A word from our President
Dear Colleagues,
Welcome back! I hope this finds all of you well and having a productive and enjoyable school year! It is evident to me that the year is moving quickly since we’ve finalized those first quarter grades and are fast approaching the Thanksgiving holiday. Where does the time go?
Certainly, FLAME Board members, MEA members and all of us are thankful that the TAX CAP did not pass. I was planning this letter and what I would say to colleagues and decided that I would wait until AFTER elections as the consequences were questionable. We can move forward this year without the fear of drastic measures due to such an initiative.
The FLAME Board and the Conference Committee are already hard at work to promote language study in Maine and organize the annual conference. Please check further in this newsletter and on the web site for important dates. It is not too early to request those professional days!
2005 has been officially declared “The Year of Languages”. Its goal is to heighten public awareness of the importance of foreign language study. ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language) is coordinating this yearlong initiative and FLAME is planning to be very involved. Several Board members are traveling to the ACTFL conference in November and will bring back information to aid in the organization of next year.
The Board is working diligently and feels that we have achieved many goals. Collaboratives are gathering more regularly throughout the state and the Board has approved some financial aid for those meetings. Check the web site for that information. The student activities committee has been revived with a new chairperson and new ideas. Stay tuned for opportunities! An advocacy video is in the works and will be available to use in the promotion of programs in Maine. Membership overwhelmingly supported the raise in dues with those funds earmarked to provide scholarships for professional development and attendance at conferences.
Please remember that FLAME is an all -volunteer organization. We are “just” teachers with the same teaching loads that prevail throughout our discipline. We all are busy yet find time to give to our profession. It is a worthwhile endeavor and we actually have FUN while we are working. Consider joining us for a meeting and see that the extra work is profitable and manageable.
On a personal note, I have said it many times, that involvement in professional organizations, travel to conferences and study to further my language and teaching skills have kept me energized in this profession. It is wonderful to keep contact with colleagues - new and old!
Contact me anytime with your questions, concerns and/or ideas. My school e-mail is laurie_littlefield@fc.sad57.k12.me.us and my home one is walkingll@gwi.net. I hope to hear from you soon and see you at the conference in March.
Laurie Littlefield
How YOU can Celebrate, Educate, Communicate!
Nearly six thousand foreign language teachers attended the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Annual Exposition and Convention in Chicago for the official kick-off of the Year of Languages 2005 (YOL 2005). “Dreams do come true”, announced ACTFL past-president Christine Brown, as she explained the history of the initiative.
YOL 2005 is the brainchild of Marty Abbott, Past-President, and Christine Brown and proves that “an idea over coffee can turn into a national campaign.” Senators Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and Thad Cochran (R-MS) worked together to introduce a Resolution to designate 2005 as the Year of Languages in the United States. ACTFL has worked with the Senators in seeking sponsors for the Resolution and to bring it to the Senate floor for a vote. In addition, ACTFL will be pursuing a similar Resolution in the House of Representatives and a Proclamation from the President of the United States to promote the Year of Languages.
The original idea for a Year of Languages came from the 2001 European Union Language Initiative to create a multilingual European community. The celebration of languages in Europe continues and they highlight one week of language promotion every year. Brown explained that it is the hope that the YOL 2005 could turn into a ten-year campaign. “We have grassroots support and state organizations that can spread the word.”
ACTFL is the major sponsor of YOL 2005 and has hired Abbott to run the campaign. There exists an Honorary Committee that include educators, college deans and presidents, business leaders, government representatives, Ambassadors, and humanitarian groups to work on the initiative throughout 2005. Many other organizations have supported the effort as well.
Brett Lovejoy, ACTFL executive Director, described the YOL 2005 as “the biggest thing ACTFL has done since standards". "This is the first year of a sustained campaign to reach the mind and hearts of people concerning Foreign Languages”, he announced at the Assembly of Delegates. In so doing this campaign will reiterate the message of the “power of learning languages”, that it is never too early nor too late to learn another language, and that everybody can learn another language. The YOL 2005 will also recognize that those who speak Heritage languages along with English could be the new multilingual citizenry. Lovejoy emphasized providing information on languages acquisition and supporting life-long learning.
This initiative is ambitious but there is little doubt of its importance. Language learning expands and enriches every learner’s life by offering cultural, social, academic and job opportunities not otherwise available. His Excellency Jean-David Levitte French Ambassador to the United States and member of the ACTFL YOL 2005 Honorary Committee explained in his speech at the Opening General Session of the ACTFL convention that “the leading cause of intolerance is ignorance.” (For the complete speech go to http://www.actfl.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=1 ) Knowing another language combats such ignorance and encourages acceptance of others. U.S. Ambassador Michael C. Lemmon, Dean of the School of Language Studies at the Foreign Service Institute also spoke at the Opening General Session and further explained that if the United States wished to “inform, engage and influence” other nations “we need to make a real effort to understand them better.” On another front, His Excellency Levitte pointed out that one sixth of the jobs in the world are international in nature, highlighting the economic value of a multilingual citizenry.
But how can YOU bring YOL 2005 to Maine?
Marty Abbott made it very clear that YOL should not be an extra. “Do whatever you do but get some attention”, she explained. “Use the logo, invite an official, get it in the media!”
The easiest thing is to use the logo, which you can download from www.yearoflanguages.org . Put it on your newsletters to parents, on your e-mails, or to create a YOL 2005 bulletin board. There are also YOL 2005 products you can purchase to promote the YOL 2005.
Next time you have that international dinner, invite an “official.” Your superintendent and/or members of the school board would love to be invited to a celebratory event!
The most challenging of the three suggestions is to get media attention. This requires more work but is very worthwhile as nothing beats the reach of a newspaper article, or a TV or radio spot. ACTFL has created a participant’s kit with sample press releases, sample proclamations, a generic article on YOL 2005, a power point presentation, the calendar of YOL focus points, as well as the logo. In other words, everything to get you started and you can find it all at www.yearoflanguages.org.
Jackson Bain and Sandy Bain also gave the representatives at the Assembly of Delegates some useful tips on how to reach decision makers and raise awareness in the community. They made clear that “a grass-roots campaign works like a charm” to build momentum that can eventually build awareness in Washington. But you need a plan.
The Three Pillars of a good communication plan:
1. Public Relations
Start with a media event and create visibility by first sending a press release to a local reporter. The small newspaper, your small local radio show are your best bets for getting media attention. When you connect with your chosen reporter, be aware that they might be working on deadline and show consideration of their time. Be short and pithy. The Bains explained that it is important to give the reporter “news,” not just information, so you will need to package your event with a news spin. Be prepared to answer the following questions: “So what?” “What’s new?” and “What’s next?” You should offer print sources, photos, and be willing to be interviewed and/or photographed, if necessary. The Bains reminded us that a lot of follow-up is often necessary to ensure that the media will indeed be present and report on your event. Use the “the grin and spin” approach and be persistent with daily phone calls, if necessary.
With the larger papers start with the education reporter. Or you might follow the by-lines to note who is writing about what. Then, when you connect with your chosen reporter, you can actually refer to a recently written article, always a more personal touch.
