    MLR, MEA, LAS, SAT, NCLB, AYP.... Our speech these days is permeated by acronyms. We may not remember what they all are, but we know they mean more time spent preparing lessons, filling out paper work for our administrators, hours spent at in-service programs and frustrations with “the system.” A couple years ago, our hopes were raised by all the talk of Maine Learning Results implementation and thoughts of how and where we’d each fit into a K-12 continuum of instruction in Modern Languages and Classics. Now we realize that, with each passing year, the reality full implementation of MLR is delayed further and further into the future. That reality makes some of us angry, feeling that our discipline is less valued than others. Some of us feel just a little relief, knowing that we can go on teaching as we have for years, not having to face huge changes and all the testing our colleagues in English / Language Arts and Math are spending hours and hours preparing and scoring.
    In the last year, the last two acronyms in the above list, No Child Left Behind and Average Yearly Progress have impacted a number of us, as administrators face the challenge of improving children’s test scores with no additional funding and no extra time in the school day or the yearly calendar. In an attempt to give extra instructional time and resources, and with a lack of understanding that their language instructors might be able to help reinforce the curriculum in other areas, some schools have made the choice to limit or cut their programs in languages just when those programs were starting to show results. Language teachers who love their programs, and their students, have been forced to leave their positions. With the critical shortage of qualified language instructors, it’s easy enough to find a new job. But it’s still hard to leave the school and the kids we thought of as our own. (There is some good news coming; the state department of education and the legislature have recognized that there’s not a large enough supply of qualified language instructors to meet the demand. A panel of language educators has begun to discuss ways to alleviate the shortage. Stay tuned for more information.)
    In this newsletter and in the recently distributed FLAME resource directory, you’ll find a lot more acronyms. FLAME, AATF, AATSP, AATG, FLES, JNCL all offer support and recognition for language instructors. Fall conferences provide inspiration and training in a wealth of new techniques and strategies, well as the opportunity to connect with others who are facing the same challenges as you. At the annual FLAME conference on March 9-10, you can attend workshop sessions to learn what colleagues in other schools are doing, or you can share your own expertise and innovative techniques with others. As you read the pages of this publication, you’ll find tips that you can adapt to your own classroom and you’ll read about the experiences of colleagues throughout the state, as well as information coming to us from the national level.
    I hope you enjoy the articles in this newsletter. I would encourage each of you to check the FLAME website for more news about what’s going on in the state, and to join the Listserv where you can post your own good ideas or seek answers to questions about the what and how of teaching.
    Welcome to academic year 2005-2006.
    Janice Clain, FLAME President 2005-2006

Mark your calendars!
Plan ahead, budget ahead, and be sure not to miss the one and only conference for K-16 teachers of Modern and Classical Languages in the state: the FLAME Conference!!

Wide variety of workshops, mini-immersions, AAT meetings, exhibitors with the latest materials, a chance to share with colleagues, and more!

When: March 9-10, 2006
Where: Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland
Theme 2006: English is not enough!
Key-note Speaker: Gisela Hoecherl- Alden

    Gisela Hoecherl-Alden is Assistant Professor of German in the Department of Modern Languages and Classics at the University of Maine. Prior she was the Language Program Director and Lecturer for German Language, Culture, and Literature in the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures at the University of Pittsburgh (1996-2001). Hoecherl-Alden has a Ph.D. in German, "summa cum laude", from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with a minor in Curriculum and Instruction (1996). She also has a M.Ed. Cross-Cultural Communication from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks (1989). In addition she received the Staatsexamen I, II (M.A. and M.A.T equivalent) in History and English from the Ludwig-Maximilian-Universität, München (1981, 1983). She has also received the Oral Proficiency Interview Training from the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages, Brigham Young University in 2002 and has Certification Training in Business German: Prüfung Wirtschaftsdeutsch, University of Memphis (1999).
    Gisela Hoecherl-Alden is the recipient of numerous awards notably the Award for Outstanding Academic Mentoring and Teaching from the Senior Skulls Honor Society of the University of Maine (2005), induction into the Faculty Honor Roll by the Student Government Board from the University of Pittsburgh (2000), the German Department Nomination for the campus-wide Award for Excellence in Teaching from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1994, 1995), and the Award for Excellence in Teaching from the Wisconsin Association of Foreign Language Teachers (1993).
    Gisela Hoecherl-Alden is the author of numerous published works inlcuding Intercultural Communication in Language classes, Applications of Technology to Language and Culture Learning, Teaching Literature in the Foreign Language Classroom, and she co-authored the elementary German textbook Deutsch Heute. She has much experience in Curriculum Development and has designed Curriculum and Materials for Distance-Delivered Courses. Her various presentations and conference papers range from “German-Jewish identity in Exile” to issues of incorporating technology, digital media, cultural awareness, and diversity training into the language classroom.
    Gisela Hoecherl-Alden is Vice President of the Maine Chapter of the American Association of German Teachers (AATG) (2005-2007) and the Director of the New England Universities in Salzburg Study Abroad Program. She develops and maintains Links for Language Teachers (http://www.umit.maine.edu/class/teachlinks/ ), and is the creator of the Student Work Showcase (http://www.umit.maine.edu/class/showcase/). She also offers Course websites for MLC courses taught in English and German and is Coordinator of elementary and intermediate German instruction. She is also a member of the Penobscot Collaborative of K-16 language teachers.
    Finally Gisela Hoecherl-Alden is a perfect example of the FLAME 2006 conference theme “English is not Enough” as she reads and/or speaks eight (8) languages!

School/ Place of Work:_________________________WorkAddress:________________________

Town/State:_______________________________ zip: ________ wk. Phone: ______________

Home address: __________________________ Town/State: ______________________ zip: ___

e-mail: (wk. or hm) _______________________ fax (wk. or hm.):________________________

Please send FLAME mailings to: ___home__ work (check one); Home phone: _____________

I am active in the following regional FL.collaborative or A.A.T. (list position if held):
_______________________________________________________________________________

I am involved in the following FLAME committee(s): ______________________________________

Lang(s). taught: _______________ level (s): K-5 _____; mid. schl. ______; high schl _______;
(or interest) ______________________ Univ. _____; adult non-degree __________
______________________ years as professional teacher: __________

Type of membership: ___ Professional ($25); ___ Student ($5); ___Emeritus (free to retired, 10-yr. Member) . Is this membership ___ new? Or is it a ___ renewal?

Principal textbooks (or series) I use or have on hand or principal method employed:
_______________________________________________________________________________

_____ $37 Pre-Conference Dinner & Workshop, Thurs. evening, March 9 (pre-registration required)
_____ $37 Conference, including lunch, all day Friday, March 10
_____ $10 Surcharge after 2/11/06
_____ $25 2006 FLAME professional dues (if not previously paid)
_____ $25 Full-time student membership + Friday Conference & lunch
_____ TOTAL ENCLOSED
Mail to Kathy Prins, FLAME, PO Box 207, Augusta, ME 04332. Make checks payable to "FLAME". *No purchase orders will be accepted; no refunds will be made.*A canceled check confirms registration.

The FLAME advocacy video, The Many Faces of Maine is the perfect tool to promote the study of languages to parents and PTA/PTO organizations, to school board members, to administrators and curriculum coordinators, to students, to teachers in your districts, and even to your local pre-school programs and community service organizations!

