DesiLearn Project

The South Asian Languages K-12 Research Study is designed to document and describe all of the South Asian Language programs for children in the U.S. This will allow the South Asian language community to marshal and strengthen existing resources for the teaching of these languages. For more information, visit the website at http://nclrc.org/desilearn

Arabic K-12 Project

The NCLRC Arabic K-12 Project is for teachers, administrators, foreign language professionals, researchers, parents and anyone interested in the teaching of Arabic K-12 in the U.S. See more information on this project. For the latest list of teacher and student resources, updated weekly, see our Arabic News page.

Critical Languages News

May 2010

• Asia Society Partnership for Global Learning Annual Conference, July 8 - 10, 2010 at the Hilton Washington D.C./Rockville Hotel & Executive Meeting Center
  
  
• Summer Intensive Language School at Beloit College, The Center for Language Studies (CLS) is a summer intensive language program offering courses in Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Russian.Four- or eight-week courses immerse students in the language of their choice with high-level instruction and quality resources located in Wisconsin's first college, Beloit College. Applications are still being accepted for summer 2010.
  
  
• Landon-in-China: A Six-week Cultural and Linguistic Immersion Program, The co-educational "Landon-in-China" program is built upon the long relationship between the Landon School (Bethesda, MD) and its sister schools in China. The full program is open to students in grades 9 through 12 and will take place in two stages from July 4 to August 15, 2010. Stage I: Cultural Tour of China (July 4-July 18, 2010) Stage II: Language Immersion in Beijing, Chengdu and Shanghai (July 17-Aug. 15, 2010) No prior knowledge of Chinese is required. Parents of participating students are welcome to join for the first two weeks of the travel portion of the program. For more information, please visit the website or contact Dr. Dali Tan at 301-320-1107full program is open to students in grades 9 through 12 and will take place in two stages from July 4 to August 15, 2010.

April 2010

The NCLRC Arabic K-12 Survey: Positive Trends in the Professional Development of Arabic Teachers
by Michael Greer and Dora Johnson
(this article is in press with the Newsletter of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages)

The U.S. has witnessed a substantial increase of schools teaching Arabic over the last decade. Since 2003, the Arabic K-12 Project of the National Capital Language Resource Center has conducted a national survey of public and private K-12 schools teaching Arabic as a core course. The purpose of the Arabic K-12 survey is to collect and maintain data on all U.S. K-12 schools which give credit for Arabic language study. As a result, we are able to report on the rapidly increasing growth of K-12 Arabic language instruction, determine the greatest needs of Arabic teachers, and facilitate dialogue on how to further professionalize the field of Arabic language teaching.

This article highlights some of the positive trends we are witnessing in the professional development of Arabic teachers by comparing our earliest survey data on teachers’ professional development from 2007 with our latest from 2009. Our survey database contains data from 2006 onward. In that year, we identified and attempted to survey 84 schools. Each year we have identified new schools and attempted to survey as many of them as possible. 2009 has been the most comprehensive survey year to date. We identified 313 schools currently teaching Arabic for credit in 40 states, reaching a conservative estimate of 47,000 students. Of these 313 schools, we completed at least a portion of the survey with 176 (meaning, we learned more detailed information about that program than what can be determined from looking at their website).

School Data
The pie graph below illustrates the portion that different school types make up of the overall number of schools teaching Arabic. Most private schools are Islamic schools teaching Arabic at the elementary and middle school levels, while most public schools are teaching Arabic at the high school level.

The survey itself consists of 38 closed and open ended questions divided into five sections: Contact Data, School Data, Program Data, Student Data, and Teacher Data. We ask four questions about teacher development.

The first question asks, “Does your school provide professional development opportunities to Arabic teachers?” In 2007, two thirds of private school teachers responded “no” to that question. However, two years later in 2009, over half of private teachers interviewed reported “yes,” indicating that private schools have made positive progress in offering professional development to their teachers.

Second, we asked teachers, “Does your school provide an Arabic curriculum to teachers?” In 2007, we found that the number of schools that did not provide curriculum to teachers was twice as high as the number of schools that did. But now, two years later, we found the reverse to be true. Almost twice as many private schools provide a curriculum for their teachers than those that do not.

The third question in this study asks, “Are teachers at your school certified to teach in the U.S.?” This question revealed that most public school teachers are certified while most private school teachers are not. An encouraging development over the last two years is that while not a single private school teacher reported certification in 2007, two years later, sixteen private school teachers reported certification. This difference may be due to the number of states that have developed alternate certification for Arabic language teachers that did not exist earlier.

Fourth, we asked teachers if they were aware of the Standards for Learning Arabic K-16 (National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project. Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century, 3rd ed. Allen Press, Inc, 2006.) While we have consistently found that large numbers of private school teachers are unaware of the Standards, it has been encouraging that in our 2009 survey a greater proportion of both public and private teachers reported awareness of the Standards. Fortunately, our survey allows us the opportunity to inform teachers about the Standards if they desire.

