30. A New Generation of Cherokee Speakers Rises Among the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina, there are fewer than 200 first-language speakers of Cherokee. In Episode 30 of America the Bilingual, you’ll hear from people, both Cherokee and non-Cherokee, who are finding ways to embed the Cherokee language in classrooms and music, giving rise to a new generation of Cherokee speakers in the process. But is it too late? And how did it get to this point? First land, then language When gold was discovered in Georgia [...]

28. And Crown Thy Good with Brotherhood “We have ground rules,” said Amjad, an Arab American speaking about his family of five, “and the ground rules say in public places we don't speak a word of Arabic.” Freedom of speech is a constitutional right we take for granted in America, yet many bilingual speakers avoid speaking their non-English language in public for fear of hostile looks—and worse. Are we destined to perpetuate this contradiction, or might America be ready to move on? In Episode 28, hear Amjad’s story and what happened when his [...]

 26. Are You Too Old to Learn Another Language? Even at 16 we may be too old to learn a new language and speak it without an accent. So what about us adults over 50? Should we even bother trying? Hear longevity expert Laura Carstensen debunk some common assumptions. And hear the story of one intrepid fifty-something language learner who refuses to give up on her efforts to become a bilingual—and to reduce global greenhouse gases, which for her are related quests. “If we think of longevity as about old people, then [...]

 24. Dual-Language Education, Report #1: The Revolution Begins Imagine there was a new way of teaching that results in most students becoming truly bilingual and biliterate before finishing high school. Imagine if this new way of teaching also helped students rise in academic achievement overall. And finally, imagine if this new way of teaching could also help students develop more empathy towards others. We don’t have to just imagine it, it exists. It goes by the name dual-language education, or dual-language immersion, and it’s growing fast in America. Gregg Roberts now champions research [...]

Can Learning a New Language Help You Find Your True Identity? We're back with Season 2 of America the Bilingual! We open with this episode that features two stories of how people reconstruct themselves in a new language and how, through that process, they can sometimes discover and express important new aspects of themselves that can be liberating. Can learning a new language help you find your true identity? It did for Judson MacDonald. He was struggling to come to terms with his true identity. He had a part-time job at a conservative restaurant [...]