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Monday, December 14, 2015

TandemPlus Winter Festival

Tuesday, December 15, 2015
4:00-7:00 p.m.
Nolte 140

Our final event will take place on Tuesday, December 15, 2015, when Tandem and the Minnesota English Language Program (MELP) will host an International Winter Festival in Nolte 140 from 4:00-7:00 p.m. In this dessert potluck, participants are encouraged to bring cultural desserts centered around the winter festival theme! If you can’t bring a dessert, don’t worry; we will have plenty to share.

Monday, December 7, 2015

PACE End of Semester Event and Swap Shop - December 14, 2015

Come celebrate the end of the semester at a two-part event on Monday, December 14! All are welcome, and we hope you can attend one or both portions.

Practices of Developing Intercultural Competence through Online Exchange Programs
10:00-11:30 a.m.
Nicholson 135

Pablo Viedma (Spanish), Carlotta Dradi (Italian), and Sean Killackey (French) will share how they are using online exchange programs in their classes to develop students’ intercultural competence.

Pizza and Success Stories
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Nicholson 135

You are invited to an informal gathering for language instructors. Stop by to share stories from the Fall 2015 semester and enjoy Mesa pizza!

The PACE Project is funded by a grant from The Language Flagship.

Monday, November 30, 2015

TandemPlus Winter Festival & Fall Events

With the TandemPlus Fall session coming to an end, it is time to wrap up the semester with one final event and recap our recent events.

TandemPlus Winter Festival
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
4:00-7:00 p.m.
Nolte 140

Our final event will take place on Tuesday, December 15, 2015, when Tandem and the Minnesota English Language Program (MELP) will host an International Winter Festival in Nolte 140 from 4:00-7:00 p.m. In this dessert potluck, participants are encouraged to bring cultural desserts centered around the winter festival theme! If you can’t bring a dessert, don’t worry; we will have plenty to share.

Looking back, on Thursday, November 19, TandemPlus participated in MISA’s International Bazaar in the Coffman Great Hall. This annual event featured over 30 cultural student groups. The room transformed into a lively, colorful display of culture where students could visit booths and learn more about the rich history and background of each group by viewing unique artifacts presented from various cultures. The Tandem table was staffed by our student officers who gave out carabiners and chocolates. Those who visited our table played a word game in which participants drew an English word out of a hat and had to say the word in another language. The game proved to be very challenging and popular among participants. There were around 700 students in attendance who cycled through the bazaar throughout the night.

The next day, Friday, November 20, TandemPlus hosted our ever-popular Punch Pizza party. Around 50 participants came to enjoy pizza and meet fellow language learners. New partnerships were formed and old friends and partners were also reunited throughout the evening.

Visit our Facebook page to see photos from all of our Fall events!

Monday, November 16, 2015

PACE Swap Shop - Incorporating Critical Thinking Activities in Your Language Class

Monday, November 16, 2015
3:30-4:30 p.m.
Jones 35

In this follow-up to the October 30, 2015 Using Images to Promote Critical Thinking workshop, participants will engage in a conversation about how to incorporate critical thinking through culture in their classroom. Participants are encouraged to bring ideas of how they could implement this in their classroom, as well as the challenges and questions they may encounter in doing so. Warm cookies from Insomnia Cookies and coffee will be served.

Monday, November 9, 2015

TandemPlus Upcoming and Past Events

Cultural Bazaar
Thursday, November 19, 2015
3:00-7:00 p.m.
Coffman Memorial Union, Great Hall

Punch Pizza Party
Friday, November 20, 2015
4:00-7:00 p.m.
Punch Pizza, Washington Ave.

Although Tandem registration will be closing soon, there are still several events taking place before the end of the semester. On Thursday, November 19 Tandem will be tabling at MISA’s annual Cultural Bazaar. Be sure to visit their booth in the Great Hall to say hi and learn more about the group!

Additionally, the famous TandemPlus Punch Pizza party with be held on Friday, November 20 at Punch Pizza on Washington Ave. Come to enjoy great food and great company!

