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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.

 

Five Day Spanish Class & TPRS Workshop

Monday through Friday, August 18 - 22

Spanish Class - 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (daily)
COST:  $149 before June 1st; $199 after June 1st

TPRS Workshop - 1:00 pm. (daily)
COST:  $79 before June 1st; $99 after June 1st

Location:  JFK Middle School, 155 Raffia Road, Enfield, CT 06082

For more information about these workshops, please click here.

 

Las Artes de México
Yale Peabody Museum
March 22 - July 19, 2008

For more information, click on the link to the flyer and the link to the website.

Las Artes de México Flyer

Yale Peabody Museum Website

 

Center for Advanced Language Proficiency Education and Research (CALPER)
Summer Workshops


All workshops will be held on campus from 9:00am - 4:30pm. Program Costs are $40 for a one-day and $80 for a two-day workshop.

Registration deadline is June 9, 2008. Descriptions and more details are on our professional development page at our web site at
http://calper.la.psu.edu/profdev.php.

June 20
Projects in Foreign Language Courses
Presenter: Gabriela Appel

June 21
Language Portfolios
Presenter: Gabriela Appel

June 23-24
Investigating Real Language (data-driven learning and on assessing student language development)
Presenter: Michael McCarthy

June 23-24
New Technologies for Language Teaching and Learning
Presenters: Steven L. Thorne and Jonathon Reinhardt

June 25-26
Challenges in Teaching Heritage and Domestic Language Learners
Presenters: Karen E. Johnson and Joan Kelly Hall

June 25-26
Investigating Language Use in Study Abroad
Presenter: Celeste Kinginger

June 27-28
Dynamic Assessment in the Foreign Language Classroom
Presenters: James P. Lantolf and Matthew E. Poehner

 

Spring Conference for Language Teachers
Languages in the Community
Connecting the Language Classroom to the Multilingual Reality

Central CT State University
Vance Academic Center, Room 105
Saturday - April 26, 2008
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

For more information about the conference
Registration for this conference is now CLOSED!!!

Sponsored by the CCSU Department of Modern Languages, the Italian Resource Center, the CT Italian Teachers Association, the CT Council of Language Teachers, the CT Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, the Center for the Teaching of French, the Chinese Cultural Center, and the Center for International Education, and the American Association of Teachers of German - CT Chapter.
 

 

Summer Institute for Teachers of Spanish (SITS)
Central CT State University
June 27 to August 3, 2008

The Department of Modern Languages at Central Connecticut State University announces the 8th session of its Summer Institute for Teachers of Spanish (SITS) to be held at CCSU from June 27 to August 3, 2008.

For more information and to download an application, please visit our website at http://www.modlang.ccsu.edu and follow the link to SITS.

 

Teaching about Global Child Labor and Human Trafficking Conference
at Drew University 4/25-26

Drew University’s Master of Arts in Teaching Program (MAT) and the International Center on Child Labor and Education (ICCLE) are co-hosting a conference on Teaching about Global Child Labor and Human Trafficking.

The conference which is geared towards secondary Social Studies, English and Spanish teachers, offers educators the opportunity to meet and interview former child laborers and trafficking victims, and attend a film festival and lectures by top scholars and human rights activists working in the field. The conference will provide the first forum in the United States for intensive training in the internationally acclaimed interdisciplinary program SCREAM--Supporting Children’s Rights through Education, the Arts and Media-- developed by the International Labour Organization, International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (ILO/IPEC). SCREAM offers cutting edge pedagogy, ideal for adapting and differentiating instruction to accommodate students’ different learning needs and styles.

The highlight of the program will be the forum where former child laborers from South America and trafficking victims from the US will share their stories. These stories will be videotaped for classroom use and conference participants will develop teaching ideas to accompany these narratives which will be published for use in the schools.

Credits: 12.5 Professional Development Hours (1.25 CEUs) available.
Location: Drew University, 36 Madison Avenue, Madison, NJ
Date &Time: From 4/25/2008, 8:00 A.M. to 4/26/2008, 5:30, P.M.

Website: www.depts.drew.edu/gsdean/mat/conference/2008.htm

Contacts:

Linda Swerdlow
Phone: (973) 408-3046
E-mail: lswerdlo@drew.edu
OR
Beth Lindley
Phone: (202) 974-8124
E-mail: blindley@iccle.org

For More Information about this conference, click here.

