SUBMIT AN ARTICLE

SUBMIT AN ARTICLE 

August 2013 Theme Issue of 

The Language Educator 

Focus: The Learner 

Deadline: May 1, 2013 

21 st Century Skills: 

Technology, 

Information, and 

Media; Life and 

Career 

Q&A with Teacher of 

the Year Noah Geisel 

Using Technology 

with Interpretive 

Communication 

february 2013 | volume 8 | issue 2 

Language Policies 

Across the Globe 

Dual Language 

Program Saves 

School 

Using Fables to 

Teach Language, 

History, and Culture 

Pinterest for 

Language Educators

ACTFL is coming to Orlando in 2013! 

Save the Date 

mark these imPortant dates 

on your Calendar: 

July 10 

Deadline for Early Bird Registration 

oCtober 24 

Deadline to Make Housing Reservations 

oCtober 30 

Deadline for Advance Registration 

registration and housing 

oPen at WWW.aCtfl.org 

Please join us at 

Pre-Convention WorkshoPs 

on thursday, november 21 

the american Council on the teaching of Foreign Languages 

(aCtFL) annual Convention and World Languages expo, 

where learning comes alive, features over 600 educational 

sessions covering a wide spectrum of the language profession 

addressing the theme New Spaces, New Realities: Learning 

Any Time, Any Place. More than 250 exhibiting companies 

will be showcasing the latest products and services for you 

and your students. the aCtFL Convention is an international 

event bringing together over 6,000 language educators from 

all languages, levels and assignments within the profession. 

announCing our keynote sPeaker: 

tony Wagner 

harvard’s innovation education fellow at the 

technology and entrepreneurship center 

Visit www.actfl.org 

for all Convention information 

and program updates!

Volume 46 • No. 1 • Spring 2013 

Foreign Language Annals 

The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages 

Student Collaboration and Teacher- 

Directed Classroom Dynamic 

Assessment: A Complementary Pairing 

Kristin J. Davin and Richard Donato 

After five days of classroom dynamic assessment 

(DA) targeting WH-question formation, 

Spanish students worked in small groups on 

a collab orative writing task. This research 

sought to determine whether learners were 

able to mediate their peers during this task 

and if so, whether this mediation might be 

traced back to participation in classroom DA. 

A Descriptive and Co-Constructive 

Approach to Integrated Performance 

Assessment Feedback Bonnie Adair- 

Hauck and Francis J. Troyan 

This article presents a descriptive and coconstructive 

approach to feedback related to 

performance in the interpersonal mode of 

communication on the Integrated Performance 

Assessment (IPA). The goal of the microgenetic 

analysis in this research was to describe the 

discursive features of effective IPA feedback. 

To this end, critical discourse analysis of a 

feedback session between a teacher and one 

student is presented and discussed. 

Attitudes Towards Task-Based 

Language Learning: A Study of College 

Korean Language Learners 

Danielle Ooyoung Pyun 

This study explores second language learners’ 

attitudes towards task-based language learning 

and how their attitudes relate to selected 

learner variables, namely anxiety, integrative 

motivation, instrumental motivation, and selfefficacy. 

Ninety-one college students of Korean, 

who received task-based language instruction, 

participated in this questionnaire study. 


Your resource for research: 

Don’t Miss the Spring Issue of 

Foreign Language Annals 

ARTICLES ONLINE You can view published articles from Foreign Language 

Annals even before they are in print. Go to wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/flan 

to discover the latest from the journal. 

The Spring 2013 issue of Foreign Language Annals contains a rich body of information to help language educators 

explore the latest research and apply it in their own classrooms. When the next issue of ACTFL’s journal arrives in your 

mailbox in March, be sure to check out the following articles: 

Empirical Validation of Reading 

Proficiency Guidelines Ray Clifford 

and Troy Cox 

This study applies a multistage, criterionreferenced 

approach that uses a framework of 

aligned texts and reading tasks to explore the 

validity of the ACTFL (and related) Reading 

Proficiency Guidelines. 

The Relationship Between the 

Development of Speaking and Writing 

Proficiencies in the U.S. University 

Spanish Language Classroom 

Michael Hubert 

This case study seeks to determine if speaking 

and writing proficiencies develop at similar 

rates among language learners. Seventeen 

students enrolled in beginning, intermediate, 

and advanced Spanish courses at a mid-sized 

U.S. university were administered the ACTFL 

Oral Proficiency Interview and Writing Proficiency 

Test. Speaking and writing proficiency 

scores were then correlated. 

Assessing Gains in Language 

Proficiency, Cross-Cultural 

Competence, and Regional Awareness 

During Study Abroad Jeffrey Watson, 

Peter Siska, and Richard Wolfel 

This study presents a theoretical background 

for a three-tiered model for assessing student 

outcomes during study abroad in three 

domains—language proficiency, cross-cultural 

competence, and regional awareness—and 

presents quantitative data gathered from the 

implementation of this model. 

NEW this Issue! 

Hear Directly from 

the Authors! 

Beginning with the Spring 

2013 issue of Foreign 

Language Annals, readers 

will be able to view video 

podcasts prepared by some 

of the issue’s authors 

highlighting their research 

and explaining how it 

translates to classroom 

application. 

Self-Regulation in Second Language 

Learning: An Investigation of the 

Kanji-Learning Task Heath Rose and 

Lesley Harbon 

This study investigates the learning of kanji 

by non-Japanese university students studying 

Japanese. The purpose of the study was to 

examine learners’ approach to kanji study 

through the lens of self-regulation theory. 

Data were collected over the duration of a 

year in the form of regular interviews with 

12 students. 

Understanding the Relationship 

Between Language Performance and 

University Course Grades Alan Brown 

The relationship between postsecondary foreign 

language course grades and proficiency 

appears fraught with interpretive difficulties 

given that they represent the intersection of 

extremely complex and multifaceted constructs. 

This paper presents preliminary data 

correlating students’ scores on measures of 

speaking, listening, and reading proficiency 

with Spanish course grades. 

Changes in Affective Profiles of 

Postsecondary Students in Lower- 

Level Foreign Language Classes 

Kimi Kondo-Brown 

Recent opinion surveys and second language 

motivation research shed light on academic 

dilemmas and challenges that postsecondary 

students in lower-level foreign language 

courses may experience. This longitudinal 

study extends this line of research by 

examining changes in the affective profiles of 

students in a two-year Japanese program at 

an American university.

Volume 8, No. 2 n February 2013 


Sandy Cutshall 

Editor 

ACTFL Headquarters Staff 

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Alison Bayley 

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Director of Membership and 

Administration 

Jaime Bernstein 

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ACTFL Officers 

Toni Theisen 

President 

Loveland High School (CO) 

ACTFL Board of Directors 

Todd Bowen 

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Patricia Carlin 

University of Central Arkansas 

Jocelyn Danielson Raught 

Cactus Shadows High School (AZ) 

Pauline Goulah 

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Regina Farr 

Membership Specialist 

Zerihun Haile-Selassie 

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Lori Haims 

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Yesenia Olivares 

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Dave McAlpine 

Past President 

University of Arkansas at Little Rock 

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The Language Educator n February 2013

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The Language Educator n February 2013 3

SUBMIT AN ARTICLE 

August 2013 Theme Issue of 


Focus: The Learner 

Deadline: May 1, 2013 

21 st Century Skills: 

Technology, 

Information, and 

Media; Life and 

Career 

Q&A with Teacher of 

the Year Noah Geisel 

Using Technology 

with Interpretive 

Communication 

volume 8 | issue 2 

february 2013 

Departments 

february 2013 | volume 8 | issue 2 

Language Policies 

Across the Globe 

Dual Language 

Program Saves 

School 

Using Fables to 

Teach Language, 


Pinterest for 

Language Educators 

ON THE COVER: 

2013 ACTFL National Language Teacher of the 

Year Noah Geisel in his Spanish classroom at 

East High School in Denver, CO. 

President’s Message 

ACTFL President Toni Theisen 7 

Breaking News 8 

BriefBits 12 

Tech Talk 13 

The Savvy Traveler 14 

So You Say 24 

Inside ACTFL 26 

SIG Corner: Teacher Development 31 

Legislative Look 48 

Web Watch 58 

Upcoming Events Calendar 60 

Advertiser Index 61 

Marketplace 61 

4 

The 

Language Educator 

Features 

18 

MAKING THE CONNECTION: 

21 ST CENTURY SKILLS AND 

LANGUAGES 

Information, Media, and 

Technology Skills—Life and 

Career Skills 

Douglass Crouse 

32 

A Turn-Around Plan in Two 

Languages: HOW DUAL 

LANGUAGE IMMERSION HELPS 

SAVE A SCHOOL 

36 

Interview with ACTFL National 

Language Teacher of the Year 

Noah Geisel 

38 

YOUR TECHNOLOGY 

PRIMER—INTERPRETIVE 

COMMUNICATION: Using 

Technology for the Interpretive 

Mode 

Patricia Koning 

42 

IN THE CLASSROOM: Harnessing 

the Power of Story: Teaching 

Language, History, and Culture 

Through Fables 

Bendi Benson Schrambach 

51 

How Language Policy Looks 

in Various English-Speaking 

Countries 

Kate Brenner 

56 

THE IDEA BOX: Pinterest for 

Language Educators 

Janina Klimas 


Introductory French 

NEW! Interactive Grammar 

Tutorials with le professeur 

vistahigherlearning.com/new-he 

Live language. 

Where will it take you?

6 

The following ACTFL members were certified in November 2012 by the 

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). 

Julie Jezuit 

Mt. Prospect School District 57 

Mt. Prospect, IL 

Debbie Krawczyk 

Manassas City School District 

Manassas, VA 

Nathalie Rose Norris 

Tahoma School District 409 

Covington, WA 

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages 

Congratulations to All! 

Kimberly Raciak 

Community High School District 128 

Vernon Hills, IL 

Laura K. Sexton 

Gaston County School District 

Dallas, NC 

Donna M. Shahan 

Norfolk School District 

Norfolk, VA 

We thank all of our Gold Corporate sponsors. 

EMC/Paradigm Publishing 

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/Holt McDougal 

Pearson Prentice Hall 

Vista Higher Learning 

Paige C. St-Pierre 

Issaquah School District 411 

Sammamish, WA 

N a t i o N a l B o a r d 

for Professional Teaching Standards 

We would also like to congratulate all those ACTFL members who were among the first to become 

officially certified by the NBPTS and have recently been recertified or are currently going through 

the process of recertification. 


President’s Message 

Discovering New Spaces 

and New Realities 

Toni Theisen 

ACTFL President 

How is technology not only helping learners “discover languages,” but also providing many new ways to communicate 

with the world? 

Discover Languages ® is the national campaign developed by ACTFL to raise awareness about the cognitive, academic, 

social, cultural, and economic benefits that language learning provides our nation’s students. In addition to year-round 

advocacy, ACTFL and its members focus particular attention on speaking up for language learning during Discover 

Languages Month every February, during which a variety of special activities are organized. 

Going strong now for seven years, the Discover Languages campaign has encouraged teachers, students, and parents to 

promote language learning via polls, art contests, booths at county fairs, parades, language ambushes, and radio broadcasts. 

Students have advocated for more language learning by writing to their state representatives, visiting their governors’ 

offices, and encouraging state legislatures to proclaim February as Discover Languages Month. The list goes on with many 

additional creative ways that language learning has been promoted throughout these years of this campaign. There are 

many more resources and creative ideas located at www.DiscoverLanguages.org. 

Of course, one of the favorite activities of the Discover Languages campaign is the annual ACTFL Video Contest. Every 

year, the quality, creativity, and use of technological effects become more intriguing. Students of all ages and language 

levels take pride in collaborating and creating with peers for a purpose. As stated in the ACTFL 21st Century Skills Map for 

World Languages, students as creators respond to new and diverse perspectives as they use language in imaginative and 

original ways to make useful contributions. The video contest helps our students make their mark regarding the importance 

of language learning—in a very personalized way. 

But there is another reason why the video contest resonates with the 21st century learner: Our students simply think 

differently about technology and creativity than many of us do. Whereas teachers generally see technology (and tasks 

embedded with technology) as teaching tools, students view technology as a means to connect to the world. They yearn 

for a powerful video that goes viral. They encourage others through social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, their 

blogs, and their photos on Instagram to “like” their video. They message friends and friends of friends to vote for their 

video—almost with as much vigor as in the production of the piece itself. No sooner have they finished that last edit of 

their “masterpiece,” than a team member has already loaded it on YouTube, while others have linked to it on Facebook, 

and suddenly it is being tweeted and retweeted many times over. 

Our students have truly learned that the landscape of social media provides many opportunities to expand on their 

knowledge, to explore their interests, and most of all to make connections with others all over the globe. 

In his December 2012 article, “Using Social Media as a Language Learning Tool” in The Guardian, Ryan Owen Gibson 

states, “by refusing to engage with our children in the digital playground that is social media, we will never truly understand 

their needs and never fully realize its potential as a language-learning tool.” (tinyurl.com/guardian-social-media). 

So, next year when considering if you can find the time for your students to create a video for the ACTFL Video Contest, 

just remember that this experience is more than just an assignment. It is a learning experience that has the potential for 

students to critically think through play, to authentically discover their passion for language learning and to manifest this 

play and passion into a personal, powerful, and purposeful message that they willingly share and hope many will see. 

Check out the 2013 contest-winning videos at actflvideocontest.org. And, be sure to connect with ACTFL this month 

on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/actfl#!), Twitter (twitter.com/actfl), and through the ACTFL YouTube channel 

(www.youtube.com/user/actfl). 

Happy Discover Languages Month to all! 


BreakingNews U.S. 

Scientists are finding that there are 

cognitive advantages to raising a child 

bilingual, according to a new study from 

Concordia University in Canada. Contrary to 

what some people may believe, growing up 

in a bilingual home does not confuse a baby 

and make learning to speak more difficult, 

rather it gives them an edge. While they 

may be slower initially in picking up each 

language than children raised speaking only 

one, that temporary drawback is offset by 

the benefits of bilingualism, says Concordia 

psychology professor Krista Byers-Heinlein. 

Done in collaboration with psychologist 

Janet Werker of the Infant Studies Centre in 

Vancouver, the study recruited 181 parents 

who are themselves speakers of English and 

at least one other language. 

Up to 90% of parents switch easily from 

one tongue to another in the same breath 

when interacting with their children, the 

study found. A few parents adopted a 

and International Language News 

Bilingual Babies Are Smarter, Says Study 

method of “one parent, one language” but in 

reality, most mixed their languages regularly. 

Either they could not find an adequate 

translation for particular words in a current 

language or they used the mix as a teaching 

strategy for new words, says Byers-Heinlein, 

director of the Concordia Infant Research 

Laboratory and member of the Centre for 

Research in Human Development. 

The greater the language mix, the greater 

the challenge for the babies and the smaller 

their vocabularies at age 2, Byers-Heinlein 

says, perhaps because it is harder to pick up 

meaning from a mixed-word phrase. “But 

this is also a strength because we know from 

other studies that bilinguals can tell two 

languages apart from birth,” she explains. 

“Studies comparing monolingual and 

bilingual infants have shown that bilinguals 

are more adept at switching between strategies 

and are more able to learn two rules at 

the same time,” she says. “Infants exposed 

to frequent language mixing could develop 

specific strategies for coping with this type of 

input. That could lead to cognitive advantages 

that would outweigh any initial difficulties 

brought about by language mixing.” 

A decade of studies in Canada suggests 

bilingual children perform better on 

cognitive tests than monolingual kids who 

only speak English. Researchers believe that 

the effort of juggling or switching between 

languages is what gives the brain massive 

practice and a cognitive edge thanks to improved 

neural circuits in the frontal region of 

the brain needed to execute such control. 

Byers-Heinlein is now undertaking new 

research with French–English bilinguals in 

Montreal to examine whether these findings 

hold in other bilingual communities, and 

when children’s vocabularies are assessed in 

both of their languages. 

Read more at tinyurl.com/canada-studybilingualism. 

Foreign Language Jobs to Exceed English Positions, Says MLA 

For the first time in almost 20 years, there 

are likely to be more full-time jobs in 2012– 

2013 for foreign language educators than for 

people with PhDs in English, according to the 

Modern Language Association (MLA). 

The prediction was part of an update on 

the humanities job market released by the 

association before its annual meeting in early 

January. It is based on the MLA’s Job Information 

List (JIL), which is widely regarded 

as one of the best gauges of humanities hiring 

in academe in the nation. 

The update projects that the number of 

academic jobs in foreign languages in 2012– 

2013 will rise to 1,246, up 10.5% from the 

8 

previous year. In English the number of 

positions is expected to drop to 1,191, down 

3.6%. Positions in English have leveled off 

after two years of increases, according to the 

update, while foreign language positions— 

which had also increased in the previous two 

years—are still growing. 

The MLA says the expected growth in 

foreign language jobs suggests that colleges 

“recognize the importance of multilingualism 

in students’ education.” Despite the growth 

in foreign language listings, the number of 

jobs has still shrunk by about one-fourth 

from a peak in 2007–2008 of 1,680. That 

shortfall can be explained by colleges shut- 

tering or consolidating foreign language 

programs in the wake of recession-related 

budget cuts. Meanwhile, English jobs are 

34.8% below a 2007–2008 peak of 1,826. 

The association notes that recent hiring 

trends may affect its predictions. In the last 

three years, more than half of the job vacancies 

on the JIL surfaced after January 1. As 

recently as 10 years ago, the October issue of 

the list would contain half of the total number 

of vacancies listed in a year. Therefore, 

the number of listings predicted could shift 

by the end of the 2012–2013 academic year. 


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More people learned German at the 

Goethe-Instituts worldwide in 2012 

than ever before, said institute president 

Klaus-Dieter Lehmann at the organization’s 

annual press conference in Berlin 

last December. 

“Curiosity about Germany has grown immensely, 

along with the rising expectations 

of Germany in the world,” Lehmann said. 

While the total number of students 

enrolled in these German language classes 

abroad increased 6% from 2011, to nearly 

200,000 students, in Germany the number 

Advertise in 

The Language Educator! 

Record Number of German Learners at Goethe-Instituts 

of language students at Goethe Instituts rose 

even higher, by 17%, to 38,000. 

The greatest growth occurred in southern 

European countries, where up to half 

of young people are suffering from unemployment. 

The Goethe-Instituts in Spain 

recorded a 37% increase in German language 

students, followed by Portugal, with 

22%, and Greece with a 16% increase. The 

Goethe-Instituts in those countries are offering 

career-related language courses and opportunities 

to establish contacts to facilitate 

entry into the German labor market as part 

Try them now for free. 

of the initiative, Mit Deutsch in den Beruf, or 

“Taking German with You into Career Life.” 

The Goethe-Institut not only offers 

language classes at its locations around the 

world; it also advocates for German instruction 

in national education systems. In Russia, 

which had experienced a temporary drop in 

German language students after introducing 

English as the first foreign language, the 

nationwide outreach campaign Lern’ Deutsch 

(“Learn German”) was able to stem the decline. 

Russia, with some 2.3 million German 

language students, now leads, along with 

Poland, in the number of German learners. 

Want to reach over 17,000 language teachers and administrators? 

Place an ad in an upcoming issue of The Language Educator. 

Advertising inquiries should be addressed to 

Alison Bayley at abayley@actfl.org; (703) 894-2900, ext. 109. 


Breaking News 

Spanish Second Most Tweeted Language 

Spanish is the second-most-used 

language on Twitter, after English, the 

director of Spain’s Cervantes Institute said 

in January. 

Víctor García de la Concha was 

joined by Foreign Minister José Manuel 

García-Margallo at an event in Madrid 

to present the institute’s 2012 Yearbook, 

which provides an in-depth examination 

of the presence of the Spanish language 

throughout the world. 

Spanish, with its 500 million speakers, 

is second only to Chinese as the most 

spoken language on the planet and is in 

third place on the Internet. The growth 

potential for users of Spanish continues 

to be great, given that more than 60% of 

Latin Americans are still not on the Web. 

Besides the growing presence of 

Spanish online, García de la Concha 

Five Common Mistakes Language Learners Make 

t’s a myth that intelligent people are better at learning languag- 

“Ies,” writes EFL Instructor Anne Merritt in a recent article in 

The Telegraph (UK). “Sure, it doesn’t hurt, especially when innately 

academic types hold an arsenal of learning strategies. Most language 

learning skills, however, are in fact habits, which can be formed 

through a bit of discipline and self-awareness.” 

Merritt lists five most common mistakes that she believes language 

learners make: 

1. Not listening enough 

“Listening is the communicative skill we use most in daily life, yet 

it can be difficult to practice unless you live in a foreign country or 

attend immersive language classes.” 

Her solution: Find music, podcasts, TV shows, and movies in the 

target language, and “listen, listen, listen, as often as possible.” 

2. Lack of curiosity 

“A learner who is keen about the target culture will be more successful 

in their language studies. The culturally curious students will be 

more receptive to the language and more open to forming relationships 

with native speakers.” 

10 

emphasized the annual growth of 8% in 

the number of people learning Spanish 

as a second language. If the current 

growth trend continues, he said, 10% of 

the world population will be able to get 

by in Spanish within three or four generations, 

and the United States will be the 

country with the largest Spanish-speaking 

population. 

In addition to the United States, the 

Cervantes Institute also will focus its 

efforts on the booming Asia-Pacific area, 

where demand for Spanish instruction 

is advancing more and more quickly. 

In China, 70% of the requests to study 

Spanish currently are rejected because 

of the limited access to teachers. Despite 

that, some 25,000 Chinese university 

students are learning the language, compared 

with 1,500 in 2000. 

National Consortium 

of Language Program 

Databases 

The National Foreign Language Center 

at the University of Maryland, working 

under the auspices of the STARTALK project, 

has established the National Consortium 

of Language Program Databases hosted by 

the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL). 

The Consortium is pleased to launch the 

prototype for the Online Language Programs 

Directory as part of CAL’s work for 

STARTALK. Visitors to the website can search 

the directory for snapshot data from two of 

the Consortium partners, providing a proofof-concept 

for possible future activities. Learn 

more at www.cal.org/consortium. 

3. Rigid thinking 

“Language learning involves a lot of uncertainty—students will encounter 

new vocabulary daily, and for each grammar rule there will 

be a dialectic exception or irregular verb . . . The type of learner who 

sees a new word and reaches for the dictionary instead of guessing 

the meaning from the context may feel stressed and disoriented in an 

immersion class . . . It’s a difficult mindset to break, but small exercises 

can help. Find a song or text in the target language and practice 

figuring out the gist, even if a few words are unknown.” 

4. A single method 

“Language learners who use multiple methods get to practice different 

skills and see concepts explained in different ways. What’s more, 

the variety can keep them from getting stuck in a learning rut.” 

5. Fear 

“This is the stage when language students can clam up, and feelings 

of shyness or insecurity hinder all their hard work . . . The key is 

that [mistakes] help language learners by showing them the limits of 

language, and [allowing them to correct their] errors before they become 

ingrained. The more learners speak, the quicker they improve.” 

Find the article online at tinyurl.com/five-mistakes-merritt. 


Babies can detect the difference in 

sounds between their native tongue 

and a foreign language at birth, according 

to a recent study. Researchers examined 40 

infants—an even mix of girls and boys—in 

Tacoma, WA, and Stockholm, Sweden. At 

about 30 hours old, the babies listened to 

vowel sounds in their native language and 

in foreign languages. The babies’ interest in 

the sounds was measured by how long they 

sucked on a pacifier wired to a computer. 

The study found that, in both countries, the 

infants listening to unfamiliar sounds sucked 

on the pacifier for longer than they did when 

exposed to their native tongue, suggesting 

they could differentiate between the two. 

Lead author of the study, Christine 

Moon, a professor of psychology at Pacific 

Lutheran University in Tacoma, said the 

results show that fetuses can learn prena- 

More on Bilingualism and the Aging Brain 

The latest evidence that knowing more than one language 

is good for you comes from a study in the January 9, 2013 

issue of the Journal of Neuroscience. 

Brian Gold, a neuroscientist at the University of Kentucky 

College of Medicine, tested older bilingual people (ages 60–80) 

in their ability to perform an attention-switching task, a skill 

that typically fades with age. Earlier research has found that 

people bilingual since childhood are better as they age at the 

higher order thinking called “executive function.” 

Gold found that the bilingual seniors were quicker at a 

mental ability test than their monolingual peers. He then added 

an extra dimension by putting the people’s heads in scanners to 

see what was happening inside their brains. The brains of the 

monolingual seniors were working harder to complete the task, 

while the bilingual seniors’ brains were much more efficient, 

more like those of young adults. 

Neuroscientists think that having more reserve brain power 

helps compensate for age-related declines in thinking and 

memory, and may help protect against the losses caused by 

Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. 

Learn more about this study at tinyurl.com/bilingual-aging-brain. 

Infants Recognize Language Sounds at Birth 

tally about the particular speech sounds of a 

mother’s language. 

“This study moves the measurable result 

of experience with speech sounds from six 

months of age to before birth,” says Moon. 

“The mother has first dibs on influencing 

the child’s brain,” adds researcher Patricia 

Kuhl, of the University of Washington. “The 

vowel sounds in her speech are the loudest 

units and the fetus locks onto them.” 

Previous studies have indicated that 

babies begin to develop sound-recognition 

skills while still in the womb. For example, 

in a 2011 study detailed in the journal 

PLOS ONE, a group of women were asked 

to play a brief recording of a descending 

piano melody in the last three weeks of their 

pregnancy. When the babies heard the song 

again a month after birth, researchers found 

that the infants’ hearts slowed significantly 

Breaking News 

compared with when they heard an unfamiliar 

song. In other experiments described in 

the journal Current Biology in 2009, scientists 

recorded and analyzed the cries of 60 

healthy newborns when they were three to 

five days old—30 born into French-speaking 

families, 30 into German-speaking ones. 

Their analysis revealed clear differences in 

the melodies of their cries based on their 

native tongue. 

“We want to know what magic they 

put to work in early childhood that adults 

cannot,” Kuhl says. “We can’t waste that 

early curiosity.” 

