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Language
Resource Center
Final Performance Report
(Second Funding Cycle: 1996-2000)
Report for Year Three (1998 - 1999) and Extension Year (1999 -
2000)
The Center for Advanced Research on Language
Acquisition (CARLA) at the University of Minnesota was highly
productive during its first three years of funding (1996-1999) and
extension year (1999-2000) during its second cycle of Title
VI Language Resource Center (LRC) funding. Throughout this period,
CARLA continued to expand upon its mission to improve language teaching
and learning nationwide by conducting valuable research and action
projects, all of which have been disseminated widely through presentations
and publications at the regional, national, and international level.
A plethora of activities were conducted within following five major
project initiatives during the second LRC cycle:
Each of the projects was very successful in meeting its proposed
objectives. The extension of this grant through the end of August
2000 allowed for the completion of the battery of computer-based
Minnesota Language Proficiency
Assessments. CARLA's second LRC grant cycle fostered the steady
growth of teacher professional development opportunities through
the CARLA summer institute program,
numerous presentations and workshops delivered at venues around
the world, and an inaugural international
conference on language teacher education.
During the four year reporting period (September 1,1996 - August 31,
2000), CARLA served over 614 teachers in 41 states through the CARLA
summer institute program. CARLA also continued its mission to spearhead
important conference opportunities for language professionals. The three-year
funding cycle was launched in September 1996 with a national
summit for fifty less commonly taught language professionals and
ended in May 1999 with the first
international conference on language teacher education held at the
University of Minnesota. The May 1999 conference attracted the participation
of over 200 language teacher educators, researchers, and graduate students
from 31 states and 14 countries. Using multipliers set by the Language
Resource Centers' Council of Directors, it is estimated that this conference
impacted over 750,000* students through its audience of language teacher
educators.
* The LRC Council of Directors' Group along with
the US Department of Education LRC program officers have stated
that 1 teacher tainer impacts 25 teachers, who in turn impact
150 students each for a total impact of 3, 750 students.
During the reporting period, CARLA continued to augment its resources
for language teachers and learners. At the end of the second cycle of
funding, CARLA's resources included an extensive website (visited over
365,000 times per year), a battery of second language assessments in
French, German, and Spanish that are now available in a computer-delivered
format, and a series of sixteen CARLA
working papers. CARLA sponsors a database of where Less Commonly
Taught Languages (LCTLs) are taught at the postsecondary level throughout
North American (visited by over 65,000 people last year) and eight listservs
targeted at teachers of Celtic languages, Dutch, Hebrew, Hindi, Korean,
Polish, Scandinavian, and a general listserv for all LCTL teachers.
CARLA's impressive list of
dissemination activities during its second cycle of LRC funding
includes 90 presentations at national conferences and 83 publications
in books, refereed journals, and teacher-focused publications. Taken
together, the Title VI funded activities at CARLA have impacted a broad
national network of foreign language teachers, researchers and teacher
educators.
Conclusion
The Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition at the
University of Minnesota has been an excellent steward of Title VI
Language Resource Center funding during its second cycle of funding
(1996-1999) and throughout its extension year (1999-2000). The research
activities and program initiatives undertaken as part of this grant
have forwarded the ultimate goal of the LRC program to "improve
language learning and teaching the country." During the center's
third cycle of LRC funding (1999-2002), CARLA continues to expand
its already established reputation as a resource for language teachers
and learners throughout the country and the world.
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