Tandem hopes that you will join them for one or both of these exciting events. Thanks also to those who attended some of the recent Tandem events:
  • On October 23, 2015, Tandem hosted its annual Fall semester kickoff. The event took place in Nolte 140 with roughly 60 participants in attendance. Tandem members gave a short presentation about how Tandem operates, and the attendees were given time to meet and mingle with their fellow language learners. 
  • The International Halloween celebration, a collaboration with MELP, MISA, IBP, PERSISMA and SGSA, took place on October 30, 2015 in the Middlebrook Hall Terrace room with about 180 attendees. Tandem’s student group members manned the Paint a Pumpkin station.

PACE Swap Shop - Incorporating Critical Thinking Activities in Your Language Class

Monday, November 16, 2015
3:30-4:30 p.m.
Jones 35

In this follow-up to the October 30, 2015 Using Images to Promote Critical Thinking workshop, participants will discuss and share ideas about how they can incorporate critical thinking activities using culturally authentic visual images in their language classes. Snacks will be served.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Getting to Know the Multimedia Lab and Development Studio Staff, Fall 2015

Who are the students working in the Multimedia Lab and the Development Studio this semester? Here are some short bios of new and returning staff!

 

Multimedia Lab

Bryce Heller
My name is Bryce, and I am from St. Louis Park Minnesota. I am a sophomore in Civil Engineering. This is my second semester working as a lab attendant. I enjoy working with computers, playing games, and programming.






Dathan Cook
Hello. My name is Dathan Cook. I'm from Eagan, Minnesota and currently commute from there everyday. I'm a junior in the process of changing my major from Computer Science to Ecology, Environment, and Behavior with two minors in both Environment Policy and Conservation Biology. I hope to become a field ecologist working primary with larger cats, but all animals are fascinating to me and getting the chance to work with them everyday is the ultimate goal. Aside from animals I'm also interested in a large variety of things ranging from MMA to HGTV—it's a guilty pleasure—and I've been more open to trying and experiencing new things. This will be my third year working as a lab attendant.


David Hagberg
I'm David Hagberg—you can call me either Dave or David. I'm a Sociology senior who is graduating this fall, unless I decide to take on another degree.  I started working for the lab during the summer term. I'm a massive soccer fan—so much so that I even went to live in Madrid for a semester under the guise of study abroad just to watch a lot of Real Madrid, my favorite team, games. (I know there are a few Barça fans around, but I think if even the Spanish national team can get along we should be able to as well.) I also really like cooking and watch food network in most of my free time. 


Hodan Jama
Hello, my name is Hodan Jama, and I am senior here at the U studying Nutrition. This is my second year in the Multimedia Lab as a lab attendant. I have lived in three different countries, and I currently reside in Burnsville, MN. I love watching true crime shows that usually come on Investigation Discovery. I have two brothers, and I plan to work as a Nutrition Consultant in the near future.



Ibsitue Kadir
Hey everyone! My name is Ibsitue Kadir, and I am working in both the main office as well as the lab a few days a week. I am currently a senior hoping to graduate this spring. I am studying family social science, and I hope to be an elementary school teacher. I was born in Las Vegas, but my family currently lives in Saint Paul. I love to volunteer, especially when it's with children. This is my first semester here in the Language Center.


Development Studio

Emma Hage
Hallå! My name is Emma, and I'm a sophomore studying linguistics. This is my second year working at the Language Center; I also work as a writing consultant in Nicholson and keep busy as an editor for the U of M's literary magazine, Ivory Tower. My perfect day involves a curling up with my four cats and a good piece of nonfiction. I also love learning languages and eating French toast.

CIC CourseShare: An Opportunity for Exchange

The University of Minnesota is once again collaborating with several other universities to provide culture and less commonly-taught language (LCTL) courses through teleconferencing and other digital means, a project funded by the Committee on Institutional Collaboration (CIC) CourseShare program.

In the past, UMN has only received courses from other institutions. However, this fall it is hosting a Beginning Ojibwe course and “Language and Society of Two Koreas.”