The Golden Rule: “Always respond to media. Call back as quickly as you can.“
2. Public Service Announcement
You can take advantage of the fact that the media needs Public Service Announcements to fill print space and air-time. ACTFL has created copies which they have given to each state delegate present at the Assembly of Delegates.
3. People- Ally-building networking
The importance of networking was emphasized: your rotary club, your superintendents, ROTC programs, professional schools, your chamber of commerce, peace corps volunteers, local companies, local service departments, and senior citizens can all be valuable allies in the promotion of foreign languages.
ACTFL has created on online bulletin board with YOL 2005 events listed by state. It would be wonderful if all who take part in YOL 2005 in their school, district, and/or community to would post the event on the ACTFL website! Simply go to www.yearoflanguages.org and click on Year of languages bulletin board. You might also consider using this bulletin board as a resource and peruse it for ideas.
Ambassador Lemmon at the ACTFL YOL 2005 kick-off stated that our role as foreign language teachers was “to broaden and deepen the pool of language competency available to us and to broaden and deepen the pool of sophisticated and competent users of languages which will be needed in government and in business.” FLAME has created a YOL 2005 Committee to assist all interested teachers who wish to take part in the YOL 2005 initiative. As the year progresses, we will disseminate information and keep you up to date on any events we will be planning. His Excellency Jean-David Levitte made it very clear: “It is not the responsibility of one, but the duty of all."
I invite you all to become involved.
Catherine Hobby, Maine ACTFL Delegate 2004
Acadia: a Summer Institute
June 26, 2004 marked the 400th anniversary of the first French settlement in North America—on Saint Croix Island, located between New Brunswick and Maine on the Saint Croix River. St. Croix predates, therefore, the English settlements in Jamestown and Plymouth.
This summer I was fortunate to view St. Croix Island during an institute on Acadia led by Ray Pelletier and André Senécal. The institute was sponsored by the University of Maine, The Northeast National Resource Center on Canada, Plattsburgh State University, and The University of Vermont. It was the second in a series of institutes designed to give the participants an opportunity to strengthen their language skills as well as to learn about the history and culture of Francophone North America. (The first dealt with the Province of Quebec.)
I am “from away,” so I jumped at the chance to learn more about the North American experience of French speakers, a subject that I knew little about when I came to Maine. As an eighth grader (many long years ago!), I had read Evangeline, and I loved the romantic story, as perhaps only an adolescent girl can…
I was moved as I stood near the spot where Longfellow’s imaginary heroine had lived, and, where, more importantly, very real Acadians had lived and, in fact, had suffered very real tragedies—the loss of their farms and other property, and very often the loss of their families. No one knows exactly how many Acadians were evicted from their native land, but somewhere between 10,000 and 14,000 people seem to have been deported. And of that number, it seems likely that as many as one half of them died, many from accidents and disease due to the poor conditions that they endured during their journey and after their arrival in the English colonies.
While it is true that Evangeline was a figment of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s imagination, it is also true that one of the basic themes of the poem was real enough. Families were indeed separated, and for some thirty years after the “Grand Dérangement,” Acadians were still wandering, trying to locate members of their family and yearning to return to their homeland. Many were able to return homeward, although they were not able to take possession of their original lands, which were now in the hands of English colonists.
And so, it was the towns and cities of these modern Acadians that the summer institute participants visited. There, we learned about the life they have carved out for themselves. Ray Pelletier and Lise Pelletier brought Antonine Maillet’s “Sagouine” to life for us; then we visited La Sagouine’s dream house in Bouctouche. André Senécal from the University of Vermont and Peter Houle from The University of Maine helped us to understand the poetry of Herménégilde Chiasson, a modern Acadian writer and artist. From Mary Domareki we learned about the French presence in Castine, Maine—as early as 1604 when Champlain visited. And we met some “real” Acadians too. France Daigle, an Acadian writer, invited us to a presentation of her minimalist play “En pelletant de la neige.” None of us will ever view snow shoveling in quite the same light again!
This was an absolutely magnificent institute. The professors and their staff are incredibly knowledgeable and eager to share. One strong indicator of this: I came back with a curiosity to learn more. Right away, I read Pélagie-la-Charrette (another novel by Antonine Maillet) which Ray Pelletier describes as a sort of a reverse Evangeline; a courageous Acadian woman leads a group of fellow Acadians through adverse conditions from Georgia back to the homeland. Finally, the opportunity to bond with the institute participants, a group of amazing teachers, was an experience I’ll treasure for a long time to come. If Professors Pelletier and Senécal decide to organize another summer institute, I heartily recommend that you consider taking advantage of it—but leave room for me!
Ann Sullivan
AATF Fall Conference
Forty-one AATF members participated in a very successful fall conference at Bates College on Oct. 16. The topic “Acadie” was inspired by last summer’s institute led by Professors Ray Pelletier and André Senécal.
Priscille Michaud and Kathy Yates began the conference with a brief overview of Acadian history and geography. Peter Nutting went into more depth on this topic with his PowerPoint presentation on Acadian history. One of the high points of Peter’s presentation was his focus on the Maine-Acadia connection. For example, he pointed out that in 1670 Castine (then Pentagoët) was the capital of Acadia. He also showed photos of Saint Sauveur, the site of an Acadian colony on Mount Desert Island. He mentioned that John Winslow (who was responsible for the construction of Fort Halifax, and for whom Winslow was named) was in charge of the deportation of the Acadians. And, of course, he showed photos of Saint Croix Island, on the border between Maine and New Brunswick, where continuous French presence in the New World began in 1604. Finally, it was Maine’s own Henry Wadsworth Longfellow who publicized the tragic fate of the Acadians in his poem Evangeline.
Kathy Yates explained how she uses what she learned over the course of the summer institute in her French IV class. Ray Pelletier also contributed to this theme by suggesting the use of songs whose lyrics are clear enough for students to understand—“Évangéline” by Marie-Jo Therio and "Grand Pré" by Angèle Arsenault being two excellent examples. (You can hear the latter at http://www.walnet.org/explosure/montcarmel/grand-pre.html) And Peter Nutting treated us to some Acadian songs. If you’d like to hear the theme song of the World Acadian Congress (“Je retourne au berceau de l’Acadie”), go to this site: http://www.cma2004.com/En/themesong.cfm (site no longer available--FLAME webmaster 7/10/2005).
Lise Pelletier spoke to us of the reasons for the deportation of the Acadian people. Although much is often made of the Acadians’ refusal to sign an oath of allegiance to the British throne, citations that Lise showed us make it clear that the goal of the English was, in fact, to gain control of the entire North American continent and, more specifically in this instance, they wished to obtain for themselves the very fertile lands owned by the Acadians. Lise detailed the miserable conditions that the Acadians endured, but, as she pointed out, many Acadians did not simply passively submit to the British attacks and later mistreatment. Joseph Broussard—known as Beausoleil—is remembered as a national hero because of his resistance and leadership. Acadians were better educated than is sometimes imagined, and there are many examples of petitions they wrote to those in power, pleading with them to ease the difficult circumstances of the Acadian people. After the publication of Evangeline in 1847, people throughout the world became aware of the Acadian diaspora, and the Acadians themselves soon began to organize, planning to improve the lot of the Acadian population which by now had a high degree of illiteracy and virtually no political power. In the 1960s and 1970s this political activism finally brought about some important results. Acadian children in New Brunwick can finally go to school in French, and Acadian literature is an important force. Acadians are proud of their vital literature, and, perhaps, especially proud of Antonine Maillet who, in 1979, was awarded the Prix Goncourt, the most prestigious French literary prize. Incidentally, she was the first non-native to achieve this honor. Lise regaled us with a reading from Maillet's La Saguoine.
