Upcoming Webinars for Professional Development @ YLC

Three ACTFL Webinars on Timely Topics in Language Teaching

1) Connections: A call to prioritize second language learning in internationalization efforts

Dr. Paula Garrett-Rucks, Georgia State University.

Considerable academic attention and resources are spent on internationalizing education—integrating intercultural dimensions into educational systems to prepare learners for the challenges of a global workforce in the 21st century. Yet despite reports on the monolingual disadvantage in an increasingly globalized workforce (Tochon, 2009), second language learning is rarely prioritized in internationalization efforts as exemplified in the Model for Comprehensive Internationalization Report by the American Council on Education (ACE, 2013). The purpose of this webinar is to discuss how to raise visibility of your World Language Program in internationalization efforts and to address instructional strategies that prepare U.S. students to become competent world citizens who can communicate with cultural sensitivity across languages other than English.

April 11, 2018

1:00-2:00 pm

2) Communication: The place of pronunciation in beginning-level language classes

Dr. Amanda Huensch, The University of South Florida.

Despite the many potential advantages of incorporating pronunciation instruction into beginning level language classes (e.g., improved listening skills, increased intelligibility, higher motivation and learner satisfaction) pronunciation remains deprioritized. In this webinar, Dr. Huensch will summarize research on the advantages of pronunciation instruction and report on an investigation of teacher beliefs and classroom practices of beginning-level instructors in US university contexts. Dr. Huensch suggests ways in which teacher trainers can enhance training for future/current instructors, and how instructors can implement pronunciation instruction into their regular classroom routines and will conclude by proposing future research priorities in this area.

April 12, 2018

2:00-3:00 pm

3) Communities: Telecollaboration in the World Language Classroom

Dr. Yan Gao

Telecollaboration in the world language classroom has proven to be an effective, motivational, and innovative learning tool. It makes language learning authentic, personal, and fun! Furthermore, telecollaboration assists in breaking down cultural, linguistic, and distance barriers. In this webinar, participants will learn how to develop telecollaboration tasks that are aligned with their chosen course tools. Tasks can differ according to the exchange constellation, the choice between synchronous and asynchronous tools, and the age and level of the students. Participants will learn about specific tools that can be used for telecollaboration and they will discover what choices need to be made in order to develop challenging telecollaboration tasks.

April 25, 2018

1:00-2:00 pm

 

All webinars will be broadcast at the Yamada Language Center, 175 McKenzie. Contact Harinder Khalsa for more information.