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Department of Modern Languages and Classics

201 Little Hall  University of Maine  Orono, ME  04469

LANGUAGES:  Tools for the 21st Century

The FLAME website offers resources and information for Maine's K-12

teachers of French, German, Latin, Spanish, ESL and other languages.

News

French teachers might be interested to know about these discounts on France Today and France-Amérique:

Teachers are entitled to a 20% discount off the magazine’s regular subscription rate. This means an annual subscription to France Today will cost you $36 instead of $45 and that an annual subscription to France-Amerique will now cost you $40 instead of $50
Simply enter the promotion code TEACHER09 when you subscribe online to either France Today or France-Amerique and it will automatically calculate the discount. Our online subscription pages are available here:

http://www.france-amerique.com/magazine/abonnement.html

http://www.francetoday.com/magazine/subscribe.html

We would be happy if you could share this information with your school contacts. Students of French are also entitled to this 20% discount and can enter the promotion code STUDENT09 when subscribing online to enjoy this discount.

Methods Matter

A Practical Seminar on Teaching K-8 Foreign Language

July 27 - 29, 2009

8 am to 1 pm, Monday - Wednesday

Penobscot School in Rockland, Maine

Tuition: $185, includes 1.5 CEU

(FLAME members: $155)

Scholarships are available for Maine language teachers. Scholarship Application requests should be directed to Patti Luchetti, Office Manager at patti@languagelearning.org.

The registration deadline is June 26.

The seminar will increase teachers’ practical skills for developing curriculum and motivational strategies, based upon the latest research on language acquisition. Course material will be meaningful for teachers of any language at any level; examples will be given in French and Spanish. Participants will leave with ready-for-the-classroom activities, games, and songs and with a new support network of colleagues.

Presenters:

Julie von Kamecke: B.A. Russian, SUNY Oswego, founded the Spanish program at Rockport Elementary School, Rockport Maine in 1998 and has been teaching since 1993. She is the current Maine Representative for NNELL (National Network for Early Language Learning) and a Penobscot School Board Member. Trained and actively engaged in curriculum planning, alignment with the Maine State Learning Results, and local assessment work, Julie serves as a mentor and a resource for teachers in her district and around the state.

Margot Stiassni-Sieracki: B.A. Williams College, M.A. French, University of Illinois, M.A. Stanford University, has taught French and Spanish to grades K-8 in Maine since 1996, including at the Center for Teaching and Learning and Bath Middle School. She has often led sing-a-longs with her guitar for Penobscot School. Margot teaches that music is a powerful (and fun!) teaching tool for language and cultural acquisition, useful for all teachers. Always on the lookout for new approaches, she will provide you with practical activities, techniques, chants and songs, plus resources to share with your students.

Accommodation extra; limited home-stays and on-site accommodations are available, on a first come, first served basis.

For more information, contact: Penobscot School, www.languagelearning.org, 207.594.1084

IDEC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona (Spain) offers the following to teachers of Spanish:

	Open looks at a diverse Spain: Spanish Language (Architecture, Economy and Industry in Catalonia)
	Miradas abiertas sobre la España diversa: Lengua Española (Arquitectura, Economía e Industria en Cataluña).

The course is targeted for high school teachers of Spanish who are interested in the Spanish and Catalan culture. It will take place next July in Barcelona.

Click here for a brochure with more information.

BEN SLAVIC IS COMING TO MAINE OCT 8+9 2009 to do a TPRS workshop!

Ben Slavic, author of TPRS in a YEAR and PQA in a Wink, will be presenting a 2 day workshop in Lewiston, Maine. Please go to
http://www.poland-hs.u29.k12.me.us/ for more information and a registration form. Click on the TPRS workshop with Ben Slavic box. Registrations paid before AUGUST 24TH are only $99.00 - TOTAL FOR BOTH DAYS!. Hope to see you there!

STARTALK 2009 - Chinese Student Programs in ME

STARTALK: The Future Speaks Chinese

Bangor, ME • Chinese • June 29 – July 24, 2009

Find your fast track to learning Chinese right here in Bangor, Maine, in a special summer experience sponsored by STARTALK and Bangor Chinese School.

The Future Speaks Chinese is an exciting, four-week, immersion-based experience for motivated students in grades 4-12 who want to learn the Chinese language.

