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What's going to happen now that the "2005: Year of Languages" initiative has ended? 
Click on the logo above to find out.

 

CCSU Conference for Language Teachers
A Colloquium:   Purposes and Pleasures of Foreign Language Learning

Saturday - March 13, 2010
Central CT State University
Institute for Technology and Business Development
185 Main Street, New Britain, CT 06051
860.832.0700

Workshop Proposals will be accepted until February 10, 2010

Information about the Conference
Workshop Proposal Form
Registration Form

 

Concordia Language Villages
Offers Professional Development Opportunities
for World Language Teachers
during the Summer of 2010

Concordia Language Villages is offering the following professional development opportunities for world language teachers during the summer of 2010: 

Teacher Seminars:  June 20 – 30, 2010 at Concordia Language Villages, Bemidji, Minnesota

Join educators from across the United States and around the world as they discuss current topics in world language teaching and learning.  You will observe and participate in activities at Concordia Language Villages as part of the seminar.  You can register for either the non-credit and graduate-credit option.    More information about Teacher Seminars is available by clicking on:  http://www.concordialanguagevillages.org/newsite/Programs/Educators/teacher_sems1.php .    

     Master of Education in World Language Instruction:  An 18-month program combining coursework on-site at Concordia Language Villages during the summer with online coursework during the academic year.  We are accepting applications for Cohort IV now and will begin selecting the twelve members of the cohort in March, 2010.  More information about this 34-credit program is available at:  www.concordiacollege.edu/graduate.  You can also view examples of projects completed by members of the masters program online at www.concordiacollege.edu/graduate/projects.  

If you have questions about any of these programs or about Concordia Language Villages, please feel free to contact Donna Clementi, Director of Education and Research at clementi@cord.edu.

 

 

For Use in Italian Classes
 

Dr. Maria Passaro, Professor of Italian at Central CT State University
has created a PowerPoint Presentation on the Venice Carnival.
Please click on the links below to view the PowerPoint presentation or the PDF version.

Venice Carnival PowerPoint Presentation
PDF Version of the PowerPoint Presentation

 

 

Increasing Student Achievement,
Using 21st Century YouTube

February 19 and 20 at Tunxis Community College
For more information, please click here.

(The Workshop information is located on page 16
and the registration information is located on page 26.)

 

Add Video Clips to Ignite your lessons

Would you like to show students authentic video clips in the language in which they are learning?  Would you like them to sing the alphabet, colors, traditional songs, rap songs, and more?  Would you like to introduce students to authentic recordings of holiday songs and celebrations from around the world?  How would you like to present cooking demonstrations of international dishes?  Want to see, or compete with, other school classes that have posted videos?  All of this, and a great deal more, are available through the most popular video sharing site on the planet- YouTube.

 

What is YouTube?

YouTube is a massively voluminous library of citizen uploaded/submitted video clips.  With an estimated 80 to 100 million entries in its coffers, an estimated 6% of the videos are designated as educational videos!!  That’s 6,000,000 videos at your fingertips.  Videos include presentations of grammar, vocabulary, songs, movie and TV clips, presentations from students and classes, culture -and the list goes on.  What a resource for language teachers!  Download and use YouTube videos as a spectacular supplement to your language teaching.  Use them in the classroom or assign them for homework. 

 

Why use YouTube?

Rather than use a live internet connection in school for YouTube, you will want to download the videos, for several reasons.  Firstly, YouTube is blocked in many school systems.  So you have  no choice but to use downloaded videos.  Secondly, in those school systems in which you do have live access, you risk exposing students to the many inappropriate viewer comments, as well as to the risqué and unsuitable video choices in the “Related Video” area.  Plus, many times those video clips get taken down from YouTube, and are no longer available.  Moreover, once downloaded, a video clip can be run at any part of the clip, without waiting for loading time.  Plus, TeacherTube just doesn’t possess massive amounts of videos that YouTube does.

