Nebraska Languages For All
Fourth Issue, 2026
Accessibility Review in Progress
Accessibility Review Underway
The World & Dual Language Education website is currently undergoing accessibility review and updates to meet the requirements of the ADA Title II Digital Accessibility Rule (WCAG 2.1 AA standards). Pages already updated and compliant include the Home Page, Seal of Biliteracy Page, World Language Week Page, and the Facilitate Interdependent Language Learning (FILL) Page. Additional pages are being reviewed.
New Dual Language Education Page
We are excited to share the new Dual Language Education webpage:
https://www.education.ne.gov/worldlanguage/dual-language/
Help Us Keep the Website Current
Some outdated webpages have been removed from the website but may still appear online through old links or search results. If you find a page that needs to be updated or removed, please contact:
- Chrystal Liu: chrystal.liu@nebraska.gov
- Stacey Weber: stacey.weber@nebraska.gov
Thank you for helping us maintain accurate and accessible resources for Nebraska educators.
Updates and Upcoming Changes
Due to unforeseen processing delays, the August Seal of Biliteracy review cycle will be postponed by approximately 10 to 14 days. As a result, award recipients will be announced in mid-September rather than late August.
The mailing of certificates and medals, along with the official news release, will take place after the awards have been finalized.
Looking ahead to the November application cycle, the school application form will transition to the QuestionPro platform. The application forms will be activated at the end of the day on September 2 to begin collecting November round applications.
In addition, the 10-digit Nebraska State Student ID will be required for all student applications beginning with the November round. Liaisons and World Language teachers are encouraged to help students locate and access their State Student ID before submitting applications to support a smooth and timely review process.
A special thank you to Linda Egnatz, Executive Director of the Global Seal of Biliteracy, for kicking off the 2026 Fall NDE World & Dual Language Education, Nebraska Language Association, and Chinese Language Teachers Association K-12 SIG Guest Speaker Series on August 19. Linda shared valuable data, resources, and ideas for strengthening connections between language education and career readiness.
🎥 Recording of Linda's session:
https://youtu.be/K5dilr_am-c?si=s6XplyT1ERrbFwb2
📆 Full schedule and speaker lineup:
https://tinyurl.com/ndeWLguestSeries
👉 Please sign up for the full series or any individual webinar(s) using this form:
https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/dDd4jM1B5Y
📺 YouTube Playlist for Webinar Recordings:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHrTsSDhQ6Zo&si=XWrUTix3BA5fQdL_
All webinar recordings will be posted within 7 to 10 business days after each webinar.
Upcoming Sessions
September 16 | 4:00-5:30 PM CT
Leslie Grahn
Mixing It Up!
October 10 | 10:00-11:30 AM CT
Joshua Cabral
Engaging Learners Through Purposeful Input and Output
October 14 | 4:00-5:30 PM CT
Nick Ziegler & Chrystal Liu
Unlocking Proficiency: Exploring Nebraska's 2026 World Language Standards
October 24 | 10:00-11:30 AM CT
Chrystal Liu & Hannah Paredes
Facilitating Proficiency Growth in AI-Enhanced Classrooms
We hope you will join us for these engaging professional learning opportunities designed to support language educators across Nebraska and beyond. As we begin planning the 2027 Spring Guest Speaker Series, we invite you to nominate yourself or a colleague to share innovative practices, research, successful programs, or classroom experiences that would benefit language educators across Nebraska and beyond. We look forward to learning from and with our outstanding language education community.
Expanding Language Access & Equity Across Nebraska
Educational Service Unit 5 is proud to support world language education across Nebraska. Currently serving roughly 10% of Nebraska public schools, our program provides live instruction via Distance Learning tailored directly to district bell schedules and academic calendars. Over the past 5 years, 98% of Spanish 2+ students have met or exceeded our proficiency goals and we have 25 of our students earn the NE Seal of Biliteracy.
Comprehensive Course Offerings
We continue to strengthen our core language pathways while introducing exciting new offerings through strategic national partnerships:
Our language pathways include Spanish (MS Exploratory, Spanish 1, Spanish 2, and Dual Credit 3/4 offered in partnership with Nebraska Wesleyan University) and French (French 1 and 2). We are also excited to introduce new offerings in American Sign Language 1 and Chinese 1, delivered in collaboration with Ohio's ECOESC program.
Program Highlights for World Language Educators
Program benefits include live synchronous instruction with real-time interactive learning, a standards-aligned curriculum structured around the 5 Cs, and eligibility for up to $2,000 per section in Nebraska state reimbursement funds.
