, out of fear that these interfere, in a negative way, with the students learning the host country language and represent an obstacle to them integrating in the society. Too many ethnic minority parents, following teachers' advice, give up talking to their children in their mother tongue, give their children host country names and the like. The term multilingual education is also often being abused by many educational settings to simply mean the teaching of two or more foreign languages. Italy being a country with a rich regional dialects history, is gradually loosing them because of their low profile and status.            

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   Welcome Letter from Evienia Papadaki Founding Director of The Bilingual School of Monza Dear fellow educators, It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to this unique international conference on the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the Bilingual School of Monza. I feel very privileged and honored to have received such an enthusiastic response from a wide variety of speakers, each one of them experts in the field of Bilingualism and Bilingual Education and we are proud to announce a rich and powerful program of presentations. There will be a range of presentations delivered in English and others in Italian, bringing thus under one roof the expertise of both international and Italian scholars and practitioners. It was also our aim to attract educators from the Italian school sector so every effort has been made to have a balance of presentations in both languages. School based practices will be show-cased by practitioners, and these will take the form of either presentations, poster sessions or round table discussions. It is my hope this conference will attract all those of you involved in the education of today’s young generations, and that your participation will enrich the outcome of this conference. It is my hope to bring together educators from other bilingual, international, state, and community schools, who after being inspired or challenged by the important messages this conference will convey, will be ready to join forces in becoming advocates for multilingual education and to work collaboratively not only sharing and celebrating successes but also in turning challenges into opportunities. Twenty years ago I made a dream come true, and today, I continue to dream of a world where there will be no linguistic and cultural barriers, a world of peace to which multilingualism and intercultural understanding would have made a significant contribution. I am excited over this event and the Bilingual School community and myself look forward to welcoming you to Milan. We are confident you will find it to be both an inspirational and a rewarding experience! Warm wishes A presto Evienia Papadaki

In my hands there are Spanish and English, because I hold tight the new words I learn.

Italian is in my mouth, because I can speak it. Greek is everywhere: in my heart, in my head and in my

mouth.

Kalliopi – Grade 3 (2013/2014)  

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Conference Overview

Time Friday, 13th March Time Saturday, 14th March

7.30-8.30 Registration 7.30-8.30 Registration 8.30-9.00 Opening Ceremony 8.30-9.00 Opening Ceremony and Announcements 9.00-9.30 Welcome Speech EUGENIA PAPADAKI

Founding Director of The Bilingual School of Monza

9.00-10.00 Plenary Session EITHNE GALLAGHER Educational Consultant “Interlingual classrooms: promoting home languages as a right, a fact and a resource”

9.30-10.30 Keynote speaker FRED GENESEE McGill University, Montreal “Celebrating Bilingual Education in Monza and around the world: taking stock and moving forward”

10.00-10.30 Coffee break

10.30-11.00 Coffee break 10.30-11.30 Breakout sessions • Roma Chumak-Horbatsch Ryerson

University, Toronto (LUNA) • Maria Teresa Guasti Bicocca University,

Milan (ARGENTO) • Marousa Gourdi European School Bergen

(COMETA) • Ron Rosenow e Karen Serritslev

Copenhagen International School (SOLE) 11.00-12.00 Breakout sessions

• Patrizia Cordin University of Trento (ARGENTO)

• Else Hamayan Author and Researcher (LUNA)

• Debra Rader Educator and Author (COMETA)

11.30-12.30 Breakout sessions • Fred Genesee and Else Hamayan (LUNA) • Sergio Powel, Antonia Cooper, Elina

Aavikko International School of London (COMETA)

• Wilma Tonetta Autonomous Region Val D'Aosta (ARGENTO)

12.00-13.00 Breakout sessions • Ludovica Serratrice University of

Manchester (LUNA) • Marco Tamburelli University of Bangor

(COMETA) • Dina Castro University of North Texas

(ARGENTO)

12.30-13.30 Lunch

13.00-14.00 Lunch 13.30-14.30 Plenary session ANTONELLA SORACE University of Edinburgh "Bilingualism throughout life: myths, facts, and perspectives

14.00-15.00 Plenary session - VIV EDWARDS University of Reading “The power of Babel: multilingualism as a right and a resource”

14.30-15.30 Breakout sessions • Teachers of The Bilingual School of Monza

(SOLE) • Alexandra D’Onofrio University of

Manchester (LUNA) • Karin Martin International School Carinthia

(ARGENTO) • Veronica Bourke and Frances Bekhechi –

International School of Brussels (COMETA) 15.00-15.15 Break 15.30-15.45 Break 15.15-16.15 Breakout sessions

• Daniela Perani San Raffaele Hospital University (LUNA)

• Maria Frigo Secondary school teacher and IAL teacher trainer (ARGENTO)

• Marjorie Myers Key Dual Language School (COMETA)

15.45-16.30 Poster sessions and round table discussions • Linguistic Appropriate Practice and

Language Awareness (supported by Roma Chumak-Horbasch) (LUNA)

• Collaboration (supported by Else Hamayan and Marjorie Myers) (ARGENTO)

• Interlingual Teaching and Learning (supported by Eithne Gallagher) (COMETA)

16.15-17.30 Poster sessions and round table discussions • Promoting Multilingualism,

Multiculturalism and Global citizenship through Community Action Projects (LUNA)

• The Bilingual Mind (supported by Graziella Favaro and Daniela Perani) (ARGENTO)

• Working with parents (supported by Viv Edwards e Amy Thompson) (COMETA)

16.30-17.30 Speakers panel Q&A session and Closing Ceremonies

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Friday (13 March, 2015) 7:30 - 8:30 Registration Sign up for Poster and Breakout Sessions 8:30 - 9:00 Opening Ceremony (plenary room – SOLE/ORO/STELLA) 9:00 - 9:30 Welcome Speech EUGENIA PAPADAKI, Founding Director of The Bilingual School of Monza 9:30 - 10:30 Fred Genesee, McGill University, Montreal, Canada – Keynote speaker Celebrating Bilingual Education in Monza and around the world: taking stock and moving forward It is 20 years since the inauguration of bilingual education in Monza and 50 years since the first immersion program in Montreal Canada. This is an opportunity to reflect on all we have accomplished and plans for the future. There has been a great deal of research on immersion education since its inception. In this presentation, I will elicit lessons we have learned from this research and examine options for the future developments. Issues to be considered include: How effective is immersion education? Are there negative influences on students’ native language development and academic achievement? Is it suitable for all students? Is early immersion better than delayed or late immersion? Does more immersion result in higher levels of second language proficiency? What instructional strategies are most effective? … and others. 10:30 - 11:00 Coffee Break 11:00 - 12:00 (choose from the following three presentations) Patrizia Cordin, University of Trento, Italy (ARGENTO) Quali lingue per un multilinguismo "inclusivo"? Scopo dell'intervento è illustrare come il multilinguismo possa essere declinato in combinazioni diverse da quelle più prestigiose e diffuse con le lingue nazionali, e possa includere anche lingue regionali, lingue locali e lingue non territoriali, queste ultime scarsamente protette dalla legislazione europea e dalle legislazioni nazionali. In questa prospettiva saranno portati alcuni esempi di esperienze svolte recentemente in Italia, in particolare nella provincia trentina, per favorire il multilinguismo con lingue locali e con lingue non territoriali nei bambini che frequentano la scuola d'infanzia e la scuola primaria.