Professor George Criner spoke to the assembled teachers about a new program offered by the Department of Resource Economics and Policy at the University of Maine. This new international concentration is “part of a B.S. degree that combines foreign language training with coursework in applied business and economics, resource economics, as well as international, cultural and environmental subjects.” For more information about this program that may interest students of all languages, go to: http://www.umaine.edu/crossborder/studentsite.htm .
Ann Sullivan
AATG National German Exam and
Blaine House Awards Tea
Seven German teachers in Maine prepared their students for participation in the National German Exam. 31 of those students were recognized with certificates and book prizes at the Awards Tea at the Blaine House in Augusta, with Governor Baldacci present. Stephen Powell, a sophomore at Skowhegan Area High School, was one of forty-six students in the U.S. to win a study trip to Germany for his performance in the AATG National German Exam. There was a front page article about Stephen in the Morning Sentinel of May 7, 2004.
We hope that more German teachers in Maine will have their students participate in the AATG National German Exam this year. If you have questions about the procedures, please check the AATG web site http://www.aatg.org or contact Carol Ladd, Testing Chair, at (207) 685-4504 or Deutsch54@aol.com.
Maine German Student–of-the-Year
Lorin Stanley, a senior from Deering High School in Portland, received the 2004 award for “Maine Student-of-the-Year” at the Awards Ceremony in the Blaine House.
To nominate your outstanding student for the 2005 award please print out the nomination form at www.colby.edu/german/aatg_maine/news (site no longer available-FLAME webmaster 7/10/2005). A reminder will be sent out early next year via our e-mail list.
Maine Outstanding German Educator Award
Anne Lambert, Mt. View High School, Thorndike, was the recipient of the 2004 Outstanding German Educator Award for her dedicated service to students, her school and the profession. Anne and Principal Barbara Adams were both present at the Awards Tea.
Blaine Ray Comes to Kingfield!
Blaine Ray, the inventor of Total Physical Response with Storytelling (TPRS), is coming to Kingfield. TPRS is a creative and effective way of learning a foreign language. This approach applies the latest brain research specifically to language acquisition. TPRS has been sweeping the country for several years.
The MSAD #58 Foreign Language Department has been using TPRS and wanted to go to a training workshop out of state. Instead they decided to bring Blaine Ray here to Kingfield. The one-day workshop was held at The Inn on Winter’s Hill on Thursday, Oct. 14. Foreign Language teachers came from around the state, excited to have this opportunity to train in a small group setting with Mr. Ray. He demonstrated the techniques involved in this interactive teaching method and coached the participants as well.
We had a spectacular day. Twenty-seven of us practiced “Circling” the vocabulary with a partner in English, using a rotation of questioning in a variety of ways to achieve maximum repetitions for the vocabulary. Blaine Ray also showed us how to “Circle” after reading a paragraph in a book or an extended reading. We heard about classroom management, storytelling, and simplifying the story line while enriching the details for the faster learners and teaching to the speed of the “barometer” student.
Blaine and the rest of us discussed the need for ongoing training; he’s had some teachers come for more than 12 training sessions. The continual research into TPRS means updating our techniques. We are planning to do this workshop again next year. The dates, tentatively, will be Oct. 13 & 14, 2005. More information will be available.
Submitted by Alice Yates, Mt. Abram High School, SAD #58
MAINE-MADE AWARD WINNING WEBSITE!
National Semiconductor recently awarded Jeremy Willette its Internet Innovator Award for "inspiring students with technology" with his website project www.trilingualdictionary.org. Over the past three years Willette's 6th grade students at Mount Ararat Middle School have created a website of over 2,600 words in five languages (French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, and Vietnamese). "At this point every student in the building has taken part in the website. Most middle school students love technology and, since these students were involved in the creation of this site, they are motivated to use it frequently!" explains Willette.
Students chose which words they wanted for the web site, then translated and depicted them. They wrote persuasive introductory paragraphs, in their language of study, explaining the importance of their chosen words, and also providing mnemonic tips. Finally, the students designed an assessment piece (either a game or a quiz), which helped connect the link in the students' minds between instruction and assessment. Each word is also pronounced on the web site. There are also links to maps of countries where the different languages are spoken, and to sites where it is possible to connect with students from around the world. There is also a requirements checklist, a project overview, and a scoring rubric. Teachers can also find useful information, including connection to the Maine Learning Results and a time line in case they would like to create a similar web site for their schools. The students add to the dictionary each year and this year Willette hopes to add Latin and Japanese to the expanding list of languages. It is the students' hope that other schools will use this web site as a resource.
Willette first got the idea for creating this website when he worked in Winthrop. When hired, he discovered that the school had not blocked foreign languages into the schedule! Optimistic and creative, he found that he could teach half of the foreign language classes in the computer lab and half in a more "traditional" setting. Since the school community did not want the students to miss their computer skill classes Willette suggested that he teach foreign language through computer skills and vice versa. It was a complete success. Willette taught keyboarding using accent marks, used CD-Rom programs, encouraged Internet exploration, and more, all in the foreign language. When Willette moved to Mount Ararat he decided to try an online talking multilingual picture dictionary and the result is www.trilingualdictionary.org.
Willette received $10,000 prize money from National Semiconductor. Mount Ararat Middle School received $4,000 in technology training. For more information on the National Semiconductor Internet Innovator Award can be found at www.nsawards.com
Anyone wanting more information on the site and/or on Willette's future dictionary projects can contact Jeremy Willette at willettej@link75.org
By Catherine Hobby with Jeremy Willette
DID YOU KNOW?
Did you know that in 2003-2004 Chinese, Japanese, Latin, Greek (ancient), Passamaquoddy, French, German, Spanish, Italian, American Sign Language, Swedish, Hebrew, Gaelic, Russian, Danish, and Arabic were all taught in Maine schools to Maine students?!
In some instances, instruction in a particular language may involve no more than 1-2 students and may be offered through a distance-learning program.
NATIONAL JUNIOR CLASSICAL LEAGUE CONVENTION 2004
Two Maine Latin teachers were honored recently at the National Junior Classical League convention at the University of Richmond, Virginia. Teachers Meg Cook of Winthrop High School and Marilee Osier of Sacopee Valley High School were joint recipients of the Ed Phinney book award. The award, named for a long-time Classics professor at the University of Massachusetts, was presented to Cook and Osier for their service to the National Junior Classical League.
Thirty-six students and six adults from Maine attended this year's convention, representing the following schools: Bonny Eagle High School (1), Hampden Academy (22), John Bapst Memorial High School (5), Sacopee Valley High School (3) and Winthrop High School (11). The students competed in a variety of academic, artistic and athletic contests for individual and state awards.
