Polyglot Press
Staying Connected to World Language Teaching Resources
October 12, 2012
Thanks for the wonderful ideas found, shared and discovered while touring the county world language classrooms. This digital newsletter is also archived at www.polyglotpress.blogspot.com New ideas, websites, projects, and creations are always welcome.
BRAVO!
· The East Union Middle School Teacher of the Year is ... Yubely Zolke. Yubely has been involved in many efforts across the county including creating a digital version of the 6th grade locally adapted Spanish textbook, teaching WL and EUMS teachers how to use Smart Notebook software, teaching about how she has incorporated laptops into her world language instruction at curriculum day, etc. She also presented last year at FLANC about the use of SmartNotebook in World Language classes. Yubely is a native of Colombia who came to the US as a VIF teacher in a pilot program with some of VIF’s most promising young teachers. Yubely is now married and lives in Indian Trail. She has taught at Porter Ridge Elementary and East Union High School.
· Tyler Vaughan, Spanish teacher at Cuthbertson Middle, shares the following Animoto clip he created for Day of the Dead http://animoto.com/play/SSTmtN02VJx5KhZ6Yr5q0A
· Pascale Perreau, French teacher at Cuthbertson Middle, shares the Animoto she created for National French Week http://animoto.com/play/3FGjOhlrf1eO5NrPWfsNtw?utm_content=main_link Enjoy!
· Alice Dipom is working with XtraNormal and showing her students how to create animated characters that can speak and move. Use alt codes and the numeric keyboard on your desktop or lap to type in accents, foreign letters and foreign punctuation http://www.xtranormal.com
· Nordine Schweister is challenging the French teachers to create some exciting videos of student accomplishments to post on YouTube. Here is one from his French class at Weddington Middle’s YouTube channel as they sing the French alphabet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJqaol-FXms&list=UUWMfoRw6gHjtHrpSi1eElCg&index=3&feature=plpp_video
· Christina Bachiller has mastered assessment for presentational communication (NC WL Essential Standard 3). In less than 30 minutes, she takes her whole class to the lab to record their speaking assignment. Every student has a half-sheet drawing (by Christina) representing what they need to talk about: student’s name, the weather outside, what they like to do, what they don’t like to do, etc. She reminds them how to use the software, what buttons to press, what they have to include, that they have all practiced this before and that they are very capable. Voila! 30 student oral speaking assessments! Done!
· Attending the FLANC Conference in Winston-Salem this year! Daisy Rodriguez (Parkwood HS), Yubely Zolke (East Union), Soledad Townsend (Parkwood MS), Edna Castiblanco (Porter Ridge MS), Donna Podgorny. We will share what we learn with all UCPS WL teachers soon.
Events
· September 15 – October 15 Hispanic Heritage Month
· October 12 Día de la raza – Recognition of the mixing of the races as a result of the conquest of Latin America by the Europeans.
· October 14 – Latin American Festival Charlotte Internationally renowned musical acts, savory cuisine, visual artist demonstrations, authentic crafts, dance presentations, and interactive children’s activities. You won’t know where to look next! The festival takes place from 12:00 to 8:00 p.m. (rain or shine) at Symphony Park at South Park Mall, 4400 Sharon Road, Charlotte, NC 28211. General admission is $5, children under 8 are free. All proceeds from the festival support the Latin American Coalition and the Latin American Women’s Association’s programming. http://www.latinamericancoalition.org/festivallatinoamericano/about
· October 24, 2012 United Nations Day
· October 25, 2012 Eid al Adha begins at sundown. This is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to commemorate the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son Ishmael as an act of obedience to God before God intervened to provide him with a sheep to sacrifice instead. Muslims who can afford, sacrifice their best domestic animals (usually a cow, but can also be a camel, goat, sheep or ram depending on the region). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eid_al-Adha
· November 12 – 16 International Education Week http://iew.state.gov/ is an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide. This joint initiative of the U.S Dept. of State and US Dept. of Education.
Professional Development
· October 11 – 13 FLANC Conference – Foreign Language Association of North Carolina – Winston Salem, NC http://www.flanc.org/?sec=conference
o Pre-Conference Workshops ($30 per half day or $60 whole day): Thursday, Friday night,
o Conference – Friday – Saturday $140- 60 minute sessions Full-conference registration on-site
o Saturday only $75 on-site registration
o Post-Conference workshops ($30) - Saturday afternoon 2:15 – 5:15 p.m.