 

Workshop Objectives

In this seminar, you won’t just get an introductory presentation, followed by a pat-on-the-back goodbye.  You won’t have to go home and spend time creating material from this workshop.  You will have finished products, replete with clips and curricula, to take back to your classroom and use immediately. 

 

During the workshop, you will research and search for YouTube videos, organize and categorize them, create a library for yourself, download/transfer the video clips onto your flashdrive, as well as align the video clips to World Language Standards.  Moreover, you’ll create lesson supplements and plans, and you’ll create activities for the clips.   

 

So come join the YouTube bandwagon.  One to two million videos are being added each week.  On YouTube you can find supporting and supplementary videos for almost anything you want to teach.

  

 

Source for statistics-  YouTube Community  Help Forums   http://help.youtube.com/group/youtube-howto/browse_thread/thread/5117c37175284a91  

 

 

Objectives of the Workshop:

 

  1. To gain an overall view of the workshop.  To understand and appreciate how YouTube videoclips will enhance your classroom and your students’
  2. To know the teachers with whom you will be exchanging and sharing YouTube clips.
  3. To pick a cultural/grammatical/vocab/function topic(s) and compile a list.
  4. To download videoclips to the workshop computer ‘desktop’ and to your Flashdrive.
  5. To align clips with state/federal standards and with your curricula.
  6. To design and create activities for some of your downloaded videoclips.
  7. To transfer your clips and software to your home computer.
  8. To demonstrate and share, then exchange finished products with colleagues’ (topic and compilation of YouTube sites, downloaded clips, standard alignment, activities).

 

 

Congratulations to the 2009 Recipients of the
CT COLT Student Awards for Excellence in World Languages

Please click one of the file types to download a listing of the award recipients.
(MS Word)  (PDF)

 

Weekend Immersion Program
(Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, French, Italian, Spanish)

University College at Fairfield University and
The Rassias Center for World Languages and Cultures at Dartmouth College

October 23-25, 2009

For more information, please visit http://www.fairfield.edu/wips
and click on "Download our brochure" or call (203) 254-4110.

 

ConnTesol Fall Conference

Saturday - November 7, 2009
Central CT State University

For more information, please visit www.conntesol.net

 

 

 

     TRAVEL FREE WITH TERRA LINGUA’S
     SUMMER OUTBOUND  PROGRAMS

 

Terra Lingua USA, a quality student exchange organization is seeking groups of students and chaperones to take part in exciting and adventurous summer outbound programs.  With every group of 10 students, the chaperone travels for FREE! 

Our programs are run with a passion for education and culture. Traveling abroad with Terra Lingua provides you with a dedicated Coordinator and Manager to structure your program.  Our availability to you is outstanding, with 24 hour management support, only a phone call away.   

Tennis Anyone?  We are offering a challenging and fun tennis camp in France!  Learn to play this enjoyable sport while experiencing the sights of France. 

Another France option includes a 3 to 4 week stay with a French family from Bordeaux.  Learn the French culture and language firsthand in this unique experience.  This trip offers a 3-day tour of Paris! 

With our Amazing China program, you can spend 2 unforgettable weeks learning Chinese folk songs, poems, Calligraphy, handcrafting and much more.  This trip also includes excursions to Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Wuzhen! 

Finally, take advantage of our Learn French in Canada program.  You’ll spend 2 weeks in Canada where you’ll not only take French lessons, but you’ll explore the sights and sounds of  Vancouver. 

All programs are open to students ages 12-18.   

Please contact Kellie Iacovella at Terralinguaexchange@hotmail.com for more information.  Visit our website at www.terralinguausa.org .

 

 

 

Clinton Teacher of the Year Jessica Godburn writes a few notes in Spanish on her portable classroom. She teaches 10 classes a day for 22 minutes each, logging in lots of foot mileage in the halls at the Joel School.

Jessica Godburn,
Spanish FLES Teacher,
Named Teacher of the Year in Clinton

To read the entire article about Jessica,
please click here.

 

Maureen Waldron,
Southington High School Latin Teacher,
Named Teacher of the Year

To read the entire article about Maureen,
please click here.