For scheduling details, course registration, or partnership inquiries - contact Dr. Nick Ziegler | ESU 5 World Language Coordinator | nziegler@esu5.org
Featured Opportunity: IV Dual Language Institute
Luces del Medio Oeste
Join dual language educators, instructional leaders, and program administrators for the IV Dual Language Institute: Luces del Medio Oeste, a day dedicated to strengthening dual language education through collaboration, learning, and leadership.
📅 September 12, 2026
🕘 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. CST
📍 MILO Bail Student Center, Omaha, Nebraska
Whether you are launching a dual language program, expanding access, or refining instructional practices, this institute offers valuable opportunities to connect with colleagues and explore effective strategies that support multilingual learners.
🔗 Register Here:
https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=jZQU0qw3REylayoyZUfWWx9sTjLHyR1IgnHU2CqP5_pUQURXM0lMMVVCWEdFTkpQVU1IRjU0UklISS4u&route=shorturl
NEBLA Conference & Leadership Opportunities
Join world language educators from across Nebraska at the 2026 NEBLA Hybrid Conference on October 17, hosted at Millard South High School with a virtual attendance option. This year's keynote speaker is Dr. Linda Egnatz, Executive Director of the Global Seal of Biliteracy.
Registration is open, and proposal decisions will be announced soon. Accepted presenters will receive a discounted registration rate.
🔗 Conference Registration:
https://www.nebla.org/nebla-annual-conference/conference-registration
NEBLA is also accepting nominations through October 1 for three 2027 Executive Board positions: Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Consider nominating yourself or a colleague and help shape the future of world language education in Nebraska.
🔗 Board Position Information & Nominations
- Treasurer: https://www.nebla.org/about-us#h.hauxk4z0qgyk
- Secretary: https://www.nebla.org/about-us#h.53lj1zlxcz0
- Vice President: https://www.nebla.org/about-us#h.1mjrwxk7q75e
Professional learning strengthens our practice, expands our perspectives, and connects us with colleagues who share our passion for language education. We hope to see you at one or more of these opportunities in the coming year!
When essential questions become a tool for learning rather than simply a task for assessment
Essential questions are a hallmark of world language instruction. They frame our units, spark inquiry, and invite students to explore ideas that matter. Questions such as Why should people learn another language?, What makes a community thrive?, or What responsibilities do people have to others? challenge learners to think beyond vocabulary lists and grammar structures and engage with language as a vehicle for meaning.
Yet there is an instructional challenge hidden within every essential question.
While we spend considerable time designing meaningful questions, we often spend less time considering how students learn to answer them.
Too often, essential questions function as bookends. They are introduced at the beginning of a unit and revisited at the end as a speaking or writing task. In between, students learn new language, encounter cultural perspectives, and engage in communicative activities. However, they may have few opportunities to revisit the question itself and develop their thinking over time.
What if the essential question became more than a destination? What if it became part of the learning journey?
Consider the question What makes a good friend? At the beginning of the week, students share an initial response and set a personal communication goal. One student may want to add more detail to responses, while another focuses on supporting opinions with reasons, comparing perspectives, or connecting ideas more effectively.
A student's initial response may be brief and uncomplicated:
A good friend is kind.
At first glance, the answer may appear limited, but it provides something valuable: a starting point.
As students engage in discussions, examine examples, consider different viewpoints, and connect their learning to personal experiences, their responses begin to evolve.
What might that growth look like?
Day 1: Stating an Opinion
A good friend is kind.
Day 2: Adding a Reason
A good friend is kind because they help me when I have problems.
Day 3: Considering Complexity
A good friend is kind, but friends sometimes make mistakes.
Day 4: Exploring Perspectives
Different people may define friendship differently. Some people think loyalty is most important, while others value honesty.
Day 5: Synthesizing Ideas
A good friend is kind and trustworthy. Although friends sometimes make mistakes, they still support each other and are honest when it matters most. Different people value different qualities in friendship, but trust is the most important characteristic for me.
Notice how the language and thinking develop together. Students move from:
- Words and simple statements to connected sentences
- Opinions to reasons and evidence
- Single viewpoints to multiple perspectives
- Initial thinking to synthesized understanding
The question remains the same. The thinking grows.
Just as importantly, students return to the goal they set at the beginning of the week. By comparing their initial and final responses, they can identify evidence of growth and reflect on their progress as communicators.
Students might ask themselves:
- What can I express now that I could not express on Monday?
- How has my thinking changed?
- Did I achieve my communication goal?
- What is one goal I want to focus on next week?