“It’s pretty exciting,” says the Language Center’s CourseShare Coordinator Pablo Viedma, “because we’ve kind of been ‘mean’ participants in CourseShare. We’ve received and haven’t offered [courses]. But now, we’re hoping to share more.”

Among the language and culture courses offered by other institutions are: Persian, Vietnamese, and Yoruba (at the beginning levels); Advanced Turkish; “Islam in Africa;” “Theories and Methods of Learning a Less Commonly-Taught Language;” and “Intro to Korean History.” Students enrolled in these courses meet in Jones Hall, where they interact with their class—taking place several hundred miles away—via videoconferencing.

With a total of nine classes being received through the program this semester, Viedma says the university is at its limit.

“We talk about offering more courses. Even if we wanted [to], we don’t have the room, and this is kind of stretching us to capacity.”

These courses, though small in their numbers, provide opportunity for students to study a less-commonly-taught language or culture that is interesting or of value to them.

“Most students don’t take [the classes] for filling the CLA requirements,” says Viedma. “They take it just for fun or because they want to travel.”

Jack Kreiser, a former CIC CourseShare student, studied the Indonesian language for several semesters before recently accepting a scholarship to study for a year at STIE Malangkucecwara, a university in Malang, Indonesia. Following a summer-long intensive language course in 2014, Jack connected with the CLA Language Center in order to make the language available for study at UMN through CIC CourseShare.

“I’d like to see more Americans studying critical languages to help build relationships with other parts of the world,” he says, “so I figure I should probably study one myself.”

According to the Modern Language Association, less than 300 students in the United States study Indonesian at the university-level each year. In an effort to promote education of its culture and foster relationships with other countries, the Indonesian government offers generous scholarships for international students who are interested in the culture to study in Indonesia. After learning he was a recipient of this grant, Jack is taking a short leave-of-absence from UMN to study at STIE.

Jack enjoys using Indonesian in his everyday life.

“All of my classes are taught in Indonesian. I talk to my classmates in Indonesian. I text with my Indonesian friends in Indonesian. I have to use Indonesian when I buy my meals or whenever I go to the store,” he says. “I still run into trouble once in a while when I don’t know what other people are saying, but I can usually understand after requesting for further explanation and asking a question or two.”

These interactions are of great benefit to Jack, who hopes to achieve fluency in Indonesian.

“Last year I really wanted to be able to communicate more freely in Indonesian, moving beyond simple dialogues from my textbook,” he says. “While practicing these dialogues helps build the fundamentals of understanding language and culture, it can only prepare you for so many situations. [...] Being able to properly communicate in a new setting by constructing new sentences and interacting with people in a non-scripted manner is essential in anybody’s language learning process.”

Without CourseShare, Jack says, he would have likely forgotten or not used the Indonesian language after his intensive summer program, so he is glad to have been able to access the course through the Language Center and CIC. Jack is especially grateful for this opportunity to experience life in Indonesia.

“The country is truly fascinating in so many ways and is like a cultural goldmine. [It] consists of thousands of islands with hundreds of different ethnic groups, each with their own unique arts, history, traditions, and local languages with Indonesian serving as the lingua franca for inter-ethnic communication.
“I find it sad that we live in a society that knows so little about Indonesia and many other countries that make up much of the world and its people—especially countries that get ignored simply because they are less developed. I’d like to use my experience to help raise awareness about other parts of the world that most Americans don’t hear much about.”

If you are interested in CourseShare and would like more information, please contact CourseShare Coordinator Pablo Viedma at viedma@umn.edu, or visit the Language Center’s CIC CourseShare webpage.

Monday, October 26, 2015

TandemPlus: Meet the Officers & Halloween Party this Friday

TandemPlus is now an official student group! This means that TandemPlus is recognized and listed among the University of Minnesota Student Union and Activities (SUA)’s many Student Groups. We have five elected student officers who will help with all facets of Tandem, including event planning, budgeting, and outreach across campus and beyond. Visit the Language Center blog to read some introductions and learn more about these student officers.

You can also meet them in person at their upcoming Halloween party, co-sponsored by MELP, MISA, IBP, and SGSA, on Friday, October 30, 6:00–9:00 p.m. in the Middlebrook Hall Terrace Room.