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Nella presentazione si evidenzieranno i principali punti di forza e di debolezza delle esperienze condotte per trarne indicazioni utili ai fini di una più efficace politica per un multilinguismo "inclusivo". Else Hamayan, Author and Researcher, Argentina (LUNA) Multilingual=Multicultural? Opportunities and Challenges Becoming multicultural is often thought to be a natural outcome of bilingualism or multilingualism. The ways we express ourselves in a new language often go hand in hand with the ways we perceive and interact with others and our surroundings. However, becoming multicultural is also a result of praxis, the process by which a lesson or skill is learned or internalized. In this session, we consider how to incorporate culture into the everyday working of the classroom by: 1) establishing cross-cultural objectives, 2) developing an awareness of one’s home culture, 3) learning about and practicing new cultural norms and customs. The end result is an appreciation of different ways of interacting with others, respecting our environment, and enriching our lives. Debra Rader, Educator, Author, Transition Specialist (COMETA) Valuing Languages and Cultures: Easing transition for all language learners When teachers and schools value the languages and cultures children bring it eases the transition to their new school, country and culture. In addition valuing languages and cultures is the first step towards developing intercultural understanding. This presentation explores ways we can intentionally demonstrate our value of languages and cultures, and provides teachers with strategies, activities and resources they can use to support all of their students in transition and begin to develop intercultural understanding. Participants will: • Consider ways to build a school community that is inclusive of all languages and cultures • Develop strategies to bond with children who speak another language • Explore ways to develop culturally responsive and relevant classrooms that value and reflect

children’s languages and cultures • Learn about transition education and how to integrate it into their existing curriculum

Schools that integrate transition education into their curriculum, and explicitly value all languages and cultures also develop key aspects of international-mindedness, which is an essential disposition for global citizens. 12:00 - 13:00 (choose from the following three presentations) Ludovica Serratrice, University of Manchester, UK (LUNA) Bilingual language development in the school years: predicting areas of cross-linguistic interference This presentation will be an overview of the work carried out in several bilingual primary schools over the last few years; the focus will be on the investigation of systematic and predictable differences between bilingual and monolingual children in sophisticated aspects of language use, in particular the use of referential expressions (nouns and pronouns) to identify referents for the benefit of their interlocutor.

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Marco Tamburelli, University of Bangor, UK (COMETA) Il multilinguismo “nascosto”: risorsa o minaccia? I vantaggi cognitivi e linguistici del bilinguismo sono ormai ampiamente riconosciuti dalla comunità scientifica. Nonostante ciò, la divulgazione e la sensibilizzazione pubblica su temi di bi- e multi-linguismo si interessano quasi esclusivamente di casi di “lingue nazionali” e - più raramente - di casi tra lingue nazionali e lingue minori ufficialmente riconosciute (per esempio il bilinguismo spagnolo-catalano o italiano-occitano). Esiste però un terzo caso di multilinguismo che viene spesso ignorato e considerato dai media come fenomeno non pertinente al multilinguismo, spesso trattato come se fosse una sorta di “ostacolo” all’educazione linguistica e culturale . Si tratta del multilinguismo che include la lingua nazionale e i cosiddetti “dialetti”. In questa presentazione dimostrerò come questi “due pesi e due misure” innescano una serie di svantaggi educativi, portando al continuo spreco di una grande risorsa naturale. Dina C. Castro, University of North Texas, USA (ARGENTO) Multilingualism and instructional approaches in early education: A cross-cultural review of the research Immigration within and across continents is currently a global reality. The number of people leaving their communities in search for a better life for them and their family has increased dramatically during the 21st century. One consequence of these migration movements is the increased linguistic diversity in school settings. Depending on the linguistic history and the status of languages in the communities (i.e., minority-majority; majority-majority) the instructional approaches will differ. This session will discuss how multilingualism is addressed in early education programs in both minority-majority and majority-majority language communities, analyzing the experiences in various countries. Specifically, the author will share findings from a review of research on language of instruction approaches and their language policy contexts. 13:00 - 14:00 Lunch 14:00 - 15:00 Viv Edwards, University or Reading, UK – Plenary speaker (plenary room – SOLE/ORO/STELLA) The power of Babel: multilingualism as a right and a resource This presentation will explore the benefits of multilingualism, both for individuals and the wider society, as well as the very different contexts for multilingualism and the hierarchical relationships between different languages. It will ask the question: why should the ability to speak more than one language be so highly valued in some settings while being largely invisible in others? In arguing that multilingual education is a right and a resource, it will look at efforts to persuade parents and teachers – key players -in transmitting languages from one generation to the next – of the benefits of bilingualism for young people growing up in an age of globalization.

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15:00 - 15:15 Break 15:15 - 16:15 (choose from the following three presentations)   Daniela Perani, San Raffaele Hospital University, Milan, Italy (LUNA) The bilingual brain The issue of language and the underlying brain mechanism becomes more intriguing when we consider the unique capacity of the human brain to acquire, store, and use more than one language. The greater ease with which infants, compared to adults, acquire a second language is uncontroversial. Neuroimaging researches have been specifically addressed to the question of the cerebral organization of multiple languages. In particular, on the potential role of variables which may act on language representations of bilinguals, namely, age of acquisition of the second language, level of proficiency, amount of exposure to a given language. All these indeed affect the pattern of brain involvement, accounting for functional modulation in the cerebral representation of languages. Today there is a large body of evidence on how two or more languages are organized in the brain and what mediates their processes. We know that two languages are represented in a similar fashion at the brain level and that .early acquisition of languages makes them very comparable in the involved neural substrates. We also know that bilingualism induces also neural changes upon some brain regions with plastic neural enrichments that can improve other cognitive functions. These changes in turn, may be responsible for protecting the bilingual brain against cognitive decline and dementia. The main focus of this presentation is to provide an overview of the most relevant results that have so far been achieved in the field of the cerebral basis of bilingualism using neuroimaging techniques and to discuss which conclusions may be drawn from these studies. Maria Frigo – Secondary school teacher and IAL teacher trainer, Italy (ARGENTO) La diversità linguistica nelle scuole: diritto di ciascuno, opportunità per tutti Come è successo in altri Paesi, anche in Italia le scuole ora accolgono alunni la cui lingua madre non è l’italiano e che sviluppano nel tempo una condizione di bilinguismo. Condizione che non sempre viene giudicata positivamente. Ancora oggi infatti alcuni tendono a pensare che nella testa di un bambino ci sia posto per una sola lingua-o perlomeno per una lingua alla volta- e che la madrelingua debba essere rimossa o estirpata per poter apprendere con efficacia l’italiano. Il legame tra la lingua e la costruzione dell’identità nella migrazione è intricato e inscindibile. Le parole del codice materno, della lingua degli affetti strutturano il sé bambino e costituiscono una sorta di pelle degli individui. La lingua materna non è quindi un vestito da togliere e abbandonare in un canto per indossarne uno più adatto, ma un involucro protettivo ed essenziale che ci definisce e ci plasma. Parlare una lingua significa “portare” ed esprimere la cultura che essa veicola. Attraverso i primi contatti comunicativi con l’ambiente che lo circonda il bambino non acquisisce soltanto uno strumento di espressione, ma anche le regole e le rappresentazioni condivise, i significati e il suo posto nel mondo. Interiorizza una logica e un ordine concettuale che lo struttura e lo modella. Costruisce giorno dopo giorno la sua identità attraverso quella lingua. Quando gli alunni stranieri arrivano in Italia, la loro lingua improvvisamente scompare, è assente dai luoghi della scuola e dell’incontro e spesso viene chiesto loro di dimenticarla e metterla da parte per accogliere le nuove parole. Alcune L1 sono perlomeno evocate, denominate, riconosciute (lo spagnolo, ad esempio); altre sono del tutto ignorate e appaiono strane, lontane, dalle forme e scritture “bizzarre” . Quando la lingua materna

