The Portrait of a Graduate: Now That We Know What It Is, The Question Is: How Do We Get Our Students There?
By Dr. Marisol Marcin, Founder & CEO of Lenguas Club
New York State Portrait of a Graduate” image. New York State Education Department. (2025). https://www.nysed.gov/grad-measures/new-york-state-portrait-graduate
Global Citizenship
The development of global citizenship must be centered on human interaction; by leveraging the fact that youth already engage in conversation globally through social media, we can provide intentional strategies to expand their understanding and help them become true global citizens.
Language education is particularly well-suited to move past academic preparation and foster critical thinking, global understanding, problem-solving, and communication. We achieve this by enabling students to use the language in authentic contexts. Even simple exposure to international currency can bring forth all kinds of interesting conversations that spark the development of those traits.
While this is exciting, it is not enough. To build global citizenship, we need to invite real voices and real people into our classroom. This not only puts the language to the test, but also develops skills that emerge only through action.
Locally, this may mean contacting community members for conversations. If a diverse community is not accessible, the alternative is simple and powerful; use technology to connect with people in other places. Whether reaching out to a colleague for a virtual meeting or utilizing vetted programs like Lenguas Club, bringing external people in allows students to experience the language as real.
These interactions offer more than just language practice; they provide cultural moments, real-time problem-solving opportunities, and ultimately develop essential traits like curiosity, critical thinking, flexibility, and perspective. Such human connections are the building blocks of global citizenship.
It is time that human connections are intentionally made part of the curriculum.
Let’s discuss how we can bring authentic voices into language learning.
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References
- New York State Education Department. (2025). Portrait of a Graduate. https://www.nysed.gov/grad-measures/new-york-state-portrait-graduate