This approach shifts the role of the essential question from a culminating task to a driver of learning. Rather than asking students to demonstrate what they know at the end of a unit, we create multiple opportunities for them to develop the knowledge, language, and perspectives needed to answer increasingly complex questions.
By the end of the week, students are able to do more than produce a final response. They can identify new language they used, explain how their thinking evolved, and recognize the progress they made toward their goals. The final response becomes more than an assessment; it becomes evidence of growth.
In proficiency-focused classrooms, this distinction matters. Our goal is not simply for students to answer essential questions. Our goal is to help students become increasingly capable of answering them with greater depth, stronger reasoning, and more sophisticated language.
Perhaps the most significant learning occurs when students realize that their first answer is not their final answer. Given time, support, and opportunities to revisit their thinking, they discover they have much more to say than they initially imagined.
And that may be the true power of an essential question: not the answer it elicits on the first day, but the growth it reveals by the last.
Never Let Poverty Become an Excuse to Neglect Education
Chinese Teacher, Omaha Westview High School
Omaha Public Schools | Grades 9-12 | 3rd Year of Teaching
"Never Let Poverty Become an Excuse to Neglect Education"
My name is Chen Zhang, and I teach Chinese to students in grades 9-12 at Omaha Westview High School. Although this is my third year as a classroom teacher, education has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.
I come from a family of educators. My grandparents, aunt, and many other relatives were teachers or school leaders. Growing up, I often heard our family motto: "Never let poverty become an excuse to neglect education." Those words shaped my belief that education has the power to change lives and create opportunities.
The experience that inspired me to become a teacher happened while I was pursuing my master's degree in China. A classmate shared his experience as a volunteer teacher in a remote mountain village. One family lived so far from the school that the children had to cross a river by zipline to attend classes. When the younger brother was kept home because the trip was considered too dangerous, my classmate repeatedly visited the family and encouraged the parents to let him attend school. He then accompanied both children across the river each day to ensure their safety. His dedication deeply moved me and strengthened my commitment to education.
Today, I bring that same belief into my classroom. I want students to learn more than vocabulary and grammar. Through language, history, culture, and authentic experiences, I hope they develop a deeper understanding of China and the world around them. I also believe every student learns differently, so I strive to support each student's individual needs and help them build confidence.
One student who will always stand out to me is Mia, now a student at the University of Nebraska Omaha. She loved learning Chinese so much that she never wanted to miss a moment of class. Knowing that a student felt that excited about learning reminded me how meaningful our work as teachers can be. Today, she continues to stay connected to Chinese culture by volunteering at community events and participating in cultural performances.
My students also look forward to our annual Dumpling Week before Winter Break. We learn about the traditions of Dongzhi (Winter Solstice) and the cultural significance of dumplings before making pan-fried dumplings together in class. For many students, it is their first experience preparing Chinese food, and it becomes one of their favorite memories.
One of my proudest moments as a teacher came when a student I had taught for three years earned First Place in the Advanced Chinese Poetry Recitation Competition at UNO's Language Fair. Watching her confidently recite a challenging classical Chinese poem demonstrated how much she had grown and reminded me why I chose this profession.
For those considering teaching, my advice is simple: believe in every student's potential and never stop learning yourself. A teacher's encouragement can make a lasting difference, and lifelong learning helps us continue growing alongside our students.
Outside of school, I enjoy playing the guzheng, a traditional Chinese instrument. Music provides another way to share Chinese culture and connect with students.
For me, teaching Chinese is about more than language. It is about building bridges between cultures, creating opportunities, and helping students discover new possibilities. As my family has always believed, the one kind of poverty we must never accept is poverty of education.
NDE World Language Education will continue to offer customized professional development opportunities to meet the unique needs of Nebraska Educational Service Units (ESUs) and school districts. Our comprehensive offerings for the 2026-2027 academic year encompass a variety of enriching themes. Please check the document for details or contact Chrystal Liu at chrystal.liu@nebraska.gov for questions.
Please check the 2026-2027 annual events for Nebraska World Language Education
for Nebraska World Language events. If you or your organization have events to share, please email Chrystal Liu (chrystal.liu@nebraska.gov) to add your events in the shared calendar.
Chrystal Liu, World & Dual Language Specialist, Nebraska Department of Education
Email: chrystal.liu@nebraska.gov
Website: https://www.education.ne.gov/worldlanguage/
Location: 500 S 84th St 2nd Floor, Lincoln, NE 68510
Phone: 402-430-8147
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NDE.WL
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nde_worldlanguage/
Please use this link to join our email list.