In conclusion, the increases in the professional development of Arabic teachers is promising to the field. However, such success does not imply that the Arabic teaching field has “arrived.” While we have come a long way, we must also heed our findings from other survey questions that Arabic teachers are still desperate for supplemental materials, training workshops, textbooks, and curriculum. As Arabic teachers across the country continue to come together to meet these challenges, we look forward to researching and reporting these ongoing trends through the Arabic K-12 Survey.

The survey results and a full listing of schools can be found on our website at: arabick12.org/schools.html

April Announcements

• STARTALK Summer 2010 Programs for students and teachers are now available in Arabic, Chinese, Dari, Hindi, Persian, Russian, Swahili, Turkish, and Urdu.

• The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles announced a LIMITED-TIME support program titled "SPECIAL SALARY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FOR JAPANESE-LANGUAGE COURSES." This is specially designed to support Japanese-language programs in the U.S. that are facing SEVERE FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES in MAINTAINING/SURVIVING (in other words, programs that are in DANGER of BEING CUT, or SIGNIFICANTLY CUT BACK) due to the institution’s budget cuts resulting from the current US economic decline.

This special grant also targets Japanese-language programs that will be NEWLY CREATED during the 2010-2011 school year, and need financial assistance due to the economic crisis.

APPLICATION DEADLINES: (1) 1st Deadline: April 15, 2010 (2) 2nd Deadline: May 31, 2010
NOTE: If your Japanese program is planning to increase the number of courses (in the case of expansion of the program) and in need of financial assistance, please apply for our "Grant Program for Japanese Language Courses." (Deadline: April 1, 2010)

• Asia Society's Confucius Classrooms will form a national network of 100 exemplary Chinese language programs over a three-year period (2009-2011). With the generous support of Hanban/Confucius Institute Headquarters, we will be providing schools with financial and professional support that encourages Confucius Classrooms to implement innovative Chinese language instruction, substantive partnership with schools in China, and serve as role models for the region.

Advantages of participating in the Confucius Classrooms Network (see RFP document for details):
• Support for partnership with a school in China
• Seed grant of $10,000, renewable based on proposal for up to 3 years
• Partial funding support for a new local Chinese language teacher
• Scholarship/stipends for students, teachers and administrators to attend summer camp and professional development in China
• Guest teacher(s) to start or expand Chinese language classes or provide cultural enrichment activities
• Professional development with other high-quality programs from across the nation
• Organizational membership in Asia Society's Partnership for Global Learning (www.asiasociety.org/pgl)
• Participate in Confucius Classrooms Network Conference and the National Chinese Language Conference
• Complimentary materials and courseware, including books, audio-visual, and multimedia materials

Deadline: All applications materials are due 9 PM ET, Monday June 7, 2010.

Who Is Eligible: We welcome applications from schools and districts of all types, from all grade levels, geographic backgrounds, and student profiles, as well as all levels of Chinese courses on offer. Although we use the word "Classroom," a "Confucius Classroom" is generally an individual school or a small group of schools within a district that can encompass more than one "classroom" or teacher.

Note: Your local Confucius Institute may also offer opportunities for becoming a "Confucius Classroom." Please note that the application materials and application process for these programs is distinct from those for the Hanban - Asia Society Confucius Classrooms Network. If you would like to explore the option of becoming a Confucius Classroom through your local Confucius Institute, please contact them directly about their guidelines and application procedures.

• The Confucius Institute @ China Institute (CI@CI) registration for its “Mandarin for Future Mandarin Teachers” (MFMT) summer 2010 program is now open. CI@CI, created in 2006 by China Institute in partnership with East China Normal University (ECNU), is a leading provider of pedagogy and methodology training in teaching Mandarin Chinese. CI@CI’s MFMT program is designed to meet the needs of pre-service or in-service teachers who are interested in teaching Mandarin Chinese in the United States, particularly in pK-12 schools, and who are proficient in both spoken and written Mandarin and English. The MFMT program offers:
  
  • A scholarship-subsidized (tuition and accommodation in Shanghai are fully covered) six-week summer professional development program based in Shanghai, China, designed in reference to the New York State Education Department (NYSED) certification requirements, with graduate-level credits offered by ECNU;
  • A series of New York City-based workshops throughout the academic year on critical topics of pedagogy or methodology;
  • A dynamic community of pK-12 educators who share best practices, ideas, and resources via www.China360online.org, an online community for educators interested in a multi-disciplinary approach to China and the Chinese language and culture.
  Application Deadline: April 16th
  

• Middlebury-Monterey Language Academy (MMLA) Middlebury College has recently created a program that draws upon its almost 100 years of experience in operating the summer Language Schools as well as the foreign-language pedagogy expertise of its affiliate, the Monterey Institute of International Studies. MMLA is a four-week summer immersion program in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, and Spanish and provides students in grades 8 through 12 with access to a college-like, foreign-language immersion experience.
  