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diviene muta, clandestina, marginale, i bambini immigrati vivono una frattura rispetto alla loro storia precedente, una situazione di perdita e regressione, dal momento che il messaggio che viene loro inviato è che “se non sai l’italiano, non sai, in generale”. Il bilinguismo dei bambini e dei ragazzi immigrati possiede dunque tante valenze e tanti destini: ricchezza e molteplicità, ma anche smarrimento e perdita. Saranno le vicissitudini individuali, le scelte famigliari e le condizioni dell’accoglienza a decidere quanto i meccanismi difensivi saranno in grado di garantire un bilancio più o meno vantaggioso tra ciò che si acquisisce e ciò che si esclude dalla circolazione endopsichica. A partire da un’analisi della situazione attuale di multilinguismo nella scuola, la comunicazione approfondisce e propone le consapevolezze e le attenzioni linguistiche e pedagogiche che devono oggi essere diffuse nella scuola multiculturale e plurilingue. Marjorie Myers, Key Dual Language School, USA (COMETA) Opportunities and challenges of a two-way Spanish Immersion/Dual Language program Key School~Escuela Key in Arlington, Virginia, USA, was founded in 1986. In 1995 it became a whole school program. Key is a public school and must accept all children who meet the minimum requirements, such as live in an area around Key or enter as a Kinder or 1st grader if monolingual. The majority of the students at Key are either English speakers or native Spanish speakers from Central America. Our third language students come from Mongolia, Russia, and Ethiopia primarily, with a few from other countries. Because Key is located in the suburbs outside of Washington DC, this prime location lends it self to easy access to visitors and researchers. The Center for Applied Linguistics is in DC and has done quite a bit of research on the school. Drs. Collier and Thomas have used Key for their longitudinal studies. Recently, Dr. Myers was invited to contribute to their new book, Creating Dual Language Schools for a Transformed World: Administrators Speak, which will be released on November 20, 2014. With state accountability, testing all students has been a major challenge especially in recent years, as tests have gone from benchmark to challenge tests. Hiring teachers who are educated in Spanish and hold licenses to teach elementary education is another major challenge. Despite challenges like these, over the 29 years as an immersion program there have been many success stories with our students. 16:15 - 17:30 Poster sessions and round table discussions

• Promoting Multilingualism, Multiculturalism and Global citizenship through Community Action Projects (LUNA)

• The Bilingual Mind (supported by Daniela Perani) – (ARGENTO) • Parent Education (supported by Viv Edwards & Amy Thompson) – (COMETA)

19:30 – 22:00 - Italian Dinner - (by booking only)

I dressed elegant because languages are important to me.

Italian is close to my head because I speak it very well; English is in my tummy, a little bit far away, because I know it so and so and Spanish is in my legs because I

only know the basis of it

Edoardo B. – Grade 3 (A.S. 2014/2015)

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Saturday (14 March, 2015) 7:30 - 8:30 Registration - Sign up for Poster and Breakout Sessions 8:30 - 9:00 Opening Ceremony and announcements (plenary room – SOLE/ORO/STELLA) 9:00 - 10:00 Eithne Gallagher, Educational Consultant – Plenary speaker Interlingual classrooms: promoting home languages as a right, a fact and a resource. In this session we will discuss the changes schools everywhere need to address in order to promote this innovative, pedagogical approach that is open to other languages and cultures. 10:00 - 10:30 Break 10:30 - 11:30 (choose from the following four presentations) Roma Chumak-Horbatsch, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada (LUNA) Linguistic diversity in our classrooms: a call FOR action - a call TO action The focus of this presentation is instructional practice with the growing number of bilingual and multilingual learners who arrive in classrooms with little or no knowledge of the language of program delivery. The case is put forward that this new demographic must serve as a call to action - for teachers to become linguistically responsive and retool their current practice, and a call for action - for school administrators and policy makers to move beyond the token acknowledgement of children’s home languages and “position them accurately … as intellectual, cultural and economic assets” (Cummins, 2014). To help teachers retool their instructional practice, move from monolingual practice, become linguistically inclusive, fulfill their educational responsibility to bilingual and multilingual learners a new instructional practice called Linguistically Appropriate Practice or LAP is introduced and explained. Maria Teresa Guasti - Milano Bicocca University, Milan, Italy (ARGENTO) The challenge from bilingual / L2 children for the identification of Specific Language Impairment and Developmental Dyslexia One concern in the study of bilingualism and early L2 acquisition has to do with the identification of bilingual/L2 children who are affected by Specific Language Impairment (SLI) or by Developmental Dyslexia (DD). This identification is made difficult because bilingual or L2 children may experience some delays or some linguistic behaviors, which characterize SLI/DD. I will present evidence from