· Links are in Moodle for the October 8 World Language Teachers’ Tech Tools workshop. Find tutorials and some samples for Chirbit, Audacity, SmartBoard Recorded, Voice Thread and One Note. Thanks to Jan Anderson and Joey Barber, Instructional Technology Faciliators, for their wisdom, presence and support. http://moodlepro.ucps.k12.nc.us/course/view.php?id=468
· Tech Time - Technology Services is pleased to announce a series of Professional Development Opportunities for Middle and High School teachers that will focus on integrating technology and educational best practices. These sessions are designed for all content areas, and you will leave each session with something you can take back to your class and use right away. Don’t hesitate!!! Save your spot today by going to http://pdc.ucps.k12.nc.us and registering for “Middle / High Tech Time.” Attend all 6 session and receive 1 Literacy CEU! 4:15 – 5:45 p.m. at the Technology Services Center at 721 Brewer Drive, Monroe.
o Middle / High Tech Time - INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATIONAL BEST PRACTICES.
o October 25, 2012………..Making Moodle Interactive: Glossaries, Games, and More
o November 15, 2012……..Student Collaboration with Google Docs
o January 8, 2013………….Student Portfolio Projects Using Google Sites
o February 7, 2013………..Formative Assessments Using Moodle Journals and Quizzes
o March 5, 2013……………Collecting, Analyzing, and Applying Data with Google Forms
o April 16, 2013…………...Evaluating and Creating with Google Presentations
Integrating the NC World Language Essential Standards
· Proficiency-Oriented Language Instruction and Assessment: A Curriculum Handbook for Teachers. By Tedick, Diane J. (ed.). Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition. Minnesota, 1998. http://www.carla.umn.edu/articulation/handbook.html
· Oral Assessment per DPI (2001) http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/curriculum/worldlanguages/resources/orallanguages/
· Teachers Can Register for Webinar on Common Exams Join the NC Department of Public Instruction and the NC Association of Educators for a webinar on the new Common Exams (formerly referred to as Measures of Student Learning). Find out more about the creation of these new assessments, and how they will be used in the sixth standard rating for teachers. The webinar will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 24, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Register at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/217537432 Reminder that the world language NC Common Exams (Measure of Student Learning exams = MSLs) are not expected this year and will not arrive until at least 2013-2014. “More Information is coming soon” for World Languages. http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/docs/educatoreffect/measures/msl-timeline.pdf
· Technology is one excellent way to give students access to NC WL Essential Standard 2 – listening activities in which the students listen for a purpose and control when to stop, rewind and repeat a listening passage or section. Picture prompts are one way to prompt students address NC WL Essential Standard 3 to present orally or in writing. Screencast-o-matic is just one tool for students to record their speech about a picture or writing. Enjoy some of the tasks Daniela Kolarska has created in her Moodle pages: Spanish 1 http://moodlehigh.ucps.k12.nc.us/course/view.php?id=35896 ; French 1 http://moodlehigh.ucps.k12.nc.us/course/view.php?id=35897
· How do find the time to record students’ speaking ability? Jennifer Edenfield uses the ‘voice recorder’ on her laptop for her Parkwood High Spanish 1, 2, and 3 students to quickly record their presentational speaking assignments. She can complete a whole class of students during the 90 minute slot. All that is needed is a laptop with a microphone and the software for ‘voice recorder’. If you don’t know how to find the ‘voice recorder’ for your laptop, just type in ‘voice recorder’ in the search space above the “Windows” signal on your PC. Create one folder on your laptop for the student creations so that the students can easily save their file for you to easily access later.
Supporting the Common Core
· EduCore has a tool with three templates for argumentation, informational, and narrative teaching support middle and high school educators who are implementing the literacy standards in all disciplines. Created by the Literacy Design Collaborative, each template offers secondary teachers fill-in-the-blank "shells" built from the Common Core standards that allow educators to insert the texts students must read, writing students must produce, and content students must address. In addition, the EduCore tool empowers content-area teachers to create their own tasks for students that support engagement and growth within the CCSS. Related resources include videos that instruct educators how to create their own templates and Microsoft Word templates teachers can use to develop their own modules. Through a simple registration process, educators can access additional EduCore features, such as the ability to save searches, organize tools, and annotate resources. http://www.literacydesigncollaborative.org/
o Here is an example of a type of LDC template task: Level 1: After researching _____ (informational texts) on _____ (content), write a _____ (report or substitute) that defines _____ (term or concept) and explains_____ (content). Support your discussion with evidence from your research. L2: What _____ (conclusions or implications) can you draw? Multiple templates and rubrics are in their free online book http://www.literacydesigncollaborative.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/LDCBook_web.pdf
o No matter what the LDC template task, they all require teachers to create an assignment that asks students to:
§ Think, in ways that prepare students for success in college and the workplace
§ Read, analyze, and comprehend texts as specified by the common core
§ Write products as specified by the common core
§ Apply common core literacy standards to content
· The UCPS is featured in the ASCD Common Core Implementation Resources for NC materials http://www.ascd.org/common-core-state-standards/implementation-resources-for-north-carolina.aspx for integrating the Common Core State Standards in NC http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/siteASCD/commoncore/NC_CC_STATE_STANDARDS_SUMMIT_revised.pdf Other states featured are: Arkansas, Colorado and Utah.