Enjoy a wide variety of haunting halloween games including face painting, mini pumpkin painting, 'Name the Monster', Halloween Trivia and much, much more! Halloween snacks and desserts will also be served, so come prepared to satisfy your sweet tooth!

Meet the TandemPlus Student Officers

TandemPlus is now an official student group! This means that TandemPlus is recognized and listed among the University of Minnesota Student Union and Activities (SUA)’s many Student Groups. We have elected five student officers who will help with all facets of Tandem, including event planning, budgeting, and outreach across campus and beyond. Here are some introductions to learn more about these student officers.

Lucas Van, President:
Lucas was born in Minnesota, the son of Vietnamese immigrants who fled from Vietnam in the 60s. He is the eldest of five brothers and sisters. Lucas spent most of his childhood and youth in Brooklyn Park, which is a suburb of Minneapolis. In 2008, he graduated from Champlin Park High School with high honors and soon matriculated at the University of St. Thomas. He spent three years at St. Thomas studying Mandarin Chinese. He was involved with an international student organization, Globally Minded Students Organization and was also an Air Force cadet. In 2011, he decided to make a major change in his life and joined the Minnesota National Guard. For nearly two years he trained at Fort Jackson and Fort Leonard Wood. In October 2012, he returned to Minnesota and soon transferred to the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, where he decided to major in Asian Languages and Literature at the College of Liberal Arts, and also joined the local Army ROTC battalion as a cadet.  In Spring 2014 he was accepted as a member of the first cohort of students to participate in the new approved Chinese Flagship Program, which is a national initiative of the National Security program within in the Department of Defense that leads the nation in designing, supporting, and implementing advanced language education. This choice has delayed his graduation which was originally planned for 2015 to 2017; however, Lucas stands fast with this choice, and he believes that further education will better prepare him for future service in the Army and ultimately to better serve his country. He hopes and plans to one day serve as a Foreign Service Officer in the US Department of State.


Lucas signed up to as an officer of TandemPlus because he believes in the importance of understanding languages of the different peoples of this world. He hopes that he can make a TandemPlus a organization where everyone can feels welcome to share their culture, learn about others' cultures, and promote and facilitate language learning.


Beatriz Fusco, Vice President:
Beatriz is a graduate student studying linguistics. A native speaker of Portuguese, she also speaks English and Spanish, and is learning Arabic. Being a part of TandemPlus is important to her because she is interested in learning more about different cultures and wants to practice her language skills.


Ashley Lynch, Events Coordinator:
Ashley is a senior pursuing a major in global studies and minors in anthropology, history, and mass communication. She currently speaks English and French and is learning Italian, Arabic, and Hindi. Ashley is a part of TandemPlus to practice her speaking abilities—and to learn some slang!


Yu Yan, Secretary:
Yu is a senior studying psychology. A native speaker of Chinese, she is part of TandemPlus to make more friends and to learn about different cultures.


SoEun Shin, Treasurer:
SoEun is a junior studying journalism. As an international student from South Korea and a native speaker of Korean, SoEun hopes to get more practice with her English-speaking during her time in TandemPlus.


You will be seeing these board members throughout the year at our events, so be sure to say hi and ask them any questions! You can officially meet them at our upcoming Halloween party in the Middlebrook Terrace Room on October 30, 6:00–9:00 p.m. This event is co-sponsored by MELP, MISA, IBP and SGSA.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the TandemPlus staff at tandem@umn.edu, or stop by our office in Jones Hall 135A.

Monday, October 19, 2015

PACE Project Featured in CLA Research Video

Carol Klee, Spanish and Portuguese Studies faculty member, represented the PACE Project in a short CLA video highlighting the many research projects and creative activities of the past year.

The University of Minnesota is one of fewer than 100 universities in the country designated as "R-1," with a mission that includes both the importance of teaching and the priority of creating new knowledge. As the only liberal arts college in Minnesota with a research-intensive mission and with faculty who are widely recognized leaders in their fields, CLA is a unique place for scholars and students who are driven to discover.