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studies we carried out with immigrant children learning Italian as their L2 from age 3. First, I show that, in pre-school years, these children perform qualitatively and quantitatively different than Italian monolingual children of SLI, on two clinical markers (linguistic behaviors that typically characterize the language of children with SLI) of SLI in Italian. Based on this, I suggest that these clinical markers hold the promise of identifying SLI in the immigrant population. Second, I evaluate the reading and writing competence, the oral language competence and executive functions of another group of L2 children during school years. Immigrant children are poor than monolingual aged matched controls on reading and writing measures, on some language measure, but not in executive functions. I discuss these results in the light of the assessment of DD in L2 children and point to the importance of promoting children’s L1 and supporting their L2. Marousa Gourdi, European School Bergen, The Netherlands (COMETA) European Schools: A successful model for multilingual Education The European Schools have been in operation for 60 years in different countries in Europe. They cater to a linguistically and culturally diverse population and they have gained a firm reputation for their academic and linguistic excellence. Basic instruction is given in the official languages of the European Union following a broad curriculum leading to the highly regarded European Baccalaureate. Emphasis is given in the development of high standards in the pupil’s mother tongue and in foreign languages. One of the main objectives of the European Schools is to give pupils confidence in their own cultural identity and to foster tolerance, co-operation, communication and concern for others throughout the school community and beyond. Could the European Schools serve as a multilingual education model contributing to the mobility, employability and personal development of young people? How could the teaching of languages and other subjects in the target languages will promote multilingual proficiency at no cost to academic development? What is the structure for the provision of languages in ES? What are the key features of success of the European Schools model? Karen Serritslev and Ron Rosenow, Copenhagen International School, Denmark (SOLE) EAL and Classroom Teachers Unite: A Co-Teaching Case Study As co-teachers in a Grade 5 classroom, we decided to keep track of everything about our ELL support model. What does it really look like to collaborate and co-teach? We have gathered quite interesting statistics of our practice. How did we plan? What best-practice ELL strategies did we use the most? What type of lesson did we facilitate? How did we integrate students’ home languages? In this interactive workshop we will provide real-life examples and share our teaching, learning and assessment experiences. 11:30 - 12:30 (choose from the following three presentations) Combined Session: Fred Genesee & Else Hamayan (LUNA) Content Based Language Instruction: Opportunities and Challenges in Multilingual Schools We will have a conversation about research findings and their theoretical significance and educational implications for instruction and program development. We focus on five fundamental questions in the education of students who are learning language through content-based

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instruction: • What is the nature of the language skills that students need to succeed in school? • Is using the target language to teach content enough? • How should language arts instruction relate to the rest of the curriculum? • Who is responsible for teaching students the language skills they need? • What is the role of students' home language? Elina Aavikko, Antonia Cooper and Sergio Powel, International School of London, UK (COMETA) An opportunity or a threat? In the 21st century, the young people we educate will live and work in a world that is intrinsically multicultural and is populated by mobile, multilingual populations. This new paradigm hosts a tension for the role of language in education, which alternatively can be experienced as an opportunity or as a threat. On the one hand the traditional language education model is intended to equip young people to meet a level of literacy required by a national workforce. The contemporaneous paradigm, however, demands versatility from institutions and educators so as to properly equip young people to make sense of everyday life in a multi-cultural society.    In this presentation we will share the school practices developed over 40 years at the International School of London, which are guided by a strong commitment to support multilingualism, cultural diversity and internationalism so as to help students function in and create a better world. SESSION GOALS: We shall share with our fellow-educators some of the main arguments in favour of a Mother Tongue programme which is truly integrated into the mainstream curriculum. We will show how the centrality of the Mother Tongue programme has had an impact on the whole school direction, ethos and recruitment. Should time allow, we will also outline our latest response to the new challenges to international education, ISL WORLD. Wilma Tonetta - Autonomous Region Valle D'Aosta, Italy (ARGENTO) La scuola bi-plurilingue in Valle d’Aosta La lingua francese in Valle d’Aosta è regolamentata dallo Statuto speciale della Valle d’Aosta (Legge costituzionale 26 febbraio 1948, n. 4). Il titolo VI dello Statuto succitato recante “Lingua e Ordinamento scolastico”, agli articoli 38, 39,40 e 40 bis, definisce l’utilizzo della lingua francese nei pubblici uffici e nelle scuole del territorio. Fondamentale è affrontare la tematica riferendosi all’utilizzo del francese in tutti gli ordini e gradi di scuola dove all’insegnamento della lingua francese è dedicato un numero di ore settimanali pari a quello della lingua italiana. Importante il riferimento agli adattamenti posti in essere nel corso degli anni nelle scuole valdostane ad eccezione della scuola secondaria di secondo grado regolamentata dalla legge 50/96. 12:30 - 13:30 Lunch

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13:30 - 14:30 Antonella Sorace, University of Edinburgh – Plenary speaker (plenary room – SOLE/ORO/STELLA) Il bilinguismo nell’arco della vita: miti, fatti, e prospettive Ci sono ancora pregiudizi molto diffusi sul bilinguismo nell’infanzia: per esempio, l’idea che il bilinguismo confonda i bambini e li ponga in una situazione di svantaggio scolastico rispetto ai monolingui. La ricerca invece dimostra che dove ci sono differenze tra monolingui e bilingui queste sono quasi sempre a favore dei bilingui. I bambini bilingui hanno migliori capacità metalinguistiche e di apprendimento delle lingue, una comprensione precoce del punto di vista degli altri, e una maggiore flessibilità mentale nella gestione delle situazioni complesse. Alcuni di questi benefici si riscontrano anche negli adulti che hanno raggiunto un alto livello di competenza in una seconda lingua. Nella prima parte discuterò i fatti e benefici del bilinguismo e dell’apprendimento delle lingue nell’arco della vita. Nella seconda parte dimostrerò l’importanza di una corretta informazione sul bilinguismo in tutti i settori della società e illustrerò il lavoro svolto in Scozia e in molti Paesi europei dal centro Bilingualism Matters per colmare il divario tra la ricerca scientifica e la percezione pubblica del bilinguismo. 14.30 – 15.30 (choose from the following four presentations) Veronica Crippa, Kirsty Lottkowitz, Silvia Sangalli and Paz Tardio - Teachers at The Bilingual School of Monza, Italy (SOLE) Developing Multilingual and Multi Literate Global Citizens: The Role of Collaboration in a Bilingual School The development of competent and confident multilingual young learners relies not on one teacher but a team of teachers working in collaboration with each other to achieve this goal. Cenoz, Genesee and Gorter (2014), however, cite a lack of collaboration among L2 and classroom teachers as a fundamental flaw in much second language acquisition. Such teacher collaboration is central to the policies and practices of the Bilingual School of Monza. Within the school, teacher collaboration is more than a vain hope but an instituted process to which time is allocated within teachers’ work schedules. It is these practices, processes and the school’s commitment to collaboration which set the tone for all language learning within the school: mother language maintenance, Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) in L1, L2 and L3 and language awareness in general. In this presentation a group of BSM teachers, covering different teaching roles, will demonstrate how collaboration is instrumental into implementing a shared curriculum which promotes multilingualism and intercultural understanding. Alexandra D'Onofrio - Manchester University, UK (LUNA) A personal journey to multilingualism: the role of the family and school During this presentation I am going to take the audience through my own personal journey to multilingualism. Brought up with three languages from birth, born in London where I attended an Italian nursery school, the first two years of the Greek Embassy elementary school, a local English elementary school before moving to Athens at the age of eight and two years later to Italy when I entered and stayed in the Italian state school system till I graduated from High school. I chose to pursue my higher education studies in the UK where I gained my Bachelors in Social Anthropology and Hindi at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), was offered a grant by Manchester University to continue with a Masters Degree in Visual Anthropology and subsequently