 

France Honors Five Connecticut Teachers
with the Ordre des Palmes Acad
émiques

 

The recipients of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques: Carol A. Kearns, Margaret Nocturne, Nancy Silander, Sharon Straka, and Brian Carter pictured with Pierre Vimont, Ambassador of France to the United States.

May 9, 2008. New Haven, CT — On Monday, May 12, Pierre Vimont, Ambassador of France to the United States, conferred the insignia of Chevalier of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques upon five Connecticut teachers: Brian Carter, PIER Outreach Director, European Studies, Yale University, New Haven; Carol A. Kearns, French teacher emeritus, Litchfield High School, Litchfield; Margaret Nocturne, French teacher, Joel Barlow High School, West Redding; Nancy Silander, French teacher, E.O. Smith High School, Storrs; and Sharon Straka, Director, Center for the Teaching of French, Yale University, New Haven.  
 The presentation took place at a private reception at Yale University.  Following the presentation, Ambassador Vimont gave a public address on the topic "France, Europe, and the United States:  What Prospects for Trans-Atlantic Relations" in Rosenfeld Hall, 109 Grove Street, at 3:30 p.m.
 
The Ordre des Palmes Acad
émiques (Order of Academic Palms) was founded by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1808. A brilliant administrator, Napoleon appreciated the importance of education, and he established the honorary titles of Titulaire, Officier de l'Université, and Officier d'Académie as awards for devotion and accomplishment in the areas of teaching
,
scholarship, and research. In more recent times, this award was made a ministerial Order under the French Minister of Education and now has three ranks—Chevalier, Officier, and Commandeur.

Pierre Vimont was appointed Ambassador of France to the United States by President Nicolas Sarkozy on August 1, 2007. Prior to his present appointment, Mr. Vimont was Chief of Staff to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, a position he had held since 2002.  He was previously Ambassador and Permanent Representative of France to the European Union from 1999 to 2002. His talk can be accessed with this link: http://www.yale.edu/macmillan/multimedia.htm.

 

Northeast Conference Selects Barbara Lindsey’s "Participatory Pedagogy" as Best of NECTFL 2008

Congratulations, Barbara!

Press release by Rebecca R. Kline, Executive Director, NECTFL

Carlisle PA, May 8, 2008 – Barbara Lindsey, Director of the Multimedia Language Center at the University of Connecticut and former president of the Connecticut Council of Language Teachers (CT COLT), has been selected by the Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages as the 2008 winner of the "Best of NECTFL" award, presented for the conference presentation judged most outstanding by attendees and the Board of Directors.

The 2008 Northeast Conference was held March 27-29, 2008 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. Over 200 workshops and sessions were presented, and 2,500 foreign language professionals participated in the conference and its events. Professor Lindsey’s session, "Participatory Pedagogy: Engaging Learners through Social Networking," is automatically accepted on the program of the next American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages convention, scheduled for November 21-23, 2008 in Orlando.

For additional information on the Northeast Conference or its Best of NECTFL award, contact Rebecca R. Kline or visit www.nectfl.org.

About the Northeast Conference

The Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages serves educators in all languages (including classical, less commonly taught, and ESL), at all levels from kindergarten through university, in both public and private settings. In existence since the late 1940s, NECTFL is the largest of five regional associations of its kind in the United States, representing educators from Maine to Virginia but exercising leadership nation-wide.

NECTFL holds an annual conference for all concerned with foreign language education, providing both outstanding professional development and the chance to interact with colleagues. The meeting’s events include the recognition of award winners both within and outside the field. NECTFL has honored President Jimmy Carter, Sesame Street, Senator Paul Simon, and musicians Taj Mahal and Carole Fredericks, among others.

NECTFL publishes a semi-annual magazine and occasional scholarly reports. Current foci include cultural proficiency and languages in preK-16+ urban educational settings. The organization is widely recognized as providing cutting-edge leadership and translating visionary work into practical classroom application.

The Board of Directors of the Northeast Conference is committed to educating citizens for participation in a peaceful global community.