The PACE Project is funded by a grant from The Language Flagship.

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Getting the Know the Classroom Support Staff, Fall 2015

Who are the students working in Classroom Support this fall? Here are some short bios of new and returning staff!


Alli Shaw
Hello! My name is Alli and this is my 4th year here at the Language Center. I am a senior majoring in Psychology and will go on to master in Occupational Therapy. I studied Spanish for several years and am currently in my final semester of learning American Sign Language. I was abroad in Argentina for a semester but I am excited to be back working CS. In my free time I enjoy playing soccer, piano, going camping, and anything that includes the outdoors!  


Anna Sisombat  
Sabaidee! My name is Anna, and I’m from Marshall, MN. This is my fourth year of college but second year here at the U and at the Language Center. I’m currently a French major, and I had the opportunity to travel to France for three and a half weeks with my previous college. I speak English, Laotian, and French. In my free time, I play video games, disc golf, eat delicious food, and take road trips to visit family members! À bientôt! 



Chris Michaels
Hello! My name is Chris Michaels, and I am from Monticello, MN. I’m a senior majoring in journalism, and I have been studying Japanese for about four years now.  Most of my free time is spent watching or playing sports and hanging out with friends.

  





Keerthana Shankar
Hello, there! My name is Keerthana Shankar and I am in my fifth year majoring in Asian Language and Literature with a focus in Korean. I was born in Saudi Arabia to two Indian parents, so I am technically still considered Indian. My native tongue is called Tamil, a South Indian language. In my free time, I am usually drawing or watching youtubers play video/PC games. I am on the board of the Minnesota International Student Association (MISA) and am really passionate about benefitting the international student population. I would love to see you at our events!


Lauren Otto
Hello! My name is Lauren, and I am a sophomore here at the U studying English and Journalism. This is my second year in Classroom Support at the Language Center. I am interested in travel writing, blogging, international news, and nonprofit work. I enjoy reading, writing, adventures, food, and being outside.





Maxine Kobinski
Hello! My name is Maxine and I am currently finishing out my last semester here at the university. I have worked in the Language Center in some way, shape, or form for about three years now. I am a German and Linguistics double major with a TESL minor, and I hope to go to grad school in the future to take courses in becoming a speech-language pathologist (AKA speech therapist). I like kayaking, reading, and going on travel adventures!



Mohamed Abulyusr
Hey, my name is Mohamed and I’m a junior studying Economics, Mathematics, and Business Management. I’m from Orange County, California. I speak Arabic fluently. I can also keep a decent conversation in both French and German. I do a lot of things in my free time such as: swimming, playing soccer, watching TV shows, video games, and going out with friends. I love working here, and I think that everybody is awesome!


Shoua Thao
Nyob zoo! Hi, my name is Shoua Thao and I am a senior this year at the University of Minnesota pursuing a Bachelors of Individualized Studies in Mass Communication, Political Science, and Design minor.  As you might have guessed, I am a native Hmong-speaker, and I learned two years of Korean during my first two years here at the UMN.  In my free time, I love to play flag football and volleyball and hang out with friends. 

 
  
Taylor Miller
안녕하세요! My name is Taylor and I’m a Minnesotan, born and raised. I’m a junior at the U majoring in Youth Studies with a minor in Teaching English as a Second Language (ESL). I’m hoping to teach in South Korea one day, and I’m learning Korean to prepare for that. I also know a little Spanish and went to Costa Rica with my high school class in 2011. In my free time I enjoy watching movies, drinking bubble tea, and playing board games.


Monday, October 12, 2015

New PD Opportunity: Call-In Talk Show on Thursdays

Thursdays, beginning October 15, 2015
2:00-3:00 p.m.
Jones 117

Are you interested in a different form of professional development? Come to the Language Center for a call-in talk show about language education with Dr. Bill Van Patten from Michigan State University beginning this Thursday.