  In addition to offering these programs in foreign languages to your students, MMLA is also looking for qualified teachers and residential-life staff to work at our sites this summer. The 2010 Academy takes place from June 27–July 24, 2010, at three locations:
  GREEN MOUNTAIN COLLEGE Poultney, VT Languages: Chinese, French, German, or Spanish
  OBERLIN COLLEGE Oberlin, OH Languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, or Spanish
  POMONA COLLEGE Claremont, CA Languages: Chinese, French, or Spanish
  
  
  
• The Council of Teachers of Southeast Asian Languages (COTSEAL) and the Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute (SEASSI) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison sponsor the 20th Annual Conference on Southeast Asian Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics on Friday, July 16th, and Saturday, July 17th, 2010 in the Humanities Building, University of Wisconsin-Madison. The theme for the conference is "Teaching & Learning: Making Connections.
  
  Papers and presentations about language teaching, approaches, and materials development relevant to Southeast Asian languages and cultures are welcome. Each presentation should take no more than thirty minutes (20 minutes for presentation and 10 minutes for questions and discussion).
  
  Abstract Deadline: May 15, 2010. Notification of Acceptance: June 1, 2010
  
  Please submit a one-page abstract (8.5"x11", or A4) which should include the title, a brief description of not more than 100 words, and your address, phone, fax, and e-mail.
  
  1) By e-mail: Send an email attachment (Microsoft Word) of your abstract /proposal to: Lopao Vang & Bac Hoai Tran
  
  2) By postal mail/fax: Send your hard copy to: Lopao Vang, Center for Southeast Asian Studies-SEASSI, 207 Ingraham Hall, 1155 Observatory Drive, Madison, WI 53706 U.S.A., Fax: (608) 263-3735 (The fax cover page should have Lopao Vang’s name on it.)
  
  
  

March 2010

The National Capital Language Resource Center (NCLRC) in Washington, D.C. has proudly launched DesiLearn, a South Asian Languages K-12 Initiative. The three-year federal grant will describe all of the South Asian Language programs for school-age students in the United States. This is a truly historic moment, since no other projects focusing solely on South Asian K-12 education have been funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

NCLRC’s project will allow the South Asian language community to marshal and strengthen existing resources for the teaching of Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Marathi, Malayalam, Nepali, Panjabi, Sinhala, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. Through a comprehensive survey, the research will identify currently used resources and areas of need, and is designed to answer the following questions:

(1) What is the current state of South Asian language education for K-12 school-aged students in the U.S.?

(2) What do teachers and administrators involved in these programs report as the needs of their programs?

As you know, school-age education for all South Asian languages in the U.S. presents a clear case of the challenges that the United States faces in building South Asian language expertise to meet economic and national security challenges of the 21st century. Through this endeavor, the South Asian language teaching field, heritage communities, and policymakers have the unique opportunity to synergize efforts and stimulate national interest for building capacity in these critical languages. This is highly important because the investments we make now, together as a community, will only strengthen interest for public school programs (including after school and summer initiatives), promote standards-based curricula and resources within the heritage communities around the country, explore solutions for teacher certification and professional development, and establish the first nationwide network for K-12 South Asian language educators.

The success of this study relies greatly on the relationships and support of all communities, as you are on the frontlines of students, teachers, and parents. If you are aware of K-12 language programs and initiatives – academic and non-academic – please contact Mr. Anup P. Mahajan (Project Director, anup.mahajan@nclrc.org ) and Ms. Candice Michalowicz (Associate Project Director, cmichalowicz@nclrc.org ) at 202-731-0579.

March Announcements

• The Advanced Critical Languages Institute for Russian Immersion is a Russian immersion program held in Astrakhan, Russia. The program is 7 weeks long and runs from June 17-August 3, 2010. Students will stay with a host family while taking classes in Russian. The deadline to apply is March 31, 2010.
  
  
• The Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is pleased to announce a hands-on workshop on content-community based instruction on Saturday, April 10, 2010. This one-day workshop will be led by Professor Chikamatsu of DePaul University, and it includes lectures by Professor Miyamoto of DePaul University and Professor Kuriyama of Indiana University. It will focus on strategies and processes for content-community based instruction in various K-16 Japanese language classroom settings.
  