 

Maloney Interdistrict Magnet School Teacher,
Jessica Haxhi, wins the United States-Japan Foundation's
Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Award

To read the press release, please click here.

 

2008 Student Awards for Excellence in World Languages

To view the list of awardees for 2008, please click on the link below.

List of Awardees for 2008

 

An Interesting Free World Language Related Web Site

Bill Zimmerman wants to share with you news of his newest educational project and also ask for your help to make it succeed. 

A year ago he launched a new web site -- http:// www.makebeliefscomix.com -- where children and adults can create their own comic strips.  They can select from 15 fun characters with different moods  -- happy, sad, angry, worried – and write words for blank talk and thought balloons to make their characters talk and think.  There also are story ideas and prompts to help users create graphic stories. 

This site can be used by educators to teach language, reading and writing skills, and also for students in English-as-a-Second-Language programs to facilitate self-expression and storytelling, as well as computer literacy.  It is now being used in 150 countries by educators.   

Some educational therapists use it with deaf and autistic people to help them understand concepts and communicate.  Parents and children can create stories together, print them to create comic books or email them to friends and family.  Others will find the site a resource to be creative, calm down and have fun. 

Because so many Spanish-speaking users asked us for the ability to write their cartoons in Spanish as well as in English, we recently upgraded the site to accept words written in Spanish, including appropriate accent marks. This can be a useful tool for someone who is learning Spanish as well as someone whose first language is Spanish.  This feature is being expanded to other languages, such as French, Italian and German. 

Mr. Zimmerman hopes that you will share http://www.makebeliefscomix.com  with your colleagues, teachers, students or readers of your publications and resource lists.  The site is free with no advertising.  Any help you might offer in getting word out about this project will be greatly appreciated.  

If you can suggest other people or groups whom he might contact to make them aware of the site please send me their names, email addresses or phone numbers.  Any list-servs he might join?  Relevant Internet resource sharing groups would be helpful, too.  It takes a community to build a useful resource like this one. 

As one who learned to read with comic books, he knows that creating comic strips can help people tap into their creativity and practice their language and storytelling skills.  The site is free and stems from his lifelong mission to create resources that help people find their voice and express themselves. The concept for makebeliefscomix.com is derived from his earlier books, Make Beliefs and Make Beliefs for Kids of All Ages (which can be found on his other web site:  http://www.billztreasurechest.com.  A Make Beliefs interactive feature appeared for 13 years on his syndicated Student Briefing Page for Newsday, and in National Geographic’s World Magazine. 

He hope you like http://www.makebeliefscomix.com and will use it in your work and personal life.  Your feedback is welcome and very helpful. Mr. Zimmerman may be reached at wmz@aol.com.

 
   

 

 

Last year, in an effort to promote foreign languages, TFLTA (Tennessee Foreign Language Teaching Association) sponsored a state-wide quilt project.  Their end result was an amazing quilt which represented several schools, elementary through university levels in the state of Tennessee

This year, because the TFLTA state conference will be held in conjunction with ACTFL, TFLTA is broadening the scope of their original project by making a “national” quilt.  They have encouraged all the state organizations to send a quilt square representing their individual states.  The quilt squares from the various states will then be made into a quilt which will be on display in Nashville at the ACTFL convention in November.

Above you will see CT COLT's contribution to this national quilt that will be on display at the ACTFL convention in Nashville, Tennessee.  CT COLT's quilt square was designed and created by Lynne Campbell (Glastonbury Public Schools), the ACTR representative to the CT COLT board of directors. Great job, Lynne!

 

 

Congratulations to Christi Moraga
The NECTFL Teacher of the Year

      

Click here for the NECTFL Press Release

 

Downloadable CT COLT Tri-fold Brochure

This tri-fold brochure has been designed for members and non-members of CT COLT.  If you are a member, you can download this brochure, print it and pass it on to your non-member colleagues.  If you are not a member of CT COLT, we encourage you to download this brochure and check out the benefits that CT COLT offers to its members.

CT COLT Brochure

 

 

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