Do you ever listen to talk shows? Have you ever called into one? If not, you will want to read on and learn about an exciting and fun new show called “Tea with BVP.” Sponsored by the Center for Language Teaching Advancement (CeLTA) at Michigan State University, this is *the* call-in talk show for all those interested in second language acquisition and language teaching.

Bill VanPatten and his co-hosts, Angelika Kraemer and Walter Hopkins, field questions live on the air about language, language acquisition, language teaching, and any other topics callers and emailers bring to them. With Bill’s comedic background, it’s a funny and engaging way to look at issues that are relevant in our field.

Each week Tea with BVP will post different but often related topics to entice the listener to call in. On occasion, the show includes prominent guests who bring their own personalities and takes on the issues under consideration. To tune in, and to find out how you can call in from your own office, ask questions, and/or suggest topics, sign up at https://billvanpatten.wordpress.com/. You can also contact Tea with BVP on Twitter at @teawithbvp.

The Tea with BVP team adds, “we want as much audience participation as possible so don’t be shy. Check us out and call in! We are waiting to hear from you!”

The shows will be broadcast from Jones 117. Because the Language Center has a coffee pot and not a tea pot, coffee will be served in place of tea.

Dr. VanPatten is internationally known for his work in second language acquisition and second language instruction, with special emphases on input processing, processing and parsing more generally, the interface between input processing and acquisition, morpho-syntactic relationships, and instructed SLA. He has published six books, seven edited volumes, six language textbooks, and 100 articles and book chapters. Two of his articles are listed in the top ten citations for articles in Studies in Second Language Acquisition and he has received local and national awards.

Spanish Certificate: New Video for Students

The Language Center and the Department of Spanish and Portuguese have produced a new orientation video for students interesting in pursuing the Certificate of Advanced Level Proficiency in Spanish.

Eligible students interested in completing the certificate during Fall 2015 may complete the Self Assessment and submit a Critical Reflection Essay by October 16, 2015.

Please contact Spanish and Portuguese Advising at spadvise@umn.edu with questions about the certificate not answered by the video or FAQ.

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

PACE Workshop: Using Images as a Cultural Product and for Critical Analysis

October 30, 2015
1:30-4:30 p.m.
Recreation and Wellness Center, Beacon Room
Register online by October 23, 2015

Presented by Gwen Barnes-Karol & Maggie Broner, St. Olaf College.

This hands-on workshop will include an overview of theoretical considerations that can guide foreign language instructors in curricular planning, as well as a selection of activities using images as a point of departure towards greater student understanding of the target culture. The presenters will share materials they have created and used successfully with their own students.

Instructors attending are encouraged to come with a future unit in mind and bring a current textbook.

The PACE Project is funded by a grant from The Language Flagship.

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Kate Clements to Plan PACE Professional Development Events

TandemPlus and Multimedia Lab Coordinator, Kate Clements, has assumed responsibility for the planning and implementation of PACE Professional Development events while the position held by Caroline Vang is open. Please welcome Kate to her new role. You can reach her at cleme050@umn.edu if you have any questions or ideas about upcoming events.

The PACE Project is funded by a grant from The Language Flagship.

Monday, September 21, 2015

Language Center Staff Changes

Professional Development and Classroom Support Specialist, Caroline Vang is leaving her position at the Language Center. Her last day will be Friday, September 25, 2015. Caroline has accepted a position at Minneapolis Public School’s District Office as a Training Specialist. She will work with instructors of all subjects and staff employees who work for Minneapolis Public Schools, developing and organizing workshops and conferences.

Caroline started at the Language Center as a graduate student in 2013, and moved to the continuing Professional Development and Classroom Support Specialist position less than a year later. She was instrumental to the success of the first year of the PACE Project. She was the primary coordinator of all of the professional development events associated with the grant. In fact, she will be facilitating a PACE workshop on her very last day! She also initiated a summer reading group called Pedagogical Innovations Reading Group (PIRG) to provide a free summer professional development opportunity for all language instructors.

Caroline will be remembered as an excellent recruiter of undergraduate staff and an advocate for students. We will also miss her friendly, empathetic and positive personality.

Caroline says that she will miss being at the cozy Language Center, as well as the staff and instructional team at the Language Center who supported her from the very beginning!