  
• The College Board is pleased to announce upcoming professional development opportunities for teachers of Chinese language and culture. Apply today for a scholarship to attend a College Board Pre-AP® or AP® Chinese Summer Institute in China. The program will include a five-day institute led by College Board AP consultants, lectures on topics in Chinese culture and language, and special cultural activities and outings. Institutes are hosted at universities in China and sponsored by Hanban/Confucius Institute Headquarters. This is a great opportunity for current and prospective teachers of AP Chinese! Application Deadline: March 29, 2010

• CASLS' My China Village: Virtual worlds like Second Life have the potential to increase students’ proficiency as they interact with native speakers and other learners. CASLS’ MyChina Village created an online language immersion camp where students and native-speakers explored environmental issues while using only Chinese. Learn more about the camp activities and how the center facilitated language learning. Use the camp activities as a guide to create your own online language experience for students.
  
  
• CARLA: Stipends for LCTLs Teachers
  To support the professional development of Less Commonly Taught Language (LCTL) teachers, the University of Minnesota's National Resource Centers offer a limited number of $600 stipends for LCTL teachers to help defray the cost of attending any of the CARLA summer institutes. The University NRCs––the Consortium for the Study of the Asias (CSA), the European Studies Consortium (ESC) and the Institute for Global Studies (IGS)––are funded by the U.S. Department of Education and generously sponsor this program as part of their mission to support LCTL teachers. Applications are due by April 9, 2010. Application guidelines are available at the following links: European LCTL teachers, Asian LCTL teachers,All other LCTL teachers.
  
  
• Indiana University's 60th Summer Workshop in Slavic, East European, and Central Asian Languages will take place June 18th - August 13th, 2010.
   
  ALL participants pay IN-STATE TUITION.
  Foreign Language Area Studies Awards
  Now available for undergraduate students of 3rd year plus Russian and 2nd year Ukrainian
  Available for all languages
  Title VIII funding
   
  Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Macedonian, Polish, and Romanian are ACLS-funded and TUITION-FREE for graduate students.
   
  Deadline for the first round of fellowship awards is March 22, 2010.
   
  2010 Languages: Russian (1st through 6th years), Arabic (1st), Azerbaijani (1st & 2nd), Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian (1st), Czech (1st), Dari (1st & 3rd), Georgian (1st), Hungarian (1st), Kazakh (1st & 2nd), Macedonian (1st), Mongolian (1st & 2nd), Pashto (1st and 2nd), Polish (1st), Romanian (1st), Tajik (1st through 3rd), Turkmen (1st & 2nd), Ukrainian (2nd), Uyghur (1st through 3rd), Uzbek (1st & 2nd), Yiddish (1st)
   
  Application
   
  For more information contact:
   
  Adam Julian
  Ballantine Hall 502
  Indiana University
  Bloomington, IN 47405
  812-855-2608
  swseel@indiana.edu
  
  
• 10 day Chinese Immersion Workshop hosted by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Nebraska Department of Education will be held in Lincoln, Nebraska. This Immersion is open to 25 teachers of Chinese (K-12) and will focus on professional development in language teaching, integration of technology (specifcally Web 2.0), instructional planning (focused on goal setting, backward design, classroom application of standards) and more. A stipend of $500 will be provided to those who apply and are accepted. All housing, meals, instructional materials are provided as well as the use of a laptop for the duration of the Immersion. Deadline: March 25, 2010.
  
  

February 2010

Using Technology to Make Professional Development Effective and Cost-Effective:
The JOINT Online Course Program for Japanese Language Teachers
by Takeshi Sengiku (Gettysburg College), EikoUshida (University of California, San Diego), Yasu-Hiko Tohsaku (UCSD; JOINT Project Director), and Susan Schmidt (AATJ)

JOINT (Japanese On-line Instruction Network for Teachers) is a program of online instruction and training specifically designed for the professional development of Japanese language teachers currently working in schools and colleges in the United States. The program, which takes advantage of readily available and free or low-cost cloud computing and Web 2.0 technologies, was developed and is offered by the Alliance of Associations of Teachers of Japanese (AATJ).

Courses in the JOINT program typically take place over a 6-week period which includes a technology orientation and extra time for project work. The courses are a mix of working on one’s own and interacting in pairs and with the group in real-time online video conferencing. Participants work on assigned readings and lectures independently and also engage in collaborative learning, working on projects in pairs or small groups that include both native and non-native-speaking teachers.

Assignments and evaluations are individualized to accommodate the differing needs of the participants. The number of participants is kept to a maximum of 16 in order to ensure that each participant can receive close attention from the instructors, who are experts in both Japanese language teaching and the specific content of the topic in the course.

Content Based Instruction Course
The first JOINT course, Content Based Instruction, was developed by two college-level teachers and one technology specialist and first offered in September 2008. Based on what we learned while offering this course and feedback from the participants, we redesigned and offered it a second time in January 2009.

Both instructors had experience in teaching Japanese language and culture at the advanced level. They agreed to design this course to resemble a face-to-face workshop as much as possible, focusing on hands-on materials development. Additionally, a careful effort was made to maintain the academic standard of a graduate-level course.

