Announcements

LCTL Teacher Stipends

To support the improvement of instruction of Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTLs), 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 sponsor this program as part of their mission to support LCTL teachers.

Applications are due by April 11, 2008.

European LCTL teachers see: http://www.esc.umn.edu/CARLA.htm
Asian LCTL teachers see: http://asias.umn.edu/funding/k16.html
All other LCTLs see: http://igs.cla.umn.edu/outreach/language.html

For more details about the stipend program see: http://www.carla.umn.edu/institutes/scholarships.html

CARLA Summer Institutes 2008

The Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA) at the University of Minnesota has sponsored a summer institute program for second language teachers since 1996. This internationally-known program reflects CARLA's commitment to link research and theory with practical applications for the classroom. Each institute is highly interactive and includes discussion, theory-building, hands-on activities, and plenty of networking opportunities.

The CARLA summer institute program is very popular, so register early!

The institutes that will be offered during summer 2008 are:

Immersion 101: An Introduction to Immersion Teaching for Chinese and Japanese
June 23–27, 2008
Presenters: Tara Fortune with Michael Bacon and Molly Wieland

Using Technology in Second Language Teaching
July 14–18, 2008
Presenters: Marlene Johnshoy, Beth Kautz, Jenise Rowekamp, Rick Treece, Pablo Viedma, Jian Wu, Zhen Zou

Developing Materials for Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTLs)
July 14–18, 2008
Presenters: Bill Johnston and Louis Janus

Meeting the Challenges of Immersion Education:
"How well do students speak the immersion language?"
July 14–18, 2008
Presenters: Tara Fortune and Lynn Thompson

Focusing on Learner Language:
Second Language Acquisition Basics for Teachers
July 21–25, 2008
Presenters: Elaine Tarone and Maggie Broner

Improving Language Learning:
Styles- and Strategies-Based Instruction
July 21–25, 2008
Presenters: Martha Nyikos and Andrew Cohen

Content-Based Language Instruction and Curriculum Development
July 21–25, 2008
Presenter: Laurent Cammarata

Immersion 101: An Introduction to Immersion Teaching
July 21–25, 2008 (Session 1) -or- July 28–August 1, 2008 (Session 2)
Presenters: Diane Tedick, Tara Fortune, Maureen Curran Dorsano, and Mandy Menke

Developing Assessments for the Second Language Classroom
July 28–Aug. 1, 2008
Presenters: Ursula Lentz and Donna Clementi

Culture as the Core in the Second Language Classroom
July 28–Aug. 1, 2008
Presenter: Francine Klein

Language and Culture in Sync:
Teaching the Pragmatics of a Second Language
July 28–Aug. 1, 2008
Presenters: Noriko Ishihara and Andrew Cohen

The cost of each of the CARLA summer institutes is $350 if registration is received by May 31, 2007 and $400 after that date. More information and registration forms will soon be available on the CARLA website at: http://www.carla.umn.edu/institutes. Brochures are available now at the CARLA office. To request a copy you can email the CARLA office at: carla@umn.edu.

Immersion Education: Pathways to Bilingualism & Beyond

October 16–18, 2008
Crowne Plaza Riverfront
St. Paul, Minnesota

Featured Speakers:
    Fred Genesee, McGill University
    Philip Hoare, Hong Kong Institute of Education
    Kauanoe Kamana and Bill "Pila" Wilson, University of Hawai'i
    Roy Lyster, McGill University
    Myriam Met, National Foreign Language Center, University of Maryland

Language immersion education has emerged as a uniquely constituted, highly effective program model for launching students on the road to bilingualism and intercultural competence. Within the immersion program framework, discrete pathways address a variety of needs and program audiences that exist around the world. They include one-way foreign language immersion, two-way bilingual immersion, and indigenous immersion. While each program branch targets distinct socio-cultural contexts and educational needs, the root path is the same.

Under the leadership of two national centers in the U.S., CARLA at the University of Minnesota and the Center for Applied Linguistics, this conference brings these immersion pathways together to engage in meaningful dialogue and professional exchange across languages, levels, learner audiences, program models and sociopolitical contexts.