It is a language-intensive and culturally focused program taught by experienced teachers with three levels: beginner, intermediate, and heritage.

Structured learning goals will be modeled on ideas drawn from the national CLASS summer session (2007). Students will experience “performed culture” and have hands-on experience with cooking, arts, crafts, calligraphy, abacus instruction, Tai Chi, and music instrumentation as part of a complete immersion experience.

Meet new friends, encounter a new and vital world culture, and learn the language skills that will ensure you a bright tomorrow.

The program will be held at Husson University, Monday to Friday, June 29-July 24, 2009, 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

The cost for the four weeks will be $175 per non-residential student and $350 per residential student, including room and meals.

A limited number of need-based scholarships are available. Prizes will be awarded to students who do well in the program.

207 990-0710 • jingzhang@bangorchinese.com • http://www.bangorchinese.com

Bapst Student to Study in Spain

Shane Hass '10 is the recipient of a scholarship to study in Spain during summer 2009. Spanish Teacher Elizabeth Hudson obtained the scholarship through her activities in the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP). Ms. Hudson has served on the board of the García Lorca Chapter of the AATSP for a number of years and was one of two teachers nationwide who received the scholarship at the American Council of Teachers of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Convention held in Orlando last fall. The scholarship is from Eduespaña through the Embassy of Spain.

Hass will study at the International House of Madrid for three weeks starting in June. The scholarship includes room, board, tuition and a stipend for air travel. Hass will prepare for the Advanced Placement Spanish Language Exam and learn more about his host country. He is the son of Susan and Frank Hass of Veazie and is a student in Brenda LoPotro's Honors Spanish IV class this year.

PROGRAMME JULES VERNE

Sponsored by the French Ministry of Education

and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy

General Information

The Programme Jules Verne is a new and exciting teaching initiative sponsored by the French Ministry of Education and the Cultural Services at the French Embassy. The program, to be implemented in American schools in Fall 2009, aims to encourage international mobility for teachers while at the same time strengthening and developing international and cultural relations between France and the United States. It is our hope that in time, the program will develop into a reciprocal educational exchange between school districts in France and in the United States.

The Programme Jules Verne will send fully trained and certified elementary and secondary school teachers from France abroad to teach in school systems all across the world. Created in the spirit of the European Erasmus program which promotes cross-cultural exchanges for students of varying nationalities, the Programme Jules Verne will allow participants to live and teach outside of France for a full school year, immersing themselves in the culture, language and civilization of the host country.

Each teacher sent from France will participate in the daily life of their school and will be exposed to pedagogical methods popularly used in the United States, including various teaching devices, grading systems, and theories regarding the orientation and supervision of students. The program will encourage participating teachers to pursue their love of education through the accomplishment of pedagogical goals in a new professional environment.

Upon their return to France, participants will reenter the French school system. Returning teachers will conduct elementary classes in English or will teach their primary subject of study to middle and high school students in English-language immersion programs. For more information, click here.

Please note: the deadline for the Richard Williamson Scholarship has been extended to June 1.

MAINE

Richard Williamson Scholarship for Teachers (2009)

AATF – Maine encourages teachers to apply for the $250 Richard Williamson Scholarship for Teachers (2009) to attend a workshop or seminar during the summer.

Purpose:

The scholarship encourages French teachers to participate in a seminar or Conference, which will further their education and make them better teachers of French.

Eligibility:

· You need to be an active member of the Maine Chapter of AATF.

· Please send a brief resume in English (1page or less) including where you teach, for how long, what your goals are, and how we can reach you. Also state program costs and how you are funding your attendance at the workshop/conference.

· Write a brief letter in French (1page or less) explaining why you want to attend the workshop/conference and what you hope to gain from the experience..

· Promise to report on your experience at Fall AATF Conference.

Deadlines and where to send application:

· Applications are due by Monday June 1, 2009. Decisions will be made by the AATF- Maine Board by June 15, 2009.

· Please send application to Sylvie Charron by e-mail (use attachments) at scharron@maine.edu or by mail at Professor Sylvie Charron, Department of Humanities, 270 Main Street, Farmington, ME 04938.

· Successful candidates will be notified by e-mail and mail.

BONNE CHANCE

Esprit de "core" : World Languages at the Heart of Learning

"Chere Madame Charon,
Je amour le classe de francais. Vous etre un tres bon professeur. Je avoir un beaucoup de amusante ce annee. Je espoir etre dans vous classe prochaine annee..."

