About us
Mission Statement
RUBilingual is an outreach community whose mission is to inform, educate, and provide specific strategies and resources to parents and educators to support literacy development across multiple languages.
Brief History
In October 2011, a group of five graduate students whose primary research involved bilingual populations asked the question: How can the academic community make the most recent investigations and established benefits of speaking more than one language accessible? It was in this moment the five founding members decided to create RUBilingual, an outreach community whose goal is to inform, educate, and provide specific strategies and resources to parents and educators that support literacy development in both languages. The founding members applied and received funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) in Spring 2012 to initiate workshops and forums in the New Brunswick area. Through this support, the organization held its first workshop on April 14th, 2014 for bilingual parents and children at the Rutgers graduate residential life housing.
Each semester, the RUBilingual team continues to grow and work directly with educators and parents across the state of New Jersey. In May 2015, RUBilingual also became one of the first U.S. branches of Bilingualism Matters, a European research network that disseminates information about multilingualism. Founded in 2008 with the aim of promoting the benefits of bilingualism by bridging the gap between science and society, Bilingualism Matters now counts with over a dozen offices throughout Europe and the United States. Its headquarters are located at the University of Edinburgh, directed by Dr. Antonella Sorace. More information can be found at http://www.bilingualism-matters.ppls.ed.ac.uk/us.
In Fall 2016, the RUBilingual team joined with graduate and undergraduate students at Rutgers Newark Campus to begin collaborating on events in North New Jersey.
In 2020, RUBilingual associates created a podcast to highlight various bilingual issues geared towards professionals, parents, and community leaders. Our RUBilingual associates are developing a series of episodes. For more information, please check out the RUBilingual Podcast tab.
In 2024, RUBilingual initiated a workshop series on Inclusive Teaching in the World Language Classroom, coordinated by the 2023-2024 Co-Director Gabriela Constantin-Dureci. This workshop series was conceived as a space for graduate students in World Language departments at Rutgers University to learn about inclusive pedagogy, to talk about their experiences as world language instructors, to share resources, and build community with one another.
For more information on our current associate members and events, please visit our Leadership Team and Events tabs.
Each semester, the RUBilingual team continues to grow and work directly with educators and parents across the state of New Jersey. In May 2015, RUBilingual also became one of the first U.S. branches of Bilingualism Matters, a European research network that disseminates information about multilingualism. Founded in 2008 with the aim of promoting the benefits of bilingualism by bridging the gap between science and society, Bilingualism Matters now counts with over a dozen offices throughout Europe and the United States. Its headquarters are located at the University of Edinburgh, directed by Dr. Antonella Sorace. More information can be found at http://www.bilingualism-matters.ppls.ed.ac.uk/us.
In Fall 2016, the RUBilingual team joined with graduate and undergraduate students at Rutgers Newark Campus to begin collaborating on events in North New Jersey.
In 2020, RUBilingual associates created a podcast to highlight various bilingual issues geared towards professionals, parents, and community leaders. Our RUBilingual associates are developing a series of episodes. For more information, please check out the RUBilingual Podcast tab.
In 2024, RUBilingual initiated a workshop series on Inclusive Teaching in the World Language Classroom, coordinated by the 2023-2024 Co-Director Gabriela Constantin-Dureci. This workshop series was conceived as a space for graduate students in World Language departments at Rutgers University to learn about inclusive pedagogy, to talk about their experiences as world language instructors, to share resources, and build community with one another.
For more information on our current associate members and events, please visit our Leadership Team and Events tabs.