The video is available for sale:
$10.00 for FLAME members; $20.00 for non-members

When you order your copy of The Many Faces of Maine, you will also receive a packet of handouts to share during your presentations of the video. If you would like additional materials, questions to ask, and other support when preparing to share the video do not hesitate to contact the video committee:

Notable Quote from The Many Faces of Maine:
“In today’s business world, if the world talks and we aren’t able to talk back, we can only react to trends, not set them.” Christopher Gram, teacher at Carrabec High School and member of the Flame Advisory Board

The FLAME Year of Languages Committee organized a morning of

events at the Hall of Flags in the Maine State House to bring languages to the attention of the Maine Legislature. We had a YOL Celebration Ceremony with noteworthy speakers: Maine Commissioner Susan Gendron spoke on the importance of learning a new language and studying other cultures, while Richard Coyle from the Maine International Trade Center spoke on the importance of languages to the economic future of Maine. Additional comments were made by FLAME President Laurie Littlefield, FLAME Teacher of the Year Jeremy Willette, FLAME Leader of the Year Ann Sullivan as well as FLAME Student of the Year Charlie Wood. Robert Daigle's fourth graders from Glenburn regaled us with songs and a lively retelling of “Ours Brun”. We also had a number of exhibits: Students preparing food, students sharing projects and travel experiences, Technology in the classroom, TPRS, a non-profit language school, and our advocacy video, the Many Faces of Maine, was playing as well. We also provided handouts that highlighted the benefits of learning another language. We made TV news that evening on both Channel 6 and Channel 13!
§ Catherine Hobby, Editor

FLAME Student Video Contest

Here is an opportunity to get your students involved! Invite them to create a video in the target language and submit it the FLAME Student Video Contest.

Student Video Requirements:

*Videos must be submitted by a current FLAME member.

*Videos must be in a modern or classical language.

*Videos must show student effort to communicate in the target language.

*Videos must be no more than 10 minutes in length.

*Videos will be grouped according to level and judged on accurate use of target language and creativity.

*Please indicate student names, language and level, school and teacher's name.

The Student Activities committee will review all nominations and make the final decision. The winners will be announced at the FLAME Conference on March 10, 2006.

Please submit all videos to Mary Oches, Erskine Academy, 309 Windsor Rd., S. China ME 04358, by

February 1, 2006. For more information contact Mary at 207-445-2962 or oches@adelphia.net

FLAME Student Poster Contest

Here is another opportunity to get your students involved! Invite them to create a poster in the target language and submit it the FLAME Student Poster Contest.

Theme: ACTFL has designated 2006 as the year for Discovering Languages and all posters should address one aspect of what it means to discover languages.

Student Poster Requirements:

*Posters must be submitted by a current FLAME member.

*Posters must be in a modern or classical language.

*Posters must show student effort to communicate in the target language.

*Posters will be grouped according to level and judged on accurate use of target language and creativity.

*Please indicate student names, language and level, school and teacher's name.

The Student Activities committee will review all nominations and make the final decision. The winners will be announced at the FLAME Conference on March 10, 2006.

Please submit all videos to Mary Oches, Erskine Academy, 309 Windsor Rd., S. China ME 04358, by

February 1, 2006. For more information contact Mary at 207-445-2962 or oches@adelphia.net

Do you have a colleague you particularly admire? Remember to nominate him or her for one of FLAME’s awards! Every year FLAME awards individuals for their outstanding Leadership, Lifetime Achievement, or for Excellence in Teaching. And how about recognizing one of your outstanding students! All nominations are due December 16, 2005. Please refer to your FLAME Directory for more details.

Help students remember the three most important irregular verbs in French through song.

I designed this activity to encourage my second grade students to go beyond cultural products and practices and to think about cultural perspectives. I have turned this into a “homeshare” (oral homework whose purpose is to have the students share with their families), but this could be a class activity as well.

In French class we have been learning colors. This has encouraged us to review the flags of the countries we are exploring: France, Canada (Quebec), and Senegal. We reviewed why the flags look the way they do: they often show the history of the country and what its people care about and find important.

The task for this homeshare relates to this cultural exploration. Let's pretend your house is like a little country and you need to design a flag. What would it look like? What colors would you choose? What details could you put on your flag that show your family's story and what your family cares about and finds important?

Have fun designing your own family's flag! Can you name the colors you are using in French?

Hello fellow teachers, I just discovered there is a great list of Spanish songs on the excellent website: Nanduti, including themes they can be used to teach and where to obtain them. One of my passions is using music, songs, raps etc. in the classroom. As I have resources for French songs and music I wonder if anyone would like to join me in contributing songs/raps/instrumental music for a French resource list? If you are interested in doing this, I suggest you look at the format of the Spanish song list at http://www.cal.org/earlylang/ and that we follow this format. It is quite uncomplicated.
It would be great to make separate lists for use in K-8 and 9-12+. I am also interested in seeing lists made for other languages compiling contributions from Spanish, German, Italian, Latin, Slavic or Asian languages etc. though since I don't know how to write in German, Italian, Slavic or Asian languages, maybe someone else could volunteer for those?
I am hoping to do a session at the FLAME conference in 2006 on the use of music. If anyone is interested in doing this with me, please contact me. It would be great to have languages besides French and Spanish included in the workshop, to provide more resources for everyone. I am willing to do the final compilation, this may take several months, but it would be a useful resource!!!
Ideas of discography or suitable singers/music are very welcome!!!! All suggestions and contributions are welcome and I hope to hear from you.
Also if you are interested in receiving copies of some of the discography and resource pages for using French songs that I have already created and shared at workshops, please contact me at domusic@gwi.net . Allons-y! Let’s go!
by Margot Stiassni-Sieracki , domusic@gwi.net / 882-7593

Notable quote:
Sir Trevor McDonald: Britain's renowned newscaster and television personality. 'Language learning at its best can be one of the most enjoyable and rewarding experiences that life can offer.'

REMINDER! THE YEAR OF LANGUAGES CONTINUES!!
November 2005 Focus: Celebrating Accomplishments & Looking Ahead
Culmination of 2005 Year of Languages at the ACTFL Annual Convention in Baltimore. The first National Language Teacher of the Year winner will be announced.
December 2005 Focus: Culture
Participating organizations are encouraged to highlight the learning of culture during this month. ACTFL event: Culminating cultural program at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. sponsored by ACTFL and various embassies.

POST YOUR YOL ACTIVITY ON THE YOL BULLETIN BOARD!!
SEE WWW.YEAROFLANGUAGES.ORG FOR MORE DETAILS!

FRENCH STUDENTS in MAINE
by Irene Marchenay, French Teacher, Bonny Eagle High School

From October 14 to October 26, Bonny Eagle High School, in Standish, Maine will be welcoming 11 students from Le Lycee Notre Dame in Challans, Vendée and their teacher Louis Vrignaud. Last April, Irene Marchenay and her Bonny Eagle colleagues Randa Thomas, Dan Bennett and Neal Flynn as well as Sue Leonard who teaches at Falmouth High School took twenty-two students to Paris and Vendee for a very successful eleven-day trip. Students from Yarmouth High School, Falmouth High School, and Greely High School joined the Bonny Eagle Students in the adventure and all had a great time. Our large number of students allowed us to rent our own bus and travel at our pleasure through France. In Paris we visited the mandatory Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Louvre, Notre Dame and more, walked Les Champs Elysées, enjoyed a Bateau Mouche cruise, went shopping, took the RER to Versailles and did more shopping. In Vendée, we stay in St Jean de Monts in a lovely hotel where we had excellent food. We learned how to make bread at La Mie Caline, visited a salt farm, a XIX century manoir and learned about les Chouans in Challans. We also spent a day in Nantes as well as one at the Lycée Notre Dame. We also strolled on the beach and relaxed in this beautiful region. Vendée was great! Voyage Tour Etudiant, the Quebec Company Irene Marchenay has been using for her yearly trips to Canada for the past 9 years, was our travel agent for the Paris section of our trip. In Vendée, Irene and her brother Michel organized the students' stay and all the visits.