The principle of backward design was used to develop the curriculum of this course. First, two main goals were identified: to give Japanese language teachers professional development and resources that could help them to create content-based instruction (CBI) lessons; and to enhance the language proficiency of non-native Japanese-speaking teachers who aim to develop advanced reading skills and content or cultural knowledge in their students. Next, assessment tools and evaluation criteria were determined, followed by topic selection and development of teaching materials. To achieve the second goal, most teaching materials were developed in both English and Japanese, providing comprehensible input. It was hoped that non-native Japanese teachers would directly experience the CBI approach, in which they would learn about CBI in Japanese and improve their overall Japanese proficiency.

Other courses which have been or are being developed and have been or will be offered in 2009, 2010, and 2011, include a course for teachers of advanced-level Japanese language and culture course in high schools; a course on reading strategies and skills for teaching reading (aimed at non-native-speaking teachers); Basics of Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language (for entry-level teachers); Teaching Business Japanese; Using technology in the Foreign Language Classroom; and Assessment Issues in Japanese Language Education.

Project History and Technology Outline
A program of online courses for Japanese teachers was first discussed and tested in the 1990s, but progress was doomed by the cost of developing or adapting the type of courseware that was in use at that time for online instruction/distance learning.

In 2007, an AATJ task force, with the help of the Japan Foundation, re-focused on online professional development. This time period coincided with the infusion of free services available through cloud computing and Web 2.0 technologies. A professional organization such as AATJ, which does not have access to web-based course management systems (e.g., Blackboard, WebCT, etc.) provided by universities and colleges and the funding to develop its own course management systems and manage its own server around the clock, now can offer an online course almost free of charge.

Considering the financial, pedagogical, and technological issues involved in the curriculum design and needs, we decided to conduct the JOINT course with the combination of Google Apps, Google Groups, and Skype (adding Adobe Connect Pro for the second CBI course offering and beyond). Google Apps was used as the main application to administer the users and control other applications. Google Apps offers nonprofit organizations the ability to obtain an organization-specific domain free of charge, and they are able to use various applications within the domain. The applications under the Google Apps domain include Google Sites to create a website, Google Docs to create, share, and collaborate on documents, Google Calendar to provide a schedule, and Google Video to share videos. Within a Google Apps domain, administrators can control the sharing settings to determine who can see the specific content as a viewer or edit the content as a collaborator.

General Information on JOINT Program
Costs to participants are low, ranging from $50 to $100 per course. Two or 3 units of graduate credit from the University of Colorado are available to participants who wish to earn credit, at an additional cost to the participant of $50 - $60 per credit. Certificates of course completion are given to all participants by AATJ.

Before the start of the course, participants need to be familiar with basic Internet features such as looking for information, reading online materials, downloading materials, sending and receiving emails, and online chatting. Experience with using Skype (voice and/or webcam) and a collaborative writing tool such as Google Docs or wiki are a plus. A fast Internet connection (Ethernet or wireless) is needed to participate in online discussions and work on various activities. Participants who do not have a webcam and microphone built into their computers need to purchase one for course participation.

Information on the JOINT program and the specific courses that are offered can be found online at http://www.aatj.org/joint/index.html

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February Announcements

• Intensive Summer Language Institutes
  ISLI, supported by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, is a program that strengthens foreign language instruction in critical languages at U.S. schools by providing U.S. teachers of Arabic, Chinese, and Russian with the opportunity to study these languages at the intermediate and advanced level in Egypt, China, and Russia, respectively, for six weeks during the summer. The program is open to current U.S. K-12 teachers as well as community college instructors of Arabic, Chinese, and Russian who are non-native speakers of the target language. It is also open to students enrolled in education programs intending to teach these languages. Applications to study for 6 weeks in the summer of 2010 are due March 1, 2010.
  
  
• Educational Seminars
  American Councils administers the U.S. Department of State's Educational Seminars which provide opportunities for teachers and principals to participate in fully funded, short-term, and summer-based educational exchanges to eight countries across three continents. While abroad, participants shadow their international peers' schedules, network with educational leaders in the country, and develop joint classroom projects and school partnerships supportable through the program's grant funds. Applications for principals to participate in programs in Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Jordan, or Uruguay, are due March 12, 2010
  
  
• The University of Arizona Critical Languages Program and the UA Computer Assisted Language Instruction Group are pleased to announce "Critical Languages Series Online" which is based on our published series of CD-ROM and DVD-ROM courseware for less commonly taught languages, including: Brazilian Portuguese, Cantonese, Korean, Kurdish (Kurmanji), Turkish (Levels 1,2,3), and Ukrainian (Levels 1,2).
  
