FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Erin Whelchel
703.894.2900 ext. 124
February 2022 marks the fifth annual celebration of Lead with Languages Advocacy Month. As part of its greater mission to improve and expand the teaching and learning of all languages at all levels of instruction, each February, ACTFL and its Lead with Languages public awareness campaign propose digital activities to recognize the achievements of language advocates from around the country and promote the value of U.S. world language education.
Research shows that language learning boosts academic achievement, provides cognitive benefits, and promotes positive attitudes and beliefs about other languages and cultures—providing learners with a host of social and developmental competencies in addition to their language skills.
Throughout February, all those involved in language acquisition—from students and their families to heritage speakers, educators, administrators, policymakers, and others—are invited to help generate awareness about these core skills by taking the #LanguageSuperpower Quiz and sharing their results on social media. By empowering learners to understand and claim their own “language superpowers,” advocates will also show support for the educators, programs, and policies that are key in developing these important skills.
In addition to taking the #LanguageSuperpower Quiz, advocates are encouraged to:
- Follow and engage with @LeadWLanguages across social media,
- Encourage language learners and others in their networks to explore their own “language superpowers” by sharing the information and quiz activity broadly,
- Accentuate their profile pictures with a dedicated campaign Twibbon, and
- Download the 2022 Social Media Kit to discover ready-to-share social media posts and graphics, classroom materials, and additional advocacy resources.
“We know that language education provides significant complementary benefits beyond knowledge of the target language itself. Compared to their monolingual peers, language learners demonstrate improved critical-thinking abilities, memory, concentration, mental flexibility, communication skills, and capacity for empathy—just to name a few!” explains Erin Whelchel, ACTFL Outreach Manager. “There are so many ways to raise our voices in support of language programs and creating awareness about these additional skills is vital to that conversation. Every action and every voice make a difference.”
For more information about ACTFL and Lead with Languages Advocacy Month, read the announcement post and follow Lead with Languages on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
About Lead with Languages
Created in 2017, Lead with Languages is a multi-year campaign aimed at reversing the nation’s language skills gap and making language learning a national priority. The campaign seeks to build awareness across the U.S. about the growing importance of language skills to a wide array of careers—and to our nation’s economy, national security and international standing—with the ultimate goal of supporting a new generation of Americans competent in other languages and cultures and equipped to compete and succeed in a global economy.