If you want to organize a trip to Quebec or France and would like more details on our experiences, feel free to contact Irene, imarchenay@sad6.k12.me.us

    National Foreign Language Week was inaugurated in the Spring of 1957 by Alpha Mu Gamma. Sister Eloise Therese, the National President of Alpha Mu Gamma from 1956 to 1960, discovered that such a week had never been officially celebrated in the United States as a whole, although foreign language had receive recognition by different educational institutions at various periods of the academic year. Inspired by her the National Council of Alpha Mu Gamma began to formulate plans to make the United States aware of the need for and importance of foreign language study through the celebration of NFLW. The first celebration was set for the week of February 17 to 23, 1957. Each year since then the National Executive Council of AMG has set a week for this event. In recent years it has become the practice to have NFLW during the first full week of March.
    On December 12, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent a telegram endorsing the celebration, and each succeeding president has added his support. An even greater contribution to the success of NFLW was made by the posters of the late Bruce Russell, who received not only the Pulitzer Prize but also recognition from President Eisenhower for his efforts toward greater world understanding through his timely cartoons. He offered the Society a cartoon each year until his death in 1963, and even left one finished drawing and an unfinished sketch that were used in 1964 and 1966 respectively. These posters have been distributed each year throughout the United States and are available for sale to interested bodies.
    The chapters of Alpha Mu Gamma, now spread through over forty states, took the initiative in organizing activities during the Week with the purpose of making the American student aware of the vital necessity for foreign language study. Typical projects were newspaper articles, radio and television programs, foreign language films, festivals of foreign music and plays, the singing of foreign songs and lectures open to the public. Soon other universities, colleges and schools were also celebrating NFLW.
Every year a NFLW poster with a new theme is printed. The theme for the year 2006 poster is: "Languages : Bridges To Communication". It is distributed free to all AMG chapters and is available for sale to the public. Normally the posters size is 24"x19", and are printed in two versions - one with the official date for the Week and one without. The cost, at present, per poster is $5 and shipping & handling is $6 (for 1-5 posters). Shipping is free for orders of 25 posters and above. They are mailed out in solid mailing tube by US Priority Mail. To order go to http://www.lacitycollege.edu/academic/honor/amg/poster2006a.gif or call or fax (323) 644-9752 or email: amgnat@lacitycollege.edu

Project Maine-France is an initiative launched by Chancellor Joseph Westphal in January, 2005, to create a robust network of academic relationships between Maine and France that will enhance the international studies aspect of educational programs and opportunities within the University of Maine System and, through collaborative research and development projects, enhance the participation of the State of Maine in the global marketplace.

I. To support the goals and directions of the UMS Strategic Plan
II. To help realize a UMS vision for international study by creating and sustaining a robust network of academic relationships with partner institutions in France, thus providing a possible model for partnerships with other regions of the world.
III. To provide a cost effective means for all campuses to increase their involvement in international programs through a centralized support structure.
IV. To engage in collaborative research with France and the EU in areas that are directly relevant to building Maine’s economy and enhancing Maine’s participation in the global economy.
V. To help students, faculty, and others develop linguistic and cultural knowledge and skills through a wide range of opportunities both here and in France.

The Project Maine-France initiative makes good sense for the University of Maine System and for the State of Maine because it:

• complements our unique historic linguistic and cultural ties with France.
• provides an opportunity to highlight and further develop the long-standing academic partnerships that link Maine and France.
• provides an opportunity to forge new relationships with France and to develop new joint ventures of mutual benefit in such areas as research, economic development and the creative economy, higher education reform, teacher preparation, and sustainable development.

The PMF initiative was launched in January 2005 after Chancellor’s Westphal’s visit to France in Fall 2004.

Who?

The chancellor chose Dr. Sue Ann Huseman, former vice chancellor for academic affairs and former president at two of the UMS campuses (UMF and UMM) to lead this initiative. Working with the chief academic officers at each campus, Dr. Huseman identified a planning and implementation committee composed of representatives from the seven campuses. We are currently identifying an executive committee composed of high-level administrators who will provide oversight, advocacy, advice, and support for the initiative and who will help engage the seven campuses and coordinate activity among the seven.

l’Université du Maine (LeMans), l’Ecole des Beaux Arts (a fine arts college in Le Mans), l’IUFM Pays de la Loire (a teacher preparation institute), l’Université d’Angers, l’Université de Nantes, l’Université de Lille III, l’IUFM Nord Pas-de-Calais (a teacher preparation institute), l’Université de Bretagne Occidentale, and IFREMER (the French Institute for Marine Research). All of our university partners large (from 9,000 to 40,000 students), public, multi-disciplinary universities which offer both undergraduate and graduate (both masters and doctorate) degree programs in the full range of academic disciplines and which conduct advanced research in a wide variety of fields.

How?
The first step in launching the initiative was to create an inventory of all the current collaborative activity that exists between the UMS and academic partners in France.

The second step was to send a delegation to France in June 2005 to achieve the following goals:
• To solidify and celebrate our long-term relations with France
• To further refine and expand those relationships
• To identify potential new ventures and relationships
• To lay the groundwork for memoranda of understanding (new, renewed, and expanded) with our partner institutions in France

When the June delegation returned, the delegates met with the PMF Planning and Implementation Committee and drafted a set of recommendations concerning discrete activities to be conducted during the 2005-2006 academic year as well as a listing of activities for future implementation.

The next step, as implementation of follow-up activity begins, will be a high-level delegation visit to France in October 2005, to sign a general memorandum of understanding within which all of this activity will occur. This delegation visit is scheduled during the same period as the governor’s trade mission visit to France in order to focus in a significant way on Maine’s multiple relations with France and to facilitate interaction and joint activity between the two delegations as appropriate.

A very exciting AATSP conference was held at the Senator Inn in Augusta. ¡Fue increíble! (E foi incrível também!) The group of fifty who warmed up with café y pan was soon swept away by El Sabor Latino.

A brief Bienvenidos/Bemvindos was given by President Jenny Oulton. She introduced the AATSP board for this year: Jenny Oulton, President; Kathy Yates, vice-president; Skip Crosby, treasurer; Ellen McEananey, Public Relations Coordinator; Betsy Hudson, Secretary.

Ginny Stelk spoke regarding deadlines for the National Spanish Exam. It will all be online this year. There are currently free online practices available until December 31 for all current AATSP members. Registrations must be received no later than December 5, 2005. Exam weeks are March 1-April 15 (the 10^th week prior to the end of the academic year provided testing is completed by April 15). Students should use the same computers for practice as for the exam.

Ellen McEananey asked if there were additional posters for the poster contest. There is a festival de Cuba on November 5^th in the Portland area.

Leading off with a BOOM was Amalia Ortiz from Poland Regional High School. She spoke on “El Boom: poder, dolor y creación.” It was fascinating to see how she interwove political events of the 60’s into mágico-realismo in literature and art. Groups of participants, as a culmination, read short passages and then related them to the times in which they were written and artworks from the same period. The literary works juxtaposed with politics, social influences, and paintings created a captivating feel for the latino experience.