  Critical Languages Series Online can be used by independent learners studying at home, but is also designed for use by students in a classroom environment (traditional or modified self-instructional). The materials for each title include:
  
  *Video dialogs and readings performed by native speakers *Thousands of on-demand native speaker audio recordings and translations *Extensive cultural and grammatical footnotes and lessons *Multiple choice, listening dictation, fill-in-the-blank exercises *Searchable audio glossary *Downloadable MP3s for learning on-the-go
  
  You get a suite of lessons, comprehensive multimedia integration, grammar and cultural notes, and exercises that provide the equivalent of a full year college course's textbook, workbook, plus audio and video. Subscriptions are
  $79.95 for 6 months. Compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux. Requires a high-speed internet connection.
  
  
• The Critical Languages Institute at Arizona State University is also offering intensive summer courses and summer study abroad programs for 11 languages: Albanian, Armenian, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Hebrew, Macedonian, Persian, Polish, Russian, Uzbek, Tatar, Yiddish.
  
  Most CLI courses run 8 weeks in Arizona followed by an optional 3 weeksin country. Students receive 8-10 semester credits and can expect tomake progress equivalent to 2 semesters' of regular language study.
  
  CLI programs are tuition free and are FLAS eligible. CLI offers scholarships for selected languages. Please note: class size is limited, and admission is competitive.
  
  Application deadline is March 1.
  
  
• Teachers of Critical Languages Program
  TCLP, a program of the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, seeks to develop Chinese and Arabic programs in K-12 schools throughout the United States, bringing EFL teachers from China and Egypt and placing them in US schools for an academic year where they teach Mandarin or Arabic language and culture. TCLP provides teachers' salaries, health care, r/t airfare, training, professional development funds, and on-going program support. Additionally, host schools receive access to $5,000 grant opportunities to support language learning projects, and their designated mentors receive monthly honoraria as well. Applications to host an exchange teacher in the 2010-11 school year, are due on February12, 2010.
  

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January 2010

Teaching Arabic Online: A New Frontier  
by Sanaa Jouejati

While much of the nation grapples with how to implement critical language instruction in the K-12 classroom, North Carolina has become one of the first states to offer critical languages to high school students online. A collaboration between the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, the NC Department of Public Instruction, the NC General Assembly, and the NC Virtual Public School, LearnNC piloted the project Arabic Online in fall 2009, providing Level 1 Arabic instruction to high school students across the state.

Currently there are two sections in Arabic I and the first Arabic II course is starting in spring 2010. LearnNC plans to expand the program to include Arabic II, Arabic III, AP Arabic, and so on.  The aim of Arabic Online is to give high school students a head start in conversational Modern Standard Arabic (MSA).

Planning the Course
Preparations for the Arabic program took more than two years.  When planning began in 2007, not only did funds need to be secured, but designers, developers, and teachers for the course also had to be selected. As the course developer I began meeting with administrators in fall 2008. They conveyed to me that the course must be designed following the ACTFL proficiency guidelines.

Constructing an online Arabic class from scratch is not an easy task; it took a lot of thinking, planning and support. It took time to shift my thinking from the face to face interactions of a traditional classroom setting where the teacher and students are all in the same time and place to a new paradigm in the virtual world. The virtual world requires a new way of thinking about time and space, including the need to consider different issues such as asynchronous learning and the distant physical connection between students and teachers. It is indeed a unique shift for teachers, especially language teachers.

Developing the Skills
Computer skills are a crucial part of teaching online. I had some computer skills which made things easier: knowledge of how to navigate through the web, new programs, and Microsoft office. A solid foundation in these skills helped with my willingness and eagerness to learn more and become proficient in handling the web 2.0 tools. Another aspect of training is taking online classes for teaching online.

Receiving professional development and training in online instruction and software was important to the success of the course. It began with an initial meeting in Raleigh, North Carolina and a Blackboard orientation. Blackboard is the software that I use to provide instruction to my students and communicate with them. I also attended a LinguaFolio training workshop which was conducted during the Foreign Language Association of North Carolina’s annual conference in Winston-Salem. These trainings not only developed my technology skills, but also gave me the opportunity to meet other teachers and build my network of support for the online teaching experience. Once I completed the trainings, the development of the online Arabic course took about a year.

Qualities of a Successful Online Teacher
In addition to everything it takes to be a successful teacher in a traditional classroom setting, teaching online requires the teacher to possess new qualities and attributes while also performing new tasks. Teaching online requires the teacher to be a facilitator, a great communicator, a problem solver, a diplomat, a constant motivator, knowledgeable of current technology, a resource for online support, a proficient manager and, most importantly, a sincere friend. 

One might say that this is all necessary in a regular classroom! However, online teaching is different: you have to work with and get to know students you have never seen before and your physical connection with them is extremely limited. It is indeed very different. The expert teacher is aware of these differences all the time and is constantly working to build trust within the online classroom community which, usually, all students need to have with their teacher.