We are pleased to announce that Jonathan Prestrud has agreed to serve as an interim Classroom Support Coordinator while Caroline’s position is unfilled. Jonathan has experience working in many roles at the Language Center; he served as the TandemPlus Assistant, Classroom Support Staff, Multimedia Lab Attendant, and as a Test Proctor. He is excited to be back to step in, help out, and be part of the team again.

TandemPlus Kickoff Event and Fall Registration

Wednesday, September 23, 2015
4:00-6:00 p.m.
Nolte 140

The TandemPlus Orientation is our first event of the semester, and it is open to all TandemPlus registrants as well as interested students and community members. At the event, participants will be able to meet other Tandem folk (including officers and participants), play language-based board games, learn about TandemPlus, and enjoy free food and refreshments. It’s a great way to start the semester!

Remember, fall registration for TandemPlus is currently open. Anyone who wants a second-language partner can register at tandem.umn.edu. Interested parties should register early so they can get a partner soon and start conversing.

Monday, September 14, 2015

PACE Project: Fall 2014 Final Report Available

Each semester, data from the PACE Project is sent to the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) in Washington, DC, for analysis. For each individual student tested, the data includes the ratings on the three ACTFL tests (Speaking, Reading, and Listening), Self-Assessment responses and ratings, and information on language background and use culled from the PACE survey and PeopleSoft.

The research questions the report seeks to answer:
  1. What levels of proficiency do students demonstrate at which course levels in which languages?
  2. Do students in higher level courses demonstrate higher levels of proficiency than students in lower levels?
  3. Are there patterns in responses on surveys and proficiency scores?
  4. Are there correlations between self-assessments and actual ratings?
  5. What factors contribute to advanced proficiency in study abroad experiences (given a sufficiently robust sample)?

The final report on assessments conducted during Fall 2014 is now available.

The PACE Project is funded by a grant from The Language Flagship.

TandemPlus is now a Student Group!

It’s officially official: TandemPlus is now a student group! This means that TandemPlus is recognized and listed among the University of Minnesota Student Union and Activities (SUA)’s many Student Groups. We have adopted a constitution and have elected five student officers who will help with all facets of Tandem, including event planning, budgeting, and outreach across campus and beyond. Tandem is still housed at the Language Center, and has a coordinator and assistant who are staff of the Language Center. Becoming an official student group simply means that more people will know about Tandem through SUA, and Tandem can collaborate with different groups in an increased capacity.

The 2015-2016 TandemPlus officers are:
  • Lucas Van: President
  • Beatriz Fusco Nogueira Simoes: Vice President
  • Ashley Lynch: Events Coordinator
  • Yu Yan: Secretary
  • So Eun Shin: Treasurer

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Language Center Staff Changes

The Language Center is pleased to welcome the following staff who are either working in a new role or are brand new to the department:

  • Shannon Roach is the new Graduate Assistant Coordinator. Shannon is originally from New York, and has come to the University of Minnesota to pursue the MA degree in Second Languages and Cultures with a specialization in English as a Second Language for Higher Education. Her academic background includes BA degrees in Music, and French. In her spare time, she enjoys playing piano, rock climbing, running, and yoga. 
  • Anna Olivero-Agney has a new role as the Language Assessment Specialist. She works with all language programs to facilitate the process of language assessment, including traditional, alternative and self-assessment. She is now the best first contact for instructors interested in developing a new assessment or refining an existing assessment.
  • Andie Wang, a CEHD PhD. candidate who has worked on several test development projects at the Language Center, will serve this year as an Intercultural Competence Specialist. She will advise and collaborate with language instructors to articulate the role that intercultural competence plays in language classes, and help instructors and staff integrate areas of cultural competence into existing assessment projects.
We also wish bon voyage to Rick Treece, who is leaving the Language Center after eighteen years as the liaison to French and Italian. The multi-talented Rick was the most fun, interesting and warm-hearted colleague imaginable. Rick always put students first. He attended almost every TandemPlus event and worked one-on-one with any student who requested his help. Rick would also collaborate on any project. If you asked Rick for his advice, he would always come up with a creative solution. Rick leaves us with many memories, and also his collection of cow-themed memorabilia.