Following that was a presentation by Melissa Denick from the Middle School of the Kennebunks: Service learning…¡Sí, lo puedes hacer! Describing the dynamic activities of her school to help bring education alive to her students, one could not help but be enchanted by the possibilities such a program provides. Some schools wrote children’s books for Central American schools which had none, some taught Spanish to other age groups, some linked up with penpals – and (my personal favorite) one group tackled the problem of obtaining world peace (not accomplished yet). All felt truly empowered after hearing Melissa speak.

Whew. Before lunch the poster contest winners were announced. Three were from Brewer High School (students of Fred Ravan): Christina Jacobs won a 1^st (a $25 gift-certificate from Borders), Don Rice (a $15 gift certificate), and Jackie Stymiest (a $15 gift certificate). From Khatadin High School and a student of

Suzie Kovats was Elaine Sweet who also won a 1^st place (a $25 gift-certificate).

A much-appreciated vegetarian lunch with mmmmmm brownies made all wish for a siesta – but, no, who could sleep through Marisa Zárate (Poland Reginal High School). She made you want to start learning Spanish all over again, ¿Cómo están? amigos ¿cómo están? ¡Muy bien! No, with a smile, ¡MUY BIEN!

Time passed so quickly, the conference ran over quitting time, and all still wanted to stay. Alas, we bad farewell – but with tomorrow’s lesson plans ready! Gracias y obrigado to all! ¡Hasta la próxima! Até logo!

La conference d ‘automne de l’ AATF du Maine a eu lieu samedi, le 15 octobre 2005 à Colby College à Waterville, Maine. Le sujet cette année était « Comment enseigner Le cinéma africain de l’école primaire à l’université ».
Après un bon café avec petit muffin, notre réunion a débuté avec une présentation de Meadow Dibble-Dieng, professeur à Colby College, sur l’œuvre du cinéaste Djibril Diop
Mambety et ses rapports avec la littérature orale du Sénégal. Pourquoi enseigner le cinéma africain dans nos classes ? Meadow nous a demandé de nommer les films que nous avons vus qui se portaient sur l’Afrique et elle nous a fait remarqué que la plupart des films mentionnés montrent l’Afrique du point de vue Américain ou Européen et traitent surtout les sujets tels que la maladie, la secheresse, la corruption et autres problèmes sociaux associés à l’Afrique. Le cinéma africain nous montre un point de vue rare : l’Afrique vue par elle-même.

Julia Shulz, Directrice de l’école Penobscot, nous a suggéré comment employer deux dessins animés dans la classe : L’âme noire et L’arbre aux Esprits? Julia nous a montré des extraits et a guidé une discussion animée.

Après un déjeuner sympathique entre collègues, Kathy Yates et Lyn Balou de Mt. Ararat High School ont donné des exemples de l’emploi du cinéma africain en Français 3 etFrançais 5. Puis Sylvie Charron, Professeur de Francais à UMF UMF et trésorière de AATF Maine, nous a parlé de la collection de films Africains à UMF et nou a montré un extrait du film Kirikou, film qui pourrait être utilisé en Français intermédiaire.

Gail Carville, organisatrice du Grand Concours, a annoncé que l’année dernière fut bonne avec plus de 80 élèves dans le Maine qui ont été reconnus au niveau national. Bravo !

Nous avons terminé la journée avec une tombola de prix variés, dont une copie du film L’Arbre aux Esprits. Et tout le monde est rentré avec des CDs de musique africaine, grâce à la générosité de Priscille Michaud, et des affiches de pays francophones.

Visitez les sites webs de AATF ! Vous trouverez celui du Maine au http://www.angelfire.com/me4/aatfmaine/ et le site national au www.frenchteachers.org. Vous y trouverez toutes sortes de renseignements utiles, de resources pedagiques, ainsi que des bourses et prix pour vous, vos collègues et vos élèves et étudiants.

Le Grand Concours is coming!!!!
This is a way to recognize and reward individual students who succeed on the yearly national exam. All students are eligible regardless of their teacher's membership in AATF. Consider having your students participate.

French teachers who have not received their packets to order exams for
Le Grand Concours by December 15,2005 should contact gcarville@auburnschl.edu with your name, school and mailing address.

Laurianna Boucher Scholarship
Purpose of the Scholarship
To provide financial aid to a student who demonstrates an interest in the study of French or international studies with a focus on the francophone world
Eligibility: Any high school junior or senior whose teacher is an AATF - Maine member
Criteria for participation:
1. From the teacher: A statement on the student’s academic performance and character. The teacher should also state that the student intends to pursue studies in French or international studies with a focus on the francophone world.
2. From a guidance counselor: A statement of financial need and a transcript of grades
3. From the student: Essay Question (250 - 300 words) in French. Make sure to include all accent marks on the following topic:
L’année 2005 était L’Année des Langues (Year of Languages) aux Etats-Unis. L’année 2006 est l’année de la Découverte des Langues Etrangères (Discovering Languages). Expliquez pourquoi il est important de connaître plus d’une langue, pour vous et pour votre génération.
After receipt of their application, students will be asked to read a text during a telephone interview. Contact Priscille Michaud at pmichaud@augustaschools.org for the current text.
Method of application: All required documents must be submitted by Feb. 1, 2006 by e-mail to pmichaud@augustaschools.org or sent by mail in one envelope to:
Priscille Michaud, Cony HS, 120 Cony Street, Augusta, Maine 04330
Selection of candidates:
The selection of the winner will be done by the Scholarship Committee of the Executive Board of the AATF – Maine Chapter.
Amount of Scholarship:$300
Distribution of the scholarship: The Laurianna Boucher Scholarship will be awarded to the winning candidate at the annual FLAME Conference and AATF Meeting on March 10, 2006.

ST-CROIX INTERPRETIVE TRUNK
The U S. National Park Service has created the St. Croix 1604 Interpretive Trunk to help students learn about this facet of history by bringing to life the story of the first French settlement in North America. by Pierre Dugua de Mons, Samuel Champlain and 77 other men in 1604. The Trunk has been piloted by Maine and New Brunswick teachers and will be a permanent asset to teachers of French, social studies classes, language arts, and of local and native studies. It has received resounding top reviews from educators.
The contents of the trunk (over 30 items) are as follows:
1. The 40 page Teacher's Guide containing 5 units.
2. A Historical Background reference booklet.
3. Narrative containing excerpts from Champlain's personal diary.
4. A resource binder including historical photos and images of First Nations and French material culture.
5. Audio cassettes to help students understand native culture and languages. Passamaquoddy tribal elders prepared three of the tapes.
6. Video tape produced by Parks Canada which follows two children who slip through a time portal to talk with Chaplain about the hard winter at St. Croix in 1604 and the year that followed at Port Royal.
7. Objects with historical significance: spices, beaver pelt, wooden cross, etc.
8. Objects highlighting the different materials available to each culture.
All Trunk materials and the teachers guide are provided in French and English.

The State Board of Education has been looking into the lack of professional development programs for foreign language teachers in the state of Maine and is proposing that there be a Joint/Collaborative MAT in French.
Here are some of the highlights of the proposed degree program as it has been discussed thus far:
· MAT for two targeted audiences: 1) teachers currently teaching French in the schools (fully certified, conditional and transitional); and 2) those who hold BA degrees in French and have decided they would like to teach.
· Program to be based in intensive summer institutes (characterized by cultural and linguistic immersion) with degree seekers also taking regular coursework as feasible during the year at participating colleges and universities. The goal is degree completion within two summers and one regular academic year.
· Degree offered jointly by UM and USM with French faculty from all seven campuses as well as private college faculty involved in delivering summer institutes (and academic year coursework on home campuses?) after appropriate vetting by lead campuses so that program is sustainable.
· Program also supported by hiring of French summer language assistants through PMF connections to assist with creating summer immersion experience and providing native speaker resources.
· UM as lead campus in French (this degree is already on the books but needs revision which the UM French faculty has already been discussing for some time. They are very supportive of the notion of joint delivery).
· USM as possible lead campus in Spanish if/when a similar program is developed in that language

Issues still to be discussed: Who actually grants the degree (do we have a mechanism for an actual joint degree?)? How do we manage the budget? How do we arrange for courses from a variety of campuses offered during the regular academic year to count toward the degree?