Each lesson should be structured in a way that meets the different students’ learning styles. There are many components to consider in online teaching, including listening to the target language, viewing movie clips or written documents, creating lively and engaging online discussions, using technology, and the working inside a specific application component to mention a few. All that while keeping in mind the skills that need to be addressed in every foreign language class: reading, writing, listening and speaking.  One has to pay special attention to teaching and learning about Arabic Culture since it is the most integral part of learning the Arabic language.

Thinking about the Student
With a class of no more than twenty students, there are many of the usual issues that need to be addressed: there should be a syllabus; a schedule to be followed, deadlines for assignments and tests, a certain time limit for the teacher to get back to students with answers to their questions, a way to arrange online meetings with students, attendance at online meetings with the department and/or the supervisor(s). Most importantly, the teacher needs to be aware of the need to continuously review, fix, and update the course in order to meet the needs of the students.

The article Why Do Students Like Online Learning? by Stephanie Coleman  denotes a variety of reasons why students are interested in and benefit from online learning:
· the student-centered teaching approach, 
· accessibility 24 hours a day 7 days a week,  
· increased opportunities for student interaction,
· exposure to practical knowledge,
· ability to learn new technology skills
· much less intimidating,
· increased bonding and camaraderie,
· instructors are more approachable,
· a broad spectrum of content is covered,
· everyone gets a chance to contribute,
· opportunities for teamwork and collaboration

Final Reflections
Every day there is a new experience to be learned from the virtual class. Teaching Arabic online gives me a sense of broader horizons. It gives an insight into making learning Arabic possible and more accessible to students who, as I mentioned earlier, without this online class might never have had the chance to learn Arabic or become familiar with the Arab world.          

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The Arabic K-12 Network will be presenting the latest survey results at the following upcoming conferences:

• 54th Annual Conference of the Comparative and International Education Society in Chicago on March 1st, 2010 from 8:00-9:30am
  Presentation: "Arabic in the U.S. Classroom: Survey of Schools Teaching Arabic as a Core Course"
  
• Georgetown University Round Table 2010 on Arabic Language and Linguistics in Washington, DC March 12-14, 2010
  Presentation: "The State of Teaching Arabic K-12 in the U.S.: 'We've come a long way, habibi!'"

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December 2009

2010 Teachers of Critical Languages Program
Applications for K-12 schools in the U.S. to host a Chinese or Arabic exchange teacher in the 2010 Teachers of Critical Languages Program are now available. Deadline: February 1, 2010.

The Teachers of Critical Languages Program, a program of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, is designed to expand schools’ abilities to teach Chinese and Arabic, placing experienced EFL teachers from China and Egypt in American K-12 schools for an academic year where they teach Mandarin or Arabic language and culture.
* US elementary or secondary schools, both public and private, may apply
* Applications are due February 1, 2010.
* TCLP provides broad-based integrated support:

For exchange teachers
* round-trip airfare,
* ~$30,000 to support living expenses
* J-1 visa support
* health insurance
* professional development funds
* Pre-departure orientation in Beijing and Cairo
* 2-week Orientation and methodological practicum
* professional development workshops in November and May

For host schools
* $5,000 grant opportunities for language-learning projects
* monthly honoraria for school-designated mentors
* in-person site visits by TCLP staff
* on-going support from experienced staff  

Integrating Language Learning Strategies Instruction into a Standards-based Japanese-language Curriculum

presented by

Dr. Jill Robbins
Associate Director of the National Capital Language Resource Center

K-12 Gateway to the Less Commonly Taught Languages
The UCLA Language Materials Project (LMP) is proud to announce the completion of the lesson plan component of its stimulating new site for elementary and secondary foreign language teachers, the K-12 Gateway to the Less Commonly Taught Languages. The core of the Gateway is a complete set of downloadable lesson plans and supplementary materials for teaching a first year language course. Written in English, the plans can be adapted to any language and grade level.      

The lessons were created by Florence Martin of California State University Long Beach, who has taught languages at all levels from kindergarten through college, and speaks two Less Commonly Taught Languages. Over 100 lessons are grouped into 20 thematic units packed with stimulating activities for communicative learning.

Pilot-tested by K-12 teachers from Anchorage to Virginia, the Gateway offers easy navigation to a wealth of information. Beyond the lessons, there is a component on curriculum design, standards, and proficiency-based teaching. A resource section offers links to Language Resource Centers, teachers’ associations and forums, curriculum and assessment guides, journals, and professional development opportunities.

The K-12 Gateway resides within the established Language Materials Project website. Gateway visitors are only a click away from the language profiles and authoritative bibliography of teaching materials for which the LMP has been known since 1992. The bibliography has been augmented with detailed citations of several hundred items for younger audiences.