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a scolarship to pursue a PhD in Anthopology, Media and Performing Arts. The opportunities and challenges on the way were manifold and have led me to make significant life choices. I will discuss how the role of the family and of the schools I have attended, have facilitated or stood in the way to both the construction of my identity as a global citizen and to how I view the world today. I will bring an anthropological perspective to how multilingualism and intercultural understanding can enhance human understanding and contribute to a world of peace. My objective is to demonstrate how families and schools can be instrumental in meeting these goals and how, when they work in synergy and complement each other, they can turn challenges into significant opportunities for today's young generations. Karin Martin – International School of Carinthia, Austria (ARGENTO) Il multilinguismo degli italiani in Carinzia Questo intervento è il risultato di un lavoro di ricerca sul significato dell’apprendimento della lingua seconda da parte di espatriati di diversa nazionalità che vivono nella regione austriaca della Carinzia. Ci si chiede quanto è importante imparare la lingua del luogo che ci ospita per favorire la nostra integrazione sociale. Quanto è importante mantenere la nostra lingua madre e cosa rappresenta per un italiano all’estero. Dopo una serie di considerazioni teoriche sugli studi che trattano questo tema importante, si riportano le esperienze di immigrati di diversa nazionalità, tra cui italiani, raccolte in una serie di interviste. Mentre alcuni sembrano non dare importanza alla propria lingua madre, altri sentono di non poterne fare a meno e ne promuovono lo sviluppo linguistico in ambito familiare e/o scolastico fin quanto possibile. Lo scopo dell’intervento è quello di far riflettere i partecipanti sull’opportunità di considerare le lingue importate in Italia dall’immigrazione come una risorsa per l’individuo e per la società, mettendosi nei panni degli italiani che hanno deciso di espatriare. Una scuola multilingue deve essere vista non solo come un’opportunità, ma anche e soprattutto come il riconoscimento di un diritto: quello di poter esprimere la propria identità. Veronica Bourke and Frances Bekhechi - International School of Brussels, Belgium (COMETA) We achieve more / better collectively than we could alone. Professional collaboration is filled with both rewards and challenges. People who collaborate have expressed positive feedback about learning a lot and appreciating the skillsets of colleagues. Collaboration allows more people to be directly on deck to support student learning. Some challenges include: it takes time to connect and develop relationships, some collaborations click more easily than others, it takes time to plan together (as noted above), it can be a lot of people when coordinating across that number of students and teachers (although it works well for a learning situation like a novel study). Our workshop will include guidelines for collaboration with tips about systems and tools to make it work well. 15:30 - 15:45 Break

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15:45 - 16:30 Poster sessions and round table discussions

• Linguistic Appropriate Practice and Language Awareness (supported by Roma Chumak-Horbasch) (LUNA)

• Collaboration (supported by Else Hamayan and Marjorie Myers) (ARGENTO) • Interlingual Teaching and Learning (supported by Eithne Gallagher) (COMETA)

16:30 – 17:30 Speakers panel Q&A session and Closing Ceremonies (plenary room – SOLE/ORO/STELLA)

I feel English in my head because it’s the

language I speak more than the other languages. I feel Serbian in my heart, in

my stomach and in my legs because there is a theory, which says that Serbians are taller

than Italians. Italian is in my hands because of all the

hand gestures and in my feet because I like to play football.

Luka – Grade 5 (A.S. 2013/2014)

Nel disegno ci sono magazzini in diverse lingue che contengono cultura, lingua e

cibo di ogni paese che mi è collegato.

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Presenters Bios

Eugenia Papadaki – Founding Director of The Bilingual School of Monza, Italy Eugenia Papadaki BA, MA, PGCE, High/Scope teacher trainer. Eugenia is the founder and Head of The Bilingual School of Monza (bilingualschool.it). Eugenia is of Greek origin and has two daughters brought up tri-lingually from birth. She has lived, studied and taught extensively in the UK in diverse educational settings including public secondary schools, Adult Education and Greek Community schools. She has gained a BA in Modern Foreign Languages, a MA in Applied Linguistics and a PGCE. Eugenia moved to Italy in 1992 where she taught at International schools before starting her own school in 1995. Eugenia’s expertise and passion are the areas of bilingualism and bilingual education and she is a fervent advocate of mother tongue maintenance and of global linguistic diversity. She speaks four languages, Greek, English, Italian and French. Eugenia contributes to the field of Bilingualism and Bilingual Education through publications, presentations at international conferences, professional development courses and workshops for teachers and parent education programmes. She acts as a consultant to families and professionals who are interested in Bilingual development and education.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER Fred Genesee - McGill University - Montreal, Canada Fred Genesee is Professor Emeritus in the Psychology Department, McGill University, Montreal. He has conducted extensive research on alternative forms of bilingual and immersion education for language minority and language majority students. His current research interests include language acquisition in pre-school bilingual children, internationally-adopted children, second language reading acquisition, and the language and academic development of students at-risk in bilingual programs. He is the recipient of the Canadian Psychological Associate Award for Distinguished Contributions to Community or Public Service, Canadian Psychology Association Gold Medal Lifetime Achievement Award for 2014, and the 2-Way CABE Award of Promoting Bilingualism. PLENARY GUEST SPEAKERS

Viv Edwards - University of Reading, UK Viv Edwards is Professor of Language in Education at the University of Reading. She is editor of the international journal, Language and Education, and has published widely in the area of learning and teaching in multilingual classrooms. Her publications include Learning to be literate: multilingual perspectives (Multilingual Matters,2009),Multilingualism in the English-speaking world (Blackwell 2004; British Association of Applied Linguistics Book of the Year, 2005) and The Power of Babel: teaching and learning in multilingual classrooms (Trentham 1998). She has a particular interest in the perspectives of parents on bringing up children bilingually.

Eithne Gallagher - Educational Consultant Eithne Gallagher is a recognized authority in the field of ESL in International Education. She has over 20 years’ experience in teaching ESL in international schools. She was the chair of the European Council of International Schools ESL & Mother-tongue Committee and regularly presents at International School conferences. She has also delivered workshops and lectures for teachers and administrators worldwide. Her writings on ESL & Mother-tongue issues have been widely published in educational journals, books and magazines. Eithne now argues for school reform to meet the educational needs of all children growing up

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in a multicultural society. She provides support and consultancy for schools and teachers wishing to implement inclusive, ESL and mother-tongue policies. Eithne is the author of "Equal Rights to the curriculum" Multilingual Matters, and collaborates with OUP as an author of a series of teacher resources and student reading books.