Progress made thus far: The UM faculty have a template that can serve as a point of departure. Administrators (provosts and deans of education and arts and sciences) at the two graduate-degree granting institutions (UM and USM) have met and are supportive. They suggested creative ideas for implementation as well as possible solutions for some of the questions above. This initiative is congruent with Strategic Direction One of the UMS Strategic Plan and the group responsible for that direction has also been discussing collaboration in delivering foreign language instruction in general in order to meet state needs.

Next steps: A meeting in mid-November of faculty who teach French at UM and USM as well as representative faculty from the other five UMS campuses and selected private colleges (Bowdoin, Bates, and Colby) to discuss the shape of the program and delivery modes. Several K-12 French teachers will be included to assure that the program responds to the needs of in-service teachers.

If you have ideas, questions, concerns, please contact Sue Huseman at shuseman@maine.edu .

On March 16th, AATG will host its annual Sprachfest. This year, it will take place at Bates College. As always, students will participate in singing, dancing, performing and playing board games as well as competing in the cake and video contests and the culture bowl. Last year, there were nine schools represented.

In May, we will have our annual awards tea for those students who scored well on the National AATG test. The date has not been set, but we are hoping it will again be at the Blaine House with Governor Baldacci addressing the students, parents and teachers.

Be sure to visit the AATG website at www.aatg.org for Professional development, materials, web resources for German language teachers!

If you are a member of FLAME and are NOT receiving periodic emails about job postings, professional development opportunities, news and events of interest to FL teachers in Maine, please email Catherine at chobby@fps.k12.me.us
to get back on her list.

Notable Quote:
Mexican author and cultural attaché to London, Ignacio
Padilla, says of his parents: 'They taught me that every language you speak is an open door to an entire world.'

Are you looking for a place where you can get together with others to speak French? Well, there exist several in full swing from which to choose:

South Portland
A relaxed group meets Wednesday evenings from 5:30 to 6:30 at the South Portland Public Library. They speak on various subjects of interest to the group-- no homework, no stress. For more information contact Claire Chase at ChaseCl@spsd.org

Waterville
"Les Bavards" is a weekly gathering of Francophone and Franco-Americans at Jorgensen's on Main St. in Waterville from 9am to 10am. No formality here, you just buy a cuppa and listen for the rowdy Frenchmen and say "bonjour" and you're pulled in to join. For more info contact Sylvane at nitnop@gwi.net

Lewiston
In Lewiston, there is a French lunch on the first Friday of every month at the Franco-American Center. Our group "La Rencontre" meets on the first Friday of every month at the Franco-American Heritage Center 46 Cedar St. Lewiston. For 2 hours they are expected to speak only French. If they do not, it costs them 25 cents each time they speak English (only up to 1.00 as we do not want to discourage anyone from coming). The fee is $6.50 and it includes a lovely luncheon and a performance either of a musical nature or an educational program. They
start at 11:30 a.m. in the basement culminating in the new upper Performance Hall usually around
1:30. Everyone is welcome. For more information contact the Director Rita Dube at ritapauldube@hotmail.com

Bangor
le Rendez-vous
Le Rendez-vous was established in the early 80’s to give residents in the Bangor area an opportunity to meet and converse in French. Over the years it continued to meet regularly. The group meets now at Borders Café on Bangor Mall Boulevard. At 5:30 on the first and third Wednesday of every month, those who enter the Borders Café will see two or three tables pushed together and a model Eiffel Tower placed in a prominent position. Attendees include native French speakers, Franco Americans seeking to regain their fluency in their heritage language, local business people who have lived in French speaking countries, and beginning and intermediate students from local colleges and high schools.
For further information about le Rendez-vous contact Christina at CPDiebold@aol.com .

Rockland
Penobscot School in Rockland has the following conversation groups:
"Le Café Français" is on Mondays from 12:15 to 1:15 at the Pitts House, 18 Gay Street, in Rockland. The facilitator is the French Exchange Teacher, Noémie Marciano. Admission is free and participants bring their own lunch.
" La Petite Soirée Française" is on the third Friday of the month, from 5:30 to 7:30 at Penobscot School, 28 Gay Street. Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres style "pot-luck." Free admission.

Notable quote: 'Learning a language makes our minds stronger and more flexible. Actually using it gives us an entirely new experience of the world.' John Cleese

Penobscot Foreign Language Collaborative continues to be active in the central Maine area. The first meeting of the 2005-2006 school year took place on September 28 at the Dedham School, with eight language instructors in attendance. The focus of the session was sharing summer experiences related to professional development and setting a schedule and priorities for future meetings. Check the FLAME website for detailed minutes of the meeting.

Topics for discussion for the year will be:
· curriculum development including scope and sequence of topics for instruction
· status of implementation of Maine Learning Results and development of local assessments
· creating cross curricular lessons
· swap shop of creative strategies

For further information about this collaborative or about starting a regional collaborative contact Janice Clain (clainj@hermon.net ) or any of the regional collaborative coordinators listed on the FLAME board member information pages in the fall FLAME directory.

                                       Southern Maine Collaborative
    The Southern Maine Collaborative met on Friday September 9. Yes we met on a Friday! And at the Maine Coffee Roasters in Falmouth, no less! We decided to turn our meetings into a relax-after- a-long-week coffee and goodies break.
    We had no specific topic; we just wanted to get together and share, which is just what we did. We discussed the Year of Languages and reiterated that we should not do more, but advertise what we do differently: use the ACTFL logo and not be shy about inviting parents, school board members, and/ or administrators to our events.
    Some events that have been done in our area are the following:
In Bath, they have had students say the Pledge in the target language, have organized dialogues for parents, and the PTA sponsored a very well received evening with Michael Parent. In the Falmouth elementary school, during French Week, the children engaged in a week long multiple choice type fun trivia quiz after the Pledge. Other ideas mentioned were inviting parents to engage in a culture quiz at Open House.
We also discussed the challenges posed around articulation. It was suggested that one way to encourage better understanding of what actually happens at the elementary level would be to invite teachers of older learners to come watch the younger learners in action. Another challenge faced by teachers of FLES is the availability of appropriate materials. One series mentioned for the Middle School level was Acti-vie 1, Acti-vie 3, and Tout A Dos, all published by GAGE Educational Publishing Division of Canada Publishing Corp.
For more information about this collaborative contact Catherine Hobby at chobby@fps.k12.me.us

Notable quote: If you treat a person as he is, he will stay as he is; but if you treat him as if he were what he ought to be, he will become what he ought to be and could be- Johann Wolfgang Goethe

FLOW Collaborative
FLOW met October 5 at the University of Farmington. Over snacks colleagues discussed different programs and recent changes in programs.
Specifically:
· At Mount Blue their three-week exchange program has been shortened because the district did not want their students to miss more than 5 days of school. Now the exchange program needs to be planned around vacations.
· SAD 9 will present the FLAME video at a building meeting.