The new research, which will be detailed 

in an upcoming issue of the journal Acta 

Paediatrica, could shed light on previously 

unknown ways that newborns soak up 

information. Find out more at tinyurl.com/ 

language-birth. 

Thomas Soth 

Thomas Soth, a National Board Certified 

Teacher, has taught Spanish 1–4, as well 

as AP Spanish Language, and AP Spanish Literature at Northwest 

Guilford High School in Greensboro, NC, where he also serves as 

co-department chair and a teacher mentor. He has taught courses 

at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, and is a former 

president of the Foreign Language Association of North Carolina. 

He contributes to his profession in many ways, including presentations 

at state and regional conferences, as a consultant for The 

College Board, and by creating his own website called Spanish is 

Fun (spanishisfun.0catch.com), which—in addition to links for his 

school’s teachers and students—is filled with resources for Spanish 

learners and teachers. 

Soth, who was an ACTFL National Language Teacher of the Year 

finalist after being named the 2012 Southern Conference on Language 

Teaching (SCOLT) Teacher of the Year, understands that language 

learning builds 21 st century skills in our students. “I believe that the 

learning of language and culture is necessary for all 21 st century citizens, 

because these are the skills needed to actively participate in the 

modern village, nation, and world.” Languages will help the students of 

today become the citizens of tomorrow who can fuse critical thinking 

with communication and collaboration so that, Soth says, “creativity 

can be shared and spark greater innovations that will help all people.” 


Here we present some language-related articles which 

appeared in newspapers and online, and were recently 

featured in ACTFL SmartBrief. To subscribe to this free 

e-newsletter and get the most up-to-date news sent directly 

to you via e-mail, go to www.actfl.org/smartbrief. 

Maryland District Integrates Language with 

STEM Curriculum 

Students at two elementary schools in a Maryland district take a 

semester of Spanish and a semester of Chinese each year as part 

of a pilot program, now in its second year, that seeks to infuse 

foreign language instruction in a curriculum based on science, 

technology, engineering, and mathematics. The language courses 

primarily focus on science, but also incorporate social studies, 

language arts, culture, and health. 

“Howard Elementary Schools Offer Lessons in Chinese, Spanish” in The 

Baltimore Sun, 11/29/12 

Indiana School Diversifies Language Courses 

Nearly 50 students in an Indiana high school enrolled in the 

school’s inaugural Mandarin class, and by the end of the first 

semester, students are speaking in full sentences and practicing 

writing with Chinese characters. The school also offers Spanish, 

as well as German (online). 

“The First Semester of Chinese at Logansport High School” in Pharos- 

Tribune, 12/7/12 

German Immersion Program Impresses 

Foreign Diplomats 

Students and teachers at an elementary school in Glendale, CA, 

received a visit in December from important guests—diplomats 

from the Los Angeles-based German consulate. The diplomats 

came away with a positive view of the school district’s growing 

commitment to dual immersion education and pledged to help 

the school secure grants for language programs and to provide 

students with opportunities to study in Germany when they 

get older. 

“Diplomats Visit Dual-Language Classes” in Glendale News-Press, 

12/14/12 

12 

BriefBits 

University Students Speak 10 Languages 

Under One Roof 

Students living in the University of Maryland’s Language House 

spend 80% of their time speaking a language other than English, 

such as French, Japanese, or Spanish. The immersion learning approach 

has steadily grown in popularity throughout the country; 

adapting it to the collegiate lifestyle is another sign of that. “It’s 

like study abroad without studying abroad,” said Phoenix Liu, 

director of the program. 

“UM’s Language House Speaks Anything but English” in The Daily Record, 

12/16/12 

Organization Provides Services to Help Newcomers 

Assimilate 

In Boulder, CO, a nonprofit group called Intercambio has helped 

thousands of immigrants adapt to American society and learn 

a new language. The organization was formed in 2000 when 

co-founder Lee Shainis noticed schools cutting English language 

learner programs despite a growing number of immigrants living in 

the area. “We want to make sure that immigrants are participating 

and contributing, as opposed to scared and fearful,” Shainis said. 

“Boulder’s Intercambio Helps 8,000 Immigrants Find Their Way” in The 

Denver Post, 12/13/12 

China Struggles to Replace Aging Scientific 

Translators 

Industry experts say China faces a shortage of individuals with 

the skills and training to translate scientific content from other 

languages into Chinese. “Science and technology translation requires 

one’s high proficiency in science knowledge and language, 

but people with such skills usually choose occupations other than 

translator, because the importance of translation is minimized in 

China,” said Zhao Wenli, deputy secretary-general of the Science 

and Technology Translators’ Association of the Chinese Academy 

of Sciences. 

“Industry Seeks Next Generation of Linguists” in China Daily, 12/8/12 

Find out more online: 

Franklin Magnet School: International Foreign Language Academy of Glendale 

(CA) – franklinmagnetschool.com/ 

University of Maryland Language House – lh.languages.umd.edu/ 

Intercambio – www.intercambioweb.org/ 


Tech Talk 

iSpeak Chinese Phrasebook 

Designed for iPods 

Published by McGraw-Hill and designed by Middlebury College educational 

technologist Alex Chapin, iSpeak Chinese Phrasebook (MP3 CD 

+ Guide): An Audio + Visual Phrasebook for Your iPod, is designed 

to turn your iPod into a portable translator. It also provides access to 

1,500 Chinese phrases—in both visual and audio form. 

iSpeak Chinese includes an MP3 audio disc for uploading to an iPod, 

as well as a 64-page user’s manual. Though optimized for iPods, the 

digital phrasebook is also compatible with other MP3 players. Phrases 

are accessed from the iPod in the same way as music: 

• Select Artist to choose the theme 

• Select Album to choose a topic within the theme 

• Select the desired phrase 

iSpeak Chinese Phrasebook (MP3 CD + Guide): An Audio + Visual 

Phrasebook for Your iPod is available for purchase through a number of 

retailers, including Amazon. 

German Government Launches 

App Directory 

The government of Germany has recently launched a new app platform 

to create a central repository of Germany-related apps. The directory 

was designed in order to create a central place where Germany-related 

apps could be browsed and downloaded. Apps available through the 

platform cover areas such as family, education, and social networks, as 

well as apps related to every region of Germany. All of the apps featured 

there are free. Offerings include tu-was, the German police’s first app, 

which is meant to help citizens help those in danger without putting 

themselves at risk; the DB navigator, which can help you book your next 

train trip; and many city-specific apps. 

Users can search for apps by name, subject, region, as well as by app 

device compatibility (Web App, Android, Apple iOS, or Windows). The 

directory is in German. 

For more information, visit the app platform at www.govapps.de/ 

start. 

Share Your Ware! 

The Language Educator would like to hear from you. 

If you know of any new foreign language technology, software, 

or hardware, that you have used or reviewed, please send the 

information via e-mail to scutshall@actfl.org. 

The latest in language learning technology 

Top Hat Monocle Transforms Any 

Mobile Device into a Learning Tool 

Top Hat Monocle is a web-based clicker and homework tool designed for 

colleges and universities that allows students to use any mobile device 

to interact with and participate in the lesson. 

Top Hat Monocle works with any mobile device that uses a WiFi or 

cellphone signal, including laptops, tablets, smartphones, and “basic” 

phones. Questions are displayed both on the classroom projector as well 

as on each student’s device, and students can submit answers in real 

time using WiFi or by sending a text message. Results are available to 

the instructor instantly. 

Features available with Top Hat Monocle include: 

• A real-time poll and quiz option 

• A “discussions” feature that allows instructors to collect opinions, 

crowd-source questions, and moderate in-class debates 

• The ability to allow your students to complete selected questions for 

homework 

• Automatic answer grading and tracking 

• Gradebook and roster integration for Desire2Learn, Blackboard, and 

Canvas. 

• The ability to export all data into Excel in multiple formats 

For more information, visit www.tophatmonocle.com. 

Samsung Smart School Solution 

Links Education and Technology 

Electronics and technology maker Samsung has created a technology 

system designed for classrooms called Samsung Smart School 

Solution. It utilizes Samsung tablets and an interactive whiteboard 

and is built around three systems to assist teachers to create a 

more integrated, engaging digital learning environment that is 

easy to manage: 

The Interactive Management Solution allows teachers to 

deliver content or share a student’s screen with the class. Instructors 

can also track student progress in real-time and easily conduct 

group activities, Q&As, tests, and polls, then instantly call the 

class to attention by locking student screens via voice command. 

The Learning Management System gives teachers a way to 

provide course e-textbooks, learning apps, and school notices— 

and students can see these forms at any time. 

The Student Information System assists teachers in tracking 

student attendance, grades, prizes, or demerit points. 

For more information, visit www.samsung.com/us/it_ 

solutions/education/education.html. 

Descriptions, information, and reviews of the above software/hardware were 

taken directly from the respective websites. Inclusion of products in “Tech Talk” 

does not imply endorsement by ACTFL or The Language Educator. 


Advice for SmArt trAvel And Study AbroAd 

A Guide to Help You Go Wisely 

In THE SAVVY TRAVELER—Advice for Smart Travel and Study Abroad, we present ideas and advice for how to make 

overseas travel and study a great success for you and your students! We not only offer tips and strategies, but we also focus on 

successful programs and stories of student and educator experiences abroad. Submit your travel-related ideas and articles for 

THE SAVVY TRAVELER to us via e-mail at scutshall@actfl.org. 

be PrePAred for minor 

emergencieS 

If you are in charge of a group of students on a trip abroad—or 

even when you are traveling solo—having an adequate first aid 

kit is a necessity. Home first aid kits are usually only used for using 

minor traumatic injuries such as burns, cuts, abrasions, stings, splinters, 

sprains, and strains. First aid kits for travel need to be more 

comprehensive because a drugstore may or may not be easily accessible. 

In addition to personal medical items, the kit should contain 

items to help alleviate the common symptoms of viral respiratory 

infections such as fever, nasal congestion, cough, and sore throat. It 

should also contain items to treat cuts, mild pain, gastrointestinal 

problems, skin problems, and allergies. 

When preparing for a trip, speak with your students about what 

they need to personally bring to take care of themselves and the 

medical conditions they have. Any prescription or over-the-counter 

medications that they take regularly should be packed by the indi- 

14 

WHAT TO PUT IN A TRAVEL FIRST-AID KIT 

Medications 

Antacid 

Antibiotic ointment 

Antidiarrheal medicine 

Antihistamine cream 

Antiseptic agent/small bottle of liquid soap 

(for cleaning wounds and hands) 

Aspirin 

Cough medication 

Ibuprofen (e.g., Advil) or naproxen (e.g., Aleve) 

Insect repellent 

Nasal spray decongestant 

Oral antihistamine (e.g., Benadryl) 

Oral decongestant (e.g., Sudafed) 

Personal medications 

Sunscreen 

vidual and they should bring a copy of the prescription, in case they 

need to get an emergency refill at a foreign pharmacy. 

You should know your school’s policies on administering overthe-counter 

medication to students and be sure that this topic is 

covered in any travel permission form signed by the students and 

their parents. Clarify any allergies that students have and keep a copy 

of this information in your personal traveling papers as well as in the 

first-aid kit. You may wish to designate one of the adult chaperones 

on your trip as the medical contact who is in charge of first aid, but 

all adults and students should be briefed on any major medical conditions 

among the travelers, such as allergies to bee stings or peanuts. 

You may need to include an EpiPen for serous allergic reactions. 

First aid kits can be purchased at a drugstore or online, or you 

can easily put together your own. Try to keep it small and simple and 

stock it with multi-use items. A water-resistant, drop-proof container 

is best; inexpensive nylon bags, fanny packs, or makeup cases serve 

very well. Use resealable sandwich bags to group and compartmentalize 

items. Put wound supplies in one bag and medications in another. 

Supplies 

4" x 4" sterile gauze pads 

Adhesive bandages (all sizes) 

Adhesive tape 

Book on first aid 

Dental kit (for broken teeth, loss of crown, 

or filling) 

Exam gloves 

Knife (small Swiss Army-type) * 

Moleskin (to apply to blisters or hot spots) 

Non-adhesive wound pads 

Plastic resealable bags 

Pocket mask for CPR 

Safety pins (large and small) 

Scissors * 

Small flashlight 

Thermometer 

Tweezers 

* These items should be put in checked 

luggage rather than carry-ons. 


Make sure you (and others) know how to properly use all the 

items in your kit, since you may be the one who needs first aid. 

Pack and use barrier items such as latex gloves and masks. You 

should probably also bring a complete list of travelers’ medical histories, 

medications, doctors, insurance companies, and emergency 

contact persons. If possible, have copies both in English and the 

language of the country where you are traveling. 

All prescription and over-the-counter medications may be 

brought aboard an aircraft in a carry-on bag, according to the Transportation 

Security Administration (TSA). Liquid, gel, and aerosol 

medications do not have to fit in a passenger’s single quart-size bag 

and are exempt from the 3-oz. rule. Other medications, including 

pills and inhalers, are permitted through the TSA screening 

checkpoint. The quantity of all medications you bring through the 

checkpoint should be reasonable for the length of the flight or travel 

period. Declare all liquid, gel, and aerosol medications, either orally 

or in writing, to the TSA agent at the security checkpoint. Because 

TSA officers do not handle personal medications, display all medications 

for the security officer as prompted during a visual inspection. 

A few tips for going through airport security with medications: 

• Leave the original labels on if possible. This can make the 

screening process easier and faster. 

• Place liquid or gel medications into your quart-size plastic bag 

if possible (but only if the amounts are under 3 oz.). 

• Pack medications (bagged or not) at the top of your carry-on, 

so that you can easily remove them for inspection. 

• Arrive at security a little early. Unless you are only bringing 

medications which fit in a quart-sized bag, an agent must 

exam them. 

• Inform the agents if you have any prescription medications 

not in the quart-sized bag. 

• If you need to bring a large amount of medication with you, 

the TSA states that you “will be required to adequately explain 

the need.” Bring documentation for supporting your need in 

this case. 

don’t be A victim When 

trAveling 

When traveling abroad, nothing will ruin your trip faster 

than being victimized by criminal activity. And, being an 

experienced traveler doesn’t necessarily mean you are a safe traveler. 

A new book, Passport to Safe Travel by Jeff Haywood, founder of 

Ronin Global Safety Group, is packed with simple, no-nonsense 

advice that novice and expert travelers alike can use to travel more 

safely and confidently throughout the world. 

It includes information on: 

• What you should know before you go 

• What to take with you and what to leave at home 

• How criminals and terrorists choose their victims 

• How to determine if you are being followed 

Language Immersion 

& Global Leadership Programs 

Spain – Costa Rica – France – Italy – China 

Request an Educator Packet Online! 

www.spiabroad.com 866-502-7505 

• How to minimize your risk of being victimized 

• How to safely use a public restroom 

• How to choose a hotel room 

• How to protect intellectual property while traveling 

• The common element to street-crime scams 

• How to safely travel in rental cars, taxis, subways, and trains 

• How to safely carry money and documents 

• How to react in a worst-case scenario 

First-time or nervous travelers (or their parents) may find this a useful 

guide. More about the book is available online at www.passporttosafetravel.com/. 

neW APP helPS trAvelerS 

gAther informAtion 

Tagwhat, a free app for iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, and Android, can 

help expand your knowledge of your travel destination with text, 

pictures, and sometimes video on food, sports, history, and more. 

Using your mobile device’s built-in location sensors, Tagwhat instantly 

delivers the web, social networking, and third party app content 

about the places around you. Find out more at www.tagwhat.com. 


16 

TEACHER TRAVELTip: 

INVOLVE PARENTS IN THE EXCITEMENT OF STUDENT TRAVEL 

“I hold monthly meetings with my 

travelers and their parents to cover 

topics including spending money, 

safety and how to avoid having pockets 

picked, hotel and travel rules, packing, 

meals, regional souvenirs, etc.” says 

Parthena Draggett, Spanish and French 

teacher at Jackson High School in 

Massillon, OH. The meetings also give 

parents and students the chance to ask 

questions that they may have as firsttime 

travelers abroad, she says, 

Sherri Westra, Chinese teacher in 

Coon Rapids, MN, suggests creating 

a parent phone tree before leaving. “I 

set up two main contacts,” she says. 

“Whenever I have a chance to get on 

the Internet, I will e-mail these two 

parents with updates. The main contacts 

will forward them onto the rest of 

the parents.” This system can also be 

used with the telephone for emergency 

phone calls, she notes. 

“Determine ahead of time how the 

group will communicate back home 

(blog, phone, e-mail, etc.)” advises 

Jeanette Szretter, Spanish teacher at 

The Rivers School in Natick, MA. 

“Centralize the communication so that 

as much language immersion as possible 

can occur. The goal is not to have 

Susie or Johnnie calling home every 

Do you have a teacher travel tip to share? 

Send it to scutshall@actfl.org with “The Savvy Traveler 

Teacher Travel Tip” in the subject line. 

Foreign Language Annals SeekS New editor 

The American Council on the Teaching of 

Foreign Languages (ACTFL) seeks an Editor 

for Foreign Language Annals, the association’s 

highly respected, peer-reviewed quarterly 

scholarly journal. The desired start date for 

the Editor’s term is July 1, 2013, following 

publication of the Summer 2013 issue. The 

journal is dedicated to expanding the awareness 

and understanding among language education 

professionals of current research, pedagogy and 

challenges facing the profession. It is mailed 

in March, June, September and December to 

more than 12,000 ACTFL members and an 

additional 1,000 institutional subscribers. More 

information about the journal can be found in 

the Publications area at www.actfl.org. 

The Editor brings a solid knowledge of 

contemporary trends in language education 

day. The minor discomforts, challenges, 

and uncertainties are part of the 

experience.” 

“Parents love to live the trip 

through their child’s eyes, so we journal 

and post pictures for families and 

friends at home,” says Draggett. “I take 

iPads for writing and taking videos, 

then we post them when I get to the 

hotel or from a restaurant with free 

WiFi.” She also plans a post-trip party 

for parents and students, usually at the 

home of a student, where they share 

memories and pictures and “relive the 

adventure.” 


and of new developments in technology and 

pedagogical practice. The Editor actively solicits 

submissions that reflect the varied needs 

and interests of language professionals at all 

levels of all languages, and reviews submissions 

for publication suitability. The successful 

applicant is a senior scholar in the field of language 

education with proven capabilities, high 

standards in research, writing and publication, 

and editorial experience, including familiarity 

with the electronic-text-to-printed-page 

process. For Foreign Language Annals, this 

process is accomplished through the use of 

the Scholar One electronic system, for which 

those unfamiliar with the system can be easily 

trained. The Editor is served by a Managing 

Editor who corresponds with submitting 

authors, schedules volunteer reviewers, com- 

municates suggested revisions to authors, and 

edits all contents of the journal. Additionally, 

the Editor is assisted by an Editorial Board 

comprised of professionals in the field who are 

recommended by the Editor and appointed by 

the ACTFL Board of Directors. 

This position offers a modest annual 

honorarium. Applicants should submit a 

curriculum vitae and a letter documenting 

their qualifications and vision for the journal 

no later than March 15, 2013. The review 

of candidate applications will begin after that 

date and the position will remain open until 

filled. Applications should be mailed to: Editor 

Search Committee, ACTFL, 1001 N. Fairfax 

St., Suite 200, Alexandria, VA 22314. Send 

e-mail with attachments to: headquarters@ 

actfl.org. 


Spotlight on E.E. Waddell 

Language Academy 

When E. E. Waddell Language Academy in Charlotte, NC, received the 2012 ACTFL 

Melba D. Woodruff Award for Exemplary Elementary Foreign Language Education, 

the awards committee quoted one nominator who said, “I cannot think of a better 

way to prepare our students for the global experience which is more and more 

recognized to be their future.” 

Waddell is a public magnet school offering students the opportunity to 

become proficient and literate in Chinese, German, French, or Japanese through its language immersion 

program. The academy provides instruction to 1,300 students in grades K–8. In grades K–5, all content area 

instruction is in the target language. At the middle school level, students can begin a third language with Spanish 

added as an option. Students have the opportunity to continue their immersion experience at South Mecklenburg 

High School. In 2008, Waddell collaborated with the University of North Carolina-Charlotte to develop a series of 

advanced language options so students can have a true K–16 experience. 

Students at Waddell have the opportunity to use their language skills in an authentic setting when taking part in 

an international exchange. Waddell has developed a strong network of effective relationships with schools and universities 

in Germany, France, and Japan with international organizations and businesses that support their programs. 

Ynez Olshausen, Principal of E.E. Waddell Language Academy, accepted the award at the 2012 ACTFL Annual Convention 

on behalf of the staff and students at the school, saying: “Every year our language immersion magnet school 

grows, as more families become aware of the importance of world language proficiency in our global economy. In six 

languages of instruction, we are ensuring that every one of our students is globally competitive and well-prepared for 

college and career. We are confident that our students will be equipped for their global future with strong academic 

skills, advanced proficiency in a second language, and the ability to thrive in a diverse and multicultural society.” 

25% 

tuition 

reduction 

for ACTFL 

members 

Photos: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools 

GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY 

INTEGRATION FOR LANGUAGE EDUCATORS 

“I’m so glad I heard about this program. I loved how the program was geared specifically to world 

language teachers. Everything we discussed and shared was relevant and applicable to our own students. 

As a result of this class, I started an e-pal collaboration with teachers from Southern France, and created 

my own website to use with my students. No matter what personal level of technology you begin the class 

with (novice, intermediate or advanced), the class will take you to the next level.” – Larissa Arist 

With the success of the initial course offerings, all four courses are being offered in the 

Spring Semester, which began on Feb. 4, 2013. Consider enrolling in one or more of these 

courses this Fall! 

• Foundations of Technology in Teaching and Learning 

• Teaching Information and Media Literacies in the Digital World 

• Web-Based Teaching and Learning: Design and Pedagogy 

• Using Technology for Instructional Improvement: 

Research, Data and Best Practices 

“My praise of the program’s value is truly heartfelt. I appreciated how much these courses were targeted 

specifically to world language teachers . . . I particularly liked how the program has brought me new 

awareness about media and information literacies and broadened my perspectives in so many ways. The 

courses helped me navigate the many wonderful resources out there that I can use to benefit my students, 

and I am now better able to use them in the classroom.” – Stephanie Heid 

For more information, visit www.umuc.edu/actfl or contact the UMUC Corporate Learning 

Solutions office at 855-CLS-5300 or cls@umuc.edu. 


Making the Connection: 

21 st Century Skills and Languages 

Information, Media, and Technology Skills — Life and Career Skills 

Your 21 st century job 

title: Global Readiness 

Project Designer. 

Your task: to prepare 

students to succeed 

as culturally attuned, 

linguistically competent, 

technologically savvy 

citizens of the world. 

18 

By Douglass Crouse 

editor’s note: In this issue of The Language Educator, we further examine 21st century skills, as 

defined by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21)—including information, media, and 

technology skills (such as interpreting and making smart use of information technology and 

media) and life and career skills (those that are particularly vital for future job seekers to 

master: cross-cultural competence, social awareness, initiative, accountability, and leadership). 

It’s time to stop thinking of yourself as merely a language teacher. Your 21 st - 

century job title: Global Readiness Project Designer. Your task: to prepare 

students to succeed as culturally attuned, linguistically competent, technologically 

savvy citizens of the world. 

Forward-thinking educators in the field have long pursued that bigger prize, one 

found beyond the preoccupation with verb conjugations and adjective agreement. 

They recognize that today’s young scholars need to be equipped to select the best 

technology for each particular need, to peer behind the facade of media messages, to 

develop know-how that can heighten their value in the eyes of employers here and 

abroad—and ultimately to develop a robust internal drive that assures the continuous 

acquisition of new abilities. 

Those skill sets—and examples of activities and projects aimed at sharpening 

them—are described in the 21 st Century Skills Map for World Languages, a document 

created by ACTFL and the Partnership for 21 st Century Skills (P21) with input 

from hundreds of individual teachers. For Janis Jensen, Director of the School for 

Global Education and Innovation at Kean University in New Jersey, the skills map 

offers traditional teachers a way to significantly “upgrade” their instructional game 

plan, helping them “move away from those tried-and-true methods and toward 

greater relevance and meaningfulness.” 


“The 21 st century practices are absolutely 

the way to go because of their emphasis 

on authentic learning experiences,” Jensen 

says. “Teachers need to understand that the 

content of the world language class is not 

language; it’s content from other subject 

areas, with language only a tool. Even with 

a novice learner, if your focus is on explor- 

Information, Media, 

and Technology Skills 

Information Literacy 

Access and Evaluate 

Information 

Use and Manage 

Information 

Media Literacy 

Analyze Media 

Create Media Products 

ICT (Information, 

Communications and 

Technology) Literacy 

Apply Technology 

Effectively 

ing interesting, relevant topics, it becomes a 

whole different ballgame.” 

Among other benefits, the skills map 

forces teachers to place their own practices 

under a microscope, Jensen says. Will current 

classroom activities truly prepare students for 

demands they are likely to face in the future? 

A teacher who concludes that they fall short 


Technology Skills 

Tackling Technology and Information 

Online resources can be rich assets in designing skillbuilding 

experiences for students while connecting 

them with the target culture. Teachers just need 

to carefully consider their intended objectives and 

whether a given technology truly offers the best route 

there, says Thomas Sauer, World Languages Content 

Specialist for Fayette County Public Schools in 

Lexington, KY, and a member of the task force that 

played a key role in creating the skills map. 

“I’m not a big fan of technology integration because 

it seems like you are trying to fit it in and that can 

be very artificial,” he says. “The primary question is: 

What is the skill I want my students to acquire? Is 

there a tool that would work for that task? If you want 

to connect with another class in another country, you 

may want to write a letter and that can suit your needs 

fine. But if you want to speak directly with them, you 

have Skype available ideally suited for that.” 

Just as teachers assess the value of each technological 

tool, they must lead students through their 

own questioning process: Does this site best serve 

my needs? How can I be sure the information on 

the site is accurate? May I use the content without 

infringing on the author’s copyrights? How are these 

rights maintained across international borders? 