The recent increase of federal interest in foreign languages has kindled a language renaissance in K-12 schools across the nation. The number of classes for such less-commonly taught languages as Arabic, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, and Russian has increased substantially even in the primary grades. But the range of textbooks and classroom materials available for learners below college level is limited. Teachers are also confronted by a lack of curricula or state standards to follow. The K-12 Gateway responds to those needs.

The Gateway was created with support from the US Department of Education’s Title VI, International Research and Studies program.

We invite you to visit the K-12 Gateway and send us your suggestions for enhancing the site.

The South Asia Institute at University of Texas at Austin is organizing a two day workshop for Tamil instructors to draw common strategies in teaching spoken Tamil. Date: March 12-13, 2010. Click here for more information.

College Board’s Chinese Guest Teacher Program for K-12 Schools
Priority Application Deadline: February 1, 2010
Final Application Deadline: February 15, 2010

Looking to launch or expand a Chinese language and culture program in your K-12 school or district? Apply now to host a visiting Chinese teacher for the 2010-11 school year! Now in its fourth year, the Chinese Guest Teacher Program is the largest K-12 Chinese guest teacher program in the U.S., and has brought more than 300 Chinese teachers to U.S. schools to teach language and culture. The program is sponsored by Hanban/Confucius Institute Headquarters, in partnership with the College Board and National Council of State Supervisors for Languages (NCSSFL).

The Chinese Guest Teacher Program represents a unique opportunity for students and communities to learn about Chinese language and authentic Chinese culture. The guest teacher’s salary is partially subsidized by Hanban; host institutions can pilot or expand a Chinese program with reasonable cost for the first few years.

Apply early! Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

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November 2009

Save the date! Asia Society and the College board announce the 2010 National Chinese Language Conference to be held April 22-24 in Washington, DC.

Middle East Studies Association (MESA) 2009 Annual Meeting to be held November 21-24, 2009 in Boston, MA.

Call for Papers: South Asian Language Pedagogyand Technology Journal is currently accepting online submissions for its second volume, “Teaching South Asian Languages: Scope, Challenges, Horizons.”

Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of the Johns Hopkins University invites applications for part-time language instructors in the following languages: ESL, French, German, Spanish, Swahili, Thai, and Vietnamese. The ideal candidate will have: a master's degree in applied linguistics or language education; experience in adult language learning and technology-mediated instruction; and an interest in content-based instruction (topics in International Development & Politics). Based in Washington, D.C., SAIS is one of the nation’s leading graduate schools devoted to the study of international relations. For more information about SAIS, please visit http://www.sais-jhu.edu. Please send an electronic version of your Curriculum Vitae, and a brief statement of your language teaching philosophy to: mcampos@jhu.edu

Summer Workshop in Slavic, East European and Central Asian Languages at Indiana University June 18-August 13, 2010. The Summer Workshop provides up to 200 participants in Slavic, East European and Central Asian languages the opportunity to complete a full year of college language instruction during an eight-week summer session. Application Deadline: March 22, 2010; thereafter, rolling admissions. Deadline for consideration for Fellowships is also March 22, 2010.

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March 2009

Discourses in Dying Languages: My Story With Yiddish
A report on the talk by Miriam Isaacs at the National Museum of Language
by Tom Braslavsky, National Capital Language Resource Center
Read Article

K-12 Gateway to the Less Commonly Taught Languages

The UCLA Language Materials Project (LMP) has launched an abundant new site for elementary and secondary foreign language teachers, the K-12 Gateway to the Less Commonly Taught Languages. The core of the site is a complete set of downloadable lesson plans and supplementary materials for teaching a first year language class. Written in English, the plans can be adapted to any language and grade level.

The lessons were created by Florence Martin of California State University Long Beach, who has taught languages at all levels from kindergarten through college, and speaks two Less Commonly Taught Languages. Pilot-tested by K-12 teachers from Anchorage to Virginia, the site offer easy navigation to a wealth of information.
In addition to the lessons, there is a section on curriculum design, standards, and proficiency-based teaching. A resource section offers links to national Language Resource Centers, language teachers associations, teachers’ forums, assessment guides, and professional development opportunities.

The K-12 Gateway resides within the larger Language Materials Project website. Gateway visitors are only a click away from the language profiles and authoritative bibliography of teaching materials for which the LMP has been known since 1992. The LMP has augmented the bibliography with detailed citations of several hundred items for younger audiences.
The recent increase of federal interest in foreign languages has kindled a language renaissance in K-12 schools across the nation. The number of classes for less-commonly taught languages such as Arabic, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, and Russian, even in the primary grades, has increased substantially. But there are a limited number of textbooks and classroom materials available for learners below college level. Likewise there are seldom curricula or state standards for teachers to follow. The LMP’s new Gateway responds to those needs.

The Gateway was created with support from the US Department of Education’s Title VI, International Research and Studies program. We invite you to try out the Gateway at http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/k-12

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