Advocacy
· For global brands, multilingual websites are becoming a necessity. A recent study found that 58 percent of Fortune 500 companies have multilingual websites, and 70 percent of America’s biggest companies have some localized content. If a company already has a presence in a foreign market, content marketing is an obvious next step. But communicating effectively across national and linguistic borders can create unique challenges. Content marketing in foreign languages can be the key to reaching a much larger audience. Figures from Internet World Stats show that English is rapidly losing its position as the dominant online language, with growth in Arabic, Chinese, and Russian far outstripping it. English now only accounts for around a quarter of web users, with Chinese close behind. The Common Sense Advisory found that people overwhelmingly prefer to browse the web in their mother tongue. http://www.business2community.com/content-marketing/create-content-that-effectively-crosses-cultural-and-linguistic-borders-0289943
· On Thursday, the US Defense Language Institute formally opened a language center in Stuttgart, Germany. Teachers are now working out of classrooms complete with new high tech gear, including SmartBoards that enable video conferencing. The language demands in Stuttgart are wide-ranging: French, Russian, Arabic, Pashto, Dari and Swahili are some of the more popular courses. In two years, DLI has trained 8,500 DOD personnel in Europe, with much of the focus on providing Pashto and Dari instruction to soldiers deploying to Afghanistan. DLI in Europe has two primary focuses: meeting the language needs of EUCOM and AFRICOM and providing basic language and cultural instruction to forces deploying to Afghanistan. The Monterrey, Calif.-based DLI is regarded as the military’s premiere foreign language program and dates back to 1941. vandiverj@estripes.osd.mil http://www.stripes.com/news/defense-language-institute-gets-a-home-in-stuttgart-1.192041?localLinksEnabled=false
Global Opportunities
· International Exchange and Research Opportunities for U.S. Classroom Teachers - The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs offers Fulbright grants for U.S. primary and secondary classroom teachers, guidance counselors, curriculum specialists, curriculum heads, Talented and Gifted coordinators, Special Education coordinators and media specialists/librarians to participate in international exchanges during the 2013-2014 academic year through the Fulbright Classroom Teacher Exchange Program (CTE) (http://www.fulbrightteacherexchange.org/fulbright-classroom-teacher-exchange-program) and the Distinguished Fulbright Awards in Teaching Program (DA) (http://www.fulbrightteacherexchange.org/distinguished-fulbright-awards-in-teaching-program) . By living, teaching or conducting research overseas, U.S. teachers gain new skills, learn new instruction and assessment methodologies and share best practices with international colleagues and students. Teachers also have the opportunity to expand their understanding of other cultures and international education systems that will enrich their U.S. home schools and local communities with global perspectives. Teachers may apply for the CTE Program for one of six countries: the Czech Republic, France, Hungary, India, Mexico and the United Kingdom. Teachers may apply for the DA Program for one of eight countries: Argentina, Finland, India, Mexico, Morocco, Singapore, South Africa and the United Kingdom. For more information about eligibility requirements, benefits and impact of these programs, please visit the program website, www.fulbrightteacherexchange.org .
o The application deadline for the CTE Program is October 15, 2012. The Fulbright Classroom Teacher Exchange Program is a direct one-to-one exchange of teachers from primary and secondary schools. The program operates between the United States and six countries worldwide for a semester or academic year. By living and working in the host countries, Fulbright Teachers gain a unique understanding and appreciation of the similarities and differences in cultures and education systems. Teachers interested in applying to the CTE program can find more information here: http://www.fulbrightteacherexchange.org/application-te2.
o The application deadline for the DA program is December 15, 2012. Under the Distinguished Fulbright Awards in Teaching Program, highly accomplished U.S. primary and secondary level teachers of all subjects, guidance counselors, curriculum specialists, curriculum heads, Talented and Gifted coordinators, Special Education coordinators and media specialists/librarians may apply for this professional development program to carry out a course of study for three to six months abroad. The DA program provides U.S. teachers with the opportunity to study in an overseas research center or university and work within local schools in the host country. Applicants will propose a Capstone Project at the time of application that should enhance their learning and have practical applications to their teaching. Teachers interested in applying to the DA program can find more information here: http://www.fulbrightteacherexchange.org/application-tp2.