Maine received 5th place in the publicity contest and 10th place in publications. Individual school awards follow.
| John Bapst: | ||
| Genna Duplisea | 5th, Modern Myth, upper division, 9th, photography: computer | |
| Jessi Trafton | 10th, black pencil, grades 11-12 | |
| Hampden Academy: | ||
| Hannah Thieme | 8th, Local Scrapbook | |
| Jen Swalec, 1st VP | 1st, most original publicity (for Harry Potter Night), 15th, publicity | |
| Nate Brown | 2nd, 400 meter junior boys track | |
| Tim Henderson | 5th, Marathon junior boys | |
| Chris Peverada | 8th, Latin Derivatives, level 3, 3rd, 400 meter senior boys track, 3rd,chess upper division, 4th, Marathon senior boys | |
| Molly Peverada | 1st, Marathon junior girls, 2nd, 200 meter junior girls track,3rd, 100 meter junior girls track, 4th, 400 meter junior girls track, 11th, Olympika sweeps | |
| Sacopee Valley High School | ||
| Publicity | 10th place | |
| Lauren Lazarus | 8th, charts grade 10, 8th games grade 10 | |
| Winthrop High School | ||
| Beth Grimmig | 4th, mixed media grades 11-12, 4th, colored pencil grades 11-12 | |
| Steve Thompson | 5th, 100 meter senior boys track |
The Maine students were accompanied by teachers Brenda LoPotro (John Bapst), Ben Johnson (Hampden), Seth Knowles (Bonny Eagle), and Meg Cook (Winthrop).
NATIONAL BOARD
The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards "is rooted in the belief that the single most important action that this country can take to improve schools and student learning is to strengthen teaching." Here are FLAME members who are newly National Board Certified Teachers in World Languages other than English:
2003- Catherine Hobby, Lunt School in Falmouth, French
2004- Pam Davis, Auburn High School, Spanish
2004- Candace Myers, Mt. Ararat High School, Spanish
2004- Jeremy Willette, Mt Ararat Middle School- Spanish
For more information on the National Board visit their website at www.nbpts.org
Rebirth of Regional Collaboratives
Recognizing a renewed and increased role for networking as school systems expand their programs in Modern and Classical Languages, FLAME leadership has set a goal to encourage regional collaboratives. To that end, the FLAME board agreed to provide financial support to leaders of collaboratives. As there has been more awareness of the role of modern and classical languages in the curriculum, collaboratives that have stayed active, have increased membership and collaboratives that had lapsed have reorganized.
Regional collaboratives have been in existence for about 25 years. Their initial objective was to provide language teachers, who often taught alone in far flung rural districts, a format for meeting colleagues and sharing strategies and experiences. As language departments in high schools have grown, language instructors at that level became busier and benefited from sharing within their own schools.
In recent years, and as the state has developed the Maine Learning Results, through which school departments have initiated language programs at the elementary and middle school levels, language instructors at these levels have found themselves in the same situation as their high school colleagues in years past. Instructors at the lower levels also faced the problem of having to create their own programs and even their own materials. The collaboratives that remained active found themselves a forum for sharing ideas, strategies, resources and materials that could be adapted to younger learners. As middle school instructors began to work with laptops issued to their schools, and then adapted their curriculum to devise learning and assessment strategies to incorporate the available technology, they became a resource of information for instructors at other levels.
As alignment of curriculum with Maine Learning Results in modern and classical languages proceeds, regional collaboratives become a forum for helping instructors in individual schools meet the requirements of the state and their own school districts. With full implementation of all the content areas, with its need for local assessment, approaches in 2010, regional collaboratives have an opportunity to play yet another important role, that of helping with scoring of assessments.
Listed below are the active regional collaboratives and contact information.
Foreign Language Association of Somerset and Kennebec Counties (FLASK) – Martha Brooks (marthatbrooks@yahoo.com)
Foreign Language Organization of Western Maine (FLOW)- Sylvie Charron (scharron@maine.maine.edu)
Penobscot Foreign Language Collaborative- Janice Clain (Janice_Clain@hermon.net)
Southern Maine Collaborative- Catherine Hobby (rhobby1@maine.rr.com)
Regional Foreign Language Enthusiasts Coming Together (REFLECT)- Marcia Lord (lordm@sad1.org)
Language educators who would like more information about collaboratives in their area, or who would be interested in starting a collaborative, should contact FLAME president Laurie Littlefield or one of the facilitators of the above listed regional groups.
by Janice Clain
RESOURCES on the WEB
Classroom management resources:
http://anacleta.homestead.com/classroommanagement.html
http://anacleta.homestead.com/disciplineandstructure.html
Puzzles: www.puzzlemaker.com/
Resources for families: http://www.globalteachinglearning.com/home/home.shtml
Resources for teachers:
http://www.madameshackelford.com/methods.html
Learning disabilities : http://www.fln.vcu.edu/ld/ld.html
FRENCH IMMERSION at USM
The French Department at USM is pleased to announce an immersion weekend april 8 and 9, 2005.
This immersion (1credit or CEU) will be led by the visiting professor from the Université de Bretagne occidentale, Jean-Marc Serme. The theme: La Bretagne. Jean-Marc Serme writes, "Take an imaginary voyage to Brittany. Learn about its customs, its traditions, its art, and its music. There will be bagpipe playing, cooking sessions, videos, and discussions on the similarities between Maine and Brittany."
For more information contact Arlene Michael at amichael@usm.maine.edu or by calling (207) 780 4290.
L’Ecole Française du Maine
40 Main Street Freeport, Maine, 04032 www.efdm.org (207) 865-3308
Immersion Saturdays for Adults
Join our faculty for 6 hours of French Conversation from 10:00AM to 4:00 PM
January 22, 2005; February 5, 2005; March 5, 2005
Call to register
University Credit, CEU available
Adult Conversational French Classes
Refresh and develop your speaking skills with us!!
Mondays, from 6:30PM to 7:30PM Beginners
Tuesdays, from 6:30PM to 7:30PM Advanced
Private Lessons are also available.
Call to register
AATG
Sprachfest
The annual German language festival is scheduled for Thursday, March 10, 2005. Colby College will be the host again. The theme and activities for 2005 will be announced via our e-mail list and on our website www.colby.edu/german/aatg_maine. The Sprachfest Coordinator is Linda Libby at (207) 666-3322 or libbyli@link75.org
Our last Sprachfest at Bates College in March of this year had a record number of participants. 150 students and their German teachers from nine Maine high schools competed in activities that tested students' language skills, creativity, and cultural knowledge of the German speaking countries. Cony HS, Augusta (Debra Orth), won first place, Maranacook HS, Readfield (Ryan Meserve), second, and Mt. Ararat, Topsham (Linda Libby), third. Other participating schools were Boothbay Regional HS (Ragnhild Baade), Carrabec HS, North Anson (Chris Gram), Deering HS, Portland (Marlies Reppenhagen), Lawrence HS, Fairfield (Amy Bongard), Mt. View HS, Thorndike (Anne Lambert), and York HS (Patti Chappell).
Annual Meeting
March 3-4, 2005 at the Holiday Inn-at-the Bay in Portland. As in previous years, the annual meeting of the AATG Maine Chapter will take place at the annual conference of the Foreign Language Association Maine (FLAME). Organizational issues, election of officers, reports and planning for the next year is on the agenda at this chapter meeting.