“The map really now puts a clear responsibility 

on the teacher to teach those skills,” Sauer says. “It’s 

about accessing the right technology and how to use 

information in ethical, legal ways.” 

can turn to the map for alternatives. 

“Many times the tasks we give students 

aren’t worth doing,” Jensen says. “What you 

need to add is that element of excitement and 

interest—meaningful communication on a 

meaningful topic. If students think something 

is worthwhile, they’re motivated to do it well.” 

Sauer, a member of the ACTFL Board of Directors, 

acknowledges that this mandate can seem 

intimidating to teachers who still tiptoe around 

technology. His advice: test out websites and Internet 

applications—one or two at a time—that offer the 

potential for making your own lives easier. 

“I often ask teachers during workshops, ‘How 

many of you file your taxes online?’ Usually about 

two-thirds to three-quarters will admit that they do,” 

he says. To teachers in the audience whose use of the 

Web is limited to e-mail and Google, Sauer recommends 

experimentation. “If they are comfortable 

using technology in their own daily lives, they will 

be more comfortable using it in class,” he says. 

Students often are already familiar with cellphone-based 

technologies and others that can be 

used in class. But it is up to teachers to recognize 

that potential for learning, says Lauren Rosen, Collaborative 

Language Program Director at the University 

of Wisconsin, where she specializes in language 

learning pedagogy and use of technology in learning. 

“I talk to instructors a lot about letting students 

show what they know in the way they know how to 

show it,” she says. “That means teachers need to be 

willing to let go a little bit.” 

To make the most of classroom time, Rosen encourages 

the teachers she works with to ask their computer 

class colleagues if they would be willing to include 

particular sites and applications in their curriculum. 

“That frees us to focus on content, allowing students 


A Framework for 

21 st Century Learning 

to come right into the language class and 

produce,” she says. “There does not have to be 

a lot of teacher-talk time in English, explaining 

how a site works.” 

A number of educators take issue with 

the term “digital natives,” contending that it 

belies the average student’s true technological 

knowledge and skills. A poll by The Henry J. 

Kaiser Family Foundation in 2010 found that 

children between the ages of 8 and 18 spent 

more than seven hours a day using entertainment 

media. But media use does not equate 

to media literacy, cautions Nicole Stiles, a 

French teacher in Pottsville, PA, who gave a 

presentation on critical media literacy at the 

2012 ACTFL Convention in Philadelphia. 

“We put too much emphasis on the fact 

that they grew up with the technology,” she 

says. “In too many cases, they have never been 

taught how to use it. If it’s not Google or Wikipedia, 

students often don’t know what to do.” 

In lower-income districts, many students 

have limited access to the Internet outside 

school. That is the case with a majority of 

Kara Parker’s Spanish students at South Park 

TAPP, an alternative school in Fairdale, KY. 

“They would be at a great disadvantage if 

they did not have the opportunity to learn 

how to create using technology,” says Parker. 

“Since I use authentic resources, they learn 

about new forms of media as they learn 

the language. I especially love to use social 

media as models of the language, before they 

create a similar product themselves.” 

20 

Life and Career Skills 

Learning and Innovation Skills – 4Cs 

Core Subjects – 3Rs and 21st Century Themes 

Standards and Assessments 

Curriculum and Instruction 

Professional Development 

Learning Environments 


Technology Skills 

For example, her Spanish students have 

picked up new vocabulary from messages 

Parker discovered through key word searches 

on Twitter, including opinions of last 

summer’s Olympic Games and Valentine’s 

Day love notes. Posts on corporate Facebook 

pages—Parker has gathered comments to 

and from Taco Bell Colombia, Heinz, and Oil 

of Olay—allow students to see how others 

express themselves and their views in the 

language they are learning, Parker says. 

Teachers and students also can tap sites 

such as Yelp (www.yelp.com), which offers 

user reviews of restaurants and other businesses, 

by searching business categories in 

target language cities. 

“I take this approach: if they can understand 

it, they can create it,” Parker says. “So 

if they read a Yelp review of a restaurant in 

Madrid, then they write a review of a restaurant 

they love or hate. If they watch a commercial, 

then they can create a commercial. I 

hope that this will also show them different 

types of creative jobs using technology. And 

I try to connect to why they need to do it in 

the target language by showing bilingual job 

postings or positions.” 

Parker shares many of her ideas in The 

Creative Language Class blog (creative 

languageclass.wordpress.com), which she 

co-founded last year with fellow Spanish 

teacher Megan Johnston. 

True Media Literacy 

Many teachers argue that Standards-based 

world language classes lend themselves ideally 

to promoting scrutiny of—and critical 

exchanges about—media messages. In that 

setting, students are primed to consider 

perspective—whether the views are of an 

individual in the target culture or the slant of 

an international corporation—and how that 

relates to the media product. 

During her eight years as a teacher, Stiles 

often included period paintings, images, 

and texts in her French 4 unit on the French 

Revolution. Last year, she asked her students 

to go a step further—to try analyzing how 

different artists rendered the participants and 

events of that time period. 

At the outset, she found her students 

unprepared to engage in critical discussion 

of either the images or text. By the end of 

the unit, she says, students could articulate 

a new-found understanding of the perspectives 

behind the images and better apply 

critical skills to other types of media. 

“We said, from here on, whenever you 

look at anything, think about what you think 

the authors want you to take away from 

it—whether it is the messages you are getting 

through TV shows, or the ads on Facebook, or 

the videos on YouTube,” she says. “The number 

of images presented to students is so great that, 

without instruction in media literacy, they are 

forced to accept at face value all of the messages 

with which they are being bombarded.” 

Stiles and other teachers emphasize that 

such analyses are possible at all levels of language 

instruction. “At the Novice level, you 

can do this even with the short video clips 

that come with textbook series,” Stiles says. 

“There is an idea that France is just Paris 

and Paris is all accordion players and men 

in striped shirts. You need to get students 

beyond that idea.” 

In an example echoed in the skills map, 

some instructors have their students compare 

how the same topics are handled differently 

in American and target culture publications, 

with special attention paid to the 

prominence of news articles and the space 

devoted to each subject. At the lower levels, 

the focus might be solely on headlines, while 

upper-level students could consider which 


details are most conspicuously present or 

absent—in print or, for advanced learners, 

even live broadcasts—depending on the 

culture in which they appear. 

In such explorations, balancing the needs 

of students to adequately express themselves 


Flexibility and Adaptability 

Adapt to Change 

Be Flexible 

Initiative and Self-Direction 

Manage Goals and Time 

Work Independently 

Be Self-Directed Learners 

Social and Cross-Cultural Skills 

Interact Effectively with Others 

Work Effectively in Diverse Teams 

Productivity and Accountability 

Manage Projects 

Produce Results 

Leadership and Responsibility 

Guide and Lead Others 

Be Responsible to Others 

When students go abroad and 

interact with others in the target 

language, they develop valuable 

social and cross-cultural skills. 

Here, Haley Bautista of Indian 

Hills High School (NJ) works with 

students in Oaxaca, Mexico. 

with the maximum possible use of the target 

language can be tricky. While Stiles admits 

to students’ difficulty in staying in the target 

language, allowing brief periods of mental 

processing in students’ native language helps 

them resolve a challenging issue which they 


Preparing for Life and Career 

Giving students the opportunity to use different 

technologies to connect with individuals 

and groups in the target culture also helps them 

broaden their life and career skills, which in the 

P21 framework include flexibility and adaptability, 

initiative and self-direction, social and 

cross-cultural skills, productivity and accountability, 

and leadership and responsibility. Such 

skills often grow out of online collaboration and 

creative exchanges with target-culture peers, 

says Rosen. 

“Having an audience that interacts with the 

content often leads the original authors to re- 


can then better explain back in the target 

language. The instructional challenge is in 

finding ways for students to express with 

limited language the relationships in the 

content they are exploring. 

think their own ideas,” she says. “Students tend 

to write more and more accurately when they 

have an audience beyond the teacher.” 

She gives an example of instructors she 

worked with whose Japanese language students 

collaborated with students in Japan. In the 

course of discussing different places in the United 

States, the students in Japan asked the American 

students, “Can you show us on a map?” Adding 

digital labels became a regular part of their online 

communication from then forward. 

Giving students opportunities to show 

leadership and responsibility is a key part of 

the life and career skills section of the P21 map. 



One example envisions students organizing 

a partnership between their school and one 

in a target culture country by tapping the 

support and expertise of an international aid 

organization. Students talk directly with the 

students at the foreign school and determine 

their needs, then collect and ship the 

items overseas. As a final step, the American 

students “engage in follow-up conversations 

with the students in the school to determine 

what impact the supplies had.” 

One typical effect of online exchanges is 

to fuel students’ desire for meaningful travel 

overseas, says Janet Glass, Spanish teacher 

at Dwight-Englewood School in Englewood, 

NJ, and the 2008 ACTFL National Language 

Teacher of the Year. In just one example at 

her school, sophomores and juniors last 

summer helped paint and refurbish schools 

in Peru and are planning another trip this 

year. “Working side-by-side with students 

there shows caring and acceptance and helps 

the local students meet their goals,” Glass 

says. “It’s a model for the kids in the high 

school here.” 

Students need equal parts language and 

culture to be adequately prepared for such 

experiences. For many years, Glass also ran 

a Japanese exchange program at Dwight- 

Englewood. While Japanese language classes 

ended at the school in 2000, the exchange 

continued for nine more years. “What we 

22 

saw was, without those classes, the students 

in later years wound up being poorly 

prepared. I remember that one young lady, 

a junior, once called home and complained, 

‘They’re treating me so rudely; they’re making 

me sleep on the floor!’ With minimal 

prior exposure to the language or culture, 

the girl had never learned about that very 

normal part of life in Japan. 

“There are many subliminal messages 

you receive by studying another culture and 

language,” Glass says. “You learn that your 

currency is not the only one, that climate 

is different in other places, that habits 

that are perfectly ordinary for us might 

seem very odd to members of a particular 

target culture. You’re taught that we ought 

not to think of American culture as the 

dominant culture.” 

Indeed, many activities aimed at building 

flexibility and cross-cultural skills work well 

closer to home. One skills map example has 

students designate a conversation table in 

the school cafeteria in which native speakers 

and new language learners choose and chat 

about a different topic each week. 

Working with target language groups in 

the local community, such as residents of 

a nursing home or students at a day care 

center, allows students to “show flexibility 

in their language abilities in terms of meeting 

others’ needs,” Glass says. “If you’re at a 

21 st Century Exploration 

For more information about 21 st century skills 

and language learning, check out the following 

websites: 

21 st Century Skills Map for World Languages 

tinyurl.com/languages-skillsmap 

Partnership for 21 st Century Skills 

www.p21.org 

www.p21.org/overview/skills-framework 

21 st Century Skills for World Language 

Students: Beyond the Classroom Wikispace 

isebeyondtheclassroom.wikispaces.com 

Engaging the World: U.S. Global 

Competence for the 21 st Century 

www.usglobalcompetence.org 

nursing home and you’re talking with people 

in Spanish or German, you might have to 

change your vocabulary a bit— they may be 

more or less literate than you—or you may 

need to moderate your points of view.” 

Parker recently reached out to some of 

her former Spanish students to ask how class 

had prepared them for jobs and careers. 

One student told her she used her Spanish 

during a humanitarian project in Nicaragua, 

while another expressed delight at making 

Valuable life and career skills are developed 

by participants in the 2012 STARTALK Program: 

Building Competency in Hindi and Urdu Through 

Global Project-Based Learning. 


personal connections with children while 

teaching English in Mexico. Parker’s Spanish 

class gave one young lady the confidence 

to tackle German, and she is now planning 

a possible move overseas with her military 

fiancé. Parker recalled another student who 

got a job at Target while still in high school 

after filling out both the English and Spanish 

questions on her application—an example of 

initiative rewarded. 

On a daily basis, students at all levels 

can develop self-direction and initiative by 

documenting each new language skill or cultural 

insight—regularly updating a chart of 

“I Can” statements that list a variety of ways 

to demonstrate those skills, for instance, or 

tracking progress toward personal learning 

goals. Or, as a test of long-range enterprise, 

students could choose a global topic early in 

the year to research in their free-time, then 

report their findings at year’s end on a class 

blog or wiki. 

Throughout the P21 skills map, the 

mandate is clear: Teachers need to find ways 

to put students directly in contact with the 

world, to bridge the here and there, and to 

connect what students do in the present with 

what they aspire to be in the future. 

“Language learning can no longer be limited 

to communication among students and 

teachers in the language classroom, or we are 

short-changing our students,” says Jensen. 

“The digital age demands that students be 

provided with multiple and ongoing op- 

portunities for real-world interactions within 

an authentic cultural context and, most 

importantly, for a real-world purpose.” 

Douglass Crouse is a contributing writer to The 

Language Educator. He also teaches French at Sparta 

Middle School in Sparta, New Jersey. 

Look for a focus on 21 st Century Support Systems and The Role of Languages for Specific Purposes in the 21 st Century in April! 

F r o m A C T F L 

The Ideal Guide for Language Educators! 

The Keys To 

Assessing LAnguAge 

PerformAnce 

A Teacher’s Manual for Measuring 

Student Progress 

“Does this count?” “is this going to be on the test?” students 

constantly ask these questions. Why? They want to know how 

their teacher is going to evaluate them. how can a teacher 

answer these questions in a way that will shape student learning 

and focus teaching on what really matters? 

Written by language education expert Paul sandrock, this 

book provides language teachers with a step-by-step approach 

for designing performance assessments, developing effective 

rubrics, and using them to evaluate and track student progress 

in a standards-based program. 

The ACTFL Guide For ProFessionAL LAnGuAGe eduCATors 

THE KEys 

to Assessing 

Language Performance 

A teacher’s manual 

for measuring student progress 

Paul Sandrock 

New teachers and veterans alike will turn again and again to this 

invaluable reference guide. Get one for yourself—and one for a colleague! 

order your copy 

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24 

Q: 21 st Century Skills include flexibility and adaptability; 

initiative and self-direction; social and cross-cultural 

skills; productivity and accountability; and leadership 

and responsibility. With these specific life and career 

skills in mind, what do you do to empower your 

students to be independent learners? 

ACTFL Invites Educators to 

Air Their Views on Topics 

in So You Say 

April 

Q: How do you demonstrate to your students the 

usefulness of linguistic and cultural knowledge for 

their future careers? What assists you in preparing 

students for the global workplace of the 21 st century 

and ensuring their mastery of 21 st century skills? 

August 

Q: How do we personalize the language learning 

experience? Tell us about a time when your students 

took their language learning in their own direction, 

making it match their own needs and goals. 

So You Say is the section where you can speak up 

on the issues most important to you. 

Each issue of The Language Educator will include this 

feature where our readers can offer their opinions on 

topics relevant to language education. Representative 

statements will be published in the magazine. 

To offer your views on a topic, please go to 

www.actfl.org. You will be taken to a form where 

you may enter a message of no more than 150 

words. When finished, click submit and your 

message will reach the editor. 

Thanks in advance for contributing 

to more representative content for 

The Language Educator! 

ReadeR Responses to issues in language leaRning 

Students from grades 2–5 are exploring ways to work in groups 

to assess their speaking, reading, and writing skills. For instance, 

students in fourth and fifth grades are taking turns videotaping 

each other as they keep short conversations. Another student in the 

group assesses their performance with a user-friendly rubric that is 

age- and grade-level appropriate. Students are able to share their observations 

while learning how to provide and receive feedback from 

their peers. As a result, students are working together to divide their 

tasks and working collaboratively in decision making. Students are 

receptive to working together rather than being tested in front of the 

class. Their videos become part of their assessment and important 

and powerful evidence for their performance portfolio. 

Jeannette Hernandez-Cordero, Spanish 

Ranney School, Tinton Falls, NJ 

Provide students with opportunities and choices. For example, 

create a Facebook group (you do not need to “friend” your students 

to have a group) or similar social network and let them decide what 

to share rather than making it an assignment. They will find amazing 

links to media that you can incorporate into your lessons, thus 

empowering and encouraging the students who shared the items. 

Also, give them a performance task and a rubric, and perhaps some 

possible options for what the final product should be, but don’t 

require them to all turn it in using the same technology. You end up 

with a much better demonstration of what students know and can 

do in the language when they can share it their way: electronically, 

orally, or on paper. 

Lauren Rosen, Spanish 

University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 

I believe that modeling 21 st century skills is an essential component 

of empowering students to be independent learners. If I expect 

students to be flexible, productive, and responsible, I must demonstrate 

these characteristics myself as a teacher. Never underestimate 

the power of example. 

Andrew Schwei, Spanish 

Jefferson High School, Jefferson, WI 


I focus on developing lessons that are 

cognitively achievable and that focus on 

teaching the most frequently used words/ 

phrases first, so that students are much 

more likely to understand what they read 

or hear. My goal is to help EVERY student 

feel successful in the language and to reach 

a minimum threshold so that independent 

learning and relevant application is 

at least possible. I do that by focusing on 

ordinary high-frequency structures, (e.g., 

I don’t have, I need, I can’t), as well as 

other structures that are high-frequency, 

but only as they apply to their particular 

situation. I call these phrases situational 

high-frequency structures (e.g., throw, 

catch, ball). I focus on a few key phrases 

each class period and at the end of the 

week, I instruct students to listen for and 

look for those target phrases (on the field; 

in the locker room; on the bus; on TV; on 

Facebook, Twitter, or our class Wiki, etc.). 

Each week, students must share at least 

one instance of how new learning was 

applied (either on the field or off); how 

they used their new skills to help another; 

and what new word(s) they picked up (or 

acquired) independently, outside of class. 

Consciously recognizing and articulating 

personal learning outcomes helps students 

develop confidence, as well as a sense of 

accountability and responsibility—both to 

themselves and others. 

Carol Gaab, Spanish 

Fluency Matters/TPRS Publishing, Chandler, AZ 

In Spanish 3, my students do a “study 

abroad project.” I teach them how to get a 

passport, make airline reservations, find a 

school where they can study, how to deal 

with culture shock, etc. Then I recommend 

a school in Salamanca, Spain, where they 

can study Spanish. I do not take the students 

to Spain; they engage in independent 

travel. Last summer, seven students studied 

for a month in Spain (4 hours of class per 

day) for the same cost as an eight-day tour 

with a teacher through a travel group. 

Pattipeg Harjo, Spanish 

Norman North High School, Norman, OK 

In my mind, languages should be at the very 

core of any good 21 st century educational 

program as we are uniquely positioned 

to facili tate so many of these skills. For 

example, in my Spanish classes, students 

must be flexible and adaptible when they 

don’t know a particular vocabulary word and 

they make use of circumlocution to express 

meaning. During Skype conversations with 

a partner school in Venezuela, they demonstrate 

cross-cultural skills when they discuss 

the realities of being a teenager in New York 

City and Caracas. When they write, illustrate, 

and construct their own picturebooks 

in Spanish and post them online or share 

them with younger students, they are demonstrating 

productivity and accountability. 

Languages are not just a “nice” skill—they 

are the “killer app” of the 21 st century. 

Lori Langer de Ramirez, Spanish 

The Dalton School, New York, NY 

To provide my German 4 students with 

experience designing their own learning 

plan and not always depending upon their 

teacher to define what they would learn, I 

had them create six-week learning plans. 

I outlined 10 curricular areas in which 

students could work and earn points toward 

a grade and at the start of each six-week period 

the students needed to present me with 

a learning plan for work in 7 of the 10 areas. 

However, they could decide the emphasis 

that they placed on any one of the areas. For 

example, one of the areas was to produce a 

“writing piece” of some 150 words worth up 

to 20 points. One year I had a student who 

wrote 3,000-word chapters of an excellent 

original story each six weeks and did not do 

as much in the other areas. 

Robert Morrey, German 

retired, high school level, San Jose, CA 

Share the So You Say Questions 

We can connect what we do in the classroom 

with our students’ identities by creating 

activities that will enable the expression 

of their own “self.” For instance, when talking 

about colors, rather than asking them 

to repeat the words for colors or describe 

isolated objects based on color, I share a 

list of questions in which we discuss our 

preferences of colors at different moments 

and places in our lives. For instance, they 

would talk about their favorite color for 

their room, car, a dress for a cocktail party, 

etc. Enabling them to speak on their own 

will help them find a stronger connection 

of language as a tool for self-expression and 

hopefully motivate them to see themselves 

as language speakers rather than learners. 

Maria Villalobos-Buehner, Spanish 

Rider University, Lawrenceville, NJ 

So You Say 

To foster independent learning, I try to get 

students to understand the importance of 

thinking in terms of tasks and not chapters, 

units, etc. I found it a lot more helpful to 

have a piece of paper with the language 

that I would need to say to successfully 

complete a transaction at the bank than to 

have Chapter 1 of my Beginning Korean 

language book when I was in Seoul. I like 

to have students create their own portfolios 

of tasks. Today’s technology brings this 

to a whole new level. If students feel they 

haven’t quite grasped something as effectively 

as a fellow student, they can download 

that task from their friend to their 

own playlists and/or folders. Another way 

to personalize learning is to give several 

options for projects. Given some choice, 

they produce some amazing things demonstrating 

their knowledge and interests. 

Janina Klimas, English and Spanish 

Real Life Language, Inc., Lake Jackson, TX 

We appreciate your help in getting more voices to include in this section. Please feel 

free to share the upcoming questions with your colleagues in the language education 

profession and urge them to send in their own responses. Mention them in person, via 

e-mail, on a listserv, or through a social network like Facebook or Twitter. Keep the 

great ideas coming! 


2013 President-Elect 

Mary Lynn 

Redmond has 

been elected as 

2013 President- 

Elect and will 

serve as ACTFL 

President in 

2014. Redmond 

is Professor of 

Education at 

Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, 

NC. She teaches undergraduate and graduate 

level courses in K–12 methodology and research, 

and supervises student interns. Prior 

to her work at the university level, Redmond 

taught French in grades K–12 in both public 

and private schools. 

Redmond has held numerous state and 

national positions, including President 

of the Foreign Language Association of 

North Carolina (FLANC) and President of 

the National Network for Early Language 

Learning (NNELL). She held the position 

of Executive Secretary of NNELL from 

2003–2006. Redmond was a member of the 

ACTFL Board of Directors from 2010–2012 

and served as Treasurer last year. An ACTFL 

member since 1990, her professional service 

activities include chairing the Florence 

Steiner K–12 Award Committee (1999) and 

nominations committee (2003), participating 

on the strategic planning committee 

(2004), and serving as a member of the New 

Visions project and Teacher Development 

Group. She was also a member of the task 

force that developed the ACTFL/NCATE 

teacher standards. Redmond recently served 

as the external evaluator for the federal grant 

project on dual language immersion for the 

North Carolina Public Schools, which led to 

a new K–5 curriculum and teaching licensure 

in immersion. 

Redmond’s contributions to the profession 

have been dedicated to the promotion 

26 

Inside ACTFL 

an update fRom the ameRican council on the teaching of foReign languages 

Meet Your New ACTFL Officers 

of high quality K–12 proficiency-oriented 

foreign language programs. She is a frequent 

presenter at state, regional, and national conferences 

and has coordinated several teacher 

development institutes at the state and 

national levels. Her research covers a wide 

range of topics, and she has published articles 

in The French Review, Hispania, Foreign 

Language Annals, Learning Languages, and 

The Language Educator. Redmond received 

the 2004 SCOLT Teaching Award and the 

2005 ACTFL/NYSAFLT Papalia Award for 

Excellence in Teacher Education. 

She holds a BA and EdD from the University 

of North Carolina (UNC)-Greensboro 

and MAEd from UNC-Chapel Hill. 

Members of the Board of Directors 

Todd Bowen 

was elected to the 

ACTFL Board of 

Directors beginning 

in 2013. 

Bowen serves as 

the Department 

Chair for Modern 

and Classical 

Languages at New 

Trier Township High School in Winnetka, IL, 

in a department of 37 teachers of seven languages. 

Previously in Barrington, IL, Bowen 

chaired the World Language Department and 

managed state and federal language grants 

to create innovative programs and re-align 

the curriculum. As a French teacher at Adlai 

Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, IL, 

he achieved National Board Certification, 

was honored with the American Association 

of Teachers of French (AATF) K–12 Ludwig 

Excellence in Teaching Award, and served as 

a reader for Advanced Placement (AP). 

Bowen began teaching in the state of Indiana, 

at Winamac Community High School and 

Bloomington High School South where he was 

honored as Indiana’s French Teacher of the 

Year in 1998. In 2012, Bowen was decorated 

as a Chevalier in les Palmes Académiques. He 

holds a BA from Anderson University, an MA 

in French Language and Civilization from the 

University of California at Santa Barbara, and 

an MA in Educational Leadership from Northeastern 

Illinois University. 

Bowen is active in the Illinois Council on 

the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ICTFL), 

the Central States Conference on the Teaching 

of Foreign Languages (CSCTFL), the 

AATF, the Joint National Committee on 

Languages (JNCL), the National Association 

of District Supervisors of Foreign Languages 

(NADSFL), and ACTFL. He has served on 

the CSCTFL Board of Directors, as the Delegate 

Assembly Co-Chair and Finance Chair, 

and as President of ICTFL, and he currently 

serves as the Professional Awareness Chair 

of ICTFL. He attends the JNCL-NCLIS 

Delegate Assembly, as well as leading Team 

Illinois to advocate for languages. He shared 

about those experiences at the 2011 ACTFL 

Delegate Assembly. Bowen served on ACTFL’s 

Florence Steiner Award committee and as 

its chair. He has presented on numerous 

occasions at the local, state, regional, and 

national levels. 

Benjamin Rifkin 

was elected to the 

ACTFL Board of 

Directors beginning 

in 2013. 

Rifkin earned his 

BA and MA in 

Russian Studies 

from Yale University, 

worked 

for two years as a translator in Moscow, and 

then earned his PhD in Slavic Languages and 

Literature from the University of Michigan. 

At the University of Wisconsin from 

1990–2005, he supervised the work of 

graduate student teaching assistants and student 

teachers, and coordinated the Russian 


language program, ultimately serving as chair of the Slavic Department 

and director of a Title VI interdisciplinary center. He was director 

of the Middlebury Summer Russian School from 1999–2003. 