Antonella Sorace - University of Edinburgh, UK Antonella Sorace is Professor of Developmental Linguistics at the University of Edinburgh. She is a world leading authority in the field of bilingual language development across the lifespan, where she brings together methods from linguistics, experimental psychology, and cognitive science. She is also committed to disseminating the findings of research on bilingualism in different sectors of society. She is the founding director of the public engagement centre Bilingualism Matters, which will soon have 16 branches all over Europe and in the USA. INVITED SPEAKERS (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)

Elina Aavikko - International School of London, UK Elina Aavikko studied Finnish Language and Literature in Helsinki, Finland. Since completing her BA, MA and PGCE at the University of Helsinki, she has taught Finnish A & B in Finland as well as Finnish to adults in Morley College. She also has experience in teacher training and has published. For the past 6 years she has been working at the International School of London, as a Finnish teacher and Mother Tongue Coordinator, and she is the site-based coordinator of on-line learning.

Frances Bekhechi - International School of Brussels Initially a teacher of modern languages in the UK, Frances Bekhechi taught ESL at the International School of Brussels for 24 years before retiring in 2013. Frances has a particular interest in second language students with diagnosed or suspected learning disabilities. She contributed a chapter entitled ‘ESL Students who Struggle’ to the book: Welcoming Linguistic Diversity in Early Childhood Classrooms, published by Multilingual Matters. She has presented at ECIS and ESL & Mother Tongue conferences and has taken part in a number of team visits for CIS. She is the mother of three bilingual third culture kids

Veronica Bourke - International School of Brussels, Belgium Veronica Bourke is Elementary School head of learning support at the International School of Brussels, Belgium. She has been an international teacher for more than 25 years and has a strong interest and passion for understanding the learning profiles of ELD students who present with learning challenges and how this can help. As a parent and teacher of students with have many languages, she continues to look for ways to learn what to do with ELD students who find both learning and learning in another language challenging.

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Dina C. Castro - University of North Texas, USA Dina C. Castro, Ph.D. is a Professor and Velma E. Schmidt Endowed Chair of Early Childhood Education at the University of North Texas, College of Education. Dr. Castro holds degrees in Early Childhood Education and Special Education, Public Health and Psychology. Her scholarship focuses on quality and equity in the early care and education of bilingual, culturally and ethnically diverse children, and factors affecting the well-being of immigrant children and their families. Dr. Castro serves as Director of the Center for Early Care and Education Research: Dual Language Learners, a national center funded by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, and Principal Investigator on the intervention study Nuestros Niños Program: Promoting School Readiness for English Language Learners funded by the U.S. National Institute for Child Health and Human Development. Her previous research includes efficacy studies, survey research as well as observational and ethnographic studies, and measurement development. She is an advisor for various early childhood initiates of national relevance in the U.S. Dr. Castro is lead author on the book New Voices ~ Nuevas Voces Guide on Cultural and Linguistic Diversity in Early Childhood and has published numerous peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, research briefs and, technical and policy reports.

Roma Chumak-Horbatsch - Ryerson University - Toronto, Canada Roma Chumak-Horbatsch is Associate Professor in the School of Early Childhood Studies at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in language development and bilingualism. She has a background in applied linguistics and early language and literacy development. Her research focuses on multilingual pedagogy and the unique language and literacy needs of young bilingual learners. In her new book, Linguistically Appropriate Practice (2012: University of Toronto Press) Dr. Chumak-Horbatsch profiles the language reality of children who arrive in classrooms with limited (or no) proficiency in the classroom language and presents a research-based, field-tested practice that helps teachers transform their classrooms into multilingual and multi-literate environments where languages and literacies come to life.

Antonia Cooper - International School of London, UK Antonia Cooper, Mother tongue Leader at ISL London and for the ISL Group, has previously taught Applied Linguistics, Dutch, English, and Translation & Conference Interpretation skills to respectively adults, post-graduates and students in a variety of educational settings, such as the University of Westminster and evening institutes. She has also led an educational research team in Hong Kong for the Institute of Language in Education; acted as examiner and setter for a variety of examining boards; and has presented and published a number of papers, articles and book translations. Antonia has for the last 17 years worked in ISL London, educating students for the IB Dutch MYP Certificate & Diploma and teaching ISL Qatar Diploma students by ‘Telepresence’. The last 6 years as ISL Mother Tongue Leader she maintains and develops professional standards for 30 MT teachers of 20 languages and as ISL Group MT Leader she has responsibility for maintaining & developing the professional standards of 68 MT teachers of 25 languages.

Patrizia Cordin - University of Trento, Italy È docente di Linguistica generale presso il Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia dell’Università di Trento. Svolge l'incarico di Delegata del Rettore per le attività in tema di minoranze linguistiche. È Vicepresidente della Commissione provinciale per la toponomastica della Provincia di Trento. Dirige Bilinguismo conta, uno dei quattro centri italiani affiliati a Bilingualism matters dell'Università di Edinburgo. Si occupa di variazione linguistica, di morfosintassi e di lessico nelle lingue romanze, di toponomastica e di multilinguismo. Coniugando l'interesse per il contatto linguistico e per il bilinguismo, partecipa al progetto europeo di ricerca Atheme (Advancing the European Multilingualism Experience). Tra i volumi pubblicati negli ultimi dieci anni: L'archivio lessicale dei dialetti trentini, Trento, 2005 (a cura di); Le costruzioni verbo-locativo in area romanza: dallo spazio

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all'aspetto. Berlin, De Gruyter, 2011; Didattica di lingue locali: esperienze di ladino, mòcheno e cimbro nella scuola e all'università. Milano, FrancoAngeli, 2011 (a cura di).

Maria Frigo – educationalist and trainer, Italy Docente di scuola secondaria e formatrice, Maria Frigo si occupa di educazione interculturale e di apprendimento dell'italiano L2 in contesti migratori. E' consulente nell’organizzazione di progetti di accoglienza e integrazione scolastica di bambini e ragazzi con background migratorio. Collabora con il Centro COME di Milano (www.centrocome.it) in iniziative di formazione dei docenti, nella produzione di materiale didattico e nel coordinamento di progetti. È autrice e co-autrice di testi e materiali didattici multimediali tra i quali A tu per tu (RCS), Nuovo Insieme (La Nuova Italia) Ciao amici! (La Nuova Italia) Studiare in italiano L2 (Giunti). Collabora dalla fondazione con la rivista Sesamo, didattica interculturale, (www.sesamonline.it) per la quale ha recentemente pubblicato diversi articoli sulla valorizzazione del plurilinguismo nella scuola.

Alexandra D’Onofrio - University of Manchester, UK Alexandra is a plurilingual anthropologist and film director. She was born in London and raised trilingually from birth by her Greek mum and Italian dad. She attended Greek, English and Italian schools, which were instrumental in the development of multi-literacies and academic language proficiency. Today Alexandra speaks eight languages. She obtained her B.A. in Social Anthropology at the University of London- School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), her M.A., in Visual Anthropology from Manchester University where she is currently completing her PhD in Anthropology, Media and Performing Arts. Alexandra is the founder of the Fandema theatre of the oppressed group, the cofounder of ASNADA school (for refugees to learn Italian through story telling and arts), both placed in Milan. She has produced a series of documentaries on immigration some of which are prize winners. Today Alexandra, as a young plurilingual and pluricultural mum, is faced with the choice of what languages and cultures to pass on to her children.