Maine Classical Association
Saturday, April 30, 2005 at Messalonskee High School in Oakland, ME. 8:30a.m. to 1:00 p.m. annual spring meeting and officer elections. CEU's will be available.
A mid-winter lecture and book-signing event is also being planned. More information TBA.
Groupes qui bavardent ensemble!
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. For more information contact the Director Rita Dube at ritapauldube@hotmail.com
Bangor
"Le Rendez-vous," meets in Bangor, at Borders, the first and third Wednesday of the month, from 5:30 to 7:00. For more information, contact Borders.
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. This year it is Sarah Gourdel from Toulouse. Admission is free and participants bring their own lunch. The only rule is that the conversation is entirely in French.
" 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." Denis Healy is the facilitator. Free admission. For more information contact Dennis at healyd1@aol.com .
Charlas en Español
Brunswick
The first Friday of every month at 4:00 at Pedro O'Hara's in Brunswick. If you are interested in attending simply email Jeremy Willette at willettej@link75.org .
This will ensure that you will be notified of any change to due to bad weather or if the group is planning on trying a new Mexican place some month!
More fun Websites!!
Mexico: http://www.elbalero.gob.mx/index_esp.html
Faux amis Acadiens: http://www.artsci.lsu.edu/fai/Cajun/falsecognates.html
FLAME New Teacher Scholarship
FLAME is pleased to announce its first annual New Teacher Scholarship to support and recognize the hard work that modern and classical language teachers are doing in the classroom. This scholarship was developed to financially support new teachers in their endeavors in professional development.
FLAME will award two scholarships of up to $500 to teachers with fewer than 5 years experience teaching a modern or classical language.
One of the scholarships will be used to help a beginning teacher attend a regional or national conference such as:
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Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, March 31 to April 3, 2005, New York City |
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American Association of Teachers of French, July 7-10, Quebec City |
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American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, July 28 to August 1, New York City |
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Classical Association of New England, April 1 and 2, St. Joseph’s College, Standish, Maine |
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In future years, teachers may also apply to attend conferences such as ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) and American Association of Teachers of German; these are held in November. |
The second scholarship is not earmarked for a particular purpose, and it may be used for a wide variety of professional development activities such as courses, summer institutes, immersion experiences, etc. Check the website (http://www.umaine.edu/flame/) and the newsletter for possibilities!
Criteria for Selection:
The candidate must:
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Be a member of FLAME; |
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Be a classroom teacher at any grade level from kindergarten through university level; |
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Currently have a teaching responsibility with at least 3/5 of a schedule in modern or classical languages at a public or private institution; |
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Submit, as a part of the application process, a statement from an immediate supervisor certifying current teaching responsibilities; |
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Write an article detailing the professional development experience for the FLAME newsletter or make a presentation at a FLAME conference. |
The committee will consider the following:
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Merit, as evidenced by professional commitment to and involvement in the teaching of modern and classical languages |
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Need for an immersion experience or professional development experience in the target language |
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The candidate’s explanation of how the experience will enhance his/her teaching |
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Evidence of institutional support in the form of a letter of recommendation from the applicant's department chair, principal or dean |
FLAME New Teacher Scholarship
Application Form
Please supply the following information and submit this application to the address listed below in a dossier that includes:
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A résumé listing your educational degrees, professional activities, and any other information you think would help the committee in evaluating your application |
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A letter of recommendation in a signed and sealed envelope from your school principal, department chair or dean |
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A 200-word statement (in the target language for applicants who teach modern languages) describing what you expect to gain from this professional development experience. (Clearly detail this endeavor and explain why FLAME should support you.) |
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The estimated cost for this professional development experience |
Name:_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Mailing address:____________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Work phone: _______________________________ Home phone:____________________________________
Fax: _________________________________________ Email:______________________________________
Place of Employment:____________________________________________________________________________________
Address:__________________________________________________________________________________
Classes you currently teach:__________________________________________________________________
Number of years in teaching modern/classical languages :___________________
Immersion or travel experiences in U.S. or foreign country (personal, professional, school-affiliated travel)
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Reference: _______________________________________________ Phone:__________________________
Applications must be postmarked by Feb. 1, 2005.
Submit application materials to: Chris Gram, Carrabec High School, P.O. Box 220. North Anson. ME 04958 at 635-2296.
Moliere in English
Molière for the People
Fifteen
new versions of Molière plays now available for production. Bringing Molière
to a new generation.
Timothy Mooney presents a whirlwind, 90-minute performance, and is also available for workshops on classical performance and class visits. (A 50-minute version of the play is also available to fit into a single class period.)
Molière Than Thou finds Molière left without a cast, when all of his fellow performers happen to consume "the same sort of shell fish" at one of the local public inns that the company tends to frequent. Rather than actually refund the precious box office income, Molière offers to perform a "greatest hits" of sorts, and leads the audience (which occasionally participates) through a hilarious succession of favorite speeches that trace his illustrious career.
Mooney, himself, plays Molière, who performs routines from Tartuffe, Don Juan, The Doctor In Spite of Himself, The Precious Young Maidens, The Misanthrope and The School For Wives among others. “This gives Molière the perfect opportunity to explain his process, while managing to take a few deft stabs at some of his enemies: the doctors, the lawyers, and the sanctimonious hypocrites who would attack him throughout the years.”
For more information visit the website http://www.moliere-in-english.com/
or email info@moliere-in-english.com
WEBSITES your students might try!
French speaking celebrities:
http://www.geocities.com/mmesaam/
Three little pigs in French:
http://membres.lycos.fr/museecochon/index.html
Langue française TV5 -jeux et dictionnaires
http://www.tv5.org/TV5Site/lf/langue_francaise.php
Lexique FLE:
http://lexiquefle.free.fr/
Maps of Paris in 1760 and in1771:
http://pdg.beziaud.org/paris1760.htm
TFO (télévision
de l'Ontario française)
http://www2.tfo.org/tfocfmx/tfoorg/tfo/
TéléQuébec:
http://www.telequebec.tv/
Great link from Spain: http://www.doslourdes.net/
Waterville's Museum in the Streets
The Franco-American Heritage Society of Kennebec Valley, Lisa Tessier Marraché, President, announces the Grand Opening of Waterville's new Museum in the Streets. The Heritage Society spent more than a year researching the documentation illustrating the contribution made by Franco-Americans to the Waterville area for the Museum in the Streets. A concept created by French-American Patrick Cardon, Waterville's version is one of many such installations in France and one of only three in Maine, along with Thomaston and Belfast. The exhibit consists of a series of permanent plaques displaying old photographs and descriptions in French and English, placed on or near the site of the story depicted in the plaque. Kim Hallee, for the South End Neighborhood Association stated, "The Museum in the Streets makes history come alive for residents and visitors alike, so we can understand what happened right here and the important contribution the French-Canadian immigrants have made."
The ten plaques, first displayed at Waterville's second-annual Franco-American Festival in mid-September, are now in place, principally along Water Street. The large introductory plaque, funded by the City of Waterville, is located in front of City Hall. Other sponsors of and contributors to the Museum in the Streets include the Fairfield Economic Development Corporation and a grant from the Maine Community Foundation and Maine Humanities Council. Individuals also sponsored panels in memory of loved ones.
