Advocate
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An interview with new Advocacy Chair, Mary Thrond
Congratulations, Mary, for your recent appointment as the NNELL Advocacy Chair. For some NNELL members who are just meeting you for the first time—could you please tell us briefly about your background, where you teach, and what you value most about being a NNELL member and leader?
Thank you. Let me begin by saying that being a part of NNELL has been one of the most positive moves I have made in my career. I heard of the amazing work being done over the years from Kathy Olson-Studler at MCTLC. She always made going to the NNELL Breakfast at conferences sound like the thing to do! Everyone at NNELL has been very open, inviting and encouraging. Kathleen Priceman corralled me at JNCL one year and asked, “Don’t you think that children deserve the opportunity to start learning languages at the youngest age possible?” Who could argue with that? While I teach in higher education, I recognize the need for our children to start learning languages as early as they are learning math skills. It takes years to learn a language.
Tell us briefly about your background, where you teach and why you do what you do?
I teach Spanish at North Dakota State University (NDSU) and have been advocating for languages since 2012 when I attended my first JNCL-NCLIS Language Advocacy Days in DC. I pride myself in teaching language by leading with culture. That has been reinforced in my years working with STARTALK Chinese student and teacher programs. My mentor, John Rassias of Dartmouth College, used to say, “When a language is learned, it is no longer foreign and when a culture is understood, it is no longer alien.” That inspires me as I believe that language learning engenders compassion and curiosity. My curriculum is based on the UN Goals of Sustainable Development. In the current political climate that discourages appreciation of diversity and fighting for social justice, my content sticks to the facts and empowers students to express themselves about what is important to them in the world in another language.
What are some priorities that you and the NNELL Advocacy Committee have for this upcoming school year 2025-26?
The NNELL Advocacy Committee has been one of the most effective committees I have ever served on. Under the leadership of Karen Sasky-Hughes, we have learned to listen to all voices and to narrow our focus each year. Our members range from a high school student to a retired language teacher. We teach Chinese, French, and Spanish and embrace technology. The priorities we have set for the coming year are:
- to hold a national infographic contest to promote early language learning;
- to review the NNELL website Advocacy page to ensure it is user-friendly;
- to build liaisons with other organizations, particularly of less commonly taught languages, to collaborate in our advocacy; and
- to revise the presentation we have been working on to advocate to the business and community stakeholders.
How can NNELL members be of help?
NNELL members can help by encouraging their students to participate in the infographic contest, sending us their success stories and ideas, and even join us on the committee. advocacy@NNELL.org
What advocacy suggestions do you have for NNELL members—so we are consistent in our message about the importance of Early Language Programs with supervisors, parents, colleagues, students, and the general public.
Engage, engage, engage!
Clearly, our most powerful advocacy tool is engaging with our students. Our passion for teaching is contagious. Keeping our students engaged motivates them to learn and use the language; their self-esteem soars. Engaging their parents at parent teacher conferences with their children’s work in the language builds enthusiasm for language learning. Engaging our colleagues and school boards garners support for our programs. Engaging the stakeholders of the business community by highlighting language learning in the media piques their interest and assures them that we are preparing our students for the world.
