A bilingual (DL) program is much more than simply teaching content in two languages. It's about seeing cultural, social, and linguistic differences and similarities as a means of developing connections and appreciation for other cultures as well as our own. The three fundamental pillars of DL education aim for students to become not only fully bilingual and biliterate or academically high achievers, but also socially and culturally competent in a global society. By integrating language and content teaching, the first two pillars are developed on a daily basis. However, developing cultural competence tends to be relegated to a superficial “once in a blue moon” level, such as doing a holiday show once a year. This, unfortunately, significantly reduces one of the key benefits of DL education: a child's ability to understand the world through a global lens and relate to other cultures. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Fulbright educator Angela Palmieri in an Education Week blog post states, “Cultural education is just as important as language and academic education and should be treated as such by all stakeholders in programs of dual language immersion. He also went on to say that “what often sparks the love of learning a language is connecting to the culture or cultures that correspond to it , students, even as they progress in learning the language, eventually disengage.” When culture is infused into the integration of content and language, students become not only able to communicate in another language, but are also able to understand others from your own perspective, “putting yourself in someone else's shoes” is less challenging even if those metaphorical shoes belong to someone from Mexico, Pakistan, or China. So, how do we do it? How do we infuse culture into our already content-rich teaching? The answer is “methodically and intentionally.” Culture is transmitted in many ways, through art, music, dance, food, festivals, celebrations, traditions, stories, idioms, sayings, literature, etc. We draw on as many ways as possible. A first step, for example, begins with the choice of readings for students; look for authentic material, not translations. Especially when working with narrative, integrate folktales, legends, and indigenous stories. Exposing children to as much music from the target culture as possible is also a good place to start. Celebrate traditions and holidays not just once a year, but multiple times by incorporating music and dance. Have a cultural corner updated throughout the year and connected to the themes or topics being studied. For example, if the topic is about plants, include pictures of plants from other countries and include the national flower, then take time to explain its meaning and connection to the lesson. Provide a “Today in history” and/or “current events” section in the cultural corner to be attended once a week to let students know what happens or what is celebrated in other parts of the world and why it is important. Include “Did you know?” moments during the day when you explicitly reference culture in relation to what you are teaching. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay High results in content knowledge and.