Maria Teresa Guasti - Università Milano Bicocca, Italy Maria Teresa Guasti is professor of Linguistics and Psycholinguistics at the University of Milano-Bicocca. She is director of the Milan-Bicocca’s branch of Bilingualism matters, Member of the Scientific committee of the Marica De Vincenzi Foundation, Associate investigator at the ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its disorders (CCD), Macquaries University, Sydney, Foreign expert in the School of Special Education, Haidan District, Beijin. She is member of the Scientific Committee for the Trilingualism project in Kindergarten at Collegio San Carlo. Maria Teresa Guasti has studied language acquisition in monolingual, bilingual and early L2 children, in children with Specific Language Impairment and Developmental Dyslexia and in children with cochlear implant. She has written books and several international articles in peer-reviewed journals.

Marousa Gourdi - European School Bergen, The Netherlands Marousa Gourdi was born in Athens, Greece and had achieved her first Bachelor’s degree in Primary Education from the Ralleios Pedagogical Academy in Piraeus. She then continued her studies in Biology in the University of Athens and was awarded her second Bachelor’s degree in 1987. In June 2002, she was awarded a postgraduate Diploma in the field of Primary Education from the Faculty of Education of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. In the same year, she obtained her postgraduate specialisation Diploma in Biology from the Medicine School and the faculty of Biology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Marousa Gourdi has worked as a primary and secondary teacher and from 2004 up to the present has been working as Head of Primary for the European Schools. She speaks English and French and Greek is her mother tongue.

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Else Hamayan - Author and Researcher, Argentina Else Hamayan is an independent consultant and Director Emeritus of the Illinois Resource Center in Arlington Heights, Illinois, USA. She provides professional development on teaching English as a second language, early childhood bilingualism, learners with special needs, cross-cultural learning, and dual language instruction. She has also helped administrators in program development, particularly in dual language schools and International Schools, and has consulted with refugee programs and state boards of education in addition to PreK-12 schools. Her latest publication, with Genesee and Cloud, is called Dual Language Education from A to Z.

Karin Martin – International School of Carinthia, Austria Karin Martin ha conseguito il Dottorato di Ricerca in Linguistica presso l'Università di Verona nel settembre 2013 con la tesi „Developmental Dyslexia and Foreign Language Learning. A Working Memory Approach“. Dal 2012 vive in Austria, dove lavora come libera professionista tenendo workshop e servizi di consulenza per scuole e famiglie sul tema del multilinguismo, con una particolare attenzione al tema della promozione della lingua madre dei bambini espatriati. Recentemente, ha lavorato come docente per il corso di formazione professionale per insegnanti presso la International School Carinthia (temi principali: multilinguismo e apprendimento delle lingue straniere). Scrive articoli per la rubrica „Multilingualism matters“ pubblicata on-line dal Carinthian International Club e si occupa altresì dell’insegnamento della lingua italiana.

Marjorie Myers - Key Dual Language School , USA Dr. Marjorie L. Myers has been a principal since 1994 both in D.C. Public Schools and Arlington Public Schools in Arlington, Virginia. She has taught Kindergarten through-Higher Education and has worked as a Spanish teacher, an ESOL teacher, a bilingual counselor, central office program manager for ELL students, an assistant principal and a principal. She has taught and been a school administrator in Florida, Georgia, Venezuela, DC and Virginia. She holds a BA in Spanish from the University of Florida (1972), an MA in bilingual and multicultural education from George Mason University (1985) in Fairfax, VA; she has 33 hours of doctoral coursework in computational and applied linguistics at Georgetown University in D.C. and a Doctorate of Education in Bilingual Special Education from The George Washington University (2009) in Washington, D.C. Since 1995 Dr. Myers has been the principal of Francis Scott Key~ Escuela Key Elementary School in Arlington, Virginia. in September of 2012, Key School ~ Escuela Key was recognized by the Ministry of Education of Spain as an International Spanish Academy “School of the Year 2011.”

Daniela Perani – San Raffaele Hospital University - Milan, Italy Medico, Specializzata in Neurologia e Radiologia, Professore Ordinario di Neuroscienze, Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milano, Italia. Coordinatrice di diversi Progetti Nazionali ed Internazionali di Ricerca in Neuroscienze e Neurologia. Le sue ricerche si indirizzano agli studi molecolari e strutturali delle malattie neurodegenerative con tecniche di neuroimmagine PET e MRI, e alle neuroscienze cognitive con studi dei correlati funzionali del linguaggio, dei sistemi di memoria, del controllo esecutivo e della percezione della musica attraverso le tecniche di neuro immagine, in particolare fMRI. E’ autrice di numerose pubblicazioni scientifiche con alto impact factor.

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Sergio Powel - International School of London, UK Sergio Powel, Chief Academic Officer, International School of London Group, has over 35 years of experience in the UK, Latin America and the Middle East. Trained as a teacher of Physics, Sergio participated in the development of the British Science National Curriculum and the IB Middle & DP Science Programmes and he contributes regularly to the IB organisation as a Physics examiner and as a Middle Year’s Moderator. His research interests range from authentic laboratory learning practices to the study of ‘cultural diversity as a learning resource’. He is also a member of the Review Board for the Science Education Review Journal. As a school administrator, Sergio has led whole school implementation of the IB programmes, led Council of International Schools (CIS) Accreditation visits in Europe, Africa & the Middle East and works on behalf of MEEDAN as a consultant in the planning, setting up and development of new schools.

Debra Rader - Educator, Author, Transition Specialist Debra Rader has worked in international schools as a teacher, administrator and educational consultant for over 25 years. She was a teacher and principal at Southbank International School in London, Junior School Principal at the International School of Florence, and was most recently the Founding Director of Teaching and Learning at the Bilingual School of Lucca. Debra developed a model for transition education and has become a specialist in this area. She is co-author of New Kid in School: Using Literature to Help Children in Transition (Teachers College Press, 2003) and was a contributing author (‘Addressing Transition and Mobility Issues with English Language Learners in the Early Childhood Years’) in Welcoming Linguistic Diversity in Early Childhood Classrooms: Learning from International Schools (Multilingual Matters, 2011). Education has been a lifelong passion and Debra is a strong advocate for Third Culture Kids (TCKs), and supporting them and their families through transition. She has presented at numerous conferences, and works with students, parents and faculty on developing transition education, transition programmes and international-mindedness in schools worldwide. Debra lives in Tuscany with her husband and is currently writing a new book on developing international-mindedness in children.

Ron Rosenow - Copenhagen International School, Denmark Ron has a Masters Degree in ESL. He has worked as a primary ELL teacher at various schools in Minnesota, Barcelona and Shanghai. Presently, he is a PYP ELL Teacher at Copenhagen International School in Denmark. Ron's current interests are integrating technology into instruction, utilizing mother tongue to aide with second language acquisition and using a variety of co-teaching models to support the needs of ELLs.