Call for Papers Extended Deadline: Monday, March 3, 2008

CARLA and CAL are currently seeking proposals for papers, discussion sessions, and symposia on aspects of language immersion education related to four overarching conference themes:

• Program Design and Evaluation
• Immersion Pedagogy
• Culture and Identity
• Policy and Advocacy

In addition to basic, applied and evaluation research, conference organizers welcome a range of practitioner perspectives including immersion teachers, administrators, curriculum coordinators, parents and specialists who work in immersion programs. Papers, presentations, discussion sessions, and symposia may report on data-based research, theoretical and conceptual analyses, or best practices in language immersion classrooms.

More information and on-line submission instructions can be found at: http://www.carla.umn.edu/conferences/immersion2008/call.html

Questions? Email the planning committee at: immconf@umn.edu

Program Updates

CARLA Director Update

The Office of International Programs at the University of Minnesota has announced that Elaine Tarone has been selected as the full-time director of the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA), after an extensive international search. Tarone is the current director of CARLA and is a full professor in the English as a Second Language Program. She will begin her full-time position on August 1, 2008. Until that time, she will continue her work with CARLA at 50%-time, while maintaining a half-time teaching load in the ESL Program.

Tarone received her master’s and Ph.D. in speech science (Interdisciplinary Program in Applied Linguistics) from the University of Washington, Seattle, and a diploma in applied linguistics from Edinburgh University in Scotland. She joined the University of Minnesota in 1979 as an assistant professor in the linguistics department and became a full professor in 1990. In 1992, she moved to the English as a Second Language program, where she continues to serve as a faculty member. She was founding director of CARLA in 1992-93 and has been its director since 1996.

She received the Award for Outstanding Contributions to Post baccalaureate, Graduate and Professional Education, in 2000, and in 2007, received the TESOL Distinguished Research Award, along with co-authors Martha Bigelow, Bob delMas and Kit Hansen. She served as president of the American Association for Applied Linguistics in 1991–92, after organizing AAAL’s first independent international conference. She is frequently asked to do plenary presentations as an American applied linguist at such international conferences as the AsiaTEFL conference in Seoul (2004) and the Auckland, New Zealand, conference on social and cognitive aspects of second language learning (2007). She is the author or co-author of eight books and dozens of papers in scholarly journals and book chapters.

CARLA Publications

American Council on Immersion Education Newsletter

The February issue of The American Council on Immersion Education Newsletter line-up includes the following articles:

• Reinventing a Dual Language Program
• Nawahiokalani’opu’u: Hawaiian Revitalization Lab School
• Multi-district Immersion Celebrations Salute Language Learning
• 2008 Immersion Conference: Pathways to Bilingualism and Beyond and the CARLA Summer Institutes
• The Bridge: From Research to Practice: CARLA-MAIN Website Project

Become an ACIE member today to get the newsletter. There are two levels of membership – individual and institutional.

The individual membership - $25 for one year, $45 for two years – includes:

• A 1-year subscription to The American Council on Immersion Education Newsletter, the only publication in the United States to address issues specifically related to immersion education. It is published in November, February and May;
• A discount coupon for $25 off any of the 2008 summer immersion institutes OR a discount coupon for $25 off the CARLA-CAL Immersion Conference to be convened in the fall of 2008.

The institutional membership - $200 for one year, $350 for two years – includes:

• Twenty copies of each issue of The ACIE Newsletter.
• Five discount coupons for $50 off any of the 2008 summer immersion institutes OR five discount coupons for $50 off the CARLA-CAL Immersion Conference to be convened in the fall of 2008.

And don’t forget the ACIE Archives: Ten years worth of archived ACIE articles, perfect for staff development readings and discussion, are available on the immersion pages of the CARLA website. See: http://www.carla.umn.edu/immersion/acie/index.html.

Conferences Coming Up

Several faculty and staff members within the CARLA network will be participating at the following sessions at conferences that are coming up this spring and summer. We hope to see you there!