· For further information contact: Elizabeth (Betsy) Devlin-Foltz • Program Officer • Teacher Exchange Branch • Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs 2200 C Street NW - 4th Fl| Washington, DC 20522-0504 | U.S. Department of State | Washington, DC | (: 202.632.6334| 7: 202.632.9479| *: devlin-foltzea@state.gov
· The U.S. Department of State announces scholarships for American high school students to study abroad:
· The National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) offers merit-based scholarships to U. S. high-school aged students for overseas study of seven critical foreign languages: Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Hindi, Korean, Persian (Tajik), Russian and Turkish. The NSLI-Y program is designed to immerse participants in the cultural life of the host country, giving them invaluable formal and informal language practice and sparking a lifetime interest in foreign languages and cultures. Applications for summer 2013 and academic year 2013-2014 programs are due November 1, 2012. Visit www.nsliforyouth.org for more information.
· The Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Abroad Program offers scholarships to American high school students to spend the 2013-14 academic year in countries that may include Bosnia & Herzegovina, Egypt,Ghana, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mali (semester), Morocco, Oman, South Africa, Thailand, Tunisia, and Turkey. This post 9/11 program focuses on increasing understanding between people in the U.S. and countries with significant Muslim populations. The application deadline is January 16, 2013. Visit the YES Program’s website for more information.
· The Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Program (CBYX) was established in 1983 to celebrate German-American friendship based on common values of democracy. Secondary school students live with host families, attend local schools, and participate in community life in Germany. Young professionals (undergraduates) and high school graduates of vocational studies ages 18-24 study and participate in practical training. Scholarships are now available for academic year 2013-14; application deadlines vary by U.S. region and range from September 2012 to January 2013. For more information and application deadlines, visit the organization in charge of recruitment for your state at USAGermanyScholarship.org.
· The American Youth Leadership Program offers opportunities for American high students and educators to travel abroad on a three- to four-week-long exchange program to gain first-hand knowledge of foreign cultures and to collaborate on solving global issues. Several different organizations implement this program, and each has organized an academic and experiential educational exchange focused on dialogue and debate, leadership development, and community service. Recruitment areas and application deadlines vary, so please check the American Youth Leadership Program website for more information.
Global Competency
· Education Secretary Arne Duncan on Oct. 2 called for the nation to move as fast as possible away from printed textbooks and toward digital ones. “Over the next few years, textbooks should be obsolete,” he declared. It’s not just a matter of keeping up with the times, Duncan said in remarks to the National Press Club. It’s about keeping up with other countries whose students are leaving their American counterparts in the dust. South Korea, which consistently outperforms the U.S. when it comes to educational outcomes, is moving far faster than the U.S. in adopting digital learning environments. One of the most wired countries in the world, South Korea has set a goal to go fully digital with its textbooks by 2015. http://www.eschoolnews.com/2012/10/03/education-chief-wants-textbooks-to-go-digital/
· Excerpts follow from the book, Educating for Global Competence: Preparing Our Youth to Engage the World, by Veronica Boix Mansilla & Anthony Jackson, under the auspices of the Asia Society
World languages
o The study of world languages is a core component of global competence. Virtually all of the highest performing nations in the world require their students to begin sustained second language instruction from an early age. . .The failure to embrace the benefits of world language programs in the U.S. stems in part from a failure to recognize the ways learning another language contributes to a student’s broader academic and professional skill set. Learning a second language is one of the most effective ways to allow students to see things from multiple perspectives and consider worldviews that might differ from their own—a critical skill in an increasingly diverse nation and globalized world. And while there is much debate over which languages are most critical to learn, research shows that the skills developed learning one language can be applied to the learning of others. The goal, therefore, should be to make students effective learners of language in general, rather than just successful learners of one language in particular.