From 2005–2009, he worked at Temple University as Professor 

of Russian and from 2005–2007 as Vice Dean for Undergraduate 

Affairs. Since 2009, he has been Professor of Russian and Dean 

of Humanities and Social Sciences at The College of New Jersey. 

Rifkin became an ACTFL OPI tester in 1992 and an OPI trainer in 

1996. He has served as a member of the Editorial Boards of Foreign 

Language Annals and the Slavic and East European Journal, and on 

the Boards of Directors of the Northeast Conference on the Teaching 

of Foreign Languages (NECTFL) and the American Council of 

Teachers of Russian (ACTR). Rifkin has also served in the leadership 

of the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European 

Languages (AATSEEL), as Vice President (1997–1998) and President 

(2003–2004). He has written Russian-language textbooks and 

numerous articles—for Foreign Language Annals, Modern Language 

Journal, and Slavic and East European Journal—and has given 

invited lectures, workshops, and conference presentations about 

language education. In 2010–2012, he consulted with ACTFL on 

the development of the 2012 Proficiency Guidelines. He has won 

several grants and has been recognized with awards for teaching and 

advising, as well as with the AATSEEL Award for Outstanding Contribution 

to the Slavic Profession and two AATSEEL book awards for 

contributions in pedagogy. 

Deborah Robinson was elected to the 

ACTFL Board of Directors beginning in 

2013. Robinson taught pre-K through 

university French and Spanish for 15 

years in immersion, after-school, summer, 

and traditional programs. She then 

joined the faculty of The Ohio State 

University’s Foreign and Second Language 

Education Program where she taught 

methods, second language acquisition, 

and teacher education courses to students from around the world. 

In 2001, Robinson was hired by the Ohio Department of Education 

to shepherd the development of the state’s first iteration of academic 

content standards and model curriculum. She also served as the 

project director for a U.S. Department of Education-funded K–4 

content-enriched Mandarin curriculum, leading an international 

team of Chinese teachers to write detailed units. 

Robinson is a recent past president of the National Council 

of State Supervisors for Languages (NCSSFL). Through NCSSFL, 

she collaborated on a common version of LinguaFolio, a student 

goal-setting and self-assessment tool used in states, STARTALK, 

and more. Additionally, she worked with NCSSFL, Hanban, and 

ACTFL Officers Nomination Deadlines 

Inside ACTFL 

Nominations for 2014 President-Elect (2015 President) and two 

Board of Directors positions must be postmarked by April 30, 

2013. Visit www.actfl.org/about-the-american-council-theteaching-foreign-languages/governance/electionsnominations. 

Mark Your Calendar Now for Future ACTFL Conventions 

November 22–24, 2013 Orange County Convention Center and 

Rosen Centre Hotel, Orlando, FL 

November 21–23, 2014 Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center and 

Grand Hyatt San Antonio Hotel, 

San Antonio, TX 

November 20–22, 2015 San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, CA 

November 18–20, 2016 Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 

Washington, DC 

November 17–20, 2017 Music City Convention Center, Nashville, TN 

Teacher Educators: Request Your ACTFL Student Kits Today 

Many teacher educators find that getting their students involved in 

professional organizations early helps in their development as future 

teachers. If you are a teacher educator, you can receive information 

packets about the products and services available from ACTFL 

along with sample copies of The Language Educator and Foreign 

Language Annals, and information regarding the regional conferences. 

Enclosed with these packets are membership brochures and 

applications for your students to join ACTFL. We hope that you will 

encourage your students to become members of their professional 

organization and take advantage of the resources and benefits you 

enjoy. Student membership in ACTFL is available for $25 a year and 

requires a letter verifying student status. Don’t miss out on this 

wonderful opportunity for your students! To request these packets, 

please send an e-mail containing your name, address, and number 

of packets needed to membership@actfl.org or call (703) 894-2900. 

Please allow four weeks for processing and delivery. 

ACTFL Performance Descriptors Available 

The new ACTFL Performance Descriptors for Language Learners can 

be downloaded free from the ACTFL website. The Performance 

Descriptors are designed to describe language performance that is 

the result of explicit instruction in an instructional setting. They 

reflect how language learners perform whether learning in classrooms, 

online, through independent project-based learning, or in 

blended environments. Find the document available for download 

at www.actfl.org/publications/guidelines-and-manuals/actflperformance-descriptors-language-learners 

or order a printed copy 

from the ACTFL Online Store at www.actfl.org/store. 


Inside ACTFL 

The College Board to interview in-service 

Chinese guest teachers who live and teach 

across the U.S. She has served as president 

of the Ohio Foreign Language Association 

(OFLA) and as the Ohio and Central States 

representative to NNELL. Recently, she 

chaired the Institutional Impact Taskforce 

of ACTFL’s three-year International Research 

Studies grant investigating the impact of the 

National Standards for Foreign Language 

Learning on the profession. Throughout her 

career, Robinson has presented hundreds of 

sessions and workshops and authored many 

articles. She was named NCSSFL’s 2010 State 

Supervisor of the Year and honored with 

OFLA’s Professional Service Award during 

the 2011 conference. Robinson retired from 

the state of Ohio in January 2012 to join The 

Language Flagship as their K–12 strategist 

and consultant. She coordinates initiatives 

within Flagship and among partner organizations 

to promote high-quality, outcomesbased 

world language learning opportunities. 

28 

ACTFL Workshops at Regional Conferences 

will be providing two workshops as pre-conference offerings at each 

ACTFL of the four regional conferences (CSCTFL, NECTFL, SCOLT, and 

SWCOLT) this spring. The fifth regional organization, Pacific Northwest Council for Languages 

(PNCFL), meets in conjunction with state organizations’ meetings in the fall and the 

same workshops will be presented at that conference. 

Developing Literacy for 21 st Century Learners helps educators identify specific strategies to 

address literacy as described in the Common Core State Standards through world languages. 

The Oral Proficiency Interview Familiarization Assessment Workshop helps educators 

under stand what students need to demonstrate to move from novice to intermediate and 

from intermediate to advanced proficiency levels and how to apply this understanding to 

improve instruction. 

The workshops will be presented as follows: 

March 7, 2013 Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (NECTFL) – 

www.nectfl.org 

March 14, 2013 Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (CSCTFL) 

– www.csctfl.org 

April 4, 2013 Southwest Conference on Language Teaching (SWCOLT) – www.swcolt.org 

April 11, 2013 Southern Conference on Language Teaching (SCOLT) – www.scolt.org 

ACTFL Webinars for Language Professionals— 

Winter and Spring Series 

The latest series of ACTFL webinars for professional language educators on the important topics of “Improving Language Learners’ 

Performance Through Integrated Assessments,” and “Curriculum and Instruction: Purposeful Planning to Increase Student 

Learning,” will be offered this winter and spring. These webinars are designed especially for language educators at all levels and 

will energize and inspire you to grow as a language professional. Led by educational experts, each series delivers new insights and 

proven techniques that you will use right away. 

Simply go to www.actfl.org/webinars to view any or all of these excellent webinars, including: 

Winter Webinar Series 2013 

Improving Language Learners’ Performance Through 

Integrated Assessments 

Creating Effective Assessment of Performance – 

January 30 (now available on-demand) 

Providing Effective Feedback – February 13 

Designing Backward from Assessment to Impact 

Instruction – February 27 

Presenters: Bonnie Adair-Hauck (University of Pittsburgh) 

and Francis J. Troyan (Portland, Public Schools, ME) 

This webinar series focuses on designing effective 

Integrated Performance Assessments (IPAs), providing 

effective feedback, and focusing instruction to prepare 

language learners for successful performance on the 

assessments. The series builds on the forthcoming 

ACTFL publication, Implementing Integrated Performance 

Assessment, by Adair-Hauck, Troyan, and Eileen Glisan. 

Spring Webinar Series 2013 

Curriculum and Instruction: Purposeful Planning 

to Increase Student Learning 

Curriculum Design – April 3 

Content-Rich Units of Instruction – April 17 

Purposeful Lesson Planning – May 8 

Presenters: Donna Clementi (Lawrence University, 

Appleton, WI) and Laura Terrill (Indianapolis, IN) 

This webinar series explores the basic elements of 

effective curriculum design. Participants consider how 

the National Standards, 21st Century Skills, and Common 

Core guide the development of a vertically aligned 

curriculum that builds students’ communication skills 

and cultural understandings. The webinars will also 

address thematic unit design and daily lesson planning 

focused on key strategies that maximize student 

learning in support of curricular goals. 

Individuals can participate in the webinars 

live or access them at a later date, ondemand. 

Fees for ACTFL members are $75 

per webinar; $180 for three; $315 for 

six; fees for non-members are $105 per 

webinar; $252 for three; $441 for six. 

ACTFL’s webinars qualify for continuing 

professional development credits for the 

renewal teacher certifications in most 

states. All registrants receive an e-mail 

with a certificate of completion once 

you have viewed the webinar, which you 

can then submit for credit. One person 

may register for the webinar and show 

it to multiple viewers from one location, 

however only the individual who registered 

for the webinar will be eligible to 

receive professional development credits 

from ACTFL. 


ACTFL Offers Scholarships to Members 

Seven scholarships will be offered to ACTFL members for study in 2013: 

COINED, an intercultural organization 

promoting Spanish-based courses, volunteer 

programs, and internship programs throughout 

Latin America, will provide two scholarships 

for ACTFL members for two weeks of 

Spanish language instruction in Santiago, 

Chile during 2013. 

Each scholarship will cover the following items: 

• Spanish placement test 

• Spanish intensive course (20 hrs/wk) 

• welcome package and course materials 

• weekly tours and recreational activities 

calendar 

• course certificate 

• 24/7 emergency phone 

• COINED tutorship 

• Internet access 

To be eligible, a candidate must: 

• be an American citizen 

• be interested in the teaching of 

Spanish as a second language, with a 

focus on Latin America 

• demonstrate a high level of commitment 

and interest for the program 

• book accommodation offered by 

COINED, including the cost of the 

registration fee 

• travel during 2013, except during the 

months of January and July 

The winners are responsible for all travelrelated 

costs to Santiago de Chile and the 

school, as well as personal expenses, accommodation 

via COINED, registration fee 

($75), and any additional activities or studyextensions 

in Santiago de Chile. 

The Cemanahuac Educational Community 

in Cuernavaca, Mexico will provide a scholarship 

to an ACTFL Spanish teacher for two 

weeks of Spanish language study at any time 

during 2013. 

This scholarship covers: 

• registration and tuition for two weeks 

of intensive Spanish language study 

• housing (double occupancy) with 

all meals 

• one field study trip 

The scholarship winner is responsible for all 

travel to Mexico and Cuernavaca, textbooks, 

all personal and incidental expenses, as well 

as fees for any additional activities or study 

in Mexico. 

To be eligible, a candidate must be: 

• an American citizen whose first 

language is not Spanish 

• able to demonstrate a high level of 

interest and motivation for the course 

of study offered 

• of a sufficiently advanced proficiency 

level in Spanish to be able to profit 

from the course of study 

• willing to share the experience gained 

ACTFL and IMAC–Spanish Language 

Programs in Guadalajara, Mexico are 

pleased to offer ACTFL members a scholarship 

for four weeks of Spanish language 

study during summer 2013. 

The scholarship includes: 

• tuition 

• learning materials 

The winner is responsible for all travel and 

accommodations and any personal expenses 

and optional activities. 


• currently a teacher of Spanish at 

the high school level, preferably an 

experienced teacher 

• an ACTFL member in good standing 



of study offered 

• able to show institutional support 


with colleagues and others 

Complete information about all these scholarships is available online at www.actfl.org/ 

about-the-american-council-the-teaching-foreign-languages/scholarships-and-grants. 

NEW! An additional online scholarship for 

ACTFL members has just been announced: 

Speak Mandarin is an online Mandarin 

tutoring company based in San Diego 

and Beijing. Utilizing the latest in Internet 

technologies and pedagogical approaches, 

SpeakMandarin.com offers live online, 

one-on-one Mandarin Chinese training with 

native-speaking certified teachers to learners 

worldwide. These Mandarin teachers are 

highly qualified, experienced, and welltrained 

by China’s top universities such as 

Peking University, Beijing Normal University, 

and Beijing Language and Culture University. 

All are teaching Mandarin Chinese as a 

second language major, and hold the teaching 

credentials for TCSL. SpeakMandarin. 

com accommodates all levels of learners. 

Speak Mandarin will provide three scholarships 

for ACTFL members with 90 online 

live Chinese lessons within six weeks. 

Each award, valued at $1,045, includes: 

• a customized learning plan 

• ninety 50-min. online live Chinese 

classes within six weeks, 15 sessions 

per week 

• learning materials 

• out-of-class, self-study learning tool 

• personal consultant 


• a current ACTFL member 



of study offered (scholarships are open 

to all levels of learners including students, 

teachers, and retired members 

with no past Mandarin experience) 

• able to commit to the program and 

complete the lessons and other 

assignments 


The deadline to apply for the above awards 

is March 29, 2013. 


Inside ACTFL 

Contest Theme: 

Discover Languages 

. . . Discover the World! 

Contest Deadline: December 20, 2012 

Video 2013 Contest Discover Results Languages Coming Soon 

Student VIDEO Contest 

The sixth annual Announced! 

ACTFL Video Contest was recently concluded 

and the results will be announced in February, in 

ACTFL is sponsoring a national student video contest to celebrate 

conjunction with Discover Discover Languages Month Month. during February Check 2013! This out effort actfl is part 

of the sustained Discover Languages public awareness campaign, 

videocontest.org to get the which latest is designed information to bring media attention about to the the critical 2013 need for 

all students to have the opportunity to learn a second language. 

winners Students will develop and a video to public view service some of the winning videos online. We 

announcement that promotes language learn- Students across the country, from elementary school through 

ing and provides the audience with compelling college age, are encouraged to submit original videos on how 

will also feature more information about the winning entries in 

reasons why students should be developing 

language learning has been important in their lives. The videos will 

proficiency in more than one language. For 

be judged for originality and creativity by an expert panel of judges 

the April issue of The Language Educator. 

specific contest rules, go to www.Discover 

Languages.org. 

For more information go to: 

www.DiscoverLanguages.org 

The contest is also supported by CLEAR (The Center 

for Language Education and Research) and MERLOT 

(Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and 

Online Teaching). 

30 

and cash and product prizes will be awarded to the students who 

produce the winning videos. 

Cash/produCt prizes worth up to $500! 

FEBRUARY IS DisCover 

LAnguAges ® MONTH! 

—Share the Research on the 

Benefits of Language Learning— 

The Discover Languages® section of the ACTFL website 

(www.DiscoverLanguages.org) highlights some research 

studies showing the benefits of language learning. Three 

major areas have been identified: 

How does language learning support academic achievement? 

How does language learning provide cognitive benefits 

to students? 

How does language learning affect attitudes and beliefs 

about language learning and about other cultures? 

Visit the site today and find these studies listed under “What 

the Research Shows.” This information is not designed to 

provide a comprehensive review of all the research studies 

available, but has been compiled to highlight the benefits of 

language learning. 

Share what you learn with your students, their parents, your 

administrators, and community this Discover Languages Month! 

Participate in the ACTFL Mentoring Program 

announces the 2013–2014 Mentoring Pro- 

ACTFL gram, designed to help early career language 

teachers succeed in their current assignments and learn the skills 

to be successful long-term in their careers. The mentoring will be 

conducted over e-mail and/or phone. Mentors and mentees will be 

matched by needs, skills, and experiences. 

To be considered as a mentee, you must be a new teacher 

within your first five years of teaching; to be considered as a mentor, 

you must have completed at least three years of teaching. The 

program will run from September 2013 through May 2014. If 

you are considering participating, please read the Program Guidelines 

online at www.actfl.org/professional-development/careerresources/mentoring-program. 

Applications must be submitted by 

August 19, 2013. 

For more information, contact Jaime Bernstein at jbernstein@ 

actfl.org. 

Be An Early Bird! 

Start Thinking About ACTFL 2013 

The 2013 ACTFL Annual Convention and World Languages 

Expo will be held at the Orange County Convention Center in 

Orlando, FL, in November. The theme will be “New Spaces New 

Realities.” Start planning your attendance now and don’t miss the 

early bird deadline of July 10, 2013. Registration is now open and 

more information will come soon online at www.actfl.org/ 

convention-expo/2013-actfl-convention-world-languages-expo and 

in The Language Educator. 

ACTFL Offers Scholarships for 

Convention Attendees 

is again offering three Robert J. Ludwig 

ACTFL New Teacher Scholarships for new teachers 

(less than three years in the classroom) to attend the 2013 ACTFL 

Annual Convention and World Languages Expo in Orlando, FL. 

These are made possible by a bequest from the Robert J. Ludwig 

estate. Ludwig was a member of the ACTFL Board of Directors 

(then Executive Council) from 1985–1988 and he served as ACTFL 

President in 1989. 

ACTFL also offers a number of first-time attendee scholarships 

each year. The deadline to apply for either type of scholarship is 

July 10, 2013 and information will be posted on the ACTFL website 

on the 2013 ACTFL Convention page under “Scholarships.” 


Teacher Development 

Special Interest Group Submitted by Susan A. Hildebrandt 

The ACTFL Teacher Development Special Interest Group had a 

productive 2012 ACTFL Convention. A new leadership team 

was elected at our business meeting, with Pamela M. Wesely from 

the University of Iowa taking the position of Chair, Beth A. Wassell 

of Rowan University assuming duties as Vice-Chair, and Martha 

Castañeda of Miami University of Ohio becoming the Secretary/Treasurer. 

Susan Hildebrandt of Illinois State University begins her tenure 

as Past Chair. Special thanks to Mary Curran, our previous Past Chair, 

who has done so much for the Teacher Development SIG and who 

will continue on as our main contact and expert in university/K–12 

collaboration. Congratulations to all in new leadership positions! 

Both winners of our travel grants were able to join us at the 

business meeting. Amy Wopat, who teaches Spanish and serves 

as the World Languages Department Chair at Woodrow Wilson 

Senior High School in Washington, DC, was one recipient of a 

grant. Jeong-bin Hannah Park, a PhD candidate in Foreign Language 

Education at the University of Texas at Austin who is studying 

computer-mediated communication, online discourse, and 

second language writing, was the second recipient of a grant. We 

were happy to support the travel of both an in-service language 

teacher as well as a language teacher-educator in training. 

“It was life-changing. Everything I have ever 

accomplished stemmed from taking Spanish in 

high school.” 

“Living abroad and being married to a foreigner, 

it helped me quite a bit. It helped me 

pick up Italian easily last year and is helping 

me now to learn Romanian.” 

“Knowing additional languages has helped me 

in every aspect of my life: personally, professionally, 

recreationally. Of course from a cognitive 

perspective it is highly beneficial because 

thinking through/translating keeps your mind 

challenged and active.” 

“The best real-world example is a story a 

former boss of mine in the Army told. He was 

assigned as an attaché in South America. For 

the months before the move, he told his teenagers, 

‘You need to bone up on your Spanish— 

learn some basic phrases,’ but the motivation 

just wasn’t there. He kept nagging them and 

finally gave up. They arrived and that first 

night, to welcome them, the local teenagers 

took the kids out into the social scene. When 

the boy came back to their temporary quarters, 

he told his dad, ‘It was amazing! This place is 

awesome. The girls are beautiful! They love to 

dance. I just wish you would have taught me 

a little Spanish so I didn’t look like such a fool 

meeting them.’ The dad was beside himself. He 

said his son quickly picked up Spanish.” 

“I love being able to say ‘hello’ to just about 

every person I’ve ever run across. Even if it’s just 

a sentence that I can say—I’m always happy 

and proud to be able to say it, and it’s always 

seemed appreciated . . . here or abroad.” 

SIGCORNER: 

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS 

During our business meeting, Greg Duncan, owner and 

President of InterPrep, Inc., a company that provides assistance 

to schools, school systems, and other educational entities in matters 

related to languages and international education, shared portions 

of The Teacher Effectiveness for Language Learning (TELL) 

Project (www.tellproject.com), a free set of evaluation and professional 

development tools for language teachers. Many thanks, 

Greg, for sharing your expertise with us! 

Thanks too to the presenters in our session, “Innovative 

Practices in World Language Teacher Pedagogy Courses: Beyond 

Methods.” Janel Pettes Guikema of Grand Valley State University, 

MI, and Hyunsoo Hur of the Defense Language Institute, CA, 

discussed their practices and shared ideas with SIG members. The 

SIG was proud to devote this session to research in teacher development. 

During our “Language Teacher Development: Research 

and Current Practices” session, Maria Adamowicz-Hariasz and 

Susan Colville-Hall presented “Internationalizing the Teaching and 

Learning Experience,” An Chung Cheng presented “Teacher Cognition 

and Professional Development in Cross-Culture Contexts,” 

and Kelly Conroy presented “Case Studies of Non-Native Speaker 

Student Teachers of World Languages.” 

What Are the Benefits of Studying Languages and Cultures? 

ACTFL member Emily Serafa 

Manschot recently posed this question 

on her Facebook page, targeting former 

students who are now her friends online. 

Here are a few of their responses: 

The Language Educator n February 2013 

“Living in Southern California for the past 30 

years, I can say learning Spanish has been helpful. 

Going to Europe and using my limited skills 

were beneficial as well. Learning a language 

makes your brain work out and you develop 

that muscle. Learning about other cultures is 

always a plus in uniting this little blue planet. It 

gets smaller every day. I didn’t realize during my 

days in school how it would shape my life.” 

Now, it’s your turn! 

In honor of Discover Languages Month in 

February, get your current and former students 

thinking about what language learning has 

meant to them. Be sure to pass on the best 

answers to administrators, parents, and on social 

networks. Let’s not keep the benefits of language 

education a secret!

A Turn-Aroun 

in Tw 

How Dual Language Immersion Helps 

Students enjoy learning in both English and Spanish at the 

new Juan Diego Academy. 

32 

Holy Rosary School is a 122-year old accredited, pre- 

K–8 Catholic school in Tacoma, Washington that 

hasn’t let age get in the way of innovation. Although 

the school has been in existence for well over a century, 

their dual immersion Spanish–English program is a popular 

new approach introduced in 2012. 

Holy Rosary is the first Catholic school in the state of Washington 

to offer such a program. Dual language immersion programs— 

integrating native English speakers and speakers of another 

language—provide instruction in both languages for all students. 

They promote bilingualism and biliteracy, grade-level academic 

achievement, and positive cross-cultural attitudes and behaviors in 

all students. 

It is this new program that may indeed be the saving grace of 

the once struggling school. 

Making a Change 

The reinvention of Holy Rosary was pioneered by Principal 

Timothy Uhl. When Uhl first came to the school, he was met with 

a dramatically dwindling enrollment list. 

“The school was struggling to stay open year after year after 

year. It was probably struggling with financial issues for 20 years,” 

he says. “When I was hired, I thought something has to be done to 

turn this school around, or it’s going to close.” 

Uhl says the superintendent also warned him that the school’s 

days were numbered unless a major change was made. 

“I am always up for a challenge, but I wouldn’t have stuck 

around if we couldn’t do something unique,” he explains. “I was 

able to turn the curriculum around so quickly because there was 

no one around to resist; there were a lot of empty seats. When half 

your seats are empty, that’s 50% less [opposition].” 

Student numbers had been steadily dropping for years at Holy 

Rosary. Fortunately, the focus of Washington’s archdiocese and 

archbishop was on outreach to Catholic Hispanics, coinciding with 

Uhl’s initiatives. 


d Plan 

o Languages: 

Save a School 

“[Hispanic] representation in Catholic schools is very low. So 

we found the archbishop was very supportive financially in giving 

us the resources to research and develop this program.” 

Joe Womak is the director of The Fulcrum Foundation, the fundraising 

arm for the archdiocese of Seattle, who assisted the effort. 

“He and I both have young kids the same age—pre-K and K,” 

recalls Uhl. “Both of us are of the mind that we want our kids to 

be in a dual language program. In Seattle, there are immersion 

schools that are very popular; people are aware that this program 

is very popular among young professional parents,” he says. 

So, in the fall of 2012, Uhl breathed life back into Holy Rosary, 

and the pre-K and kindergarten classes became the Juan Diego 

Academy, unifying the newly enrolled children in their unique 

language program. The first class participating in the program 

includes Uhl’s own two children. ACTFL Board of Directors Member 

Bridget Yaden also has a son in the kindergarten class at Juan 

Diego Academy. 

“We chose the school based on the dual immersion program,” 

says Yaden, an Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies and Language 

Resource Center Director at Pacific Lutheran University in 

Tacoma. While she had not been considering sending her youngest 

son to a private kindergarten, once she saw a newspaper article 

highlighting what was happening at Holy Rosary and took a tour, 

she knew she wanted to enroll him. 

“As a parent and educator, I’ve always wanted all my kids 

to learn the language as early as possible,” says Yaden, who has 

two older children that have studied Spanish in middle and high 

“The dual language component has 

added a level of focus and motivation 

that we can even see at age five; that’s 

a difference in performance.” 

—Principal Timothy Uhl 


A Turn-Around Plan in Two Languages 

Because they are encouraged to help 

each other learn, the children are sharing 

not only their languages but their 

cultures as well. The expectation of the 

program is to cultivate bilingual students 

who are able to read and write in both 

languages by eighth grade. 

34 

school. She sees a great advantage for her son in the immersion 

program—even after just a half a year. For one thing, she says, “his 

accent is perfect.” 

Yaden continues: “He has this awareness of language and he’ll 

tell me that ‘Today is Spanish day’ or ‘Today is English day’— and 

when it’s Spanish day, he comes home and says it’s Spanish day so I 

need to only speak Spanish to him. To see a five-year old have that 

kind of awareness that these are two different languages and he 

knows that; it’s pretty exciting.” 

