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 Announcements:
- 2010 Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program will offer intensive summer language institutes overseas in eleven critical need foreign languages for summer 2010. The on-line application for CLS Program awards will be available November 9, 2009. Deadline to apply: December 18, 2009
- 2010 Video Podcast Contest: ACTFL sponsors a national video student podcast contest to celebrate Discover Languages Month. Students are encouraged to submit video podcasts on how language learning has been important in their lives. Visit actflvideocontest.org for complete details. Deadline: December 20, 2009.
- The Second Language Acquisition and Teaching Student Association (SLATSA) at the University of Arizona is organizing its 9th Annual Roundtable entitled “Intersections in Second Language Acquisition” to be held February 19-20, 2010. Submission Deadline: December 1, 2009.
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| Feature article |
The Rise and Fall of Russian Language Instruction: A Local Perspective
An interview with Dr. Pat Barr-Harrison by Leah Mason
This month's feature article takes a closer look at what teachers can do if they fear that their language program is in jeopardy of being cut, through a real-life example from Prince George's County in Maryland. The following interview with Dr. Pat Barr-Harrison, a former World Language Supervisor from Prince George's County, tells the story of the survival and continuation of a Russian language education program. Read more...
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| Teacher's Diary |
Rafaela is a first-generation Cuban-American who has taught Spanish for nine years in suburbs outside of Philadelphia. She is sharing her thoughts and experiences all this year with our readers.
Dear Diary,
Sample text book? Check. Copies of expectations and class rules? Check. Power Point explaining key curricular points? Check. Presentable appearance? Check. No matter how many times I go through a Back to School Night I always run through this list in my head out of nervousness. I spend all day talking to groups of children, teenagers to be exact. One would think that looking out into a sea of faces would not unnerve me after all this time, but it does.
Read an example... |
| Classroom Solutions: YANA |
 Edited
by Sheila Cockey. YANA stands for 'You are Not Alone.' Your questions
on challenges in your classrooms are answered by an expert on
languages and culture teaching.
This
month's question:
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I am a Foreign Language Methods teacher at a university.
My question: What do my students need?
My answer: VERY practical information that they can implement immediately.
My plea: Do you have any suggestions? Any good books you've used in the past? Good sites where they can retrieve, and hopefully see successful lessons? They are interested in Spanish lessons that work in a demanding, under-funded public school environment with 35-40 kids, one instructor, and students who freak out every time that the instructor speaks in Spanish. What kind of Spanish lessons really work in this kind of real world scenario?
Read YANA's Answer... |
| Readers' Corner |
Monthly Question
This month's question is: In what ways have Millennials challenged you and how have you met the challenge? Click here to answer the Question.
Last month we asked "How do you demonstrate to students, parents, and administrators the value of your language program?" Read responses here.
Poll
This month's poll asks about: How do you attract students to your language program? Click here to participate in the poll.
Last month, we asked, "How is the economy impacting your classroom?" Click here to see the responses
We would love to hear your thoughts and feelings regarding this month's questions! All insights are welcome!
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| Critical Languages |
- 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 Pedagogy and 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.
- Summer Workshop in Slavic, East European
and Central Asian Languages
at Indiana University June 18-August 13 Application Deadline: March 22, 2010; thereafter, rolling admissions. Deadline for consideration for Fellowships is also March 22, 2010.
See the critical languages announcements...
Read More at the new DesiLearn page |
| Webcasts |
| NCLRC announces new podcasts in Russian and Arabic. These are drawn from twice-monthly webcasts with student activities. See Russian and Arabic home pages. New this month: Chinese Webcasts! |
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| Culture Club |
edited by Christine Meloni
The latest Edition of the Culture Club will be available on November 15th. Visit the Photo Gallery and win a prize if you are the first to identify the Mystery Photos. Read an article on a successful student exchange between a US and a French high school written by one of the students involved.
Enjoy the cinquains in the Library's French, Italian, and Spanish Poetry Rooms. Find another stimulating article by Marcel LaVergne in the Teachers' Lounge. Read new reviews in the Library, the Screening Room, and the Spanish Music Room. Check out the cultureshocks blog in the Bloggers Den. Win a prize for sending in your own culture shock story.
Read an interview in Spanish with a teenager from San Salvador. Share breakfast with a family in Costa Rica in the Banquet Hall. Remember that your contributions are always welcome. We depend on your continuing input. Contact Culture Club Editor Christine for questions and comments.
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| Root Words |
Challenges and Strides in Heritage Language Education by Victoria Hasko, Ph.D.
On the pages of the NCLRC Newsletter and beyond, language educators and scholars have been pondering over the question of how the U.S. language education system can be improved to ensure maintenance and development of heritage languages. The question does not have easy answers, as we are only beginning to understand the nature of heritage language acquisition and to envision solutions for developing an effective and responsible heritage language education policy.
Here, I will provide an overview of some of the critical issues that the field of heritage language education is facing today and will share some innovative educational initiatives that heritage language educators have been recently experimenting with in the state of Georgia, a state with a rapidly growing immigrant population. Read more...
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| Tech for
Teachers |
Interested in having your students enter the ACTFL 2010 Video Podcast Contest but not sure where to begin? Check out our article and view last year's winning entries. The contest challenges students to develop a video public service announcement that addresses the theme: Discover Languages...Discover the World. Submission deadline: December 20, 2009.
Georgetown-hosted Joint Conference of the Mid-Atlantic Association for Language Learning Technology (MAALLT) and the Southeast Association for Language Learning Technology (SEALLT) Our Changing Environments: Cultivating New Spaces, Tools, and Ideas in Language Learning. March 10-13, 2010. Deadline for Proposals: November 22, 2009. Click here for details.
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| Professional
Development, Conferences and Funding Opportunities |
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| Testing Tips |
How language testing can (help) save your language program by Meg Malone
We live in an age of accountability; since No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was enacted, this accountability has resulted in increased testing in U.S. schools. Because foreign (or world) languages are not considered “core” subject areas, many states do not require testing of foreign languages. Read more... |
| NCLRC Staff |
Get to know the NCLRC Staff at ACTFL! NCLRC will have a booth in the exhibit hall under the LRC Pavilion by Concession Stand A. We will be giving away lots of free goodies so be sure to stop by. Staff will also be presenting throughout the conference. Our presentation schedule is:
Friday, November 20th
Free Resources for Every Educator
Mahajan
11:00am - 12:00pm
San Diego Convention Center/ Room 2
Attracting and Holding the Attention of Those Millennial Digital Natives
Robbins & Mahajan
1:15pm - 2:15pm
San Diego Convention Center / Room 7A
Saturday, November 21st
Meeting the Connections Goal through Differentiated Instruction
Chamot & Genovese
10:00am - 11:00am
San Diego Convention Center / Room 7B
Survey of Schools Teaching Arabic as a Core Course, 2009
Johnson, Keatley, & Greer
5:30pm - 6:30pm
Marriott Hotel / Torrey 1
Guitars in the Classroom, AMIGO and Song-Based Learning
Harris-Padron & Baron
6:45pm - 7:45pm
San Diego Convention Center / Room 5B
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