How can one not fall in love with language learning with a speaker like John De Mado? What an enthusiastic crowd gathered at the Holiday Inn by the Bay on March 12-13th! Be it that those there had to struggle very hard to get to the conference or that it was just such fun to be with one's colleagues for purposes of learning...we all experienced one of the best conferences ever.

With such diverse and new offerings...Bernard Fortier's "Latin and Technology," "Itunes and You Tube: Catch the Wave!" by Kristina Ryberg or Bridget Robbin's "Building an Open Source Foreign Language Lab," among others, creative ideas abounded. From the opening moments Thursday evening until the closing moments Friday afternoon, those attending De Mado's closing sessions were giving their rapt attention. In the last session Friday we were laughing in hysterics as we rapped away in diverse languages: Spanish, okay, French, okay, but have you ever heard a Latin teacher rap? Even John De Mado discovered something new as the final group ...rapped away in Chinese (thanks to Yue Deng and Han Ban).

Kudos to the outgoing Flame President Mary Oches who did such a great job and to the new president Chris Gram. We are most appreciative of the Conference Committee Members and FLAME Board Members that work all year to bring this to us. Thanks to all who attended and brought their enthusiasm to this day. See you next year at Holiday Inn by the Bay!

For additional photos of the conference, click here.

-Betsy Hudson

Please read the following message from Catherine if you have not been receiving mail from the listserv:

Hello all,

I have been poking around on the listserv and realize that 69 people have "bouncing" emails, that is, emails that are not making it through. Obviously, I am not able to connect to the bouncing members (almost sounds like we are on a trampoline) but I will take this time to remind folks that if they change their email address, they need to make that change on their listserv membership. Otherwise, you will simply become a bouncing member.

Another issue is that many schools block Yahoo emails, so you might consider checking with your tech team or simply changing your email address to your home account.

Please do not create a new account, because that will skew the membership numbers. If you forget ID or passwords, Yahoo will send that info to you. If, for whatever reason, the easiest thing to do is to start over and create a new account, then please remove your old membership from the list.

Any questions? You know where to find me! :)

And many thanks!

Catherine

Confused about the new Learning Results? Want to understand the diploma requirements proposed by the Stakeholders Group?

Check out the presentation that Don Reutershan made at the FLAME Conference.

Teaching French

K-12 teachers who hold conditional, transitional, provisional, professional, or targeted needs certificates in French have the opportunity to reach advanced levels of mastery in language and culture and develop the pedagogical knowledge required for full certification from the Maine State Department of Education. The M.A.T. in French is congruent with the new guidelines for Modern and Classical Language Teacher Endorsement. Teachers who are already fully certified in language education may opt for courses in French language and culture or for the study of a second foreign language at the intermediate level or higher in lieu of the courses leading to certification.

For more information, click here.

Establishing Partnerships with Schools in France

Are you, a teaching colleague, or your school interested in establishing a partnership with a school in France? If so, please read the information below.

On February 24, 2009 Commissioner Gendron and James Breece, Vice Chancellor of the University of Maine System, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Académie de Nantes, France. The purpose of the MOU is to foster educational collaboration between Maine and the Académie de Nantes, which is responsible for directing K-12 and postsecondary education in the Pays de la Loire region of France.

Through the MOU all partners agree to develop a range of joint educational and research activities for students, teachers, professors and school administrators. Examples of possible cooperative projects include correspondence, visiting programs, and study/research activities and exchanges that are either face-to-face or mediated through technology. (Due to current economic conditions, overseas travel should not be viewed as a required component to a project. The inclusion of travel will depend on the extent to which partner schools are able to find ways to finance the desired travel.) Examples of project themes range from a comparison of French and American schools to a discussion of an environmental issue facing your region or the state; from sharing cultural information (e.g. tourism, history, visual and performing arts) to comparing geography and related industries in Maine and the Pays de la Loire; from sharing information about students’ families and/or friends to creating stories or plays together in French and English.

If you or your school is interested in developing a partnership project with a school in France, please click here to complete the application form. If you have additional questions, contact Don Reutershan at don.reutershan@maine.gov. Thank you in advance for your interest in this program.

CIBER logo

Penn Lauder CIBER is proud to announce our

Seventh Annual

Summer Institute for Teaching a Second Language for Business Communication

June 22-26, 2009.