“One of the things I’ve noticed in this kindergarten is that the 

classroom seems much more focused,” notes Uhl. “They have an 

academic motivation that they didn’t have last year. Kids do have 

to learn to [use scissors], they have to develop their motor skills, 

but now they’re cutting out Spanish words. The dual language 

component has added a level of focus and motivation that we can 

even see at age five; that’s a difference in performance,” he says. 

Positive Reactions 

Many other parents, like Yaden, were inspired to take advantage 

of the opportunity which had never before existed in Tacoma 

and the school doubled enrollment in the kindergarten class for 

2012–2013. There is also great diversity among the class, including 

both native English and Spanish speakers, as well as a number 

of Vietnamese speakers who are learning English and Spanish as 

their second and third languages in class. 

“You can see kids of all different backgrounds mixing and mingling; 

it’s phenomenal,” says Uhl. 

Parents have responded with strong enthusiasm. One woman 

e-mailed Uhl and said: “I heard my daughter during playtime this 

evening speak Spanish for 20 minutes. Some were phrases I recognized 

from homework, but most of them I didn’t know. It was 

pretty exciting!” 

He recalls this mother’s concern last year about the change in 

the curriculum. “She didn’t know what to think. She thought it 

would be interference, getting in the way of the important stuff. 

But here we are, this year, and she and her husband are now interested 

in learning the language themselves.” 

The school expects to incorporate the program at all levels by 

2020, as each new grade begins in kindergarten. The students receive 

instruction in both languages equally, but in different deliveries. 

For example, the Spanish-speaking students receive written instruction 

in their native language, and oral instruction in English. 

Because they are encouraged to help each other learn, the children 

are sharing not only their languages but their cultures as well. The 

expectation of the program is to cultivate bilingual students who 

are able to read and write in both languages by eighth grade, once 

the Juan Diego Academy has reached its full potential. 

Yaden, as a college professor, has an additional perspective on 

what is happening at the school and thus in her community. 

“I think that when we see these kids progress with their language 

education and eventually show up at the postsecondary 


level, they’ll be starting out in 300- and 400-level courses, purely 

content. They’ll bypass the lower language levels entirely and a lot 

of them will be ready to start their third or fourth language,” she 

says of the native English-speaking students. 

When it comes to the Spanish speakers—many of whom come 

from economically disadvantaged backgrounds—Yaden thinks it 

is more likely that these students will end up in her classes than 

it would have been before this early start. “Their English and 

Spanish skills will be much stronger from this model and so I 

think it’s going to add to the growing population of heritage Latino 

students that we see coming to college that want to continue their 

Spanish language study at higher levels,” she says. 

Starting Small Can Work 

For language educators and administrators throughout the country, 

the successful turnaround of a small school like Holy Rosary 

can be an inspiration to look to language education to solve problems 

of dwindling enrollment. The hope in this case is that the 

dual language immersion model spreads to other Catholic schools 

in western Washington. 

Yaden thinks it is a good example that language advocacy efforts 

do not need to be on a large scale to be successful. “As an 

ACTFL member, I go to the convention and read The Language 

A Turn-Around Plan in Two Languages 

Educator, and I might hear about Utah’s emphasis on dual immersion 

or read that big city school districts are adopting immersion, 

and I can think, ‘Well, my city is never going to do that.’” 

Yaden continues: “To see that one school just did it all on their 

own as a turnaround model is inspiring. “They knew that they 

were going to have to close the school or come up with something 

innovative to keep it open and that can give us all hope. When it 

comes to advocacy, we can get nervous or scared when we think 

we have to go talk to our school board or governor about language 

education, to change how things are done in our states. You may 

hear about these big successful models but it doesn’t have to only 

start that way; it doesn’t have to come from top down. It could be 

about making changes at one small school—and then who knows 

where it can spread from there.” 

Learn more about Holy Rosary School 

www.holyrosarytacoma.org/ 

Learn more about Dual Language and 

Two-Way Immersion 

A comprehensive site from the Center for Applied 

Linguistics, including resources for two-way 

immersion and dual language practitioners 

www.cal.org/twi/ 

Join the ACTFL Immersion Special Interest 

Group (SIG) 

www.actfl.org/membership/special-interestgroups-sigs/immersion 

Discuss immersion in the ACTFL Online 

Community 

community.actfl.org/actfl/communities 

Choose the Discussion Group: IMMERSION

36 

Q: As you know, you are our profession’s eighth National Language 

Teacher of the Year. As you represent other language 

educators and ACTFL as an ambassador for our profession 

throughout 2013, you will be visiting many events and conferences 

to promote the importance of language learning. For the 

non-language educators in your audience, what might be their 

key “take-away” from your message? 

Q: As Teacher of the Year, you will be visiting Capitol Hill to 

speak with national legislators and also meeting throughout 

the year with local policymakers. You will be speaking with 

national, state, and local legislators from Washington, D.C., 

to Denver. What issues would you like to impress upon them 

when you have this opportunity? 

with 

ACTFL National Language 

Teacher of the Year 

Noah Geisel 

On behalf of the more than 12,000 ACTFL members, the ACTFL Officers, and the ACTFL Board of Directors, we offer you sincere 

congratulations, Noah, on being named the ACTFL National Language Teacher of the Year for 2013! 

A: I am excited to take on this role and look forward to sharing 

how the great work we are doing goes beyond teaching 

the target language. We emphasize cultural competency 

and prepare students to feel comfortable taking risks and 

reaching across divides. Our students practice public speaking 

and create presentations. They engage in higher-level 

thinking by analyzing and evaluating information. World 

language classrooms are in fact multidisciplinary environments 

where students are acquiring many of the 21 st century 

skills that are requisite to postsecondary and career success. 

A: Our future leaders will be bilingual and bicultural. A robust 

and high quality language education is a great tool we 

already have to help make this happen. Our schools need 

to ensure students have access to world language education. 

Further, it is time to build on the successes of dual language 

immersion by expanding programming into more schools 

and communities. Learning important content through the 

lens of a different language develops critical thinking and 

analytical skills, the literacy of the Common Core State 

Standards. These efforts are affordable, non-partisan, and 

cost-saving in the long run—as it is far cheaper for our 

bilingual and bicultural leaders to make friends around the 

world than it is for them to fight our enemies. 


Q: When you were named at the 2012 ACTFL Annual Convention 

in Philadelphia, you suggested all the language educators 

there make “six contacts” with an elected official or 

decision-maker in their district or area in the upcoming year. 

Would you care to repeat and clarify that challenge to all 

the members of ACTFL? Why is this advocacy so important? 

Q: You have presented many workshops on the use of technology 

for language learning. In using technology in classrooms, 

the tool can very easily become the focus rather than the 

educational outcome. What recommendations do you have 

to help educators effectively use technology in support of 

language learning? 

Q: At Duke University, you majored in English and minored 

in Spanish. While many similarities exist in teaching 

English or any other language, what experiences led you to 

become a teacher of Spanish? What advice would you give 

to would-be teachers of world languages, including your 

own students? 

A: In the current climate of education policy, it is easy to find 

truth in the saying, “If you are not at the table, you are ON the 

table.” It’s tough to overstate the importance of vocal, proactive 

advocacy on behalf of our great profession. The advice given 

to attendees at the ACTFL Delegate Assembly was that a single 

contact is not sufficient; in order to be effective, we as teachers 

need to be targeting policy makers (school board members, 

superintendents, legislators, or others) and attempting to call, 

e-mail, and shake hands with them to advocate on behalf of 

world languages at least six times over the next year. That is 

my challenge to all ACTFL members and I will certainly be 

taking on that challenge myself. 

A: Maintaining a focus on the learning objective is the important 

piece here. Whether the technology is helping us to teach 21 st 

century skills or simply engaging our learners in new ways, we 

always want to be intentional in our decisions on the tools employed. 

This is the same if we are talking about a poster board 

or an iPad. The tool is a means to an end, but the objective is 

still about helping students learn language and culture. 

A: My path was not exactly traditional. I did not take a single 

education class during my time as an undergraduate. I was in 

love with learning and took the classes and professors that I 

thought would be the most inspiring. I took Spanish classes 

because I love everything about the Spanish language and 

culture. Three years after graduating, when I decided to be a 

public school teacher, the truth is that I pursued Spanish jobs 

because I was told I would not find an English gig supported 

by the alternative licensure route. But that door slamming shut 

was one of the best things that ever happened to me. Teaching 

world languages is such an important and rewarding job . . . 

I still find it hard to believe that I get paid to do something I 

enjoy so much. 

Two pieces of advice: 

1. Teach in the target language as much as possible so that you 

are teaching meaningful content through the language and not 

just teaching about the language. 

2. Use culture as a hook to engage learners and inspire their 

interest in the target language. I believe that most of us as 

language teachers were drawn to our languages by aspects we 

appreciate in the cultures. Share that passion with students! 

Then create opportunities for them to discover what part of 

the culture is going to spark that same interest in them. 


38 

Using Technology for the 

Interpretive Mode 

By Patricia Koning 

INTErprETIVE COMMUNICATION 

Students can use 

websites like www. 

elcorteingles.es to 

access authentic 

materials. 

When one man in Mexico created a video tour of his 

new home and posted it on YouTube to share with 

his family and friends in far off places, he probably 

had no idea he’d also be helping New Jersey middle school 

Spanish students practice the interpretive mode of communication. 

Technology—both for sourcing authentic materials like that 

video and making those materials accessible and educational for 

students—is changing the way language educators address the 

interpretive mode in their instruction. 

“I find that the interpretive mode is often the hardest for 

teachers to assess, both formally and informally. The traditional 

packet with a list of questions doesn’t work anymore, not for the 

way our students learn today,” says Dana Pilla, a Spanish teacher 

at Haddonfield Middle School in Haddonfield, NJ, and part-time 

lecturer at Rutgers University. 

For an informal in-class assessment, Pilla’s students watch that 

home tour video or a similar authentic, level-appropriate video 

on an iPad, either alone or in pairs. Students view the short video 

as many times as they need to, then answer questions about it in 

Google Docs. The entire activity, both the video and questions, are 

embedded in Edmodo or a class wikispace. 

“As the students are answering questions and pressing submit, 

I can see all of their answers in one place and give them realtime 

feedback, like suggesting they redo a question because they 

weren’t specific enough,” says Pilla. 

The one-on-one nature of the activity also means that slower 

or shyer students are not left behind. “If you show a video to 

the class, the student in the front row has an advantage over the 


student in the back row,” she says. “Some students need to watch 

the video several times. This means everyone can complete the 

activity at his or her own pace and every student must participate 

equally. I don’t mind if the lower-level students want to work 

in pairs for an informal assessment because it will help build 

their confidence.” 

Brandon Zaslow, director for the Los Angeles area site of the 

California World Language Project at Occidental College, believes 

technology is essential for accessing authentic materials. In his 

programs, teachers learn how to locate authentic materials through 

technology; determine the language, culture, and context within 

the materials; and make those materials comprehensible to students 

through technology. 

Authentic materials can include videos, websites, blogs, social 

media, pictures, and newspaper articles—essentially any material 

someone in the target language might interact with in their 

daily life. “If it is designed for people in the target language, it can 

become a valuable resource,” says Zaslow. 

Bruna Boyle, an instructor of Italian at the University of Rhode 

Island in Kingston, RI, thinks teachers need to introduce their 

students to authentic materials right away. “If you wait until a 

student is preparing for the Advanced Placement (AP) exam, he or 

she will be overwhelmed and scared,” she says. “You need to start 

at the earliest level. Authentic materials really help students build 

their vocabulary. As an AP reader, the biggest shortfall we see is a 

lack of vocabulary.” 

Pilla uses authentic materials she finds on the Internet to challenge 

her students. Finding the right material is often a painstaking 

task, but she finds that the effort pays off in the end. “Students 

pay more attention when they know something is real,” she says. 

“I like to expose my students to a variety of native speakers.” 

For a unit on the house, she found a Spanish language talk 

show about the safety of household chores. “The Spanish is very 

fast, but this video had plenty of visuals so students could pick out 

key words,” says Pilla. “They key is to tailor the questions to what 

I want them to interpret from what they are watching. The task 

should require some effort, but not leave the students feeling lost.” 

The most basic interpretive tasks, she says, are matching key 

conceptual ideas with English meanings or answering true/false 

questions to demonstrate basic comprehension. 

Boyle finds that videos are an effective way to teach interpretive 

communication to beginning language classes. She typically shows 

a 15-minute segment of a movie several times, asking the students 

more detailed questions after each viewing. “Just by watching, 

the brain already has done some interpreting, so it’s a very good 

springboard for discussions on characters, themes, symbolism and 

other topics.” 

Another current favorite video of Pilla’s is from a blog in 

Argentina in which people discuss the best places to ski. “I use 

it with a unit on winter sports in South America and ask the 

students to pull out vocabulary they hear in the video,” she says. 

“Watching the video is really a springboard for vocabulary. The 

students tell me what they heard and then we create a vocabulary 

list. Then we transition to a relevant reading. It’s a lot of work finding 

an appropriate video that uses appropriate vocabulary, but this 

exercise ends up creating more meaning for my students and they 

remember so much more.” 

MeeTIng The Challenge 

There is no doubt that authentic materials can be daunting— 

native speakers often speak quickly using different dialects and 

words students may not be familiar with. But this is where technology 

comes in. 

Zaslow recommends Camtasia or Screenflow to capture video 

and edit it for classroom use. These tools allow the user to remove 

parts of the video, slow down or repeat sections, and add arrows, 

subtitles, or text balloons to direct students. 

“For example, if you were using a video of a night market in 

China, you could add arrows to point out specific items in the 

market. You can stop the video and ask the students to answer 

questions, either identifying items in the video or those they 

would they like to buy. This allows you to use interactive authentic 

materials where in the past you might just have a picture.” 

FrOM The naTIOnal 

STandardS: a lOOk aT The 

InTerpreTIve MOde 

The Communication goal area of the national 

Standards for Foreign language learning— 

“Communicate in languages Other Than english”— 

includes three standards. The second focuses on the 

interpretive mode of communication: 

Standard 1.2. Students understand and interpret 

written and spoken language on a variety of topics. 


Interpretive Communication 

Using Snagit, a teacher might sequence and highlight tasks 

related to reading a website. “You might put checkmarks near the 

relevant sections or add a button the student pushes to answer 

questions about the main idea of the site,” says Zaslow. “This 

focuses them on the task, because when students first look at a 

website in the target language, there can be so much information 

that they don’t know where to start. You help your students access 

the information by starting with what they do know.” 

K.C. Kless, a middle and high school Latin teacher in the 

Indian Hill School District in Cincinnati, OH, uses WordChamp 

to teach interpretive communication to his students. WordChamp 

is a website by Global Linguist that features multimedia flashcards 

and online vocabulary and grammar practice, among 

other activities. 

Kless particularly likes WordChamp’s web reader for teaching 

and assessing interpretive communication. “I can design a reading 

assignment so that when the students hover over a word, they will 

get a pop-up with extra information like the definition, context, 

and even audio. This activity is recorded for me, so I can see what 

words the students need help with and if they continue to need 

help with those same words in other parts of the passage,” he 

says. “The students then answer comprehension questions about 

the passage.” 

Technology can also help students demonstrate their understanding 

of the target language by doing things like highlighting 

key words and phrases that helped them identify the 

main idea; journaling about how they made meaning 

out of a passage (such as using a search engine to 

look up a cultural reference, looking at a website on 

the same topic to gain more background information, 

etc.); cutting and pasting words, phrases, sentences 

that describe each of the characters in a story (to keep 

track of what they are finding out about each character); 

or adding to a group space (such as a wiki) to 

40 

USe The reSOUrCeS 

Camtasia 

www.techsmith.com/camtasia.html 

Screenflow 

www.telestream.net/screenflow/ 

Snagit 

www.techsmith.com/snagit.html 

WordChamp 

www.wordchamp.com 

identify what they are finding out on a given topic (i.e., looking for 

different angles on or different sides of a topic or debate issue). 

“It’s important for educators to use technology to directly assess 

interpretive proficiency,” says Zaslow. “Students can highlight or 

cut and paste text that reflects main ideas or supporting details or 

that shows the organization of arguments. They can also document 

their skills by using search engines, consulting websites for background 

information or different aspects of a topic or debate.” 

For some projects, Pilla uses a digital graphic organizer that 

the students fill out by cutting and pasting information from an 

assigned website. “For example, when we go ‘shopping’ in Spain 

for sporting equipment and clothing in El Corte Inglés department 

store, the students cut and paste the name of an article of clothing, 

the price in euros, and a picture of the item into a graphic 

organizer on Microsoft Word or Pages,” she explains. 

“In this way, they are showing me evidence of understanding 

what they have read on the website and they are also able to pair 

the name of the item with the image. It is a great way to build up 

vocabulary, and a wonderful way to give the students a choice in 

the vocabulary they want to learn and to make the ‘words’ have a 

real life, personal connection to each student.” 

When Pilla’s students use an iPad for a listening, watching, or 

reading activity, they often type answers to questions about the 

material directly into Edmodo. This allows her to view all of the 

students’ responses in one place and quickly determine if they 


understand the material. Pilla also sometimes allows the entire 

class to view everyone’s responses, letting them compare different 

interpretations of the same material. 

For the interpretive mode of communication, technology plays 

two key roles—giving teachers access to a virtually unlimited 

supply of authentic materials and then helping teachers bring 

those materials into the classroom in a meaningful way. Within the 

interpretive mode, the methods of communication that students 

must learn to navigate continue to grow and change. 

“Teachers need to be able to move far beyond the textbook,” 

says Zaslow. “Almost as soon as you put something on paper, it 

becomes obsolete. So you really cannot teach interpretive communication 

without technology.” 

With even limited technology, teachers can still be effective. A 

computer and an Internet connection are all a teacher needs to get 

started—the hard part comes with identifying and presenting the 

right materials. 

Pilla jokes that her school moved into the 21 st century only this 

past year when they purchased a cart of iPads that teachers can 

check out for classroom use. “Without some form of technology, 

you are stuck with books and tapes,” she says. “Embracing technology 

for the interpretive mode is really the only way to propel 

your students forward linguistically.” 

Patricia Koning is a freelance writer and regular contributor to The Language 

Educator. She is based in Livermore, California. 


From the beginning of recorded history, stories have offered entertainment 

and instruction to old and young alike. How might the inauspicious 

fable serve students in their efforts to learn a second language? 

In their brevity and wit, fables disarm even the most reluctant 

reader. Students in a language classroom, often familiar with 

the plots, characters, and lessons of these narratives in their own 

language, are empowered by this recognition. They thus approach 

what might be their first authentic text in the target language with 

increased confidence. 

Unlike textbook activities generally created by non-native speakers, 

fables and tales are genuine cultural artifacts that offer students 

much more than simple practice with grammar and new vocabulary. 

Often cultivated through the oral tradition, these literary forms truly 

reflect the cultures from which they derived. Their subtle priorities 

and lessons are illustrative of the history and culture of their respective 

lands. What better than the Grimm brothers’ Hansel and Gretel 

to remind the German populace of hard times endured (during the 

14th century Great Famine) and the importance of resilience and 

ingenuity? Who better than Perrault’s Cinderella, which emphasizes 

the heroine’s great beauty, to reveal the French infatuation 

with aesthetics as well as the all-but-immutable social hierarchy of 

pre-revolutionary France (sans the intervention of a supernatural 

fairy godmother)? How better than through the safe distance of Felíx 

María de Samaniego’s animals to criticize the folly of humanity and 

abuses of the Church in 18th century Spain? 

As a language educator, I decided to harness the rich cultural, historical, 

grammatical, and lexical content of fables in a unit for my fifth 

semester university students. This content satisfied another objective as 

well, namely to provide a link between the short literary and cultural 

excerpts students had encountered in first- and second-year textbooks 

and the longer authentic texts they would face in fourth-year language 

classes. Although the three- to four-week program outlined here was 

created for Advanced-Intermediate university students, it could be 

modified for upper-level high school students as well. 

I begin the unit by displaying a few images from the culture and 

time period in which the texts were penned. Some of the faces and 

places are familiar to the students, but other information needs to 

be deduced. Handing a group of students a copy of a painting to 

42 

Harnessing the Power of 

Story: Teaching Language, 


Through Fables 

By Bendi Benson Schrambach 

analyze, I ask them to describe what they see: What is pictured? 

What clothes are the figures wearing? Where are they? What do they 

seem to be doing? Each group spends time scrutinizing the image for 

clues. After considering these with their groupmates, they hold up 

the picture to share their ideas with the class. Then, in conversation 

in the target language, we piece together what we can about the era 

in question: its government, economy, religion, and key figures. A 

plethora of images and videos are available on the Internet to assist 

language educators in bringing a time period to life for students. 

We next address the question of genre. In groups, students are 

asked to list what they know about this literary form: What is a 

fable? What are its characteristics? What are some examples with 

which they are familiar in English? Again, we come together to 

ensure proper and thorough understanding of this literature. Fables 

and tales are short works of fiction; they often derive from the oral 

tradition where they originally provided pre-television and pre- 

Internet entertainment; and they relate a lesson or moral—either 

implicitly or explicitly. Since our class focuses on Les Fables of Jean 

de La Fontaine, I also mention the versified structure of La Fontaine’s 

tales and his use of animals to represent human stereotypes. 

This is also a good time to raise the question of intended audience. 

While fables are generally crafted to be read to children, some 

authors envisioned their tales for more a sophisticated public. Such is 

the case with La Fontaine. Part of the brilliance of this literature lies 

precisely in its ability to posit subtle critiques of society in a generic 

form that was non-threatening to those in power at the time. Recalling 

the historical context from which our texts arose, I alert students 

to the notion that the fabulist may use these diversionary tales to offer 

commentary on such things as the government, rulers, and religious 

leaders of the time—as well as on human nature more generally. 

Next, we turn to the question of characterization and stereotypes. 

What features do we associate with certain professions, for 

example? What do we imagine when we think of a baker, a fireman, 

or a teacher? Or in the case of animals, what characteristics might we 

attribute to a lion, an ant, or a fox? Such activities introduce students 

to the idea of symbolism. A lion is courageous; an ant, industrious; 

a fox, sly. After providing a few examples for the class, I assign to 

groups two or three different characters we will read about in the 


fables, and ask students to provide descriptions of what they would 

expect of their respective personalities. This activity allows students 

to review known adjectives in the target language and learn new ones 

that I introduce to help them construct a more nuanced portrait. 

Finally, we arrive at the fables themselves. I always read these 

aloud first for the class. Students thus encounter structured input 

in the form of proper pronunciation and, in La Fontaine’s case, 

utterance of a versified form. The students read along on a copy 

that includes some vocabulary assistance defining obscure words or 

expressions. One way to help students with words they don’t know 

is to provide synonyms, to give examples, to say what it is not, or to 

ask students to guess from the context whether the intent is positive 

or negative. All of these examples provide students with more 

practice in developing interpretive strategies, rather than just turning 

to a bilingual dictionary. 

When it is the students’ turn to examine the texts, I again assign 

them to groups to answer initial questions of general comprehension 

(not just minute details) provided in the target language: Who are 

the main characters? Describe their personalities. What happens in 

the tale? How does the story end? Students are allowed time to read 

over the text, to digest it little by little with groups of their peers. 

Relatively easy questions boost the confidence that may have faltered 

when they were first faced with the text in its entirety. We review the 

answers to these questions together to ensure the students’ proper 

understanding before turning to questions of interpretation. 

Again in groups, I ask students to probe the tale for slightly more 

complex meaning: What is the lesson? Where do we see it in the tale? 

Is it explicit or implicit in the consequences? Reflecting on the historical 

period in which the tale was written, to whom—outside the literal 

intrigue—might this lesson apply (i.e., a certain type of person or 

persons)? After reviewing these together, I provide the groups with a 

third set of questions intended to personalize these stories and connect 

what they are learning with information that they already know: 

Is there an American tale or expression that highlights this same 

moral? Is this lesson still true today? If so, what might be a contemporary 

example or manifestation of this story? Which character do 

you most resemble? Why? Have you personally ever learned this same 

lesson? Explain. Such questions allow students to offer their unique 

opinions and interpretations. They also encourage students to speak 

about the subject with which they are most comfortable: themselves. 

In this way, synthesis questions render the fables meaningful for 

students on a more personal level. 

Our class investigates a selection of six fables. I pose questions 

similar to the ones above for each tale, moving from easier questions 

of comprehension to more open-ended questions of synthesis. A less 

advanced language class could lessen the difficulty for students by 

adjusting the type of questions posed. Alternatively, they could limit 

their study to one or two fables. 

ReSouRCeS 

Below are some resources that might be helpful in creating a 

unit on fables. Although several of these sites are in French, 

similar activities and depictions are available in other languages. 

tinyurl.com/youtube-frenchfable 

A young French girl reciting “La Cigale et la Fourmi” (“The 

Grasshopper and the Ant”)—proof that memorization of fables 

is possible! 

tinyurl.com/youtube-crowandfox 

French cartoon depicting “Le Corbeau et le Renard” (“The 

Crow and the Fox”). Many portrayals of fables are available 

online in both animated and non-animated form. Search 

www.you tube.com to find more in different languages. 

www.wikispace.com 

This free site will allow groups of students to create original 

fables collaboratively. (You may also be able to create wiki 

pages on your school’s web-based learning software.) In 

either case, you as instructor will be able to see the amount 

each student contributed to the project. 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fables 

Wikipedia: Fables. Presents information about the history of 

this genre as well as some classical fabulists. This can help 

give you ideas for fables to look for online. 

The fact that La Fontaine’s fables are versified allows us, lastly, 

to broach the matters of meter and rhyme. What is meter and how 

do we count it in the target language? What constitutes a rhyme and 

which words rhyme in the text we are studying? How do we describe 

this rhyme scheme in the target language? Why would the author even 

include rhyme in a narrative tale? Explanations of these points serve 

as an introduction to the study of poetry. 

The popularity of certain fables means that many are available in 

animated form in online videos. These can be wonderful and appreciated 

supplements to the class. Students benefit from the visual portrayal 

of these intrigues and often better recall the fables they have 

had the benefit of viewing—either via illustrations or reenactments 

online. I show my class an animated version of the fable in the target 

language when available, only after they have spent time decrypting 

the tale in groups. However, if teaching these fables to less advanced 

students, it might be preferable to show students videos depicting 

the narratives before asking them to analyze the texts in groups. 