 

ACC-CLASS

SUMMER CHINESE LANGUAGE TEACHERS INSTITUTE

FOR NON-NATIVE SPEAKERS OF CHINESE
(FULL SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE)

 

INTRODUCTION

 

With a generous grant from the USED Fulbright-Hays GPA program, Associated Colleges in China (ACC), in collaboration with Chinese Language Teachers Association of Secondary Schools (CLASS), is pleased to announce its first Summer K-12 Chinese Teachers Institute to be held in Beijing and Chengdu, China during June 30-August 5, 2008. This six-week summer institute will provide refresher language courses, cultural lectures, and pedagogical workshops to K-12 in-service and pre-service Chinese language teachers whose first language is not Chinese. Ten full scholarships will be awarded to highly qualified participants to attend the program.

 

PROGRAM FEATURES

 

  • §         Six-week refresher Chinese language courses focusing on participants’ language skills through a highly interactive and performance-based curriculum.

  • §         A series of well organized cultural lectures and tours to expand participants’ knowledge of Chinese   culture.

  • §         Bi-weekly pedagogical workshops on National Foreign Language Standards, K12 curriculum design, best teaching practices, classroom process, teaching needs of non-native CFL teachers, and assessment.

  • §         Weekly experience sharing sessions, local school visit, hands-on teaching practicum, task design, lesson planning, and portfolio and test design.

  • §         Authentic teaching material collection and development.

 

ELIGIBILITY

 §                         A citizen, national, or permanent resident of the United States who is not a native Chinese speaker.

§              The current status qualifies at least one of the following:

  • Ø     A Chinese language teacher in an elementary or secondary school in the US.

  • Ø     A graduate student or senior in an institution of higher education, who is a prospective teacher of Chinese language teachers or who has demonstrated a strong commitment to K-12 Chinese language education.

SCHOLARSHIPS

 

§         Ten full scholarships available through a grant provided to ACC by the Fulbright-Hays GPA Program.

§         International travel up to $1500, program tuition, in-country travel, and lodging in China will be covered.

 

APPLICATION DEADLINE

   

April 10, 2008 -  For more information and application materials, visit www.hamilton.edu/academic/acc

 

CANE Summer Institute
Revolution and Reaction:
Radical Changes and Continuities in the Ancient World

July 7 - 12, 2008
Dartmouth College - Hanover, NH

For the last 26 years, CANE has presented a session of classes, lectures by first class scholars and academic fellowship on the campus of Dartmouth College in Hanover NH.  The program for 2008 concentrates on the idea of revolution in all its aspects in the classical world and on the continuing influence of the perspectives of the Greeks and Romans on the many revolutionary movements in the modern world.

For more information about this institute, please click here.

 

 

Spanish Office of Education Program:
North American Language and Culture Assistants
in Spanish Public Schools

The Office of Education at Embassy of Spain sponsors the program North American Language and Culture Assistants, which allows students graduating from university this school year to work in Spanish public schools as classroom assistants for the next school year 2008-2009. The application period has started and will be open through April 15, 2008. There are more than 1,200 positions! Students interested can also directly access the Spanish Office of Education link:  www.mec.es/exterior/en and ones there it is in the Programs section.

Please click here for more information

 

NERALLT Spring Conference
Language Learning in Action: Moving Images in a Digital World
May 1-2, 2008
Wesleyan University, Middletown

For more information and the "Call for Presentations", please click on the link below.

NERALLT Spring  Conference Information and "Call for Presentations"

 

Travelessons for Teachers--Grand Valley State University

Travel to Spain, Mexico or France to increase your use and knowledge of Spanish or French. Learn new methods to use in the classroom. Immerse yourself in the country's culture. Make new contacts with fellow teachers. Have fun! These travel/study programs are in summer 2008 and provide an opportunity for you to also earn graduate credit. To learn more visit www.gvsu.edu/training. Email phelpsd@gvsu.edu for additional information.

 

CT COLT BOARD OF DIRECTORS OPENINGS

CT COLT is looking for dynamic, dedicated language teachers interested in working on our board! The following regional directorships will be available beginning July 1, 2007:   Southeast Region.  You may apply or nominate another CT COLT member by  completing the "Board of Directors Nomination Form," which can be found by clicking on the link below. Completed applications are due ASAP. All applications will receive careful consideration.


Board of Directors Nomination Form

 

Concordia Language Villages

Second Language Methodologies for World Language Teachers
Four-credit Graduate Course June 22 – July2, 2008
 

Join language teachers from across the United States for this ten-day four-credit graduate course at Concordia Language Villages, Bemidji, Minnesota.   Learn about and discuss current practices and issues related to second language teaching and learning.  Observe the strategies in action at one of the 15 Language Villages. The course is open to all K-12 second language educators including ESL educators, college educators with an interest in K-12 second language methodologies, and pre-service education majors. 