Lauder Institute at the Wharton School

University of Pennsylvania

Registration deadline is June 1, 2009

If you would like more information or have any questions about either program, please click here and feel free to contact us at lauderciber@wharton.upenn.edu or visit our website at http://lauder.wharton.upenn.edu/ciber.

We have received information about a very exciting international travel grant opportunity for US secondary level teachers through the Teaching Excellence and Achievement (TEA) program. This program is funded by the U.S. Department of State and is implemented by IREX (International Research & Exchanges Board).

they are currently recruiting U.S. secondary-level teachers of English or the social sciences to participate in a two-week professional exchange program in one of the following countries: Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Colombia, El Salvador, Georgia, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Nicaragua, Senegal, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine.

Click here for more information about this travel grant.

Concordia Language Villages offers two programs for world language educators:

Second Language and Immersion Methodologies: Educators of all world languages can enhance their understanding of second language and immersion methodologies for the K-12 classroom. This ten-day program is located in Bemidji, Minnesota, near Concordia Language Villages, providing a great opportunity to see language teaching and learning in action! Dates: June 21 - July 1. Cost $900 for the seminar; $682 for room and board. Graduate credit is available. For those who wish to enroll in the seminar for graduate credit, the cost is $1560 for four semester hours of graduate credit, $84 for library and technology fees, and $682 for room and board. Visit: www.ConcordiaLanguageVillages.org and click on "Educators" in the orange navigation bar near the top of the website for more information or contact educators@cord.edu.

Master of Education in World Language Instruction: An innovative mix of online learning during the academic year and on-site classes and observations at Concordia Language Villages in Bemidji, Minnesota, during the month of July. Combining theory with practice, you will "live the Language Villages experience" and find new ways to make language come alive for your students. Applications are being accepted now. Visit www.ConcordiaCollege.edu/graduate for more information or contact educators@cord.edu.

Donna L. Clementi, Director of Education and Research, Concordia Language Villages, 901 Eighth Street South, Moorhead, MN 56562

You may contact me at my home office:14 Penbrook Circle, Appleton, WI 54913, PHONE: 920-734-1170, CELL: 651-341-9445, Email: Clementi@cord.edu

"Preparing young people for responsible citizenship in our global community"

www.ConcordiaLanguageVillages.org

The University of Maine at Farmington is having a French film festival.

For dates and descriptions of films, click here or contact Sylvie Charron:

Sylvie Charron, Professor of French, University of Maine at Farmington, 270 Main Street, Farmington, ME 04938, USA

Tel. (207)778 7420, Fax. (207)778 7452, e-mail: scharron@maine.edu

Our President Mary Oches attended the 2008 ACTFL Conference where she represented FLAME. The conference took place in Orlando, Florida in November. Mary is pictured here with the AATSP representative to the FLAME Advisory Board, Betsy Hudson.

High School Diploma Requirements

The 123rd Maine Legislature established a stakeholder group to review curriculum requirements and standards for awarding a high school diploma. The group was established by legislative resolution (LD 2174). The group began meeting in August 2008 and completed its work November 25, 2008, when it presented final recommendations to Commissioner Gendron. She will review the recommendations and determine appropriate next steps for implementation.

Final recommendations of the stakeholder group

Diploma Stakeholders Recommendations - Final

The report contains important implications for world language teachers and lists the diploma requirements:

• The diploma for each secondary school student shall reflect credits earned in all eight content areas.

• Credit: The diploma will be based on standards in Maine’s Learning Results as measured by credits. The definition of a credit is the successful demonstration of the content standards in the Maine Learning Results specified in units of study or syllabi.

• Although all students will have educational experiences in all 8 content areas, in order to be awarded a diploma all students shall meet the standards in the following 4 common areas statewide::

Ø English Language Arts

Ø Math

Ø Science & Technology

Ø Social Studies

• The student will select one other area of the following three areas to meet the standards:

Ø Heath Education and Physical Education,

Ø Visual and Performing Arts, or

Ø World Languages.

Ø In lieu of one of these areas a student may meet the requirement of a national industry certification.

• Students must at least partially meet the standards in the remaining two to three areas:

Ø Heath Education and Physical Education,

Ø Visual and Performing Arts, or

Ø World Languages

NOTE: Career and Education Development standards will be imbedded in the other 7 content areas.