For more information regarding the FLOW Collaborative and their meeting dates, contact Chris Gram at cagram@carrabec.sad74.k12.me.us

Notable quote: “The sum of human wisdom is not contained in any one language.” Ezra Pound

                                                     Help Wanted!
    Seeking contact with foreign language instructors at the community college level.
I am looking for information from foreign language instructors at community or junior colleges for my sabbatical project beginning in January 2006. I teach German at Kennebec Valley Community College in Fairfield, Maine. Five years ago, we began our FL program with German, French and Spanish as part of our Associate in Arts degree program, a transfer degree option for students seeking a baccalaureate degree. FL is simply an elective for any student. After five years, our programs are under enrolled and in danger of being cancelled.
    I am looking for FL programs that are alive and well at the community college level in order to report to our community college system (6 institutions) how we can improve enrollments and have a viable FL program. If you are a FL instructor, either full- or part-time, teaching any language at a community college anywhere in the US, please contact me. All input is valuable and any help is greatly appreciated. I will be happy to share the results of my report with anyone who would be interested. I will be preparing a questionnaire that I can send out via snail mail or e-mail, so feel free to contact me.

Before December 15, 2005
Suzanne Joy
Kennebec Valley Community College
92 Western Ave
Fairfield, ME 04937
e-mail: sjoy@kvcc.me.edu

After December 15, 2005
by mail: Suzanne Joy
154 North Dixmont Road
Troy, ME 04987
Phone: (207) 948-5678
e-mail: looney@uninets.net

Notable Quote: “Bilingualism is great because when one language fails your need of expression the other one might have the word you are looking for. It’s all about ‘le mot juste’.” Anne Hobby, USM French Major

Tournée littéraire de la région de la ville

de Québec
June 24 - July 3, 2006

Subsidized by the Northeast National Resource Center on Canada
The University of Maine
University of Vermont Plattsburgh State University

DESCRIPTION
This institute for teachers of French will be conducted entirely in French.

"Tournée littéraire de la région de la ville de Québec" offers a unique opportunity to learn about Québec culture through the study of four novels that describe important places and times in Québec history. The study of these narratives will be enhanced by visiting the sites that inspired them and the people who are part of the traditions described therein. The methodology of the institute is to combine academic presentations and seminar-level discussions with briefings by site curators, regional historians, and, where possible, the authors themselves.

Moving through the region in space and time, the program starts with discussions of Maria Chapdelaine by Louis Hémon complemented by a tour of the Lac Saint-Jean region that inspired the novel. Included in the tour will be a visit of the Louis Hémon Museum in Péribonka and lectures by members of the faculty of the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. The group then moves down the Saguenay River and crosses the Saint-Lawrence River to Trois-Pistoles. There, the focus of the institute will be on the well-established Québec tradition of the télé-roman. Participants will have the opportunity to live with French-speaking families in Trois-Pistoles and will be able to discuss Bouscotte with its author, Victor-Lévy Beaulieu, a resident of that community. Moving inland from the Saint-Lawrence, the institute’s next stop will be Sainte-Justine which is located in the Beauce region. Sainte-Justine is the birthplace of Roch Carrier, the author of La Guerre, Yes Sir!, Il n’y a pas de pays sans grand-père, and of a text that is usable at all levels of French language teaching: Les enfants du bonhomme dans la lune. Each one of these texts occupies a distinctive place in the canon of Québec literature. The institute ends where it assembled, in Québec City, for an expedition through Le premier jardin, a novel by one of Québec's foremost writers, Anne Hébert. Discussions and excursions though the French capital of North America will be led by experts on the work of Anne Hébert.

As outlined above, the Institute will assemble and conclude in Québec City. Participants will travel by vans to the Lac Saint-Jean region, to Trois-Pistoles, to the Beauce region, and finally to Québec City.

REGISTRATION
Participants who are accepted to the institute will be charged a registration fee. The fee covers the cost of assigned reading materials, all transportation during the institute starting from its point of origin in Québec City, most breakfasts, two dinner meals, lecturers' fees, admissions to educational sites, and double-occupancy in the lodgings. (Participants who wish single occupancy will have to pay an additional fee). Participants are responsible for all lunches and most dinners.

APPLICATION PROCESS
Interested applicants must fill out and send the Application / Inscription by March 15, 2006. Notification of acceptance will be in late March. The return of a deposit will trigger the mailing of a copy of the four novels selected for study during this institute. The selection of participants will be based on the strength of the applicant to meet the ELIGIBILITY criteria that follow.

ELIGIBILITY
Participants must be fluent in French at the ACTFL Advanced Level or above. Preference will be given to applicants currently teaching French, who are:
a) willing to integrate the teaching of Québec content in their classrooms
b) willing to provide outreach to colleagues at the local, regional, or national level

PLEASE NOTE!
1) A certificate of contact hours will be awarded to each participant.
For an additional cost, a participant may arrange undergraduate or graduate credit through University of Maine or through Plattsburgh State University

Prof. Raymond J. Pelletier, Associate Director
Canadian-American Center
The University of Maine
154 College Avenue
Orono, ME 04473
Fax: (207) 581-4223

FRE 490/508 The North American French Novel (Raymond Pelletier). The course meets Mondays from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. Authors to be read include: Antonine Maillet, France Daigle, Louis Hémon, Jacques Godbout\, and Anne Hébert.

FRE 408/509 Twentieth Century French Poetry (Kathryn Slott) This course meets on Tuesdays from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.

FRE 398 Travel course in France (Ray Pelletier) May 14-28, 2006. This is a travel course aimed at exploring North American French colonial history. Sites include LaRochelle and Brouage (Samuel de Champlain), Angers (area of significant immigration), St-Malo and Limoelou (Jacques Cartier), and Paris. Anyone interested in this course should contact Raymond Pelletier, Associate Director and Associate Professor of French, at raymond.pelletier@umit.maine.edu or at (207) 581-4220

PENOBSCOT SCHOOL

28 Gay Street
Rockland, Maine 04841
www.languagelearning.org
(207) 594-1084
IMMERSIONS AND EVENTS CALENDAR
November 2005 – April 2006

NOVEMBER 2005
4 Cena Comune - Italian Potluck Supper
5 Japanese Immersion Day, Advanced Beginner
5 Italian for Travelers, Beginner
11 Russki Uzhin – Russian potluck supper
12 Spanish for Travelers, Beginner
18 La Petite Soirée – French evening, potluck hors d’oeuvres
19 French for Travelers, Beginner
19 Italian Cooking Class
25 Cena y Cine – Spanish Film Night
DECEMBER 2005
2 Cena Comune - Italian Potluck Supper
3 Spanish Immersion Day, Intermediate
10 Italian Immersion Day, Intermediate
4 Adventskaffee – German Advent Celebration
9 Russki Uzhin – Russian potluck supper
10 French Immersion Day, Intermediate
10 Italian Cooking Class
11 St. Lucia Day – Swedish Celebration
16 Souper Noël
16 Cena y Cine – Spanish Film Night
17 Fall semester weekly classes end
JANUARY 2006
15 French Immersion Travel & Study in Guadeloupe
14 International Language Fair & Winter course registration
20 Winter semester early registration deadline
23 Winter semester weekly classes begin
23 Café Français starts – lunches end in May
24 Almuerzo Español starts – lunches end in May
25 Mittagstafel starts – lunches end in May
26 Pranzo Italiano starts – lunches end in May
FEBRUARY 2006
3 Cena Comune - Italian Potluck Supper
4 Chinese New Year Celebration
10 Russki Uzhin – Russian potluck supper
11 Italian for Travelers, Day-I, Beginner (snow date 2/18)
17 La Petite Soirée – French evening, potluck hors d’oeuvres
18 Italian for Travelers, Day-II, Beginner (snow date 3/4)
20 No classes – President’s Day
24 Cena y Cine – Spanish Film Night
MARCH 2006
3 Cena Comune - Italian Potluck Supper
4 French for Travelers – Fundamentals (snow date 3/11)
10 Russki Uzhin – Russian potluck supper
11 Spanish for Travelers - Fundamentals (snow date 3/18)
17 La Petite Soirée – French evening, potluck hors d’oeuvres
18 Italian Cooking Class
24 Cena y Cine – Spanish Film Night
25 French for Travelers – Finer Points
25 Spanish for Travelers – Finer Points
APRIL 2006
1 Beginning Italian-II, Saturday workshop
1 German Immersion Day, Intermediate
7 Cena Comune - Italian Potluck Supper
8 Beginning Arabic-II, Saturday workshop
8 Beginning Spanish-II, Saturday workshop
14 Russki Uzhin – Russian potluck supper
16-22 Spring break week
20-24 Accès Cinéma Africain–African Film Access
27-30 Accès Cinéma Africain–Real Africa Teachers’ Seminar
28 Fiesta Español
29 Italian for Travelers, Day-I, Beginner
29 Beginning Japanese-II, Saturday workshop

