Arabic K12 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, updted weekly, see our Arabic News page.

Critical Languages News

March 2009

Discourses in Dying Languages: My Story With Yiddish |News on : Himalayan Languages | Languages of the Muslim World | K-12 Gateway to LCTLs

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

Announcing the 15th Himalayan Languages Symposium

University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon, USA

July 31-August 1, 2009

The Himalayan Languages Symposium is an annually convening, open scholarly forum for scholars of Himalayan languages. The Himalayan Languages Symposium serves as a podium for contributions on any language of the greater Himalayan region, whether Burushaski, Kusunda, a Tibeto-Burman language, an Indo-Aryan tongue or other language. Linguists as well as specialists from related disciplines like philology, history, anthropology, archaeology and prehistory are welcome to make their contributions to the study of Himalayan languages and Himalayan language communities.

We invite abstracts for presentations on topics including, but not limited to:

• - Descriptions of lesser-known languages
  
• Language change and variation
  
• Multilingualism and language contact
  
• Historical-comparative studies
  
• Typological studies
  
• Field reports
  
• Corpus-based analysis
  
• Language death and language preservation
  
• Language policy and language planning
  
• Ethnology and folklore
  
• Himalayan languages and new technologies

For more information on the HLS, see:
http://www.iias.nl/hls/index.php?q=about


Summer Institute for the Languages of the Muslim World (SILMW)

The Department of Linguistics at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign in collaboration with the Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies , the Center for African Studies, CIBER, and the European Union Center is pleased to host the Summer Institute for the Languages of the Muslim World (SILMW) in summer 2009 (June 15-August 6, 2009).

SILMW will offer intensive courses in a variety of Muslim World languages, including Arabic, Persian, Swahili, Turkish, Urdu and Indonesian, by experienced, trained, and highly proficient instructors. Classes will be held four hours per day over a period of eight weeks, for a total of 132 hours. Students will earn credits equivalent to one full academic year of language instruction.

SILMW provides a unique opportunity to explore the languages and cultures of the Muslim World and interact with experts in this region. In addition to classroom instruction, SILMW will offer a variety of extracurricular activities designed to enhance classroom instruction, provide additional channels for language contact and practice, and expose learners to the traditions of the Muslim World communities. These extracurricular activities include research forums, conversation hours, cooking demonstrations, music, film showings, and other cultural activities.

The SILMW at UIUC is being organized by Abdulkafi Albirini (Director), Ercan Balci, Abbas Benmamoun, Peyman Nojoumian, and Peter Otiato, from the Department of Linguistics.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or like to get more information about SILMW.

http://silmw.linguistics.uiuc.edu/index.html

Ercan BALCI, Ph.D.
Turkish Program Coordinator
Lecturer of Turkish

Linguistics Department, UIUC
4114 Foreign Languages Building
707 S. Matthews Urbana IL.
Office Tel. no.: (217)244-3058
Email: ebalci@illinois.edu

Back to top

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

February 2009

Summer institute (with student financial support opportunities): SEASSI 2009

The Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute (SEASSI) offers intensive language and culture instruction from First-Year to Third-Year level for Burmese, Filipino, Indonesian, Hmong, Khmer, Javanese, Lao, Thai and Vietnamese. SEASSI will take place at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from June 15 to August 7, 2009. SEASSI is an intensive language program where students have an opportunity to study only Southeast Asian languages, five days a week, for two months. Students receive one year (2 full semesters) of foreign language credit for the program. SEASSI is an integral part of a nationwide network of language teaching faculty from the institutions that are members of the SEASSI Consortium: Arizona State University, Cornell University, Northern Illinois University, Ohio University, University of California-Berkeley, University of California-Los Angeles, University of Hawaii-Manoa, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Michigan, University of Washington, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Yale University.

Several scholarship competitions are open for SEASSI students. The deadline to apply for the following scholarships has been extended to February 28, 2009.

* Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowships: Applicants for SEASSI FLAS awards must be American citizens or permanent residents of the United States. Currently enrolled graduate students and students admitted to a graduate program for Fall 2009 are eligible to receive FLAS awards. FLAS awards consist of: 1) payment of the SEASSI tuition, and 2) a living stipend of $2500.
* Undergraduate Scholarship Competition: Applicants for SEASSI Undergraduate Scholarships must be American citizens or permanent residents of the United States who have not completed their undergraduate studies as of Summer 2009. Undergraduate Scholarships consist of: 1) payment of the SEASSI tuition, and 2) a living stipend of $1800.
* Heritage Language Awards: Applicants must be undergraduate or graduate students who are Filipino-American, Hmong-American, Vietnamese-American, Lao-American, or Cambodian-American who will attend SEASSI for the study of the language of their heritage. Heritage Language Awards consist of 1) payment of the SEASSI tuition, and 2) a living stipend of $1200.

The deadline for this application is February 28, 2009
The online application form and further information about SEASSI is available at: http://www.seassi.wisc.edu

January 2009

Bring a Chinese Guest Teacher to Your School

The College Board, in partnership with National Council of State Supervisors for Languages (NCSSFL) and The Office of Chinese Language Council International (Hanban), announces the 2009 Chinese Guest Teacher Program. If interested, you can apply to host a qualified teacher from China in your school or district during the 2009-10 school year.