The Museum in the Streets is the result of hard work from many volunteers including: Lisa T. Marraché, Roger Hallée, Sylvanne Pontin, Alice and Pearley Lachance, Bob Chenard, Pat Gauer, and Artie Greenspan, Professor of French at Colby College. Many others donated pictures, scanned documents free of charge, and finished the posts for the plaques.
A great place to take students!
Besides enhancing the appearance of Waterville and providing cultural enrichment, the Museum in the Streets is also a great learning tool, according to Lachance and retired French teacher Gauer. They envision teams of students taking time with their teachers or local guides to read and discuss the plaques, then follow up with oral history projects to deepen their understanding of Waterville's history.
Music from the World’s Great Cathedrals
KOTZSCHMAR ORGAN
The Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ cordially invite you to visit Portland's
Merrill Auditorium to hear Olivier Latry, Organist of Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris.
Tuesday, April 19, 2005 7:30 pm
Admission: $15.00 suggested at the door
For more information visit www.foko.org or email Ray Cornils at
Student Work
On-the-spot Conversation
The students were given five minutes to write a conversation using at least four vocabulary words from a given list. The following was written by Sam Hutton & Rose Buonaiuto, two students in Kathy Yates's French III class.
-Bonjour. Quelque chose ne va pas?
-Non, Je me sens bien.
-Tu n'as pas l'air en forme.
-J'ai mal dormi.
-Pourquoi?
-J'ai un chat dans la gorge.
-Pauvre chat.
-Le chat a mal dormi aussi.
-Qu'est-ce qu'il a?
-Il a mal à la gorge
Weekly Spanish Journals
Here are some journals written by Caryn Hasbrouck's students at the Greater Portland Christian School.
By Emily Keenan, Spanish III (writing about a picture from a magazine)
Mi abuela Edit es la abuela típica. Ella tiene mucho años, camina con un mimbre, y teje en una mecedora. Edit hace postres y su casa hace siempre calor. Los dos amigas de Edit son el mismo y hacen las mismas cosas. Un día, las tres abuelitas tejaron los suéteres para regalos para sus nietos en Navidad.
Edit dijo, “¡Estoy aburrida! No quiero ser la abuela típica. ¡Necesito un cambio ahora!”
Omira dijo “Pero Edit, vamos a bingo en miércoles. ¿Necesitas más cambio que bingo?
“Sí Omira, No quiero estar una abuelita aburrida. Caminamos a la ciudad y busco algo cambiar mi vida aburrida.”
Las tres abuelas usaron sus mimbres, bufandas, sombreros, y caminaron a la ciudad. Edit supo que sus cabellos blancos fueron la cosa que es el más tipica. Todas abuelas tienen cabello blanco. Entonces Edit supo como cambiar su vida. Edit fue a una peluquera y preguntó para cabello rojo. Cuando ella miró a su cabello en el espejo, Omira y Carmen quereron un cambio también. Ahora Omira tiene cabello azul y Carmen tiene cabello verde y las tres abuelas no tienen vidas aburridas.
Julia Hasbrouck, Spanish III (writing about Thanksgiving)
Doy
gracias por muchas cosas, especialmente durante el día de acción de gracias.
Yo leí en un libro de una familia que dijo una cosa por lo que dan gracias,
para cada grano de maiz que tienen al lado de sus platos. Otra familia tuvo
una caja que decoraron antes del día de acción de gracias. Cada vez, para esa
semana más o menos, cuando daron gracias para algo, ellos lo escriban en un
papel y ponen en la caja. Cuando el día viene, ellos sacan todos los papeles,
y los leen durante el almuerzo (o la cena).
Nosotros no tenemos tradicionales así, pero no necesitamos una caja para sentir gratis a el. Yo doy gracias por mi familia, que tenemos una casa y comida. Doy gracias que puedo ir a una escuela cristiana. Doy gracias por el mundo tan bonito que Dios hico. Debemos dar gracias cada día, no solo en uno, pero el día de acción de gracias es un buen recuerdo que necesitamos hacerlo.
Nominate an Exemplary Program
why?
Tired of reinventing the wheel?
Want to learn about what's working well?
Ready to share your own program’s successes?
how?
Preview nomination criteria
Nominate a program you consider exemplary in some way
How the Process Works
Criteria for nominating a program as exemplary have been identified in two ways: (1) through data on ideal professional practices collected from the profession on the NVA 2002-2003 national foreign language survey and (2) through a review of the professional literature. Additional criteria in which the program is exemplary also may be proposed by the nominator.
The New Visions in Action working group that is focused on the area of each criteria identified will review the nomination. (Note that a program may well be exemplary in one area [e.g. assessment] but not necessarily exemplary in others such as curriculum design. In such a case, the program would be identified as a model of excellence in the particular criteria that refer to assessment.)
When a nominated model has been named exemplary in specific criteria, the NVA staff will communicate with the NVA working group/s and nominated institution to identify appropriate information about the program and information from the documentation that testify to the program’s excellence. This information will be shared on the NVA Website to strengthen foreign language learning in the nation. Additionally, a letter and press release will be sent to the program’s administrators by the NVA Chairs to inform them of the honor.
Gathering Evidence
Nominators will be asked to provide information about themselves and, if they are not nominating their own program, to identify a contact person in the program they are nominating. Additionally, they will identify the criteria for which they are nominating the program, write a short rationale for each criterion they identify, and provide documentation for the criteria. This documentation might include test scores, testimony, or documents, which can be made available by Website link, uploading, or by mailing the information to the NVA office at the address below. The nominated institution can help by reviewing the nomination and identifying and providing the appropriate documentation.
then...
NVA will review the nominations for programs considered exemplary:
* Descriptive information about the program’s exemplary nature will be made available to the profession on this Website.
* A congratulatory letter will be sent to the program’s administrators along with a press release.
NVA will post information about the selected programs on this Website so that the profession can celebrate their success and learn from them.
National K-12 Foreign Language Resource Center, Iowa State University, N131 Lagomarcino Hall, Ames, Iowa 50011 (515) 294-6699
Webmaster: nvisions@iastate.edu
Maine AATF Co-Sponsors New Seminar for Teachers
AATF-Maine President Catherine Hobby knows that teaching French doesn't just mean France anymore: "Our textbooks no longer focus on Pierre and Marie from Paris; we now have Boubacar and Aminata from Sénégal. How can we teach their culture if we know next to nothing about it? And what kinds of cultural materials exist to give our students a look at contemporary life in these Francophone societies?"
To help teachers answer these questions, the Maine chapter has announced sponsorship of a new program designed for teachers who want to bring Francophone Africa into the classroom through film. The program is a collaboration between Maine's Penobscot School, now in its 18th year of innovative foreign language programming, and Prof. Maria Grosz-Ngate, Associate Director of the African Studies Program at Indiana University. Called Real Africa, the new joint program will be held in Montreal in the context of the annual Vues d'Afrique Film Festival, a setting Penobscot School has chosen for its Accès Cinéma Africain French immersion since 1997.
In 2005, the French immersion program will continue, from April 14-18, during the first weekend of the Francophone African and Caribbean film festival. Participants will, as in the past, see the latest film and video from these regions and meet directly with the filmmakers to discuss them, entirely in French. Over 90 people have participated in this program, with a dozen of them attending more than once.