Connecting Content With Language
Four-Credit Graduate Course for Teachers of Arabic and Chinese

Concordia Language Villages is the site for a STARTALK professional development program for teachers of Arabic and Chinese.   Participants will examine the principles of content-based instruction and how these principles can be applied to the Arabic and Chinese language classrooms.  The course for Arabic teachers is June 22 – July 2 in Bemidji, Minnesota; the course for Chinese teachers is August 3 -13 in Bemidji, Minnesota.  Full tuition scholarships are provided to participants through the STARTALK program.

 FOR INFORMATION ON ALL THESE PROGRAMS:
Call:  800.222.4750 Extension 8002
Email:  educators@cord.edu

Web: 
http://clvweb.cord.edu/prweb/educators/teacher_seminar.asp

 

UQAM University - Montreal - Canada
Université du Québec à Montréal
 

Are you a teacher wanting to practise your French intensively, expand your knowledge of French culture and improve your teaching methods?

 

Register to our brand new Teacher Training Program offered this summer: www.langues.immersion.uqam.ca/en/stage/

 

 

Awesome Travel Opportunity to Oaxaca, Mexico

Dates:  June 30 - July 9th
(3 nights in Mexico City, 6 nights in Oaxaca)
Cost:  $2,929.00 + $235.00 (US: tax/inspection fee)

Click here for more information

 

National Endowment for the Humanities
Seminar for School Teachers for Summer, 2008


CITIZENSHIP AND CULTURE: FRENCH IDENTITY IN CRISIS

June 29 - July 25, 2008

Dickinson College
Carlisle, Pennsylvania

Co-Directors
Nancy Mellerski, Ph. D
Michael Kline, Ph. D

 

This four-week seminar invites school teachers of French, social studies and allied areas to explore the construction of Republican identity in France and to study challenges to the ideal, foundational French Republic since the Revolution of 1789.  The goal will be to understand how France has evolved over time through the unfolding of the master narrative of French republicanism and nationhood. The seminar examines the question of how French identity, as a product of the centralizing heritage of Jacobinism, has been pressured by the demands of ethnic and regional voices that are increasingly demanding of recognition and autonomy. Two case studies will guide us. The first concerns regional identities and languages from the perspective of language policy and the formation of the state, seen through autobiographical writings and essays on regional culture and in debates on the European Charter on Regional and Minority Languages. The seminar will then look at how decolonization has brought new pressures on Republican universalism as the Muslim community asserts its cultural identity. For this topic, 19th and 20th century fiction, essays and film will culminate in discussion on both the "Headscarf Affair" and the architecture of disaster and the social fracture, leading to the riots of 2005, the most important dramas in contemporary France. The final week of the seminar will allow participants to create their own projects in French cultural identity for the classroom and for professional workshops. The seminar is conducted in French, providing a linguistic immersion.

Participants receive a stipend of $3000.  Graduate credit granted and CEUs endorsed.

For detailed information and application forms please email:
mellersk@dickinson.edu
or klinem@dickinson.edu

 
   

 

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.

 
   

 

Southern Oregon University's Summer Language Institute for Spanish Teachers

Please share the attached brochure with any Spanish teachers you know who might be interested in studying in Guanajuato, Mexico to:  (Click here to download the brochure.)

a) Earn their Master's degree over three summers
b) Obtain additional college credit to maintain state certification, or
c) Update their current skills

Our program is unique in that it offers an immersion experience and is designed to meet the distinct needs of middle school, high school, and community college Spanish teachers. The Summer Language Institute combines pedagogy courses on second language acquisition with language and culture courses to allow our students to improve both their language proficiency and cultural understanding while becoming better teachers.

Students can attend both or one of our three-week sessions:

1. June 22-July 11
2. July 13 - August 1

Application deadline is February 15, 2008. Download an application and find more information online at:www.sou.edu/summerlanguageinstitute

Please feel free to contact me directly with any questions you may have. Thank you,

Anne Connor, Ph.D.
SLI Director and Associate Professor of Spanish
Southern Oregon University
(541) 552-6743
connora@sou.edu

 

New Summer Immersion Program for Students
Starting in the Summer of 2008

Middlebury-Monterey Language Academy, a new initiative building on the expertise of both Middlebury College and the Monterey Institute of International Studies, offers one-month language immersions for middle and high school students in a summer-camp setting. MMLA combines the fun of summer camp with the opportunity to live in a foreign language, guided by skilled faculty and staff. Next summer MMLA will offer four languages -- Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, French, and Spanish. Each summer camp adapts the renowned Middlebury Language Schools immersion with a curriculum and activities developed specifically to create all the fun of summer camp in the target language. The summer camps will run June 28-July 26, 2008, at St. Michael's College near Burlington, VT, Menlo College in Atherton, CA, and Hampshire College in Amherst. MA (student participation at Hampshire is through the Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth). Whether you're interested in becoming part of a cutting-edge teaching team or have students who would love to join a vibrant language community, you can find out more at www.mmla.middlebury.edu or 802-296-2459.