Applications will be reviewed immediately and continue until all the guest teachers are placed. The final application deadline is March 1, 2009. Guest teachers will arrive in August 2009 and teach for a period of one to three years. As the guest teacher's salary is partially subsidized by Hanban, host institutions are able to pilot or expand a Chinese program for a reasonable cost. Learn more at http://professionals.collegeboard.com/k-12/awards/chinese.  

Foreign Language Teaching Assistants

On behalf of the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), the Institute of International Education (IIE) is pleased to announce that applications from U.S. campuses are now being accepted for the 2009-2010 Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) Program. The program currently has over 400 FLTAs from over 40 countries teaching over 30 different languages in schools across the United States. For a list of all languages and countries participating in the FLTA Program, please visit: http://www.flta.fulbrightonline.org/become_languages_countries.html.

Foreign Language Teaching Assistant Applications are now available from the Institute of International Education and the Department of State

Exchange Teachers

Apply to host a Chinese or Egyptian Exchange Teacher through American Councils for International Education

The Teachers of Critical Languages Program is pleased to offer an online application, as well as one that can be downloaded, at www.tclprogram.org to host a Chinese or Egyptian exchange teacher during the 2009-2010 school year. TCLP, a program of the US Department of State's Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs, is designed to help schools and districts build their critical foreign language capacities. Succinctly, we place EFL teachers from China and Egypt with at least five years experience in US schools to teach their native language and culture for an academic year. 

The Advanced Study of Khmer

The 2009 ASK Program will be held at the Royal University of Phnom Penh in Cambodia from June 15 to August 7, 2009.

The Advanced Study of Khmer (ASK) Summer Abroad Program is an intensive eight-week training in Khmer language-culture held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The program is administered by the Khmer Language Program at the University of Hawai'i, and in collaboration with the Royal University of Phnom-Penh, Cambodia. This program with one week home-stays in rural of Cambodia provides 3rd year Khmer students with a "one-of-a-kind" opportunity to acquire the linguistic foundation necessary to engage in academic research, professional discourse, and cultural immersion with all segments of Khmer society.

This program is funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Fulbright-Hays, and Group Projects. 11 Fellowships will be offered for qualified applicants - contingent on funding.

The following are some quick links:
How to apply: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/ask/apply.htm
Eligibility requirements: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/ask/eligibility.htm
Application form download: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/ask/ASK2009ApplicationForm.doc

Back to top

Yoruba Group Project Abroad

An Intensive Advanced Yorùbá Group Project Abroad (GPA) is planned for Nigeria in the summer of 2009, pending approval of the grant proposal submitted to the U.S. Department of Education. The program, which will be held at the campus of Obáfémi Awólówò University (OAU) inIlé-Ifè, Nigeria, will include: five to six hours of intensive daily Yorùbá language instruction and interaction, cultural activities, excursions to historical and cultural sites on weekends, home-stay with a Yorùbá family for eight consecutive weeks, six-hour credit transfer by OAU to participants’ universities in the U.S.

The Yorùbá GPA in Nigeria is part of the Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad Program of the U.S. Department of Education and is coordinated by the Center for African Studies, University of Florida in Gainesville for the Association of African Studies Programs and the African Language Teachers Association in the U.S.

For Application materials and additional information please visitat www.africa.ufl.edu/YorubaGPA.html
or by mail:
Dr. Akintunde Akinyemi (Program Director)
University of Florida
PO Box 115560
470 Grinter Hall, Gainesville FL 32611-5565
352-392-7082
akinyemi@aall.ufl.edu

February 2009

Institute for Cultural Diplomacy Program

The ICD is an international, not-for-profit, non-governmental organization focused on the theoretical and practical promotion of cultural exchange as a tool for improving relations in all areas. To learn more about our activity, please visit www.culturaldiplomacy.org. The ICD Programs have been developed to facilitate intercultural exchange at the grass roots, civil society and political levels. They bring together Young Leaders from across the world for an analysis of cultural diplomacy, an exploration of the relationship between their cultures, and to create a sustainable network between likeminded individuals. Following the completion of the programs, the participants are encouraged to use this network to develop their own leadership initiatives in the field of cultural diplomacy

Cultural Diplomacy in Africa: A Forum for Young Leaders (23 – 27 February 2009)

Cultural Diplomacy in Africa: A Forum for Young Leaders (CDA) was developed to fill the urgent need for cultural diplomacy on the African continent. There are a range of serious challenges confronting Africa today, from violent conflict to HIV Aids. In addressing these problems the individual African states must work closely and constructively with each other, and also with external influences. CDA will consider how Cultural Diplomacy can help to strengthen relations between different cultural groups within Africa, will highlight and look at examples of initiatives that currently exist in this area, and will encourage discussions on the role that external influences can, and should, place in the development of Africa. The Forum will produce a dynamic, informed group of individuals with the desire and necessary skills to organize their own follow-up initiatives in this area.

Further info: www.culturaldiplomacy.org/index.php?en_program_cda_introduction

Enquiries: cda@culturaldiplomacy.org

Back to top