Center for Bilingual/Multicultural Studies

A collection of interactive teaching strategies designed to engage bilingual learners, enhance comprehension, and promote language development in diverse classrooms.

• Anticipation Guide
• Chants/Poetry Frames
• Cinquain Poem
• Class Value Lines
• Cloning an Author
• Concept Attainment Strategy
• Cooperative Strip Paragraph
• Find Someone Who
• Fish Bowl
• Four Corners
• Inside-Outside Circle
• Jigsaw
• Kid Grid
• Numbered Heads Together
• Pictorial Input Chart
• Process Grid
• Say Something
• Sentence Patterning
• Talking Chips
• Think-Pair-Share
• Value Lines

The Biliteracy as a Resource: Investing in Literacy Across Languages for All (BRILLA) National Professional Development Grant was funded by the Office of English Language Acquisition within the United States Department of Education.

The $2,313,130 grant increases the pool of highly effective bilingual educators, and provides professional development for educators of the following Unified school districts:

• Hamilton
• Orland
• Williams
• Chico
• Redding

The BRILLA project focuses on the development and delivery of culturally sustaining literacy lessons and the skills to engage families in culturally and linguistically sustaining literacy activities. One hundred and ninety-eight proposals (198) were submitted and only fifty (50) were funded in this competition.

Community and Instruction for Expanding English Learners' Opportunities

California State University, Chico’s Center for Bilingual/Multicultural Studies in the School of Education has secured a $2,952,133 five-year grant from the United States Department of Education Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA). The Community and Instruction for Expanding English Learners’ Opportunities (CIELO) Project seeks to improve instructional practice and educational outcomes for English Learners within Dual Language Immersion Programs.

Our partnership with the Orland Unified School District will increase the pool of bilingual educators, provide tuition support for bilingual student teachers, develop culturally responsive lessons for Dual Immersion and English Language Development settings, increase the target language proficiency of educators, and increase bilingual pre-service educators’ family-community engagement knowledge and skills.

OELA received 269 grant applications from Institutions of Higher Education across the United States and funded 42 of these proposed projects. Of all 269 applications, the CIELO Project received the highest ranking:

• Proposed Funding Recommendations for National Professional Development Program for FY2017
• 2017 National Professional Development Grantee Applications

With receipt of this five-year grant (2017-2022), the Center will have a record of external funding from either federal or international sources for forty consecutive years (1982-2022).

2021 to 2026
The Biliteracy as a Resource: Investing in Literacy Across Languages for All (BRILLA) National Learning and Development Grant was funded by the Office of English Language Acquisition within the United States Department of Education National Learning and Development Program. The $2,313,130 grant increases the pool of highly effective bilingual educators and provides professional development for educators of the Hamilton, Orland, Williams, Chico, and Redding Unified School Districts. The BRILLA project focuses on the development and delivery of culturally sustaining literacy lessons and the skills to engage families in culturally and linguistically sustaining literacy activities. One hundred and ninety-eight proposals (198) were submitted, and only fifty (50) were funded in this competition.

2017 to 2022
The Community and Instruction for Expanding English Learners’ Opportunities (CIELO) Project is funded by the United States Department of Education National Learning and Development Program. The grant increases the pool of highly effective bilingual educators and forms a partnership with the Orland Unified School District to address professional development for CSU, Chico bilingual pre-service teachers and Orland Unified School District teachers. ($2,592,133)

2016 to 2020
Northeastern California Preparation and Retention for Indian Educators Grant (PRIE II) funded by the Office of Indian Education within the United States Department of Education. The grant provided a model for increasing the number of highly qualified American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN) teachers in rural regions of Northeastern California. ($1,103,000 approximate)

2010 to Present
Konkuk University Winter Exchange: Worked with 404 students from Konkuk University in the Republic of Korea for twelve separate intensive institutes (two in 2010, and one each year from 2011 through 2021). ($932,540 approximate)

1988 to 2016
Worked with 975 English teachers of the Chungcheongbuk Provincial Office of Education in the development of instructional strategies to develop the listening and speaking skills of their students for the twenty-eight institutes held from 1988 through 2016. ($2,600,000 approximate)

2012 to 2018
Collaborative Learning and Development Grant funded by the Office of English Language Acquisition within the United States Department of Education. The $1,948,513 grant provided a collaborative professional development model for bilingual secondary and elementary pre-service teachers and local in-service teachers to better serve Emergent Bilingual students (EBs) in their respective classrooms.

2001 to 2006
United States Department of Education Teaching Links Grant. The intent of the grant was to help two cohorts—paraprofessionals and recent high school graduates—become certified bilingual teachers. ($1,081,000 approximate)

2000 to 2005
Open Door Grant. This grant provided assistance for candidates during their Professional Preparation Program year. ($1,050,000 approximate)

1987 to 1993
Two separate Career Ladder Projects, each for a three-year duration, funded by the United States Department of Education, designed to assist paraprofessionals in Colusa County to become bilingual teachers. ($1,050,000 approximate)

1987 to 1990
Bilingual Special Educator Personnel Training Grant funded by the United States Department of Education. ($600,000 approximate)

1985 to 1997
Four separate Title VII Personnel Training Grants to prepare bilingual teachers funded by the United States Department of Education. ($3,000,000 approximate)

1985 to 1988
California Department of Education stipend support program for Bilingual Student Teachers. ($200,000 approximate)