Does one of your students demonstrate an interest in the study of French or international studies with a focus on the francophone world? If so, please consider nominating him or her for the Laurianna Boucher Scholarship. Click here for more information.

On October 10, 2007, the State Board of Education unanimously approved Maine Department of Education Regulation 132 - Learning Results: Parameters for Essential Instruction. The routine technical rule has been approved by the Attorney General and filed with the Secretary of State, with an effective date of October 22, 2007. The filing of this rule completes the final step in the comprehensive review of the Maine Learning Results. The new standards can be found on this page: http://www.maine.gov/education/lres/pei/index.html

Le lancement du livre Voyages A Maine Franco-American Reader de Nelson Madore et Barry Rodrigue a eu lieu samedi. C’est vraiment un très beau livre !

Book Description:
Dozens of voices celebrate--in essays, stories, plays, poetry, songs, and art--the Franco-American and Acadian experience in Maine. They explore subjects as diverse as Quebec-Maine frontier history, immigrant drama, work, genealogy, discrimination, women, community affairs, religion, archeology, politics, literature, language, and humor. The voices, themselves, are equally diverse, including Norman Beaupré, Michael Michaud, Ross and Judy Paradis, Susann Pelletier, John Martin, Béatrice Craig, Michael Parent, Linda Pervier, Alaric Faulkner, Ray Levasseur, Yves Frenette, Paul Paré, Yvon Labbé, Rev. Clement Thibodeau, Bob Chenard, Denis Ledoux, Josée Vachon, Greg Chabot, Jean-Paul Poulain, Stewart Doty, Rhea Côté Robbins, and many others. This is a rich resource and an engaging read, one that will resonate with many.

If you buy it through Amazon.com, it’s $10 cheaper than the list price!

The Peace Corps' Coverdell World Wise Schools has hundreds of Peace Corps volunteers in 73

countries who are signed up for the Correspondence Match program, seeking to be connected

with a US teacher for a two-year letter writing exchange (once a month). If you might be

interested in participating, please go to our website and click Educators to sign up:

http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/correspond/

For information about financial support for candidates for National Board Certification,

click here.

Interested in hosting an international student? Click here for information about Youth for Understanding.

Do you have your copy of the FLAME Advocacy Video?

Called The Many Faces of Maine, it was professionally produced by Ronnie Hersh and Richard Searls of

Kinetiscope. Our FLAME Video Committee included Chris Gram, Catherine Hobby and Peter Nutting.

Together they created a script and chose who would be interviewed. They also collaborated to

edit the film. The video offers a clear rationale for the inclusion of language study in our schools.

We are pleased to offer you this lively and informative video which is suitable for a variety of audiences:

	parents and your PTA/PTO
	your local school board
	your administrators and curriculum coordinator
	your students
	all teachers in your school
	all schools in your district
	your local pre-school programs
	community service organizations such as Rotary Club, Lions Club, etc.

If you would like your copy ($10 for FLAME members, $20 for non-members), please email

Ann Sullivan at mmesorciere@msn.com.

Have you ever thought about volunteering for one of the FLAME committees, and then hesitated out of

concern that the job might not be what you expected? We committee members have all been there!

So we decided to put together a "job description" for each committee so that potential volunteers might

find their "perfect position." Click here to read about what members of FLAME committees do.

Click here for a summary of federal legislative actions related to foreign/world languages. This report comes from the Joint National Committee for Languages & National Council for Languages and International Studies (JNCL-NCLIS).

ACTFL has launched a new sustained public awareness campaign for language education.

DiscoverLanguages.org is up and running! Check it out!

New Teachers--FLAME has created scholarships just for you to help support your professional development. Click here for information about these exciting new scholarships.

Last updated June 30, 2009

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IDEC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona (Spain) offers the following to teachers of Spanish:

Open looks at a diverse Spain: Spanish Language (Architecture, Economy and Industry in Catalonia)

Miradas abiertas sobre la España diversa: Lengua Española (Arquitectura, Economía e Industria en Cataluña).

STARTALK 2009 - Chinese Student Programs in ME

STARTALK: The Future Speaks Chinese

Bapst Student to Study in Spain

AATF – Maine encourages teachers to apply for the $250 Richard Williamson Scholarship for Teachers (2009) to attend a workshop or seminar during the summer.