The new seminar, set for April 21-24, is an intensive introduction to Francophone Africa and African film. Prof. Grosz-Ngate, an Anthropologist specializing in West Africa, will be joined by Aliko Songolo, Professor of French and African Languages at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, whose work focuses on Francophone African cinema. They will provide pertinent background knowledge for viewing African films and using them in the classroom, so that participating teachers can gain a deeper understanding of Francophone African cinema and build a curriculum unit linked to a readily-available Francophone film.
Program Director and Penobscot School Founder Julia Schulz sees the new teachers seminar as a natural extension of her work in French immersion at the film festival. "We've always found we could learn a tremendous amount about contemporary Africa watching films at the Vues d'Afrique festival and improve our French communication as we talked about them with the directors. Now we will give classroom teachers, of French or other subjects, the chance to focus on how they can integrate Francophone film into their teaching. We are fortunate to have two excellent seminar leaders and, of course, this fantastic festival right in the heart of multicultural Montreal!"
Sponsors of the immersion program and Real Africa teachers seminar include: Penobscot School, the African Studies Program of Indiana University, Vues d'Afrique, the Maine Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of French, and Atlantica Group LLC. Continuing education credits will be offered to teachers. More information is available on the web at www.cinema-africain.org or by contacting Julia Schulz, at julia@cinema-africain.org.
CAVILAM, Vichy, France
Le plaisir d’apprendre
Formations pour professeurs 2005
L’objectif du CAVILAM est de faire entrer les innovations pédagogiques dans le quotidien de la classe.
Maîtrise de français langue étrangère (diplôme national)En collaboration avec l’Université Blaise Pascal de Clermont-Ferrand
108 heures de formation en 2005 : du 4 juillet au 29 juillet 2005110 heures de formation en 2006 : du 5 juillet au 30 juillet 2006Conditions d’inscription : 5 ans d’expérience professionnelle dans l’enseignement du FLE et un niveau d’études au moins égal à la licence (Bac + 3) Limite de demande de dossier : 15 mars 2005 Limite d’inscription : 15 avril 2005
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Stages intensifs pour professeursDu lundi 4 juillet au vendredi 26 août 2005* (de 1 à 8 semaines) et toute l’année pour groupes constitués
Les participants choisissent des parcours de formation centrés sur l’actualisation des connaissances dans les domaines suivants : · La méthodologie du français langue étrangère et les pratiques de classe · La France contemporaine et le monde francophone · L’intégration des technologies de l’information et de la communication (TICE) dans l’enseignement / apprentissage
26 cours hebdomadaires + expérimentation de scénarios et séquences pédagogiques,échanges d’expérience, rencontres avec les éditeurs, conférences et débats.
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Les ateliers thématiques du CAVILAM
26 cours hebdomadaires + expérimentation de scénarios et séquences pédagogiques,échanges d’expérience, rencontres avec les éditeurs, conférences et débats.
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· Projet FORMACOM : le plaisir d’apprendre du lundi 4 avril au vendredi 15 avril 2005. · Apprendre et enseigner avec TV5 du lundi 4 juillet au vendredi 15 juillet 2005.* · Actualisation des connaissances en civilisation française du lundi 4 juillet au vendredi 15 juillet 2005.* du lundi 1er août au vendredi 12 août 2005. · Projets Internet pour la classe du lundi 11 juillet au vendredi 22 juillet 2005.* · Enseignement précoce du français du lundi 18 juillet au vendredi 29 juillet 2005.
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· Approches pédagogiques des médias du lundi 18 juillet au vendredi 29 juillet 2005. · Le jeu théâtral dans l’enseignement du français du lundi 18 juillet au vendredi 29 juillet 2005. · Apprendre et enseigner avec Reflets du lundi 1er août au vendredi 12 août 2005. · Certifications D.E.L.F. / D.A.L.F. du lundi 1er août au vendredi 12 août 2005. · Enseignement bilingue du lundi 1eraoût au vendredi 12 août 2005. · Perfectionnement linguistique et enseignement précoce du français du lundi 24 octobre au vendredi 4 novembre 2005.*
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Séminaire «formateurs de formateurs»Du lundi 18 juillet au vendredi 29 juillet 2005 et toute l’année pour groupes constitués
Formation destinée à faire évoluer l’approche pédagogique des formations d’enseignants. 26 cours hebdomadaires + constitution d’un dossier de synthèse. Public : attachés linguistiques, formateurs de formateurs.
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Tarif : 240 € par semaine + frais d’inscription + hébergement
Ces formations peuvent être partiellement prises en charge dans le cadre des bourses attribuées par les programmes européens.
COMENIUS 2.2 et GRUNDTVIG 3.
Pour toute information complémentaire, consultez le site : www.socrates-leonardo.fr
Renseignements et inscriptions : CAVILAM, BP 2678, 03206 Vichy cedex, France
Tél. : + 33 4 70 30 83 83, Télécopie : + 33 4 70 30 83 84, Mél : info@cavilam.com
Creative Bridges for
Language Learning
Institute of Learning Languages Through the Performing Arts
Storytelling, Movement, Music,
and Drama
For ESL, Bilingual and World Languages Educators and Administrators
Creative Ideas for Language Learning January 14, 2005
Thematic Units February 11, 2005
Conference, July 16, 2005
9:00 AM-2:00 PM Breakfast and Lunch will be served
We offer the same workshops, Consulting Services, performances and Artist-in-Residence programs in schools all over the nation.
All the workshops are designed to
Ø Help you develop techniques that you can use to integrate the arts form into your classroom
Ø Enrich your classroom with great activities in the areas of: music, theater, storytelling and movement.
Ø Incorporate different learning styles and intelligence types
Ø Integrate Core Curriculum Content Standards
The training sessions include:
1. A detailed explanation of the methodology with opportunities for practice and questions.
2. Learning how to motivate your students to want to learn a foreign language
3. Receiving very useful information about the theory of Multiple Intelligence and how it relates
to the methodology
4. Discussing reading, writing and assessment strategies as well as lesson planning and extension
activities.
5. Experiencing this method from a student perspective
6. Learning a number of games you can use to enhance learning with your students.
7. Having the opportunity to design your own lesson and practice in small groups with other
teachers
8. 1 CD with selection of music ready to be used for the activities that you learned
9. A hand out with a selection of stories, rhymes, poetry and extra games
10. Hand outs of our methodology and the theory of the Multiple Intelligence
11. 10 hours (o more) of the New Jersey Professional Development Credits. New Jersey Professional
Development Provider # 4477
12. Free Registration for the conference of Learning Languages Through the Performing Arts
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT Lawrence Neighborhood Service Center
295 Eggerts Crossing Road, Lawrenceville, NJ
(609) 895-2981 Creativebridges@aol.com http://connectionsdt.tripod.com/creativebridges
Citizenship and Culture: French Identity in Crisis
NEH Summer Seminar for Secondary School Teachers
Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania,
June 27 to July 29, 2005
Michael Kline and Nancy Mellerski, Co-Directors
This seminar invites secondary school teachers to explore the construction of Republican identity in France and to study challenges to the ideal, foundational French Republic since the Revolution of 1789. Representations of the Republic in art, theater, film and essay will demonstrate how the ownership of each has evolved over time as the master narrative of French republicanism and nationhood unfolds. French identity, as a product of the centralizing heritage of Jacobinism, will be examined as it undergoes the pressures of ethnic and regional voices that are increasingly demanding of recognition and autonomy. Two case studies, that of regional identities and languages and debates on the European Charter on Regional and Minority Languages as well as the "Headscarf Affair," the most important drama in contemporary France, will serve to investigate the challenges to French republicanism.