WEEKLY LANGUAGE LUNCHES:
Café Français with Noémie Marciano
Mondays, 12:15-1:15 pm, starts Sept. 19 and Jan. 23.
Almuerzo Español with Jaqueline Cazares
Tuesdays, 12:15-1:15 pm, starts Sept. 20 and Jan. 24.
Mittagstafel with Sally Burtnette-Leser
Wednesdays, 12:15-1:15 pm, starts Sept. 21 and Jan. 25.
Pranzo Italiano with Lara Maccioni
Thursdays, 12:15-1:15 pm, starts Sept. 22 and Jan. 26.
MONTHLY LANGUAGE DINNERS:
Cena Comune – Italian Potluck
First Friday of each month, 6:30-8:30 pm
Russki Uzhin - Russian potluck
Second Friday of each month, 6-8 pm
La Petite Soirée – French potluck, hors d’oeuvres
Third Friday of each month, 5:30-7:30 pm
Cena y Cine – Spanish film night
Fourth Friday of each month, 6-8 pm

Meet our Exchange Instructors!
    --Jaqueline Cazares is Penobscot School’s Spanish Exchange Teacher for 2005-2006. Born in Colima, Mexico, Jaqueline is the youngest of eight children. She has worked as an English teacher and is currently taking courses to be certified to teach French.
Jaqueline’s extracurricular interests include jogging, music, painting, theatre, and clothing design. After her stay in Rockland, she intends to continue towards her goal of a Ph.D. in language teaching. 594-7688 cazaresjaqueline@hotmail.com
    --Lara Maccioni is Penobscot School’s Italian Exchange Teacher for 2005-2006. Lara majored in Philosophy as an undergraduate in Florence and earned a graduate degree as a teacher of Italian language to foreigners from a university in Siena. Lara studied
in Konstanz, Germany on an Erasmus fellowship. She loves cinema and literature, and comes to us with high recommendations from her friend and colleague, Roberta Bianucci, Penobscot School’s 2004-2005 Exchange Teacher. 594-7688 laramaccioni@hotmail.co
    --Noémie Marciano is Penobscot School’s French Exchange Teacher for 2005-2006. Noémie was born just outside of Paris and attended the University of Paris-Créteil, majoring in English and preparing a career as an English teacher. She has worked for several years as an assistant teacher, activities coordinator, and private tutor (in English and French). Noémie especially enjoys reading, writing, theatre, dance (samba and jazz), film, and making short video “reportages” of her own. 594-7688 noemisstik@yahoo.fr

ACTIVE STRATEGIES FOR STRENGTHENING & ENHANCING
YOUR FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAM (Grades 6-12)
J

JACQUELINE KING DONNELLY,Outstanding Foreign Language Teacher and Presenter
PORTLAND December 14, 2005

Designed For Foreign Language Educators Serving Grades 6-12
• Practical, highly effective strategies to integrate ALL of the National Standards into your curriculum
• Ready-to-use, high-interest activities using music, gesture and movement that accelerate learning and increase memory retention of the target language
• Learn how to integrate Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS) and Total Physical Response (TPR) lessons into your existing curriculum
• Multitude of Internet-based interactive resources proven to reinforce grammar and expand vocabulary and cultural understanding of the target language
• Concise explanations on how to create student-to-student, class-to-class international partnerships through using technology to bring the world into your classroom

Practical Strategies and Materials
If you are a foreign language educator interested in discovering innovative, practical ways to enrich and strengthen the oral and written communication skills of your students, this seminar is for you.
This outstanding seminar is designed to provide you with dozens of highly effective, proven techniques and activities that can be immediately used with your students. Award-winning foreign language teacher and presenter, Jacqueline "Jackie" King Donnelly, will present numerous lessons, activities and innovative strategies to help increase foreign language use and proficiency. You’ll also learn new ways to increase motivation for foreign language learning and meet the diverse needs of all learners.
This seminar is designed specifically for foreign language educators serving grades 6-12 who are interested in practical ways to enhance the proficiency and motivation of their students.
Semester Credit Option: Graduate elective credit is available with an additional fee and completion of a follow-up practicum project. Details for direct enrollment with Chapman University (California) will be available at the seminar.

Meet Inservice Requirements: At the end of the program, each attendee will receive a certificate of participation that may be used to verify hours of participation in meeting inservice requirements.
The price for this seminar is $179.00 per person.
Seminar hours are 8:30 a.m. - 3:15 p.m.
Registration 8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.

1. Learn Classroom-Proven Strategies from an Experienced Foreign Language Teacher
2. Strengthen Your Current Foreign Language Instruction with Techniques Based on the National Foreign Language Standards
3. Increase Your Students’ Achievement and Proficiency in the Target Language
4. Apply the Latest Brain Research Techniques to Increase the Motivation and Achievement of All Your Students
5. Find New Ways to Integrate Music and Art into Daily Lessons
6. Discover Hundreds of Valuable Internet Sites to Enrich Daily Lessons
7. Integrate TPR and TPRS Techniques into Your Existing Curriculum
8. Create a Bridge Between Oral and Written Communication
9. Learn Practical Ways to Connect Your Students with Classes Abroad
10. Receive an Extensive Foreign Language Resource Handbook

University of Maine FARMINGTON
To Showcase Selection
of History’s Greatest Documents

The Farmington public liberal arts college is the only location in New England to host the collection