Assessment Related to Fables 

All of the aforementioned activities take place in the classroom. Yet 

we know that in order for students to actually master the material, 

they need to ultimately produce something. Following are four assessments 

I use to measure their understanding of the language and 

culture studied in this unit on fables. 


In the Classroom 

The first assignment requires students to memorize fables. Following 

our detailed study of two particular tales, I ask students to 

memorize them (one after the other, separated in time by about a 

week) in order to be able to recite them aloud to the class. This is, 

after all, how the original tales would have been transmitted as part 

of an oral storytelling tradition. Though often anxious about this assignment 

beforehand, my students do manage to learn two appropriate-length 

tales (of 18 and 22 verses, respectively). In doing so, 

they master the fable’s content, acquire the new vocabulary, practice 

advanced grammar structures, become more fluid in their articulation 

of the language, and gain confidence in their abilities—not 

only in the language but also in their ability to commit something to 

memory, all worthy outcomes! 

A second assessment requires students to reenact in groups their 

choice of one fable studied in class. This occurs near the conclusion 

of our unit. For this assignment, students are expected to maintain 

the original intrigue and lesson of the fable, but to present it 

in modified form and by means of less formal language. Although 

I originally had students act these out in front of the class, I now 

require them to record these fables and present them to the class 

in digital format. Some possible ways for them to accomplish this 

include burning a DVD, bringing in a Windows Media file (on a zip 

drive), or even posting their reenactment on YouTube. The digital 

delivery eliminates the challenges posed by live theater, such as 

illness, nervousness, and forgetting lines. Our students are already 

quite competent in their use of technology—indeed, even most cell 

phones are equipped with recording devices—so I have not found 

this to be an excessive demand. On the contrary, I am convinced that 

this new format encourages students to put their best efforts into the 

task of bringing their fable to life in video. Students are graded on 

their faithfulness to the original intrigue, transmittal of the lesson, 

depiction of the stereotypical characters, comprehensible pronunciation, 

and overall creativity. In addition, a portion of their grade on 

this project is assigned by the others in their group, which somewhat 

alleviates the problem of any one person slacking off. Innovative, 

imaginative, and humorous, these reenactments have been very successful 

ways to demonstrate student learning in my class. 

A third assessment, also a group project, is the creation of an 

original fable. Students compose this on a wiki (i.e., “what I know 

is”) page. As a consequence, the educator can see who contributed 

44 

to the tale’s composition and how much. As with the reenactment, 

then, each student’s participation—reflected clearly as a percentage 

on the wiki page—comprises one element of his or her grade on 

this assignment. This original fable should demonstrate all that they 

learned in the unit. Thus, while the students have extensive liberty in 

the content of their tale, they must by means of it demonstrate their 

knowledge of the required elements of this genre. Some students 

modernize fables we have studied; some change the point of view of 

the narrative; some imagine a prequel or a sequel to a tale; and some 

invent new intrigues entirely. I like the wiki form of this exercise as it 

requires the 21 st century skills of collaboration and critical thinking. 

Since students act as both authors and editors of the fable, they must 

assess and sometimes correct the work of their classmates to ensure 

a quality final product. And as with the reenactment of the fable, 

students are motivated by the fact that not only their teacher but 

also their classmates will be observing their work. The result is an 

improved final product. 

Before finishing this unit, we spend a class period reviewing what 

we have learned by means of a PowerPoint game of Jeopardy! The 

students are divided into two teams. Possible game categories might be 

the individual fables studied, or alternatively, the content of just one 

fable: Plot (to test knowledge of storyline and lesson/s), Characters 

(to review characterization of the fable’s protagonists), Language (to 

test understanding of difficult syntax or sophisticated construction), 

Vocabulary (to test their mastery of new words), and Mixed. This 

lively game allows us to review in a friendly but competitive setting. 

Those not quite familiar with the answers are gently encouraged to 

study before the upcoming test. A written exam, covering all that we 

have studied—from the history to the narratives, from characterization 

to the lessons, from grammar and vocabulary to meter and rhyme— 

constitutes the fourth and final assessment for this unit. 

Student Responses 

In my class, student reception of the fables has been extremely positive. 

They enjoy the narratives as mini-masterpieces in themselves. 

They appreciate the opportunity to draw analogies between the lessons 

or characters appearing in the fables and their own lives. They 

are empowered by their newly acquired understanding of authentic 

texts and consequently, less anxious about moving on to longer 


works. Finally, they are excited about the fact that they can actually 

recite a story in the target language. 

On an online end-of-the semester evaluation of the course, one 

student enthused about this unit’s content while capturing some of 

the multiple objectives met. The student wrote, “I really enjoyed 

this course this semester, by far my favorite French class I have ever 

taken. I really enjoyed the reading assignments (memorizing the 

fables too!), and how we addressed grammar but didn’t overdo [it] 

. . . I learned a lot about French culture . . .” 

Over the years, I have had several alumni of this unit write to me 

from a subsequent study abroad experience excited by the fact that 

they felt more a part of the culture—understanding advertisements, 

recognizing literary allusions—specifically because of their knowledge 

Videos of many fables are available online. Here, an animated version of 

La Cigale et la Fourmi can be found on YouTube. 

of these tales. Indeed, once upon a time, one of my students even 

recited one of the memorized fables along with her host family—a 

memorable and authentic cross-cultural connection. 

Bendi Benson Schrambach is Associate Professor of French and Chair of Modern 

Languages at Whitworth University, Spokane, WA. 

F r o m A C T F L 

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language teachers find their way 

Written by experienced language educator Paula 

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careers. In addition to step-by-step strategies for 

everything from classroom organization to navigating 

Back-to-school Night, the book includes 

sample lesson plans, templates for student and 

parent letters … even advice on dealing with the 

inevitable difficult moments every teacher faces! 

The ACTFL Guide For ProFessionAL LAnGuAGe eduCATors 

THE KEys 

to the Classroom 

A basic manual 

to help new language teachers 

find their way 

by Paula Patrick 

Excellent reference guide for methods students! 

Great gift idea! • Perfect manual for new faculty members! 

Add Your Voice to the Conversation 

Interested in submitting your own article for the “In the 

Classroom” section? Send it in to scutshall@actfl.org and we 

may share your ideas in a future issue of The Language Educator. 

look for it in the 

aCTFl online 

store at www. 

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46 

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DL Poster 2/3/06 4:06 PM Page 1 


Learn About the ACTFL Latin 

Interpretive Reading Assessment 

As of the beginning of this year, 

Latin teachers have a new way 

to assess their students’ ability 

to read for meaning—the 

ACTFL Latin Interpretive Reading Assessment 

(ALIRA). The American Classical 

League (ACL) and ACTFL collaborated to 

create this assessment based on both the 

National Standards for Foreign Language 

Learning and the Standards for Classical 

Language Learning. 

“This is a really exciting development 

for the Latin community,” says Sherwin 

Little, ACL past president, placement 

director and ALIRA consultant. “ALIRA 

is going to be a huge asset to teachers 

and students.” 

In addition to being Standards-based, 

ALIRA offers test takers a 21 st -century testtaking 

experience. It is computer-adaptive 

and assesses students’ comprehension of 

main ideas and supporting details, inferences 

and prediction using a wide variety 

of texts from YouTube comment threads, 

Wikipedia entries, Ephemeris, as well as 

the Classics. All texts and questions are 

aligned with the ACTFL Performance 

Descriptors for Language Learners. 

One driver for the creation of ALIRA 

was accountability. “As states are becoming 

increasingly driven by accountability, 

in many places you have to prove you 

know a language in order to teach it. Latin 

teachers have been at a disadvantage without 

a way to demonstrate proficiency and 

there has been concern that we might start 

losing Latin certifications,” explains Little. 

“So this test will clearly benefit teachers in 

that regard.” 

Another benefit will be the ability to 

document student progress. ALIRA is a 

first-of-its-kind assessment for Latin that 

will provide a performance rating at four 

points within the Novice range and five 

points within the Intermediate range. “We 

have the National Latin Exam, but that is 

curriculum-driven and not designed to deliver 

a performance rating,” explains Little. 

Colleges can also use ALIRA for placement 

of incoming students. 

“It’s going to be really interesting to 

see where students are assessed by the 

exam versus their language level in school. 

I could guess as to where my level 2 

students might score, but I can’t say with 

certainty,” Little says. 

ALIRA will aid teachers in developing 

their language programs. “You expect to 

see a natural progression, but we might 

see kids staying at the Novice level for a 

long time and then suddenly jumping to 

Intermediate. This might mean some kids 

were not learning as well as we would like 

or that we have frustrated some kids who 

were ready to move on,” says Little. “If you 

aggregate all your students you will see a 

general trend. It is going to be fascinating 

to discover those trends.” 

Developing ALIRA took about two and 

a half years because Latin—as an ancient, 

unspoken language—is quite different 

from modern spoken languages. “ACTFL 

taught us the theory behind text typology 

and the assessment, and then we had to 

explain to them what was and was not 

possible. For example, you aren’t going 

to find directions for assembling a toy 

in any of our texts. And literary Latin is 

very dense and thick, so you need a much 

shorter word count for a reading passage 

than you would for other languages,” 

notes Little. 

Teachers across the country began offering 

ALIRA to their students in January 2013. 

The current testing period lasts through 

the end of February. ALIRA is also available 

in April/May and in September/October. 

“I hope that once students begin taking 

this test, it will create a discussion in the 

Latin community about how we can help 

our students become better readers,” says 

Little. “We want our students to understand 

the difference between translation 

and reading. We as teachers need to learn 

different activities that will develop that 

reading skill.” 

ACTFL and ACL are also offering an 

online, self-study course called Classics 

in the 21 st Century Classroom. The course 

is divided into five parts and takes an indepth 

look at standards, communication 

modes, proficiency and performance, addressing 

21 st century skills, and text-task 

alignment. Upon completion, teachers 

may claim continuing education credit by 

notifying ACL. 

For more information about registering 

for ALIRA or Classics in the 21 st Century 

Classroom, visit www.actfl.org/aappl/latin. 

Sample task that is similar to what appears on 

the ALIRA.

48 

LegislativeLook 

National, state, and local news on policy and legislation 

As ACTFL members no doubt realize, many things have been 

happening recently concerning the ability of our elected 

leaders in Washington to address our economic health and resolve 

challenges related to taxation, spending, and deficits. To help sort 

out these various issues, we present a brief update on the fiscal 

cliff, sequestration, and the debt ceiling—along with what we 

know currently about how potential spending cuts might affect 

federal education budgets. 

Fiscal Cliff 

Late on January 1, the House of Representatives passed legislation 

that addresses the tax-related aspects of the fiscal cliff. The House 

vote followed an 89-8 vote in the Senate. The package finally 

solidified following a closed-door collaboration between Senate 

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Vice President Joe Biden. 

The main points of the deal included: 

• Higher taxes on individuals earning $400,000 and on families 

making $450,000 or more. Under that threshold, the Bush-era 

tax cuts will be permanent for all but the wealthiest households. 

• Higher tax rates on capital gains and dividends for wealthier 

households. Taxes on capital gains and dividends will be held 

at their current levels of 15% for individuals making less than 

$400,000 and households with income of less than $450,000. 

They will rise to 20% for individual taxpayers and for households 

above those thresholds. 

• Sequestration delayed until March 1. These steep across-theboard 

cuts to domestic and defense programs were put off for 

two months. 

• Emergency unemployment benefits extended for one year. 

• Scheduled cuts in physician payments under Medicare put off 

for one year. 

• Nine-month farm bill extension. 

• Personal exemptions phased out for individuals making over 

$250,000. 

• Forty percent estate tax, rising from its current 35% level, with 

the first $5 million in assets exempted. 

• Alternative Minimum Tax permanently indexed to inflation. 

Update on Budget Battles in Washington 

• Tax breaks for working families, including five-year extensions 

of the American Opportunity Tax Credit, which can be claimed 

for college-related expenses; the Child Tax Credit; and the 

Earned Income Tax Credit, which is a refundable income-tax 

credit for low- to moderate-income working Americans. 

• Business tax breaks for research and development. 

• A Congressional pay freeze. 

• Expiration of the payroll tax cut. 

The deal did not resolve some of the country’s long-term fiscal 

issues, such as the complicated tax code and rising entitlement 

spending on Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, and other programs. 

Sequestration 

As mentioned above, the automatic spending cuts to discretionary 

programs known as “sequestration” were put off by the fiscal 

cliff deal and now will be triggered in March, unless Congress 

comes up with a plan prior to the new deadline. The January 1 

deal postponed cuts that otherwise would have taken effect at the 

beginning of 2013—a self-imposed penalty enacted by Congress if 

it failed to reduce the deficit by $1.2 trillion over the next decade. 

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) originally announced 

that Defense Department agencies would have their budgets cut by 

about 9.4% and domestic agencies would see roughly 8.2% budget 

cuts from sequestration. Military personnel and the Veterans Affairs 

Department would be exempt from the cuts. 

However, in January the Committee for Education Funding (CEF) 

amended their projection of the impact of sequestration in 2013. 

CEF now estimates that nondefense discretionary programs will see 

a 5.9% cut instead of the 8.2% projected by OMB. 

According to CEF Executive Director Joel Packer, the new calculation 

is a result of the $24 billion reduction in the Fiscal Year 

2013 sequester total. The total sequester amount for FY13 will 

now be $85.33 billion, instead of $109.33 billion. The domestic 

sequester is half of that amount, at $42.67 billion. Packer projects 

that the cut for the Department of Education will be approximately 

$2.95 billion. How that relates to specific foreign language programs 

and funding is not yet known, nor is it known yet if these 

cuts will ever take place. 


TIP: 

AdvocacyTip: 

Members of Congress often have their greatest influence 

not in the larger legislature or by writing bills, but through 

their service on a House or Senate committee or subcommittee. These 

groups can pass on (or bury) legislation and we should work hard to 

cultivate a champion for language education on any committee which 

may consider and rewrite legislation that can impact language learning 

and program funding. 

Among these are the very powerful Senate and House Appropriations 

Committees, which are in charge of setting the specific expenditures 

of money by the government of the United States. Also important are 

the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and the 

House Education & The Workforce Committee. 

For the U.S. Senate, you can access the following pages to find out 

if either of the senators from your state serves on a key committee 

or subcommittee: 

Senate Appropriations Committee - www.appropriations.senate.gov/ 

Click on ABOUT THE COMMITTEE for a list of committee members. 

Subcommittees 

Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies - 

www.appropriations.senate.gov/sc-labor.cfm 

Defense - www.appropriations.senate.gov/sc-defense.cfm 

State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs - 

www.appropriations.senate.gov/sc-state.cfm 

Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee - 

www.help.senate.gov/ 

Debt Ceiling 

On January 23, the House of Representatives approved a temporary 

suspension of the $16.4 trillion-ceiling on the nation's debt, allowing 

the federal government to continue borrowing through spring 

while Washington shifts to other budget battles. 

Under the previous scenario, it was expected that the United 

States would hit the debt limit as early as mid-February; sequestration 

would go into effect (unless changes are made) on March 1; 

and current annual funding for the government (an FY13 continuing 

resolution) would expire at the end of March. 

Learn if Your Legislator Serves 

on a Committee 

For more tips on advocacy, go to www.actfl.org/advocacy. 

For the U.S. House of Representatives, you can access the following 

pages to find out if your district’s representative serves on a key 

committee or subcommittee: 

House Appropriations Committee - appropriations.house.gov/ 

Click on ABOUT THE COMMITTEE for a complete list of committee members. 

Subcommittees 

Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies - 

appropriations.house.gov/about/members/laborhealtheducation.htm 

Defense - appropriations.house.gov/about/members/defense.htm 

State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs - 

appropriations.house.gov/about/members/stateforeignops.htm 

House Education & The Workforce Committee - edworkforce.house.gov/ 

committee/subcommitteesjurisdictions.htm 

Subcommittees 

Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education - 

edworkforce.house.gov/committee/ecese.htm 

Higher Education and Workforce Training - edworkforce.house.gov/ 

committee/hewt.htm 

Once you have determined which of your members of Congress serve on 

these committees and subcommittees (and especially if any of the committee 

chairpersons are from your state), make an initial contact with 

their office, either by phone or e-mail. Let them know of your interest 

in any legislation concerning language education and offer to serve 

as an expert advisor on topics relating to world languages. Also, don't 

forget to let ACTFL know when you make contact so that we can better 

coordinate your advocacy efforts with our state team efforts. 

The decision will lift the debt ceiling temporarily, allowing time 

for the House and Senate to pass a budget. The House Republicans’ 

bill would also make paychecks for Members of Congress contingent 

on passing a budget. The bill goes on to the Senate and the White 

House has said the president would not oppose it. 

Clearly the circumstances surrounding these important issues 

are changing quickly, so ACTFL members are urged to stay upto-date 

and informed on what is happening with regards to the 

decisions made that will affect the nation’s economic health 

and stability. 


Legislative Look 

50 

Legislation passed in December by the 

U.S. House of Representatives and 

signed into law by President Obama in January 

will permanently establish a National 

Language Service Corps (NLSC) within the 

Department of Defense to help meet critical 

defense-related foreign language needs. 

The NLSC provision was written by U.S. 

Rep. Rush Holt (NJ) and Sen. Daniel Akaka 

(HI) and is part of the National Defense 

Authorization Act. 

“America is linguistically malnourished,” 

Holt says. “Far too few Americans can 

speak or understand foreign languages, and 

as a result, we are hampered in participating 

in global commerce and in defending 

our national security. The permanent establishment 

of the National Language Service 

Corps is a meaningful step toward helping 

Interested in Getting Involved 

with a State Team? 

Advocacy teams have formed in most states and have 

been active in various ways including participating 

in quarterly conference calls with ACTFL, coordinating and 

taking part in e-mail campaigns, and setting up legislator 

visits to language programs. California, for example, has had 

a very active team which has been staying in touch with and 

influencing both their state and federal legislators. 

There is still room for more committed individuals who 

want to join their state team. Contact ACTFL headquarters to 

get connected with your state team leader and other participants 

in your state. E-mail headquarters@actfl.org. 

Invite a Member of 

Congress to Visit Your 

Language Program 

National Language Service Corps Established 

our government address its shortfall of 

skilled foreign language speakers.” 

“The National Language Service Corps 

is a unique effort to take advantage of the 

Americans who learned a language at home or 

in school and are eager to put that ability to 

work for their country in times of need,” says 

Richard B. Brecht, Executive Director of the 

Center for Advanced Study of Language (CASL). 

The bill provides that the NLSC will 

“provide a pool of nongovernmental 

personnel with foreign language skills who 

. . . agree to provide foreign language 

services to the Department of Defense.” The 

Secretary of Defense will then be able to 

“call upon members of the Corps to provide 

foreign language services to the Department 

of Defense or another department or 

agency of the United States.” 

The NLSC currently exists as a pilot 

program that has recruited more than 1,800 

members. To date, NLSC members have 

worked with the Department of the Navy, 

the National Security Agency, the Centers 

for Disease Control and Prevention, and 

other federal agencies. For instance, the 

NLSC provided translation and interpretation 

support services to the U.S. Army Pacific for 

counterinsurgency training in Thailand. 

Holt originally introduced the language 

authorizing the NLSC as an amendment 

during House consideration of the National 

Defense Authorization Act in May 2012. The 

final provision was included in the conference 

version of the bill negotiated by a 

House–Senate committee in early December. 

Learn more about the NLSC at www. 

nlscorps.org. 

More Details on 

JNCL-NCLIS 2013 Legislative Day 

The Annual Joint National Committee on Languages & 

The National Council for Languages and International 

Studies (JNCL-NCLIS) Legislative Day and Delegate Assembly 

has been planned for May 9–11, 2013 at the American 

Councils for International Education, 1828 L Street, NW, 

Washington, DC. More detailed information is now available 

at www.languagepolicy.org. 

Inviting legislators to your language program is a great way to build a connection to their office. 

Seeing a high-quality 21 st century language program in action will illustrate the importance of 

language learning and let you and your school or university showcase the great work you are doing. 

Find out exactly what you need to do to make it happen on the ACTFL website at www.actfl.org/ 

advocacy/resources. 


How Language Policy Looks in 

Various English-Speaking Countries 

By Kate Brenner 

Editor’s NotE: In this and the next issue of The Language Educator, we will be looking at language policy around the 

globe as compared with the United States. Here, we focus on language policies in English-speaking countries, including 

Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. In April, we’ll explore what programs currently exist 

in the United States in lieu of a national language policy. We’ll also take a look at multilingual Europe and see how their 

approach can inform support of language education in the United States. 

We hope these articles will help your own advocacy efforts and knowledge of global efforts to promote languages and 

language learning. 

Comparing the United States with other countries with regard to language policies can be tricky. Laws 

around language exist for various reasons and motivations and many nations even include language 

policies in their constitutions. Some countries are concerned with establishing an “official language” in 

response to a perceived external, internal, or existential threat. For example, France declared French as its official 

language before it joined the European Community in 1992, because of the perceived threat of losing French 

identity or of dramatic changes to the French language through the legal connections with other countries with 

other languages. Many Arab countries have also established Arabic as a national language in conjunction with 

proclaiming Islam as their official religion. More than half of national constitutions include one or more language 

clauses establishing national or official languages. The most common languages proclaimed as official throughout 

the world are English, French, Arabic, and Spanish. 

The United States does not have an official language; however there has been an “Official English” movement since 

the 1980s which has had some success at the state level. As of April 2011, 28 of the 50 states had established English 

as the official language—including Hawaii where both English and Hawaiian are official. Many supporters of world 

language education see these “Official English” or “English Only” efforts as promoting a divisive agenda which excludes 

the beneficial study of languages other than English and threatens programs such as dual-language immersion. 

Beyond promoting a language or languages as official, some countries have formally established policies and 

strategies to encourage multilingualism and the study of additional languages. Often in these cases, it is English 

as a second language that is being promoted, with the idea that it can function as a lingua franca in the global 

economy. Language policies may also exist to protect indigenous languages that may be threatened. 

Because learning English is such a big part of many nations’ push toward multilingualism, it can be helpful for us to 

examine most closely those countries where English is already the primary language spoken—so that we can make a 

better comparison with the United States. Language laws in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom can help inform 

us on what others around the globe have done to officially encourage the study of world languages in addition to English. 


Canadian Language 

Policy 

In Canada, the Office of the Commissioner 

of Official Languages is responsible 

for protecting language rights and promoting 

English and French in Canadian society. 

Reporting directly to Parliament, the Office of the Commissioner has 

a mandate to ensure that federal institutions comply with language 

policy legislation. 

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, part of the Canadian 

Constitution, includes a series of language rights. It declares, 

“English and French are the official languages of Canada and have 

the equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to their use 

in all institutions of the Parliament and government of Canada.” 

This language demonstrates a commitment to official bilingualism 

in Canada by the federal government, and is open to expanding 

language rights in the future. This charter also mandates that the 

federal government conduct business in both official languages, and 

dictates that goods and services be available in both languages, such 

as nutritional labels on foods. 

When it comes to minority language educational rights, the Canadian 

law is clear: “Those whose first language learned and still understood 

is that of the English or French linguistic minority population 

have the right to have their children receive primary and secondary 

school instruction in that language.” In certain parts of Canada, 

English-speaking citizens are actually the minority; Canada ensures 

those students can still receive their education in English as it is one 

of the official languages. 

Canada passed the Official Languages Act (OLA) in 1969 to 

clarify and specify the language rights discussed in the Charter; it 

was substantially amended in 1988. As defined by the Canadian government, 

the OLA intends to “ensure respect for English and French 

and ensure equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to 

their use in federal institutions; support the development of English 

and French linguistic minority communities; and advance the equal 

Australian Language Policy 

status and use of English and French.” It also requires that federal 

institutions actively offer communication in both languages, from 

bilingual signage to telephone operators. 

While Canada’s approach protects official language rights, it leaves 

the native Aboriginal languages in question: Where and how are they 

protected from extinction? 

It is estimated that in Canada, before the bilingual policy, there 

were 450 Aboriginal languages and dialects, in 11 language families. 

By the late 1970s only some 60 Aboriginal languages were still identified 

in the same 11 language families. In 1982, of the 60 languages 

only three had more than 5,000 speakers, which is the cut-off population 

for endangered languages. 

The objective of the Aboriginal Languages Initiative (ALI) is to 

“support the preservation and revitalization of Aboriginal languages 

for the benefit of Aboriginal peoples and other Canadians.” This 

federally funded grant program “maintains and revitalizes Aboriginal 

languages for future generations by increasing the number of 

Aboriginal language speakers, by encouraging the transmission of 

these languages from generation to generation, and by expanding 

language usage in family and community settings,” according to the 

Canadian Heritage website. 

In summary: 

• In Canada, second language learning is a core component of 

the curriculum. A course in second language is compulsory. 

• In general, second languages are taught at a much younger 

age than the United States. 

• Policy strength reinforces the prerogative of language learning 

throughout the country. 

• Canada places importance on the maintenance of indigenous 

languages; the most vital result of this practice is the success 

of minority language populations. Some Canadian provinces 

even have indigenous language classes in their curricula. 

• Canada employs a comprehensive and expansive use of technological 

resources available to students and teachers, as well 

as continuous research conducted to maintain accuracy in 

language programs. 

Australia has not claimed an official language. The first comprehensive language policy applied by the country is the National Language Policy (NLP), 

written in 1987 by Joseph Lo Bianco, Professor of Language and Literacy Education at the University of Melbourne and President of the Tsinghua 

Asian-Pacific Forum on Translation and Intercultural Studies. His policy is considered the grandfather of current language legislation in Australia. 

Since its adoption, a large number of programs have been created with three main objectives: (1) to promote multilingualism; 

(2) to end language discrimination; and (3) to strengthen public opinion on bilingualism and its importance. Technology, such 

as “satellite teachers” in virtual classrooms sent to schools in remote areas, has continued to innovate and support Australian 

language education. 