CALICO 25th Annual Conference,
"CALICO with IALLT"
March 19-22, 2008
San Francisco, CA

Media-Enhanced Wikis: A Platform for Building Community & Demonstrating Student Performance (Half-day Pre-Conference Workshop)
Tuesday, March 18, 9:00am-12:00noon
More than just a collaborative writing tool, wikis help students build community within and outside the classroom using the target language to explore and share their interests and knowledge of the target culture. Learn how student wiki projects can come alive with digital media. Focusing on photos and sound, participants use easy tools for working with and integrating media into a wiki site. Participants develop and take home a model for student work. Learn how your students can create their own products to demonstrate what they know and can do in the target language.
Presenters: Lauren Rosen, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Marlene Johnshoy, University of Minnesota, Kasumi Kato, University of Wisconsin

Sharing the Expertise: Communities of Learning for Technology
Thursday, March 20, 10:00am
Both CALICO and IALLT are concerned with making connections to language teachers who are not "techies" in order to share the technology expertise that resides in our organizations. At the same time, there are many language teachers who are doing very creative things with many different kinds of technology! How can we make more connections? This session will show the results of a national survey of language teachers on their technology use and what they would like to learn more about. Some connection suggestions will be put forward (learning communities), and brainstorming other means of knowledge sharing will be encouraged.
Presenter: Marlene Johnshoy, University of Minnesota

Making the Unconventional Conventional: Examining the Role of Emerging Digital Media in Language Learning
Friday, March 21, 1:30pm
This presentation will explore approaches to L2 acquisition that emphasize the immediate relevance of internet usage and the attendant proliferation of new media literacies and communicative genres. Following a discussion of our own and other relevant research in the areas of Internet use and educational gaming, we will describe an innovative pedagogical framework that is rooted in authentic opportunities for meaningful expression via emerging digital technologies. We will conclude the presentation with concrete suggestions for heightening the relevance of instructed foreign language education and for better preparing language learners to be successful multilingual members of 21st century global communities.
Presenters: Steven L Thorne, The Pennsylvania State University, Julie Sykes, University of Minnesota

The K-12 Factor: Bridging the Gap between the K-12 and University Communities (IALLT Panel Discussion)
Saturday, March 22, 10:00am
Why do CALICO and IALLT have a small number of K-12 constituents while ACTFL boasts a strong K-12 community? Is it time for a paradigm shift to encompass the needs of the K-12 educator? Come partake in this panel session of K-12 and university faculty members. Panelists will report on successful programs and resources that are already making this paradigm shift a reality. See how the CARLA Summer Institutes for Language Teachers, the University of Miami-Dade Outreach Program, and a K-16 “Blackboard” Language Resource Site are already changing the way K-12 and college-level language instructors communicate via technology!
Presenters: Frank Kruger-Robbins, Pine Crest Preparatory School, Fort Lauderdale FL, Kristy Britt, The University of South Alabama, Marlene Johnshoy, The University of Minnesota, Rachida Primov, The University of Miami, Dana Rensi, Ashland High School, Oregon

Synthetic Immersive Environments & Spanish Pragmatics: Examining Dynamic CMC
Saturday, March 22, 2:30pm
Various features associated with online collaborative environments are ideally suited to tackle pragmatic complexities. This presentation reports on the design, testing, and implementation of the first synthetic immersive environment (SIE) for learning L2 pragmatics. It describes the development process of the 3-dimernsional, virtual space including the theoretical model for design and implementation. It reports on a large-scale study addressing user perception of the SIE for learning, the patterns of use within the SIE, and learner outcome data. The presentation will conclude with a discussion of implications for research as well as suggested applications of SIEs in language classrooms.
Presenter: Julie Sykes, University of Minnesota

AERA 2008 Annual Meeting
March 24–28, 2008
New York, New York

The Language Learning Motivation of Early Adolescent French Immersion Graduates
In Session: Factors in Second-Language Learning: Affect, Motivation, Spirituality, and Strategy
Wednesday, March 26, 12:25–1:55pm
This interpretive multiple case study examines the motivation to learn a second language among sixth grade students who attended a French immersion school in grades K-5. These students all chose to continue with immersion education in sixth grade. Parent questionnaires, student questionnaires, and both individual and group interviews with students were the data sources used to identify students’ L2 learning motivating factors. With each student constituting one case, between-case analysis reveals a considerable diversity of motivating factors mentioned in interviews, although instrumental and social factors were more predominant than a desire to integrate with the target culture. Both between-case and within-case analyses indicate that there is more individual variation in L2 learning motivation than the survey data alone suggests.
Presenter: Pam Wesely, University of Minnesota