o Building a successful world language program means ensuring that language is seen as much more than a class in a school building. Sustainable programs connect with other academic disciplines, engage the larger school community, and offer opportunities to interact with students in other countries through electronic exchanges, travel, or studying abroad. While the mastery of grammar and vocabulary have formed the core of most world language instruction in the United States, the best world language programs are those that go beyond language proficiency to build a more comprehensive framework for the development of students’ global competence. For example, world language students should be investigating the cultures and societies in which the target language is spoken, learning about the diversity and history of the people who speak, read, and write it. They should be making comparisons between the target language and culture and their own, developing a stronger understanding of differing perspectives as well as the general principles of language patterns and structure. Students should be communicating with diverse audiences that include native speakers of the language and using their developing skills in authentic contexts. Indeed, building connections with native speakers makes the learning experience more authentic—and these personal relationships can be a significant motivator for students to continue their language study over the long term.
o In addition to offering robust programs that build student language proficiency over time, it is critical that world language programs engage learners. World language teachers need to consistently incorporate culture, including contemporary culture, into their instruction, and make the experience meaningful to students by fostering comparisons with their own. Similarly, world language programs should consistently make use of technology for both language learning and to connect students with their peers in other countries who speak the target language. Building connections with these and other native speakers will make the language learning experience more authentic and meaningful—and these personal relationships can be a significant motivator for students to continue their language study over the long term and to explore opportunities to travel and study abroad.
o One of the key considerations in making a language program compelling for students is incorporating tasks that involve higher order cognitive skills—even at the beginning levels. While the grammar and vocabulary one learns in first- or second-year classes is inherently simple and limited, teachers can incorporate activities to engage learners at higher levels. For example, rather than just having students memorize grammar patterns or vocabulary, teachers can ask students to analyze and extract those patterns from authentic materials. Similarly, teachers can incorporate interactive games and role-playing scenarios that simulate real world situations, asking students to compare the target language and culture with their own.
o Another mechanism for building student engagement is to incorporate content from other areas of instruction into the language classroom. Teaching lessons in the target language that connect to students’ science or history courses, for example, is a great way to make the language more relevant and interesting. The ultimate goal should be that students have the opportunity to develop their communication skills in the language, while at the same time developing the capacity to learn and think about languages and cultures more broadly— being able to apply their skills in the real world.
Superintendent Forums
· At the September Superintendent’s Forum, it was reported that Dr. Ellis “said her vision for the future is to secure funding that would bring foreign language back into the elementary schools.” “Ellis talked about the G.I.G. (Globalization, Innovation and Graduation), an initiative that has become the school system’s mantra and the three main areas that serve as a focus for UCPS. In her discussion of the globalization initiative, Ellis mentioned the Splash Immersion Program, Gateway Elementary Schools, Global Scholars Program and the Global Schools and Global Teachers designations.” http://www.ucps.k12.nc.us/news/jump.php?news_id=369475
Future forums (all at 6:00 p.m.):
Future forums (all at 6:00 p.m.):
Cuthbertson - Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012 - Cuthbertson High School
Forest Hills - Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012 - Forest Hills High School
Monroe - (Includes CATA, WBEC and Wolfe) - Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012 - Monroe High
Sun Valley - (Includes UC Early College) - Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013 - Sun Valley High School
Weddington - Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013 - Weddington High School
Parkwood - (Includes South Providence) - Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - Parkwood High
Piedmont - Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - Piedmont High School
Porter Ridge - Tuesday, May 28, 2013 - Porter Ridge High School
Forest Hills - Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012 - Forest Hills High School
Monroe - (Includes CATA, WBEC and Wolfe) - Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012 - Monroe High
Sun Valley - (Includes UC Early College) - Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013 - Sun Valley High School
Weddington - Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013 - Weddington High School
Parkwood - (Includes South Providence) - Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - Parkwood High
Piedmont - Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - Piedmont High School
Porter Ridge - Tuesday, May 28, 2013 - Porter Ridge High School
Tech Tools
· How to type accents and other foreign characters http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/international/accents/codealt.html#foreign
Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy – per Homer Simpson
German Resources
· Listen to the pronunciation of German names for both males and females http://www.nordicnames.de/Aussprache.html
Spanish Resources
o Having troubles viewing the videos in the online Realidades textbooks? Try a different browser. It should work in Google Chrome. The county is recommending Google Chrome for most everything.
o Daily news stories in Spanish for teenagers http://tweentribune.com/spanish Good for intermediate students’ for Standard 2 or for reading only headlines for novice mid or high students.