The policies overall have resulted in the agreement that language education should be appreciated and cultivated. 

The NLP managed to align the teaching of English with other languages in a complementary fashion, thus avoiding 

discrimination so common in the “Official English” propositions. However, Australia’s lack of a federal education curriculum 

for languages has caused a flaw in the educational process. 

Like the United States, Australia is a federation and each state is responsible for local language policies. Currently, 

Australia is only halfway finished developing part of a national curriculum called the Australian Curriculum: Languages. 


“The conundrum is that there is no national position on languages 

guiding this process and, due to the division of federal and state 

responsibilities for education, it is unclear how the national curriculum 

in languages will be implemented around the country,” says 

Matthew Absalom, President of the Australian Federation of Modern 

Language Teachers Association (AFMLTA). 

“In some sense, Australia, while very multicultural, suffers from 

a monolingual mindset that considers English as the only necessary 

language—which I would suggest has been the cause for apathy in 

the development of a clear policy on languages. AFMLTA is very 

keen to revive discussions of the need for a national languages policy. 

Our view is that a policy of this type would strengthen the place of 

languages education in schooling,” says Absalom. 

There is an exception—the state of Victoria. According to Lo 

Bianco, “Several states have ambitious national policies, especially 

the state of Victoria which is possibly the leader for the number of 

programs and languages covered. It is presently possible to study and 

have examined at the final pre-university year of schooling some 47 

languages.” Almost all elementary children there are studying at least 

one foreign language, and 18 different languages are taught in public 

schools. The Victorian School of Languages teaches 39 additional 

languages, and makes language teachers available to regions in the 

state lacking in appropriate staff. Victoria’s commitment to language 

British and Irish Language Policy 

According to the National Centre for Languages (CILT), “language 

policy in the UK has evolved to take into account devolution to national 

administrations in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It has 

reflected policy developments in the European Union and in Anglophone 

countries across the globe, such as Australia. Linear progression 

from the aspirations of language policy to the desired results in 

practice, for example, ‘all members of the European Union able to use 

two languages in addition to their mother tongue,’ can be frustrated 

or supported by the (unintended) consequences of policy enacted in 

other fields. It is not enough to look at language policy in isolation.” 

There is in fact currently no overall national policy on languages 

in England today. The latest development on this front came in June 

2012 when Education Secretary Michael Gove announced that all British 

schools would be required to teach a foreign language at “Key Stage 

2”—from Year 3 to Year 6. This will form part of the government’s new 

primary curriculum due to be launched in 2014. Gove announced that 

the new foreign languages program of study will “require an appropriate 

balance of spoken and written language.” Documents are not yet 

available detailing the upcoming approach to languages. 

A lack of language policy was not always the case in the UK. 

“Languages for All; Languages for Life,” a white paper published by 

the Department for Education and Skills (now Department of Children, 

Schools and Families) in December 2002, comprised England’s 

national language strategy up until 2011. This was informed by and 

built upon the report of the Nuffield Languages Inquiry in 2000, 

which sought to foster public acceptance of language competence 


policy is a model not only for other Australian states, but can be a 

guide for the United States as well. 

The National Languages and Literacy Institute of Australia 

Limited (NLLIA) began operations in June 1990. The Institute is 

largely funded by the federal government and is closely linked to the 

implementation of policies on language and literacy in Australia. 

The institute “conducts high-level specialist policy advising, publishing, 

and consultancy. It also specializes in fields as diverse as sign 

language, interpretation and translation, English as a second language, 

literacy in English and bilingual literacy, adult literacy and adult English 

as a second language, as well as heritage (community) languages.” 

In summary: 

• The Australia National Language Policy and subsequent policies 

created a broad, unbiased promotion of multicultural 

education, without naming an official language. 

• Making foreign language teachers available to transfer to 

regions lacking teachers of a specific language has proven very 

effective in Victoria. 

• Australia’s overall view is that multilingualism is a rich 

resource useful to economic health and national security 

• Australia implements language education with technology. 

• Australia suffers from an unfinished national language curriculum. 

and intercultural understanding as essential 

components in the makeup of an informed 

international citizen. 

Three overarching objectives 

were identified: 

1. To improve teaching and 

learning of languages (centered on an 

entitlement to a language learning experience 

for all students in Key Stage 2 

[the four years of school for children ages 7 to 11] with coherent 

transition to an enhanced and flexible secondary curriculum). 

2. To introduce a recognition system (a “Languages Ladder” that 

would potentially credit a learner’s progression through a scenario 

of lifelong learning and complement existing qualifications 

frameworks). 

3. To increase the number of people studying languages (moving 

beyond schools to further and higher education, and to 

work-based training, maximizing the contribution of a suitably 

skilled workforce within a global and multilingual economy). 

In May 2011, the Government decided to withdraw almost all of 

the funding targeted at languages in school, effectively ending the 

eight-year National Languages Strategy. A proportion of the funding 

previously allocated to the primary languages initiative went into 

schools’ general budgets, along with dedicated funding for language 

colleges but these amounts were no longer earmarked or identified. 

While many people credit the strategy as having had significant 

success in promoting the study of languages, it has also been called 



“seriously unfinished business.” A 2011 report published by The Languages Company 

says that now, “In the absence of Strategy we therefore have to support positive 

policy initiatives and to find possibilities for future engagement, learning lessons 

from both the successes and failures of the past.” The current review of the national 

curriculum is meant to address the need for more language study, but it remains to 

be seen what the final effect will be on language education in England. 

England was not in fact the first part of the UK to develop a languages strategy. In 

2000, Scotland produced a comprehensive report and set of proposals for responding to 

the challenges and opportunities of multilingualism. Although not all of the proposals 

were implemented by the Scottish government, this set an agenda which has been regularly 

updated. The country’s new “Curriculum for Excellence” introduced in 2010 gives 

an important role to languages, and describes the outcomes expected at different stages. 

In April 2002, the Welsh Assembly Government published its own languages 

strategy for Wales called “Languages Count,” which aimed in particular to increase 

recognition of the importance of language skills by schools, students, parents and 

employers, and to ensure that language learning was linked to the learning of English 

and Welsh to increase intercultural understanding among learners. An action plan for 

languages in secondary schools, “Making Languages Count,” was set forth in 2010. 

A recent report published by a state-funded Irish language promotion agency in 

November 2012 aims to establish an approach to the revival and revitalization of the 

Irish language in Northern Ireland. It recommends a two-pronged approach to (1) 

promote the Irish language on a cross-community basis and (2) achieve desirable 

linguistic outcomes and identify options for achieving them. 

The Republic of Ireland (an independent state not part of the UK) has established 

Irish as the national and first official language in its constitution, with English as the 

second. Ireland’s entire language policy is designed to formally and legally reinstate 

Irish in areas from which it has been ousted for more than 300 years. In education, 

bilingualism is compulsory. All elementary schools must teach English and Irish 

until the end of the primary level. Ireland’s ministry of education has adopted special 

measures (involving less English) in Celtophone districts of the Gaeltacht in which 

the mother tongue is Irish and the second language is English. At high school, Irish 

as a second language becomes optional and can be replaced by French, German, or 

another language. 

In summary: 

• England’s National Languages Strategy was a reasonably successful approach 

to national language policy, but it was defunded in 2011. 

• There is currently no language strategy in the United Kingdom 

• According to the new curriculum which will be released in 2014, all children 

will be required to study a foreign language beginning at age 7. 

• Scotland and Wales also have addressed language policy in various ways in 

their countries. Northern Ireland aims to promote Irish to a greater degree. 

• The Republic of Ireland has pursued a bilingual language policy, also promoting 

Irish as a mother tongue. 

Why hasn’t the United States established its own formal language policy, like many 

other English-speaking nations have or previously had? This question, and a look 

at what the U.S. does have in place to promote the study of languages other than 

English, will be addressed in the next article on this topic in the April issue of The 

Language Educator. 

Kate Brenner is a contributing writer to The Language Educator, based in Middleburg, VA. 

54 

Learn More 

Aboriginal Languages Initiative, Canada 

tinyurl.com/canada-ali 

Australian Federation of Modern Language 

Teachers Associations 

afmlta.asn.au/ 

Canadian Heritage 

tinyurl.com/canadian-heritage 

Citizens of a Multilingual World – Scottish 

Executive Response 

tinyurl.com/scotland-response 

Community Languages Australia 

www.communitylanguagesaustralia.org.au/ 

MainPage.php 

Language Learning in Scotland: A 1+2 Approach 

tinyurl.com/scotland-approach 

“Languages Count” for Wales 

tinyurl.com/languagescount-wales 

Languages for All: Languages for Life, a Strategy 

for England 

tinyurl.com/england-strategy 

“Making Language Policy: Australia’s Experience” 

by Joseph Lo Bianco 

tinyurl.com/making-australia-langpolicy 

Making Languages Count (Wales) 

tinyurl.com/makinglanguagescount-wales 

National Curriculum Review, England 

tinyurl.com/england-curriculum-review 

“National Policy on Languages” (Australia) by 

Joseph Lo Bianco 

tinyurl.com/nationalpolicy-australia 

Overview of the National Languages Strategy, 

2003–2011 (UK), The Languages Company 

tinyurl.com/languagesstrategy-england 

Official Languages – Government of Canada 

tinyurl.com/official-languages-canada 

Official Languages Act, Canada 

tinyurl.com/ola-canada 


ACTFL National Language Teacher 

of the Year Award 

Do you know a language teacher whose 

work is so exemplary that you think he or she 

would well represent our profession? 

Contact your state association to nominate 

that person for the ACTFL National Language 

Teacher of the Year Award, sponsored by ACTFL 

and Holt McDougal. This esteemed award also 

includes a $2,000 stipend. 

ACTFL-MLJ Emma Marie 

Birkmaier Award for Doctoral 

Dissertation Research in Foreign 

Language Education 

Have you read an exceptional doctoral dissertation 

lately? 

Nominate the writer for the ACTFL-MLJ 

Emma Marie Birkmaier Award for Doctoral 

Dissertation Research in Foreign Language 

Education, which recognizes an author 

that has contributed to the advancement of 

the profession. 

Help Us Honor 

the Best in Our Profession 

With ACTFL Professional Awards 

ACTFL Nelson Brooks Award 

for Excellence in the Teaching 

of Culture 

Do you know someone who captivates their 

students with lessons in culture? 

Acknowledge their dedication to the teaching 

of culture by nominating them for the ACTFL 

Nelson Brooks Award for Excellence in the 

Teaching of Culture. 

ACTFL-Cengage Learning Faculty 

Development Programs Award for 

Excellence in Foreign Language 

Instruction Using Technology 

with IALLT 

Think that someone has excelled at integrating 

technology into instruction at the postsecondary 

level? 

Recognize their commitment and recommend 

them for the ACTFL-Cengage Learning Faculty 

Development Programs Award for Excellence 

in Foreign Language Instruction Using 

Technology with IALLT. 

ACTFL Award for Excellence in 

K-12 Foreign Language Instruction 

Using Technology with IALLT 

Know an educator who has done a 

remarkable job at integrating technology into 

instruction at the K-12 level? 

That person would make a great candidate 

for the ACTFL Award for Excellence in 

K-12 Foreign Language Instruction Using 

Technology with IALLT. 

ACTFL-NYSAFLT Anthony Papalia 

Award for Excellence in Teacher 

Education 

Were you inspired by an excellent teacher educator? 

Show your appreciation by nominating them 

for the ACTFL-NYSAFLT Anthony Papalia Award 

for Excellence in Teacher Education. 

If you answered YES to any of these questions, be sure to submit a nomination and assist ACTFL with 

continuing to acknowledge excellence, hard work, and dedication to the profession. 

ACTFL-MLJ Paul Pimsleur Award 

for Research in Foreign Language 

Education 

Have you read a great research article lately? 

Let the editor of that journal know that 

the author should be submitted as a nominee 

for the ACTFL-MLJ Paul Pimsleur Award for 

Research in Foreign Language Education. 

ACTFL Wilga Rivers Award for 

Leadership in Foreign Language 

Education, Postsecondary 

Know someone who is a fantastic example of a 

postsecondary leader in our profession? 

Help us to honor this individual with the 

ACTFL Wilga Rivers Award for Leadership in 

Foreign Language Education, Postsecondary. 

ACTFL Florence Steiner Award for 

Leadership in Foreign Language 

Education, K-12 

Have you worked with someone who deserves to 

be recognized for their leadership skills at the 

K-12 level? 

Nominate this person for the ACTFL Florence 

Steiner Award for Leadership in Foreign 

Language Education, K-12. 

ACTFL Melba D. Woodruff Award 

for Exemplary Elementary Foreign 

Language Program 

Have you heard about an exemplary elementary 

foreign language program? 

Consider nominating it for the Melba D. 

Woodruff Award for Exemplary Elementary 

Foreign Language Program. 

To bestow these annual awards, ACTFL relies 

on its member organizations to nominate 

qualified candidates. Awards include cash 

prizes of $500. More information, including 

deadlines and how to apply, is available at 

www.actfl.org/awards.

Pinterest for Language Educators 

We encourage educators at all levels to send in 

their short ideas and suggestions for The Idea Box. 

Please try to keep your submissions to fewer than 

1,000 words. 

Pinterest is a fast-growing social network 

and bookmarking site. It allows users 

to set up boards of things they love from 

the Internet, or images that they themselves 

upload. Many people create boards 

of visuals that inspire them. Boards exist 

featuring recipes, travel, design, wedding 

ideas, journals, books, nature photography, 

bucket lists—the ideas for boards are endless. 

Pinterest is like a virtual visual wish 

list—a place to collect, organize, and share 

images of things one loves. 

While there are many useful bookmarking 

sites out there, Pinterest offers some 

unique advantages for the language education 

profession. There are already many 

language teachers organizing resources and 

sharing them on Pinterest. They are creating 

boards of great lessons, tips, handouts 

and videos on Pinterest and making them 

available to many via the site. Pinterest is 

turning out to be an indispensable resource 

for me as a language educator, as well as 

for many of my colleagues. 

56 

By Janina Klimas 

This page, left below: Me Gusta stamp the author found on Pinterest; right below: Board 

titled “Spanish” for organizing web resources for the author’s class. Next page: Screen 

shot of the author’s main page and access to all of her boards. 

There have been some amazing activities 

that I have found on this site from other 

language teachers, and the boards have 

been an excellent way to organize them. I 

have a passion for languages, so I have a 

board for each one that I have experience 

in. However, I teach Spanish and English, 

so since joining earlier this year many of the 

activities that I have found and/or uploaded 

have been in one of those languages. 

Another way that Pinterest can benefit 

language teachers is by featuring their 

products. Some teachers are selling the 

great products and activities that they 

have created via their Pinterest boards by 

providing links to sites like Teachers Pay 

Teachers (www.teacherspayteachers.com). 

There are also links to items on Etsy and 

other sites. 


As you find activities, videos, lessons, products, 

realia, photos, and ideas, you can repin 

them to your boards. The user whose board 

you repinned from then receives a notification 

that you have done so. This brings you 

to their awareness. Imagine the collaborations 

with other language educators that can 

be established. I am finding so many useful 

resources via Pinterest from teachers I would 

never have access to otherwise. 

This way of connecting also works by 

introducing people to others’ blogs and websites. 

Word Press is an open-source software 

that makes creating web pages incredibly 

easy. You are a Word Press user if you have 

used eBay or accessed The New York Times 

online. Word Press can be installed on your 

own domain, but also has a blog platform 

that is completely free at wordpress.com. 

Pinterest has introduced me to some great 

blogs dedicated to language teaching and 

learning at Word Press. Users can follow 

other blogs on Word Press. This is providing 

one more way to help bring great ideas to 

more educators. 

As was previously mentioned, there are 

many sites out there to help us bookmark 

and organize web resources. So what makes 

Pinterest so special for our profession? There 

is no bookmarking site out there that I am 

aware of that can so vividly bring the target 

culture to life. For example, a board named 

“Paris,” with all of the famous sites you 

want to share with your students, could be 

projected in your class. It can be a great way 

to bring the target country to your room. 

Pinterest enables users to organize images 

into as many categories as possible. Boards 

could be organized into categories such as 

foods, famous cities, famous people, or transportation. 

The visual aspect presents cultural 

products and practices in a visual way that 

helps bring our students to other worlds. 

Students can even make their own 

Pinterest boards. Imagine each student in 

a class selecting one place or aspect of the 

target culture. They would then create a 

board with that as its theme. As they search 

for images and read about the boards, they 

will find many opportunities for input from 

the target language in the comments box for 

each image. The activity also requires them 

to use keywords from the target language. 

The students could then comment on the 

boards the other class members have created 

in the comments box. 

If you, like me, love online resources but 

are restricted by either your school, or by 

general anxiety with having students on the 

Internet due to safety concerns, there are 

some offline possibilities to use Pinterest for 

culture and communication. The students 

could be assigned a “board” of a certain 

theme. They would do their research outside 

of class using their target language keywords 

to find relevant images. They would then 

print out a set number of images. They bring 

these to class and create boards by sticking 

them on your walls. The students are 

given post-it notes to leave comments on the 

different boards. Visiting different boards 

Getting Started with Pinterest 

1. Sign up for an account at 

pinterest.com. 

2. Select some images that you like to 

help Pinterest offer you suggestions 

on other things you might like. 

3. Follow their directions to install the 

Pinterest applet on your browser. 

4. Create your own board. 

5. Pin images you upload, find on the 

web, or through boards you find on 

Pinterest (i.e., repins). 

6. Comment on other people’s boards. 

7. Be inspired by all of the great ideas 

out there. 

8. Enjoy the great place you now have 

to collaborate with other language 

teachers! 

provides movement in your class as well. 

The activity can then turn into conversation 

practice, as the whole class discusses 

the best things they saw, the most colorful, 

where they would like to go in the future, 

etc. The students might select a place that 

they “visited” during their Pinterest trip. 

They would then write a postcard to another 

student describing what they did, what they 

saw, what they plan to do next, etc. 

Pinterest is, in my opinion, an excellent 

tool for language educators. This resource 

enables us to share our creativity, realia, target 

culture media, and ideas. Thank you to 

all of the teachers on Pinterest sharing their 

videos, games, projects, and ideas with me. 

My repertoire has grown because of you. 

Janina Klimas is a language educator and founder of 

the startup company, Real Life Language. 

How do you use technology to share with other language educators or your 

students? Send your ideas to Sandy Cutshall at scutshall@actfl.org and we will 

share a variety of suggestions in a future issue of The Language Educator. 


Lunchbox Project 

lunchboxproject.wikispaces.com 

An international language and cultural awareness project 

begun in 2008, the Lunchbox Project wiki connects language 

students with those in other countries to discuss and show 

what they eat for lunch, talk about/prepare an example of an 

ideal healthy lunch from their country, and create instructions 

or a video about how to make that typical healthy 

lunch. The project can be tailored to individual groups 

throughout the world at various levels and ages. Teachers 

can also share their reflections through a blog on the site. 

Hindi Blog 

blogs.transparent.com/hindi/ 

Transparent Language recently added Hindi to its list of 

supported languages, so the website now offers a Hindi 

language blog. Recent blog post topics include poems, traditional 

sweets, household chores, and New Year resolutions. 

What’s that APP? 

MindSnacks Educational Games 

The MindSnacks app for each language available (Chinese, 

French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish) features nine 

games designed to build essential vocabulary and conversation 

skills. Every lesson features up to 25 vocabulary words and phrases 

along with matching audio clips from a native speaker. MindSnacks ESL 

is available for Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), French, Italian, 

Korean, Spanish, and Vietnamese, and features six games with 50 levels 

of language content, each with up to 25 English words and phrases. 

MindSnacks SAT Vocab offers nine games designed to build essential SAT, 

PSAT, and GRE vocabulary. 

MindSnacks apps are free for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, and can 

be downloaded at the App Store. The product will soon be available for 

Android. Find out more at www.mindsnacks.com. 

What’s Online for Language Educators 

Spanish Resources from Nulu 

www.nulu.com 

The Nulu website includes news stories about sports and 

entertainment, business, science and technology, politics, 

travel, and Spanish/Latin culture. Features include instant 

human translation, and questions and reviews in easy, 

medium, and hard formats. It also allows users to network 

with friends as well as with native speakers. 

MYLO Resources in Four Languages 

www.hellomylo.com 

This UK-based online language learning service offers 

resources for learning Chinese, French, German, and Spanish. 

For each language, you can select lessons in diverse 

topics including “Going to an Internet café” and “Sending 

messages.” Each activity includes information for teachers. 

The site also has a phrase book, dictionary, culture 

notes, and videos offering insights into becoming a better 

language learner. 

The PanLex Project 

panlex.org 

As a contribution to long-term linguistic diversity, the 

PanLex project makes every language on Earth more viable 

by facilitating the translation of any word from any language 

into any other language. To achieve this goal, the project is 

consulting thousands of dictionaries and other knowledge 

sources to build an open-source database. It already documents 

half a billion translations, from which billions more 

can be derived. To help make them all useful for global communication, 

PanLex aims to translate any word or word-like 

phrase from any language into any other language. 

Free Lesson Plans in Five Languages 

languageplan-it.com/free-stuff 

The website Language Plan-It is a commercial site that sells 

resources to teachers, administrators, and homeschoolers, 

but it also offers free lesson-of-the-month plans in five 

languages—Arabic, French, Italian, Russian, and Spanish. 


Web Lesson Plan Creator 

www.lex.vcu.edu/lesson_template 

The web lesson planning template on this site by Kathryn Murphy-Judy 

at Virginia Commonwealth University is for language education, and its 

nine sections begin with establishing the mission and goals, and they 

conclude with assessments. There are also links to additional resources. 

Resources on the International Phonetic Alphabet 

www.langsci.ucl.ac.uk/ipa/ 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet 

The International Phonetic Alphabet is a notational standard for the 

phonetic representation of all languages, and it is provided by the 

International Phonetic Association. The full chart of the alphabet can 

be found on the association’s website, and Wikipedia has information 

and the chart on its site as well. 

Germany Fact Book 

www.tatsachen-ueber-deutschland.de/en/head-navi/ 

home.html 

Facts about Germany is a reference book of information about modern 

life in Germany. It includes sections on federal states, business, 

education, foreign policy, culture and media, the social system, and 

history, among others. 

Free Interactive Russian Course 

www.dotty-dingo.com 

The Dotty-Dingo Russian language course has interactive Java 

modules for learning the basics of the Russian language. The course 

consists of lessons in the Cyrillic alphabet, vocabulary, and phrases. 

The vocabulary and phrase lessons are accompanied by test modules. 

The White House Website in Spanish 

www.whitehouse.gov/espanol 

The White House Spanish language website features articles, news, 

and blogs that are of special interest to Hispanic Americans and 

Spanish-speaking immigrants. There is also a pdf of Una América 

construida para que perdure: La Agenda del Presidente Obama y La 

Comunidad Hispana, which includes links to many other government 

websites of particular interest to Hispanic Americans. 

Online Arabic Textbook 

www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/arabic1/ 

The Arabic I online textbook is a resource from LEARN NC, a program 

of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Education 

that offers the basics of the written and spoken Arabic language. 

There are chapters on public services and directions, and introducing 

friends and where they live—in addition to other topics. The glossary 

provides a word or phrase, its part of speech, and its meaning, as well 

as the opportunity to hear it spoken. 

Japanese Nature Game 

www.naturegame.or.jp/index.html 

This environmental education website is intended to help Japanese 

children learn about the wonders of nature through play. It includes 

a nature game video and activities that are represented in four stages 

by animals—otter, crow, bear, and dolphin. The site also has an 

information page about the Great East Japan Earthquake, which can 

be found at www.naturegame.or.jp/square/sinsai/. 

Folk Music for Language Learners 

folkdc.eu/ 

A project of the European Union project, Digital Children’s Folksongs 

for Language and Cultural Learning (Folk DC) has 20 songs in 10 

languages (two songs each in Czech, Danish, English, Finnish, Greek, 

Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, and Turkish). The resources 

also include a set of language activities, a set of cultural activities, 

a set of musical activities and how-to videos. The website recently 

became available in a German version at folkdc.eu/de/. 

These and other 

Web resources can be 

accessed through the 

Publications area on the 

ACTFL website at 

www.actfl.org/publications/ 

the-language-educator/ 

web-watch-online. 

Visit today. 


Calendar 

FEBRUARY 

February 1–28 The eighth 

annual Discover Languages . . . 

Discover the World! ® Month 

will continue efforts to increase 

public awareness of the importance 

of language learning. 

Information: www.Discover 

Languages.org 

February 13 ACTFL Professional 

Development Webinar: 

“Improving Language Learners’ 

Performance Through Integrated 

Assessments – Providing 

Effective Feedback.” Leaders: 

Bonnie Adair-Hauck and 

Francis J. Troyan. Information: 

www.actfl.org/webinars 

February 27 ACTFL Professional 

Development Webinar: 

“Improving Language Learners’ 

Performance Through Integrated 

Assessments – Designing 

Backward from Assessment to 

Impact Instruction.” Leaders: 

Bonnie Adair-Hauck and 

Francis J. Troyan. Information: 


MARCH 

March 7–10 Northeast Conference 

on the Teaching of Foreign 

Languages, Baltimore, MD. 

Information: www.nectfl.org 

March 14–16 Central States 

Conference on the Teaching of 

Foreign Languages, Columbus, 

OH. Information: www.csctfl.org 

March 20–23 Teachers of 

English to Speakers of Other 

Languages Convention, Dallas, 

TX. Information: www.tesol.org 

60 

Upcoming Events 2013 

March 29 Deadline for Scholarships 

for ACTFL Members: 

Cemanahuac Educational 

Community Scholarship 

(Mexico); IMAC Scholarship 

(Mexico); COINED/ACTFL 

Scholarship (Chile); and Speak 

Mandarin Scholarship (online). 

Information: www.actfl.org/ 

about-the-american-councilthe-teaching-foreign-languages/ 

scholarships-and-grants 

APRIL 

April 3 ACTFL Professional Development 

Webinar: “Curriculum 

and Instruction: Purposeful 

Planning to Increase Student 

Learning – Curriculum Design.” 