Ludovica Serratrice - University of Manchester, UK Ludovica Serratrice is a senior lecturer at the University of Manchester where she works on language acquisition and teaches on the BSc Speech and Language Therapy. Before obtained a PhD in Linguistics at the University of Edinburgh in 2000, Ludovica trained as an interpreter, then obtained a bachelor degree in English and French from the Istituto Universitario di Lingue Moderne in Milan, and subsequently a master degree in language acquisition from the University of Essex. Over the last fifteen years Ludovica has been working on language acquisition in bilingual and monolingual children and adults; her special research interests include language phenomena that require the coordination of grammatical knowledge and the understanding of the discourse context. Working closely with the speech and language therapy team at the University of Manchester, Ludovica has also developed a professional interest in the interface between academic research and clinical practice with bilingual children.

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Karen Serritslev - Copenhagen International School, Denmark An experienced classroom teacher and IB PYP workshop leader, Karen started her international teaching career when she moved from Australia to Denmark in 2005. She is passionate about languages and strives to incorporate mother tongue into her teaching at every possible opportunity. Relatively new to co-teaching, Karen has learned that ELL best practice also benefits mainstream students. Karen’s teaching pedagogy is centred on a constructivist, inquiry-based model and she enjoys integrating technology into instruction.

Marco Tamburelli - University of Bangor, UK E' docente di bilinguismo al Dipartimento di Linguistica dell'Università di Bangor, in Galles, dove si occupa di ricerche sullo sviluppo del linguaggio in età infantile nel contesto del bilinguismo simultaneo. E' stato ricercatore nel dipartimento di Psicologia della Nottingham Trent University, e ha collaborato con il Dipartimento di Fonetica e Linguistica della UCL di Londra. I suoi interessi accademici principali sono: Il bilinguismo simultaneo in età infantile, lo sviluppo della sintassi, l'organizzazione lessicale nei soggetti bilingue, la difesa e lo sviluppo delle lingue minori e in particolare le lingue proprie del territorio italiano.

Wilma Tonetta – Autonomous Region Valle D'Aosta, Italy Wilma Tonetta ha avuto varie esperienze come Insegnante di lingua e letteratura francese dall’ anno scolastico 1976/1977 all’anno scolastico 1999/2000 presso l’Istituto tecnico commerciale e per geometri di Châtillon e il Liceo scientifico di Saint-Vincent. Referente dell’educazione alla salute negli anni scolastici 1994, 1995 e 1996, opera dall'anno scolastico 2000/2001 presso l’Ufficio supporto all’autonomia scolastica del Dipartimento Sovraintendenza agli studi dell’Assessorato istruzione e cultura della Regione autonoma Valle d’Aosta, con funzione di Coordinatore dell’area “educazione bi/plurilingue, supporto scuole secondarie secondo grado”. THE TEACHERS OF THE BILINGUAL SCHOOL OF MONZA

Veronica Crippa - Senior Italian elementary school teacher Veronica started working at the BSM 17 years ago; over the years she has had to collaborate with numerous English and Italian colleagues developing thus skills and knowledge which she considers invaluable when she mentors and supports new teachers in her current role of the elementary Italian lead teacher. She has gained teaching experience in both Early Years and Elementary and she has seen the school grow from an Early Childhood program to a full elementary and now Middle school program. Veronica has lived, and “survived” the challenges of moving from teaching the Italian state school curriculum to the IBPYP through which she has grown as a professional. Having a passion for languages, she has studied foreign languages and literature. She has witnessed young learners grow and develop from monolingual to multilingual and this has reinforced her beliefs of the multiple advantages of bi-multilingual education. Veronica has a strong sense of commitment to enabling young students develop into multilingual and multicultural global citizens.

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Kirsty Lottkowitz - PYP coordinator, Upper elementary English lead teacher Kirsty is an Australian elementary school teacher of 29 years experience. With 10 years experience in the IB Primary Years Program and previously other inquiry learning programs she is currently teaching the English part of the curriculum at the Bilingual School of Monza. Kirsty has a sound understanding of a broad range of elementary school teaching and learning methodologies. Having a passion for learning languages other than English, she has a history of blending multiple literacies with classroom learning and utilising students’ mother tongue for the benefit of all students. Originally a science graduate, Kirsty has a strong belief that multiple literacies should incorporate subject specific literacies, be they scientific, social, mathematical, musical or ICT.

Silvia Sangalli - Italian Language teacher Silvia has an education degree from the University of Bicocca, Milano. Silvia has four years teaching experience within the IB Primary Years Programme having started her teaching career supporting a child with learning difficulties and working as a language support teacher. She is in her third year of teaching the Italian part of the curriculum in the lower elementary section of the school and has built a solid basis and experience in collaboration with a variety of English colleagues with whom she shares the delivery of the bilingual curriculum.

Paz Tardio - Spanish Language Teacher Paz is currently teaching Spanish at the Bilingual School of Monza, from grade 1 to grade 8. She is a qualified teacher with nine years of experience and truly believes in the values and benefits of bilingual education. Since completing her CA and PGCE in Modern Foreign Languages, being a Spanish native, she has had the opportunity to teach abroad in England, the United States, Egypt and Mexico, across a wide range of ages and abilities.

“A casa parlo turco, ma anche italiano e inglese. Sento lo spagnolo nel mio cervello, il turco e l’italiano nel mio cuore, l’inglese nella pancia e il francese nelle mie mani. Quando gioco, parlo in italiano in Italia, e turco quando sono in Turchia. Quando sogno, sogni in turco e

in italiano. Anche quando sono triste, parlo in turco e in italiano.”

“At home I speak Turkish, as well as some Italian and English. I feel Spanish in my brain, Turkish and Italian in my heart, English in my tummy and French in my hands. When

I play, I use Italian in Italy, but Turkish when I am playing in Turkey. When I dream, I dream in Turkish and Italian. Also when I am upset, I speak in Turkish and Italian.”  

 Aylin – Grade 2 (A.S. 2014/2015)

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Map of the Conference Center

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Special Thanks Partners

ASSOCIAZIONE PER I DIRITTI UMANI E LA TOLLERANZA ONLUS WEBSITE: www.dirittiumanietolleranza.org EMAIL: diritti@dirittiumanietolleranza.org MOB: 331/7176639

REGIONE LOMBARDIA

Sponsors Special thanks to Mr and Mrs Roemer, who supported the event with a concrete contribution and by sharing the value and the importance of this unique Conference. Contact Information

The Bilingual School of Monza/Play English Via Confalonieri, 18 20900 Monza / Italy email: info@playenglish.it tel: +39 039 2312282 website: playenglish.it Exhibitors Cambridge University Press (Ruth Hazlewood - rhazlewood@cambridge.org) Oxford University Press (Katie Palmer – katie.palmer@oup.com)