    FARMINGTON, Maine – The documents central to some of history’s most memorable moments are making some history of their own this fall, visiting New England for the first time as a collection.
    And instead of making their four-month appearance at an urban university or metropolitan museum as one might expect, the collection will take up residence at the University of Maine at Farmington, where it will be featured from August 15 through December 9.
    The documents, which range from a manuscript of the Magna Carta (circa 1350) to a first edition of Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (circa 1792) to a first edition of the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation (circa 1862), will be displayed at UMF’s Mantor Library in an interactive exhibit entitled Reading Revolutions.
    Jointly sponsored by the University of Maine at Farmington and the Remnant Trust, Reading Revolutions is partially funded by the Maine Humanities Council with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities through its We the People program.
UMF President Theo Kalikow is especially excited about the exhibit, particularly the inclusion of several scientific documents including Isaac Newton’s The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, which she will speak on in September.
“What a tremendous opportunity this is, not only for UMF, but for anyone in New England who is interested in the exchange and exploration of ideas,” Kalikow said. “UMF is proud to host this exhibit, and we hope the public is as excited as we are to see these one-of-a-kind documents.”
    The exhibit is unique not only for the rare documents it offers up, but because of the way patrons are encouraged to interact with the documents. Instead of just viewing them through thick glass display cases, people are urged to touch them, exploring the documents with all of their senses.
    Brian Bex, founder of the Indiana-based Remnant Trust, says that just as people who are shopping for a new car like to kick the tires and slide in behind the wheel, those trying to study and understand important ideas deserve a chance to not just see these historic works, but experience them.
    “There is something almost ethereal about touching these documents,” he said. When college professors were first exposed to the works and told to touch, Bex said, “It was unbelievable to watch their body language, their facial expressions and to hear their verbiage.” Something just happens to people when they interact with these documents that cannot be explained, he added.
    The appearance at UMF is the first in New England for these documents, which have also been showcased at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana; George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate in Virginia; the Newseum in Arlington, Virginia; the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.; and Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Bex, who notes that all 700 plus documents in the Remnant Trust’s collection are booked with appearances through 2009, says that sites are selected based on word of mouth. When the trust first announced its plan to the academic community, more than 1,000 higher education institutions requested the exhibit come to their school.
The goal of sharing the documents, which center on a common theme of individual liberty and human dignity, with the world is to incite discussion. “These things for centuries have been locked up or hidden away in a vault, available to only the super rich,” Bex explains. “But great ideas belong to everybody.”
    Bex is optimistic that the experience individuals have with the documents will make them think about big ideas, and not the juicy gossip, latest fads, or headlines of the day. He says he remembers his grandmother telling him as a teenager, “Great minds speak of ideas, average minds speak of events, and small minds speak of people.” At that point, she would point her finger at him and urge him to spend as few minutes in the day devoted to small mindedness.
    UMF too is optimistic about the impact the exhibit can have, not just on the campus community, but on the entire region. Everyone from schoolchildren to scholars to those just curious will be invited to the exhibit. Beginning September 5, docents will be on hand from 1 to 3 p.m. each weekday and during this time, the public can drop by and actually handle the texts. A series of lectures surrounding the exhibits is scheduled throughout their stay, and special accommodations will be made for private groups looking to tour the exhibit outside of the public handling times.
    “The ideas in these books have shaped all the disciplines that are taught at UMF. So it’s interesting that our lecture series is not dominated by historians. This is not an antiquarian festival,” said Provost Allen Berger, UMF’s vice president for academic affairs. “Instead, we have a political science professor talking about Machiavelli, a religious studies scholar talking about Luther, a geographer talking about Tocqueville. These are living ideas that continue to influence contemporary scholarship. More importantly, they are enduring ideas that need attention and discussion in a democratic society.”
    For more information about Reading Revolutions, please call Frank Roberts at (207) 778-7215 or email froberts@maine.edu . A complete list of documents to be featured, as well as lecture times can be found online at http://hua.umf.maine.edu/Reading_Revolutions/index.html .

Notable quote:
“We open our mouths and out flow words whose ancestries we do not even know. We are walking lexicons. In a single sentence of idle chatter we preserve Latin, Anglo-Saxon, Norse: we carry a museum inside our heads, we commemorate peoples of whom we have never heard... Words are more durable than anything, that they blow with the wind, hibernate and reawaken, shelter parasitic on the most unlikely hosts, survive and survive and survive.” Penelope Lively, award-winning British author.

Creative Bridges for Language Learning Institute
Workshops for K-8 World Languages,Spanish,
ESL and Bilingual Educators

Bring This Program to Your Schools, District or your State or come to Creative Bridges for language Learning Institute, Lawrenceville,NJ

Total Immersion: Effective Thematic Teaching -
K-8 World Language, Bilingual and ESL Educators
In this workshop participants will develop skills to incorporate a variety of language concepts into topics that are fun, interesting, and worthy of study. This hands-on/theory workshop will provide participants with eight different potential pathways to learning, and will help them define the best possible practices of teaching and thinking in language instruction. Participants will learn how to integrate storytelling, music, theater, and dance into activities that give students a reason to use the language and motivate them to learn.

Total Spanish Immersion Program; We bring Latin America to you!!
For Pre K-6 /7-12 April 5-7-8, 2006
We offer stimulating seminars in a Spanish-speaking environment for Spanish educators, on a variety of topics of interest to teachers who want to bring the culture of Latin America into their classrooms and improve their Spanish for use with their students and their families. TSIP includes courses that embrace every one of the aspects related to Latin American cultures, such as: Literature, Art, History, Music, Dance, Theater, Films, etc.

Effective Early Language Learning Programs- December 2,2005
K-8 World Language, Bilingual and ESL Educators
These hands on activity based/multimedia presentation will outline and model a wide range of lesson planning ideas. The presenter will illustrate how to design fun and effective pre-K/ 6 lesson plans. Such lesson plans will integrate different intelligence types and learning styles that are designed to implement an effective second language
learning program.

NNELL = Novel New EnLightening Lively Resources
for Foreign Language Teachers and Supporters of Early Language Learning

Most teachers I chat with at conferences have never heard of NNELL, which actually stands for National Network for Early Language Learning. As my passion for teaching foreign languages begins with young children, I was happy to discover NNELL at the 2005 conference of ACTFL and I actually volunteered to be your Maine representative for NNELL.
Why? I believe that we need support from our colleagues and that together like drops of water, we can combine to be a powerful oceanic force to make excellent language learning programs a reality for all children. Here are more reasons why I feel it very worthwhile to commit my time and $30/year to NNELL: NNELL is the only national organization focusing on ELL (early language learning pre-K through 8th grade) which:

• supports and promotes public awareness for early language learning, facilitating communication between educators, parents, and administrators, disseminating information and guidelines to assist in developing excellent programs.
• works closely with the ACTFL, the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, to provide a a strong, unified voice for early language learning in the context of a long sequence of instruction.
• holds sessions offered at state, regional, and national foreign language conferences for those interested in initiating, strengthening, and expanding elementary and middle school foreign language programs.
• advocates early language learning experiences for all students regardless of learning styles, achievement levels, race, ethnic origin, socio-economic status, home language and future academic goals.
•encourages the development of programs that allow children to begin language learning early and continue the language in a long, well-articulated sequence of carefully developed curriculum that provides a multicultural, multilingual perspective for every child.
• NNELL offers its members: a forum for discussion of research and pedagogy related to PreK-8 foreign language instruction, support in advocating programs, evidence from research, a professional identity for elementary and middle school foreign language teachers, and a significant voice in national foreign language and educational organizations.
Three times a year, NNELL members receive Learning Languages: The Journal of NNELL including new research in the field of early language learning, updates on instructional methodologies, and reviews of recent classroom materials, curricula, dvds and videos, among other things
• NNELL’s website and links offer up to date information and encouragement for educators, parents, and administrators. http://nnell.org/ and http://nnell.org/nnellresources.htm including http://www.cal.org/earlylang/front.htm
More information about NNELL including sample publications may be obtained ffrom Dr. Mary Lynn Redmond, nnell@wfu.edu , 336-758-5347
To join NNELL, go to the website or email me with your address and I will send you a brochure and application.
Margot Stiassni-Sieracki, NNELL Maine representative domusic@gwi.net , 207-882-7593
Edgecomb Eddy School, Edgecomb, Maine