Angelica Carranza, “Quelles sprachen hablas? Language Education in Milwaukee County”
Mentor: Tatiana Joseph, Teaching & Learning
Poster #33

Global citizenship has become an important aspect of pk-12th education in the U.S. Today, more school districts are implementing programming that will prepare students to participate in global job markets and other international opportunities. School districts in Milwaukee County have adopted diverse ways to include global citizenship, and our aim is to understand this landscape, especially focusing on language education. We chose language education as the focus of this research because the benefits of learning a second language become steppingstones for global citizenship. In other words, students who learn a second language are more empathetic, understanding, and open to diverse cultural experiences (ACTFL, n.d.). These dispositions encourage students to explore global living. As such, the purpose of this research is to design a city-wide directory of World language, ESL, and Bilingual education programing in Milwaukee County. The design of this directory will help us understand the opportunities available for pk-12th students in Milwaukee County to strengthen, develop or acquire (for the first time) a language. The data collected will come from school district websites and census data. The data collected will be used to compare and contrast trends in language programming, especially as it relates to the population and manufacturing shifts in Milwaukee County. We hope that the data collected will demonstrate a positive landscape that is inclusive of multiple language opportunities for all children in Milwaukee County. Finally, we hope that the data collected will highlight how Milwaukee County is becoming a key player in global citizenship.