 

Summer Courses in Spain

 

The Office of Education of the Embassy of Spain has recently posted the list for summer courses in Spain.  The classes are taught at prestigious universities by university professors who are specialists in each designated subject. They encompass teaching and the practice of various linguistic skills at different levels of mastery over the Spanish language. And additional activities are included both as part of the courses and as optional activities, such as culture classes, visits to important sites, daytrips, 

For general information, dates, and registration, visit the following links:

 

http://www.mec.es/exterior/usa/es/programas/cursos/portada.shtml

 

http://www.mec.es/sgci/usa/en/programs/courses/index.shtml

 

or write for information to:  cursosprofesores.usa@mec.es

 

 

     Exchange Students Coming to Connecticut
     for Academic Semester

 

Terra Lingua, USA, is a not-for-profit, educational organization dedicated to promoting language education and international understanding by providing family homestay immersion experiences. We offer affordable and quality cultural exchanges through an experienced and caring network.

Through our foreign partners in Albania, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Ghana, Ireland, Kosovo, Kyrgystan, Mongolia, Nepal, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, and Viet Nam, we’ve helped many young people discover a new appreciation for our global community while enhancing their language skills.

We are currently seeking host families for the academic semester beginning in January.  Students speak English and come with their own spending money and insurance.  They will join their host family in activities, and daily routines while attending the local high school.  Their purpose is to master their English skills while studying and learning about the American way of life.

Any family can be a host family.  Families with or without children, single or domestic partner households, and empty-nesters are welcome to apply.  The process is easy.  A simple application, references and criminal background check and you’re ready to experience this rewarding opportunity. 

Please contact Kellie Iacovella, CT State Representative at TerraLinguaExchange@hotmail.com for more information.  We also invite you to visit our website www.TerraLinguaUSA.org.

 

 

 

 

Full Crossing Cultures Senegal 2008

Crossing Cultures offers a stimulating travel and educational program focused on the French-speaking Republic of Senegal, WestAfrica. The program dates for the 2008 Crossing Cultures program are June 23 – July 8. It will be ID’s 19th program to Senegal.

Led by two former Peace Corps volunteers, this well-established program appeals to people in and out of academia. It works well for those who want to experience family life and community projects in the rural areas of this diverse nation, and for those with special interests in dance and music training, environment, government, agriculture, language or education and health projects.

The Crossing Cultures group is small, no more than five, allowing the leaders to tailor activities to the participants’ interests.  Reasonable cost.  Extended stays for volunteer work or field study can be facilitated. For more information, contact:

Janet L. Ghattas, General Director
Intercultural Dimensions, Inc.
PO Box 391437
Cambridge MA 02139

Voice: 617 864 8442
E-mail: janet.ghattas@gmail.com

Website: www.interculturaldimensions.org

Intercultural Dimensions, Inc. is a tax-exempt 501(C)(3) educational organization.

 

F

Total Spanish immersion Program in Buenos Aires , Argentina
Seventy-Two Professional Development Hours
March 20-30, 2008
June 26 - July 5, 2008

Creative Bridges for Language Learning is offering a unique hands-on/theory immersion program; fun-filled with unlimited exposure to language and culture, on a variety of topics of interest that embrace every one of the aspects related to the Argentinean / Latino / Spanish culture  such as: Literature, Art, History, Music, Dance, Theater, and Films; beneficial to educators at every level.

 

It is designed to enhance teaching practices.  Participants will learn innovative teaching strategies and how to create dynamic lessons that incorporate authentic culture into daily instruction based on their experiences.

 

We will create DVDs with the field trips, workshops, dance classes, and performances for sharing those incredible experiences in meaningful ways with students, teachers, and the community.

 

Participants will have plenty of opportunities to enjoy one of the most beautiful cities in the world!

 

New Jersey Professional Development Provider# 4477

For more information:

Creative Bridges for Language Learning

http://Connectionsdt.tripod.com/totalimmersion
(609) 895-2981
Creativebridges@aol.com
Creativebridgesinstitute@yahoo.com

 

Creative Bridges for Language Learning is a non-profit organization.

 

 

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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