Leaders: Donna Clementi and 

Laura Terrill. Information: www. 

actfl.org/webinars 

April 4–6 Southwest Conference 

on Language Teaching, 

Henderson, NV. Information: 

www.swcolt.org 

April 7–9 National Chinese 

Language Conference, Boston, 

MA. Information: sites.asia 

society.org/nclc2013/ 

April 11–13 Southern Conference 

on Language Teaching, in 

collaboration with the Alabama 

Association of Foreign Language 

Teachers and the Southeast Association 

for Language Learning 

Technology, Birmingham, AL. 

Information: www.scolt.org 

April 17 ACTFL Professional 

Development Webinar: “Curriculum 

and Instruction: Purposeful 

Planning to Increase Student 

Learning – Content-Rich Units 

of Instruction.” Leaders: Donna 

Clementi and Laura Terrill. Information: 


April 25–27 National Council 

of Less Commonly Taught 

Languages Annual Conference, 

Chicago, IL. Information: www. 

ncolctl.org 

April 30 Nominations for 

2014 ACTFL President-Elect 

and Board Members Deadline. 

Information: www.actfl.org/ 

about-the-american-councilthe-teaching-foreign-languages/ 

governance/elections 

nominations 

MAY 

May 1 Deadline for submissions 

to the August 2013 theme 

issue of The Language Educator 

focused on “The Learner: How 

do we personalize the language 

learning experience?” Information: 

www.actfl.org 

May 8 ACTFL Professional Development 

Webinar: “Curriculum 

and Instruction: Purposeful Planning 

to Increase Student Learning 

– Purposeful Lesson Planning.” 

Leaders: Donna Clementi 

and Laura Terrill. Information: 


May 9–11 Annual JNCL-NCLIS 

Legislative Day and Delegate 

Assembly, American Councils 

for International Education, 

Washington, DC. Information: 

www.languagepolicy.org 

May 28 ACTFL Awards 

Nomination Deadline. Information:www.actfl.org/about-theamerican-council-the-teachingforeign-languages/awards 

JUNE 

June 27–29 American Classical 

League Annual Institute, 

Memphis, TN. Information: 

www.aclclassics.org 


JULY 

July 1 Deadline for submissions 

to the October 2013 theme 

issue of The Language Educator 

focused on “Technology: How 

do today’s learners shape a new 

learning environment?” Information: 

www.actfl.org 

July 10 Deadline for 2013 

ACTFL Convention scholarships 

for new teachers and 

first-time attendees. Information:www.actfl.org/conventionexpo/2013-actfl-conventionworld-languages-expo 

July 10 Early Bird Deadline 

for 2013 ACTFL Convention 

pre-registration. Information: 

www.actfl.org/conventionexpo/2013-actfl-conventionworld-languages-expo 

July 8–11 American Association 

of Teachers of Spanish and 

Portuguese Conference, San 

Antonio, TX. Information: 

www.aatsp.org 

July 11–14 American Association 

of Teachers of French 

Convention, Providence, RI. 

Information: www.french 

teachers.org 

AUGUST 

August 1 Deadline for submissions 

to the November 2013 

theme issue of The Language 

Educator focused on “Instruction: 

How are our practices 

helping students learn?” Information: 

www.actfl.org 

August 19 Deadline for applications 

for ACTFL Mentoring Program. 

Information: www.actfl. 

org/professional-development/ 

career-resources/mentoringprogram 



Advertiser Index 

2013 ACTFL Annual Convention 

and World Languages Expo Inside front cover 

United Cultures 3 

Vista 5 

Holt McDougal 9 

Study Programs International 15 

Please send in your brief announcements 

of interest to ACTFL members to 

scutshall@actfl.org. 

Walker Receives ADFL Award 

The Executive Committee of the Association of Departments 

of Foreign Languages (ADFL) has named ACTFL 

member Galal Walker the 2012 recipient of the ADFL 

Award for Distinguished Service to the Profession. 

Walker is a professor of Chinese and the director of the 

National East Asian Languages Resource Center and the 

Midwest US–China Flagship Program at The Ohio State 

University. The ADFL award recognizes members of the 

profession who have attained a national or international 

reputation for distinguished service to teaching 

and scholarship in foreign languages in the context of 

the mission of ADFL. Walker was honored at a special 

session at the Modern Language Association (MLA) 

Annual Convention in January. 

Villarreal Named NADSFL Supervisor 

of the Year 

ACTFL member Alyssa Villarreal of Memphis City Schools 

(TN) was chosen as the 2012 Supervisor of the Year 

by the National Association of District Supervisors 

of Foreign Languages (NADSFL). Villarreal was Vice 

President of NADSFL in 2012 and became President in 

2013. The NADSFL Supervisor of the Year award is given 

out annually at the NADSFL Annual Conference, held in 

conjunction with the ACTFL Annual Convention, and is 

sponsored by Pearson. Applications for the 2013 award 

are due in June. Find out more online at www.nadsfl. 

org/awards/. 

Announcements 

Quinlan Named NCSSFL State 

Supervisor of the Year 

ACTFL member Cheri Quinlan was chosen as the 2012 

State Supervisor of the Year by the National Council of 

State Supervisors for Languages (NCSSFL). Quinlan is 

World Languages Coordinator in the New Jersey State 

Department of Education. The NCSSFL Supervisor of the 

Year award is given out annually at the NCSSFL Annual 

Conference, held in conjunction with the ACTFL Annual 

Convention, and is sponsored by Pearson. The deadline 

for the 2013 award is in September. Find out more at 

www.ncssfl.org. 

New Language PSA from California 

Students 

A public service announcement (PSA) created by 

language students at North Salinas High School in 

California is available online. The video highlights two 

“typical” students who study languages and the many 

benefits this study offers them. Check it out and share 

with others during Discover Languages Month. It can 

be found online at vimeo.com/55161710. 

Tweet All About It 

Use the hashtag #dlmonth on 

Twitter throughout Discover 

Languages Month in February 

to share your good news 

about language learning in the 

United States. 


The Keys to Assessing Language Performance 23 

The Keys to the Classroom 45 

ACTFL Online Store 46 

ACTFL Career Center 46 

EMC Publishing Inside back cover 

SANS/Sony Back cover 

Marketplace 

FREELANCE OPPORTUNITY 

LOOKING FOR PROFESSIONAL WRITERS 

The Language Educator is looking for writers to 

take on feature article assignments. Interested 

individuals should have a background in journalism 

and/or magazine feature writing, as well as strong 

knowledge of standards-based language education. 

Language teachers with experience in professional 

journalism are encouraged to apply; résumé and 

writing samples will be reviewed. There is compensation 

for assigned articles. Contact Sandy Cutshall 

at scutshall@actfl.org if you are interested. 

ADvERTISE IN 

MARkETPLACE 

We offer this section to provide a venue 

for classified advertising, including 

employment, schools, travel, and more! 

Find out more about this opportunity to 

reach language educators by contacting 

Alison Bayley at abayley@actfl.org or 

703-894-2900, ext. 109. 


62 

Announcing Theme Issues in 

The themes for these issues are: 

August 2013—How do we personalize the language 

learning experience? 

Focus on: THE LEARNER 

Possible article topics include (but are not limited to): 

• Student backgrounds: Who are our learners? What is 

their prior knowledge and what are their skills? 

• Meeting the needs of heritage language learners 

• Enhancing learner motivation 

• Students’ careers and other interests 

• Differentiation for special populations, including students 

with learning disabilities 

• Languages for Special/Specific Purposes 

• STEM and languages 

Article submissions due: May 1, 2013 

—Beginning August 2013 

The Learner • Technology • Instruction • Cultural Proficiency 

Assessment and Feedback • Professional Development 

Editor’s NotE: Everyone involved with the production of The Language Educator 

is very proud of the magazine that we began publishing in January 2006. This 

year, while continuing the high standards that have been established over the 

past seven years, the magazine will be taking a new approach suggested by 

the ACTFL Board of Directors. 

Beginning in August, we will present a year of six themed issues of The 

Language Educator. The articles submitted for these issues will be reviewed 

by two experts, in addition to other TLE and ACTFL staff. We plan to include 

a variety of innovative and cutting-edge articles exploring each broad theme 

related to language education, and we hope that this new approach will be 

well-received by our readers. 

October 2013—How do today’s learners shape a new 

learning environment? 

Focus on: TECHNOLOGY 


• Connecting with learners’ means of learning 

• Learning environments, learning centers 

• Using new technologies in language learning 

• Effective use of technology 

• Online language instruction 

• Web 2.0 tools 

• Accessing and utilizing authentic materials 

• Hybrid/blended classes 

• Social networking 

Article submissions due: July 1, 2013 


November 2013—How are our practices helping 

students learn? 

Focus on: INSTRUCTION 


• High-leverage practices 

• Comprehensible input 

• “Flipping” the classroom 

• Do effective language teachers still teach grammar and 

if so, how? 

• Research-informed instruction 

• Thematic units 

• Project-based learning 

• 21 st century skills 

Article submissions due: August 1, 2013 

January 2014—How do encounters with cultures change 

our learners’ views of the world? 

Focus on: CULTURAL PROFICIENCY 


• Interculturality 

• Study abroad and intercultural adjustment 

• Pragmatic competence 

• Service learning 

• International collaboration 

Article submissions due: October 1, 2013 

February 2014—What kinds of assessments improve 

learning and teaching? 

Focus on: ASSESSMENT AND FEEDBACK 


• Measuring what has been learned 

• Performance and authentic assessments 

• Backward Design 

• New Advanced Placement (AP) exams and revised 

frameworks 

• Modes and cultures 

• Linguafolio 

• Assessing proficiency 

• OPIs/OPIcs/WPT 

• Designing effective rubrics and feedback tools 

Article submissions due: November 1, 2013 

April 2014—How can educators improve their effectiveness? 

Focus on: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 


• Teacher preparation and sustained improvement 

• Teacher effectiveness 

• Professional learning communities/communities 

of practice 

• Collaboration 

• Mentoring 

• Continual improvement as an educator 

Article submissions due: January 1, 2014 

We encourage you to begin submitting original, previously unpublished articles for these 

special theme issues directly on the ACTFL website at www.actfl.org/publications/all/thelanguage-educator. 

There will be a link there allowing you to upload your article directly to 

the site for a specific issue, as well as more information about formatting and content. 

NOTE: Articles for these theme issues, while peer-reviewed, should still follow The 

Language Educator Author Guidelines (available online) and should be written in the style 

of a magazine feature article, with direct quotes from multiple primary sources and intended 

to appeal to educators of all languages at all levels. They should not be narrowly focused 

research articles or dissertations with long lists of references, literature reviews, etc. 


Beyond 

Requirements 

By David Jahner 

40 

W 

Why Do Students 

Continue with 

Language Study? 

A Survey of Upper-Level Language Learners Reveals Motivating Factors 

hat motivates students to go beyond the perceived “two-year requirement” of language study for college 

entrance that is pervasive around the United States? How well do students think they are progressing in developing 

skills to communicate in their chosen language of study? Is it possible for school systems to build 

viable upper-level programs in a time of increasingly tight budgets and an ever-increasing emphasis on testing? 

To answer these questions, the Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) in Georgia surveyed the majority of all 

students enrolled in upper-level courses during the spring of 2012. For purposes of the survey, upper-level students 

were defined as anyone taking a Level 3 course or higher. 

Gwinnett County is the largest public school system in Georgia, with slightly over 163,000 K–12 students 

enrolled. Of those students, approximately 54,000 are enrolled in language courses. The majority of students take 

language classes in high school, although middle school enrollment has increased steadily over the past several years 

and elementary programs are offered at several schools. The district has 19 high schools. One reason the Foreign Language 

Office undertook the task of developing and surveying students is because upper-level course enrollment has 

increased 24.5% in the past five years, from 5,450 in 2007–2008 to over 6,783 in the 2011–2012 school year. During 

this same time, the overall high school enrollment increased from 25,763 to 28,363, an increase of 10.1%. 

This dramatic increase in upper-level language learners becomes even more interesting when looking at the trends 

for each of the five languages offered in GCPS high schools (shown below). French upper-level course enrollment has 

nearly doubled in the past five years, with healthy increases across the other languages: 

Level 3+ Enrollment Across GCPS 

Language 2007–2008 2011–2012 % Increase 

Chinese 0 80 N/A 

French 755 1,439 90.6% 

German 369 443 20.1% 

Latin 482 604 25.3% 

Spanish 3,844 4,217 9.7% 

In 

TOTAL 5,450 6,783 24.5% 

To learn more about what motivates students to take an upper-level language course, and to see how well students 

feel they are progressing in the language, the high school department chairs and district coordinator developed 

an electronic survey. Approximately 4,500 students completed the instrument. More than 50% of the respondents 

(2,274) were in 11th grade, with 27.6% (1,242) in 12th grade. Because GCPS is also one of the most diverse school 

districts in the nation, 44.7% of the respondents indicated that they speak a language other than English with their 

family, with Spanish being the most predominant. 

“Before learning Spanish, I was already bilingual. I thought it would be nice if I knew a third language so that I 

could tell people that I know how to speak three languages,” remarked one student from Norcross High School. 

More than 1,700 of the students completing the survey began their language study in middle school, with 78% of 

them indicating that they either “Strongly Agreed” or “Agreed” that they are glad they started learning a language in 

middle school. As a motivated language student from South Gwinnett High School noted, “Taking an upper-level class 

is rewarding in all ways possible. It opens your eyes and ears to the language like never before. It takes you to a place 

that you would have never thought about before. The class is rewarding. Take it!” 

Understanding Community-Based 

Learning 

Examining Motivation 

In order to help gauge what motivates students to enroll in an upper-level language course, students read various 

factors and ranked each on a Likert scale from “very important” to “not important.” The five factors with the highest 

percentage ranked by the students as “very important” were: 

Factor % “Very Important” 

I want to make my college application competitive. 57.5% (2,535) 

I want to be prepared for my future career. 52.8% (2,329) 

I want to become better at using the language. 45.4% (2,012) 

I like the language. 40.0% (1,769) 

I like the teacher. 35.0% (1,541) 

The two factors which received the most “not important” responses were “I want to take the AP or IB course in the 

language I’m learning” (39%) and “My parents/guardians want me to take the class” (21.8%). Students ranked “I am interested 

in the culture” and “I liked my other language courses” as important, but not as important as the other above mentioned 

factors. Based on the survey results, most students clearly understand the importance of taking language courses for 

their futures and also want to continue to improve their ability to communicate in their chosen language of study. 

As one student at Duluth High School said, “Not only is a foreign language challenging, it’s fun. Taking a foreign 

language course makes your college application look ten times better.” At Peachtree Ridge High School, another student 

remarked, “Learning a second language is actually practical—unlike many other classes. The content learned in 

this class can be used for the rest of your life and improves your resume as a job candidate in the future. It also opens 

up more job opportunities.” 

These results clearly reveal how important it is for everyone in the language education profession to continue to 

emphasize the usefulness of language study for students’ futures and to ensure that counselors, administrators, and 

others have current information and research about the importance of language learning. 

Later in the survey, a large number of students corroborated these findings by indicating that they intended to continue 

studying the chosen language in college. Only 16.5% said that they did not plan to take a language in college. In 

fact, many students responded by stating that they planned to take multiple languages as part of their postsecondary 

studies. While students mentioned many languages for college studies, the two mentioned most often were Italian 

(89) and Japanese (74). Clearly, students see the versatility in learning languages and believe they will be able to apply 

their current experience to future language classes. 

Measuring Progress and Proficiency 

Another goal of the survey is to determine how well students perceive they are doing in their language classes. Their 

responses will help inform overall program design and suggest areas for improvement. Students read a variety of 

statements about how they are using the language they are learning and ranked them on a scale from “strongly agree” 

to “strongly disagree.” In this section of the survey, each statement is tied to one of the National Standards with the 

exception of the final statement, which asks students to give an overall reaction about how well they think they can 

communicate in the language they are learning. The results of the survey indicated that the most often selected response 

was “agree.” What follows is a percentage of students who selected “strongly agree” or “agree”: 

search of real-life cultural their French language skills. The outcomes 

connections for my under- fall in line with current literature on second 

graduate students and myself, language acquisition that encourages instruc- 

I was drawn to a local refugee tors to integrate even a small-scale CBL 

center that had recently opened 20 miles component into early levels of the foreign 

from the private university where I teach language curriculum whenever possible. 

French in Elon, NC. The Avalon Commulanguage 

community significantly enhances 

nity Center in the nearby city of Greensboro 

motivation, boosts students’ self-confidence 

serves approximately 100 refugees primarily 

in their skills, and promotes positive at- 

from French-speaking regions of Africa. In 

Community-based learning is a wide-ranging 

titudes towards language learning. 

an area where Spanish is the predominant 

umbrella term that includes practices like 

second language, I saw this as a remark- 

volunteerism, field work, service learning, 

able opportunity: My intermediate students 

and internships—all of which are becom- 

Researchers stress the importance of mean- 

would be able to make community connecing 

more common on university campuses 

ingful integration of a community-based extions 

and apply their French language skills 

where there is a heightened focus on enperience 

into the academic curriculum—not 

and cultural understandings to civic engagegaged 

teaching and learning practices. CBL 

only for its effects on student motivation but 

ment. At the same time, I was looking for an 

expands the classroom into the community 

for the integrity and enhancement of course 

initiative that would not require extensive 

as it connects students to people of diverse 

content. In an article from Introduction to 

preparation or class time. Service-learning 

backgrounds. It involves critical thinking as 

Service-Learning Toolkit entitled “Pedagogy 

models did not fit with the particular goals 

it builds on course content, and it includes 

and Engagement,” Edward Zlotkowski 

or learning objectives for the course, so 

reflection to help prepare for, succeed in, and one semester beyond the International 

writes, “Community service activities must 

I needed to design a community-based 

and learn from the experience. CBL is par- Studies program’s language requirement. 

always be grounded in a deliberate, care- 

learning (CBL) project that would involve 

ticularly beneficial in the field of language Enrollment at this level indicates a commitfully 

articulated understanding of how such 

fewer contact hours. I decided it was worth 

education as we look for class strategies that ment to language studies, and yet it is still a 

activities advance the specific learning goals 

trying—even if it meant starting small. 

are consistent with the National Standards “make-or-break” level in the curriculum. As 

of the course in which they are embedded.” 

As it turns out, the great strength in 

for Foreign Language Learning. Four of the 5 many educators know, it is not uncommon 

At Elon University, we use the textbook 

the short-term community-based project 

Cs (Communication, Cultures, Connections, for intermediate-level students to abandon 

Sur le vif: Niveau Intermédiaire by Jarausch 

I undertook was in its manageable scope. 

and Comparisons) are regularly addressed in their language studies. There can be a dip 

and Tufts (5 

The short-term nature means that it can be 

language courses; however, it is widely ac- in motivation and self-confidence at this 

incorporated into an existing course without 

knowledged that the fifth C (Communities) level when coursework remains textbook- 

much redesign. In the case of a multi- 

is often missing from the classroom concentered and language use is limited to 

section course, the CBL project can either 

text. With CBL, however, the first 4 Cs are the classroom setting. Culture at this level 

be staggered across sections or added into 

reinforced in the community and no longer tends to be learned or observed rather than 

one section as a pilot study. Here I describe 

limited to the classroom. 

experienced. Students may have not yet 

the project and address learning outcomes, 

My decision to explore CBL in an studied abroad, and if a department does 

assessment, rewards, and challenges. Also 

intermediate-level grammar semester course offer a hands-on community-based learning 

included are results from a pilot study 

in particular was influenced by the fact experience, it is likely to be for majors in a 

conducted about the effects of community 

that the course is two semesters beyond capstone course. Yet research on language 

engagement on students’ self-confidence in 

the university-wide language requirement learning shows that contact with a target- 

th provide a context from which to draw when 

speaking with the families at Avalon. 

refugee community, the chapter vocabulary, Although I had planned for the course 

readings, and discussion topics would be project to be 10% of the final grade in my 

instantly more relevant and applicable. syllabus, the project and assessment details 

For an additional text, I chose C’est were undefined when the semester began. I 

toujours bien by Philippe Delerm (2001), a wanted the class to play an active role in the 

short literary book that would prompt us project design. As literature on teaching and 

to discuss cultural practices and perspec- learning reveals, when students are given an 

tives. C’est toujours bien is made up of essays opportunity to help make decisions about 

about life’s little pleasures from the viewpoint structure, content, and assessment, they are 

of a young French boy. The story “Faire un more vested in the outcomes and therefore 

canard,” for example, is about the joy of more likely to put forth the necessary effort 

dipping a sugar cube into his grandfather’s to make those outcomes happen. Early in 

coffee on Sunday afternoons—a petit plaisir the semester, I invited a representative from 

or “little pleasure” that is culturally specific the Avalon Center to speak with our class 

to this French narrator. Delerm’s essays about a possible community connection with 

provided models for students to write about refugee families. (I should add that she and I 

their own little pleasures in essay form with had met in person to discuss options before 

multiple drafts and peer feedback. (Some the semester began.) A recent college gradu- 

examples included baking cookies, building ate working at Avalon through AmeriCorps, 

sand castles, and stepping in puddles.) Ulti- Lizzie was engaging during her visit. She 

mately, they would share their stories at the gave a PowerPoint presentation with infor- 

ed.) over the course of two refugee center and ask about the children’s mation about the center, the populations 

semesters at the intermediate level. This own little pleasures. With this assignment, served, the circumstances that many families 

leaves space for additional projects, texts, then, students were writing for a wider, au- face, and the state support they receive. We 

films, roundtable discussions, etc. One of the thentic audience. This would be meaningful also discussed cultural sensitivity and the 

chapters of Sur le vif is devoted to immigra- as it worked on students’ grammar, vocabu- prevalence of common assumptions and/or 

tion, and therefore I knew that by connectlary, and composition skills, and it would misconceptions. Lizzie told us about Avalon’s 

ing students to a local French-speaking 

“Fun Friday” afternoon series when volun- 

50 

One Educator and Her Students Find 

a Small Project Can Have a Big Impact 

Sophie Adamson 

Statements % Strongly Agree/Agree 

above: Elon students with Avalon Community Center members. 

I can have a conversation with a friend. 77.4% 

I can understand increasingly more complex written texts. 80.9% 

I can understand increasingly more complex listening prompts. 71.3% 

I can give short (3–5 minute) presentations. 72% 

I can write increasingly more complex essays. 68.6% 

I can use things I’ve learned in my language class in other subjects at school. 64.7% 

I can compare the language I am learning to English. 83.8% 

I am satisfied with how well I can communicate in the language I am learning. 66.9% 

opposite page: An Elon student enjoys her time interacting with the children at Avalon. 

“I was able to develop a relationship with some of the children, 

and it makes me want to go back.” 

Choosing Course Readings 

The Language Educator n August 2012 The Language Educator n August 2012 

41 

We Want your contribution to 

contribute your Experience | Expertise | New Ideas 

Some Advice for Submitting to 

Undertaking the Course Project 

“Most students don’t actually use their French until they study abroad, but we had an amazing 

experience right in our own backyard, so to speak. I talked to the father of one of the children for 

30 minutes and I understood and responded to everything he said! That’s so amazing!” 

The Language Educator n February 2012 The Language Educator n February 2012 

51 

• Become familiar with the magazine. Read previous issues. Pay particular 

attention to the style of writing in TLE. How is it different from some 

educational newsletters or academic journals you may be used to reading? 

Look over the guidelines (available on the ACTFL website). Always 

be sure that your article represents accurate, up-to-date information. 

• Think beyond yourself to a greater audience. Try to see your topic 

beyond your own classroom or perspective. Will this be interesting to 

an educator who teaches a different language or at a different level? 

Might this be important to someone who cares about language learning 

but is not an educator? Would the information be accessible for administrators, 

government officials, parents, students, or others? Have you 

talked to anyone else to get another perspective and can you include 

quotes from other experts that broaden the topic? 

• DOs and DON’Ts for writing about research. DON’T simply repackage 

a research study or dissertation. DO approach the information 

you have from a new angle. DON’T include every small detail of your 

research procedures. DO get to the heart of the findings and why they 

are important. DO add in quotes with reactions from participants or 

experts concerning the topic. DON’T include extensive citations to 

previous studies, literature reviews, bibliographies/reference lists, etc. 

NEw 

Theme Issues in 

Submit Now for August 2013 

Focus on: THE LEARNER 

How do we personalize the language learning 

experience? 

Special Issue Submission Deadline: May 1, 2013 

We encourage you to submit your original articles now 

relating to the issue of The Learner for our August 2013 

theme issue. More information and topic suggestions 

appear on p. 62 of this issue. 

To submit, go to the Publications section of ACTFL. 

org and click on “The Language Educator.” You can 

enter your contact information and upload a Word 

document containing your article. We ask that you do 

not submit photographs or other supporting materials 

unless contacted directly by the Editor. Please follow the 

Author Guidelines for The Language Educator detailed 

on the ACTFL website. 

For more information, contact 

scutshall@actfl.org 

DO properly cite sources naturally within the body of your text. [Note: 

If what you have done is really an academic study, we encourage you 

to submit to ACTFL’s journal, Foreign Language Annals.] 

• Add some extras. Can you provide photos that go with your article? 

Are there other items such as bulleted lists, pull-out quotes, or short 

vignettes that might be featured alongside your article in a box or sidebar 

item? Can you provide some “web extras”—such as rubrics, documents, 

interviews, or further information that could be made available 

on the ACTFL website as a tie-in to your article? 

• Be patient and responsive. The magazine is printed six times a year 

and there is limited space for publication. Not all submissions can be 

accepted and some are in consideration for some time before a decision 

is made. Often accepted submissions are scheduled for an issue months 

later because they will fit well with the articles in a future issue. Try not 

to write something that will be dated in a few months. Alternatively, 

you may hit the timing just right and submit something that fits perfectly 

for an upcoming issue. Please respond right away when contacted by 

the editor in order to get your article ready for publication. If you have 

not been contacted recently or have questions, feel free to follow up via 

e-mail to scutshall@actfl.org for an update about your submission.

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