Language Inclusivity is Crosscutting

/
Language Inclusivity is Crosscutting

On my first trip to Peru (roughly 50 years ago) I was too young to read, but I am certain that my parents read to me on the airplane. As I prepare to travel to Peru later this month with my wife, I am reminded of just how privileged I am to have grown up surrounded by books in both English and Spanish - and even a bilingual "Dr. Seuss Dictionary." My favorite books, however, were always story books in English -- the language I heard spoken most often in our home.

While accessibility and gender inclusivity in educational materials is finally receiving a lot of well-deserved attention, are books genuinely inclusive if they are not in a language that children know and understand well…?

Read More

Why Does Language Even Matter?

/
Why Does Language Even Matter?

Do you remember what it was like to take your seat on your very first day in school, bright eyed and bushy tailed—eager to please?

Imagine, if you will, that once the teacher had gotten your class settled she had turned to you and your classmates and said, “Bonvolu malfermi viajn librojn.”

Imagine she stared at you. Expectant. Waiting…

Read More

Blooming in Bacolod City

/
Blooming in Bacolod City

In June, SIL LEAD Executive Director Christof Weber had the opportunity to attend the last few days of a materials development workshop in Bacolod City, in the Philippines.

The workshop focused on developing decodable readers in the Sinugbuanong Binisaya language, for Grade 1 students in Negros Occidental as part of the USAID-funded Philippines Advancing Basic Education (ABC+) project led by RTI International…

Read More

Bloom goes quiet... and we love it!

/
Bloom goes quiet... and we love it!

We’re so thrilled that Bloom has its first Deaf certified trainer that we’re tempted to jump in with several long, enthusiastic paragraphs about it.

But since our goal is to give people the tools to speak for themselves (and since our very first deaf certified Bloom trainer is such a wonderful communicator and a joyous person to experience), here’s Lisseth…

Read More

Social and Emotional Learning in Afghanistan

/
Social and Emotional Learning in Afghanistan

The country of Afghanistan currently faces major, major challenges.

Decades of conflict have left a legacy of economic and sociopolitical turmoil. Covid 19 and political turnover have worsened the situation to the point where famine now looms.

And although issues of this enormity require investment from multiple players at all levels, we at SIL LEAD believe that one of the best ways to heal Afghanistan’s wounds in a sustainable and long-term way is through education…

Read More

Quick... define "Dictionary!"

/
Quick... define "Dictionary!"

Can you define the word “dictionary” in just a few words, without using a dictionary?

It’s not as easy or as simple as it seems. There are several types of dictionaries—and even a little debate about what “counts” as a dictionary. For most of us, it’s hard to imagine a world in which a hefty dictionary isn’t within easy reach, on the shelf or in the phones in our pockets.

And yet…

Read More

By Them, For Them

/
By Them, For Them

Often in development work the approach can be very outside-in, where outsiders come into a community and dictate the sort of work that will be done, then micromanage that work to ensure that the outsider’s goals are achieved. But one of the most satisfying aspects of SIL LEAD’s approach is that we work hard to keep the focus inside-out. In fact, it’s baked into our DNA, with our stated goal of helping local, community-based organizations use their own language to improve their quality of life…

Read More

WHAT IS THE POINT OF ALL THIS HEROISM?

/
WHAT IS THE POINT OF ALL THIS HEROISM?

That’s a big title right there, and a question with an oversized philosophical pedigree. Especially considering that what we’re going to talk about in this post isn’t philosophy at all… it’s a relatively small literacy program in the Western province of Papua New Guinea (PNG), a country that many people probably couldn’t even circle on a map. Bear with us, though…

Read More