Schools Serving English Language Learners: How Effective Staff Development Is Determined by School Cultures
In Session: Multicultural Education in Teacher Education Programs
Thursday, March 27, 2:15–2:55 pm
This study explores the dynamics of unique school cultures as they affect changes in practice occurring with elementary educators (grade-level, ESL, and paraprofessionals) serving English language learners. It explores the processes at work in an innovative in-service teacher development program designed to effect school change through long-term, sustained, teacher-driven efforts. What happens when a small team within a school works over a two-year period to systematically rethink and restructure their instructional practices with English Language Learners? How does the unique school “footprint,” a school culture that includes a variety of institutional, situational, and dynamic characteristics, determine the success of teachers whose task is to improve student learning?
Presenters: Constance L. Walker, Tina S. Edstam, Karla Stone, University of Minnesota

AAAL 2008 Annual Conference
March 29–April 1, 2008
Washington, D.C.

Literacy Level Affects Oral SLA
March 29, 2-2:30 p.m.
Without more research on the oral processes of SLA of low literate L2 learners, the applicability of current SLA findings and theory will remain unacceptably limited, and of questionable value in guiding teachers who work with illiterate learners. Research findings supporting this position are presented.
Presenter: Elaine Tarone, University of Minnesota

Exploring Immersion Teachers' Experience of Balancing Content
March 29, 2:35-3:05 p.m.
This presentation reports on a phenomenological study that tapped the experiences of three veteran immersion teachers in the U.S. once enrolled in a year-long professional development program geared toward preparing them to effectively balance content and language instruction. Implications for professional development and future research will also be highlighted.
Presenters: Laurent Cammarata, University of Georgia, Diane J. Tedick, University of Minnesota

Assessing Pragmatic Competence: A Study of Authentic Assessment for Foreign Language
April 1, 11:20-11:50 a.m.
This qualitative case study reports on the classroom-based assessment of pragmatic competence in a university Japanese course as part of pragmatics-focused instruction. Assessment instruments used, learner language, and the instructor’s assessment will be presented and the areas of learners’ pragmatic development and limitations of the assessments will be discussed.
Presenter: Noriko Ishihara, Hosei University in Tokyo, Japan, Sachiko Aoshima and Kumiko Akikawa, American University

Online Learner Strategies Instruction and Virtual Assessment in Spanish Pragmatics
March 30, 2-2:30 p.m.
This presentation reports on the effectiveness of online learning modules in L2 Spanish pragmatics and the use of a synthetic immersive virtual environment for assessment purposes. Results present important implications for design and use and well as unique insights into synthetic immersive environments for pragmatics assessment and data collection.
Presenter: Julie Sykes, Andrew D. Cohen, University of Minnesota

TESOL Convention 2008
April 2-5, 2008
New York, New York

Comprehensible Pragmatics: Where Input and Output Come Together
In Comprehensible Input, Comprehensible Output, and L2 Learning
Thursday, April 3, 8:30-11:15 am
Traditionally, comprehensible input and comprehensible output have been examined in isolation, considered separately, and at times were considered rather mutually exclusive.
Presenter: Andrew D. Cohen, University of Minnesota

Incorporating Instructional Pragmatics Into Teacher Education
April 3, 10:30-11:15 a.m.
Few teacher education programs systematically offer courses in instructional pragmatics; not surprisingly, the effects of such pedagogical courses have hardly been researched. This case study investigates language teachers’ knowledge and beliefs on the instructional pragmatics as a result of 6-hour training in this area in an MA TESOL program.
Presenter: Noriko Isihara, Hosei University in Tokyo, Japan

Tesol/Thompson Heinle Research Award Presentation:
Alphabetic Print Literacy and Oral L2 Processing
April 4, 2:00–2:45 p.m.
Most of what we know about adult SLA comes from studies done with learners who are literate. Little is know about the impact of alphabetic print literacy on oral L2 processing and acquisition. This presentation reports on several related studies which explore the relationship between literacy and oral L2 SLA.
Presenters: Elaine Tarone, Martha Bigelow, Kit Hansen, University of Minnesota

Breakfast with TESOL’s Best
Saturday, April 5, 7:30–8:15 am
A small group will gather to discuss the topic of “Styles, Strategies, and Motivation in Language Learning.”
Leader: Andrew D. Cohen, University of Minnesota