Ø Your completed application must be postmarked no later than March 1, 2005. ( You can find the application at www.dickinson.edu/~mellersk/colleague.html#application )
Ø Participants receive a stipend of $3600.
For further information visit the website www.dickinson.edu/~mellersk/colleague.html
or please email: klinem@dickinson.edu
Want a great summer French Immersion Program?
For adults and students alike, try one of the best programs out there: the intensive French Immersion Program at the Université Sainte-Anne in Church Point (Pointe-de-l'Eglise), Nova Scotia. It is for five weeks in July, which sounds like a big chunk of time, but the days go by quite quickly because of all the great activities they organize. Church Point is located about one hour north of Yarmouth. Just take the ferry from Bar Harbor, Maine or St.John, N.B. and you are practically there.
I have attended two summers and now plan to go back every summer. I took my students and my two sons and they loved it, as well. I taught a French Beginner I class and a Tae Kwon Do workshop. Classes for teachers are excellent and have as their top priority creating lesson plans and classroom materials. No English is allowed on or off campus and each participant signs a contract to adhere to this rule. Students speak French very well upon completing the five-week program. They work hard to pass their courses to earn six college credits but many fun activities and field trips are offered as well: canoeing, whale watching, team sports, theme soirees, trip to Grand Pré, trip to Port Royal, visits to Mavillette Beach, participation in the Acadian Festival, nature hikes, races, art contests and much more.
For more information call the University (toll free #1-888-338-8337) or call me (1-207-941-1112). Hmmm, five weeks in beautiful Nova Scotia and six credits!
Think about it. There is a waiting list to get in after December so decide to go now, ok? See you there.
Crystal Jackins
SpainBCN-Programs in Barcelona
Hola! SpainBCN is a total immersion Spanish language school in Barcelona that not only offers the opportunity to learn the Spanish language, but students, of all ages and levels of experience, participate in many cultural and historical programs.
SpainBCN organizes all year round Cultural & Linguistic Programs (homestay) for both individual students and groups, who want not just practice or improve their Spanish but also enjoy the History and traditions of Spain and Barcelona.
Please, feel free to contact SpainBCN about Programs in 2005:
* SPRING BREAK PROGRAMS (8 days/10 days)
* SUMMER CULTURAL & LINGUISTIC PROGRAMS (10 days/2 weeks/3 weeks)
* SUMMER SOCCER & SPANISH PROGRAMS ( in July)
* SPECIAL PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS (8 days/10 days)
For more information visit the website www.spainbcn.com or contact SpainBCN if you would like more information regarding the school, programs or prices .
SPAIN BCN-Barcelona, Consell de Cent, 304
08007 Barcelona - SPAIN, Ph: + 34 93 487 00 04
e-mail: spainbarcelona@spainbcn.com
SpainBCN knows that a successful stay in Barcelona depends on good organization.
Government of Québec scholarship
for a summer workshop on teaching French as a foreign language
As part of the cooperation between Québec and the State of Maine, the Government of Québec is pleased to offer the Foreign Language Association of Maine (FLAME) a scholarship (approximate value of CAN$1,500) to enable a teacher of French or a college student preparing to become a teacher of French to attend a workshop on teaching French as a foreign language in Montréal in the summer of 2005. The scholarship will cover tuition and housing on campus as well as insurance expenses. The recipient will be responsible for travel and personal expenses (including certain meals). The scholarship will be awarded by competition and the selection process will be under the responsibility of FLAME. An excellent knowledge of spoken and written French is required.
The three-week program will be held at the Université de Montréal (from July 4 to 22 or from July 25 to August 12, 2005 - dates to be confirmed). The program is made up of classes, lectures and cultural activities. A description of the 2004 program can be found on the Internet at http://www.mri.gouv.qc.ca/asie_pacifique/dans_le_monde/asie/stage/stage_historique.htm
As a follow-up, the recipient of the scholarship will be required to make a presentation on his or her experience during the following academic year, at a foreign-language teachers meeting at the local, regional or national level. The student recipient will be required to write an article about his or her experience, for publication in his or her educational institution’s student newspaper.
Scholarship applications must be sent by March 1, 2005, to the following address:
FLAME, PO Box 207, Augusta, ME 04332-0207
For more information about the program, please contact yanick.lavallee@mri.gouv.qc.ca.
NOTE: A student visa is not needed to enter Canada if the program of studies is for a period of six months or less.
Hatschi Patschi Game
This activity can be adapted to whatever vocabulary or question structure you are working on. The students sit in a circle (chairs or carpet squares). There should be one fewer chair or carpet square than students. One student is chosen and leaves the room. While s/he is outside, the teacher picks another student to be the Hatschi-Patschi. Student A is called back to the room and enters the circle and needs to try and find out the identity of the the Hatschi Patschi. S/he will need to ask individual students a specific previously agreed upon question in the target language. (For example, the student might ask "what is your name?", "How are you?" "How old are you?") The students who are asked respond truthfully EXCEPT for the Hatschi Patschi. The Hatschi Patschi, when asked, will say loudly "Hatschi Patschi"! That is the signal for all students to get out of their chairs and walk (not run!) across the circle to find another chair. All students will need to find another chair. The student who does not find a chair will be the next student to leave the room.
Pointers: A student who avoids finding a chair on purpose will not be asked to leave the room.
Shared by Sylvia Tolisano from the Nandu listserv. This game was passed on to her orally by a bilingual immersion Kindergarten teacher from Argentina.
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Teaching Family members
I find it is hard to jump right into having the students talking about their own families, so here are a couple of ideas to encourage them to to talk about imaginary families first.
Tip #1 As a basic review of family members I used pictures of "The Incredibles". We played Hatschi Patschi and the kids all held a secret card with a picture of an Incredible family member (le père, la mère, la soeur, le frère, le bébé). The student holding the card picturing the whole family said "Hatschi Patschi. The student who had gone to the next room asked each student "Qui es-tu?" And they had to show and say the card they were holding. Another class used the cards for 7-up (though it was really 5-up because only 5 cards.)
I think you could do a lot with this "Incredible" family depending on the age of students. They could describe the physical or personality attributes. They could invent and draw other family members like grandparents etc. and give them certain attributes or powers. They or the teacher could make up a little TPRStory.
Tip #2 Place figurines of family members around the classroom ON various things that the students can name. You can review the family members using gestures, pictures, and/or songs such as Quelle famille from 123 Soleil. Then the students walk around the room trying to spot as many as they can. The students know that they are not to touch but just chercher, regarder, compter, penser mais PAS toucher! Then all the students come back together and share where all the family members are by answering to the questions: Où est la mère? Sur le tapis... or la mère est sur le tapis.
Shared by Margaret Kohler, member of the Nandu listserv and teacher of the Westside Montesorri Center, Toledo, Ohio.