PACE Project: Teaching Listening and Reading Workshop

Friday, September 25, 2015
9:00-11:00 a.m.
Location TBA
Register Online by Friday, September 18, 2015

Presented by Erwin Tschirner, Professor at the Herder-Institut in Germany & ACTFL test developer. Dr. Tschirner is co-author of the beginning German textbook Kontakte: A Communicative Approach, and has been involved in proficiency-based test development and implementation. He is conducting a large scale study on ACTFL listening and reading tests in a variety of languages, and in this presentation/workshop will provide suggestions for addressing listening and reading in the language curriculum and helping students improve their proficiency in these modalities.

The PACE Project is funded by a grant from The Language Flagship.

Monday, August 31, 2015

New CIC Courseshare Courses: Islam and Africa & Turkish

Please let your students know about two new courses that are open for Registration for Fall 2015:

Islam in Africa: Students may register from the following three course numbers: AFRO 3920-001, GLOS 3900-002 and RELS 3070-001. This course is offered from the University of Michigan and is open to UMN students as well as students from the University of Iowa.

It is well known that Islam is the majority religion in Africa north of the Sahara; this part of Africa is, in the West, often detached from Africa and assimilated to ‘the Middle East’ or ‘the Arab World.’ It is much less well known that today Islam may be the most widely professed faith south of the desert, in what westerners have often called ‘Black Africa’, as well. Roughly 1/6th of the world’s Muslim population can be found in sub Saharan Africa. How did this come to be? How has the adoption of Islam by Africans shaped their history? And, conversely, how have Africans shaped Islam? One goal of this course is to begin to provide answers to these questions. We will examine African Islamic history beginning with the earliest Muslim migrants from Arabia to Ethiopia in the early 7th century CE until the dawn of the 21st century.
Students may contact Nabil Matar at matar010@umn.edu with questions.

TURK 1001 Beginning Turkish 1: This course is offered from UW-Madison, which has one of the oldest Turkish language programs in the country.

Students may contact Pablo Viedma at viedma@umn.edu with questions.

Monday, August 24, 2015

Language Center Check Out System

The Language Center has moved to a centralized system for checking out media and equipment called WebCheckout. We hope that the transition to this new system will be seamless for language instructors and students.

A couple of changes you may see include:
  • When you come to check items out, Language Center staff will ask you for your email address, as this is the fastest way to find instructors and students in the system.
  • If you reserve media and equipment in advance, the confirmation emails you receive will look different, and they will include no personalization.
  • You may receive automatic, non-personalized emails about upcoming reservations, checkouts or when items are overdue. If you have questions about any of these emails, please forward them to elsie@umn.edu.

We ask for your patience with the main office staff as they become acclimated to this new system.

The system for reserving rooms is unchanged.

PACE Project: Major Workshops and Events Fall 2015

The PACE PD Peer and PACE Admin Teams are pleased to announce three major workshops for Fall 2015. In addition, smaller events may be scheduled once the semester is in session. We hope that you will be able to attend these events!

Advanced Oral Proficiency & Communities of Practice

Thursday, September 3, 2015
9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Northrop, Founders Room
Register Online by Tuesday, August 24, 2015

A two-part workshop presented by Judith Liskin-Gasparro & Kris Gorman. Please note that registration is required and ends this Tuesday and the event is almost at capacity.

Teaching Listening and Reading

Friday, September 25, 2015
9:00-11:00 am.
Location TBA
Register Online by Friday, September 18, 2015

Presented by Erwin Tschirner, Professor at the Herder-Institut in Germany & ACTFL test developer. Dr. Tschirner is co-author of the beginning German textbook Kontakte: A Communicative Approach, and has been involved in proficiency-based test development and implementation. He is conducting a large scale study on ACTFL listening and reading tests in a variety of languages, and in this presentation/workshop will provide suggestions for addressing listening and reading in the language curriculum and helping students improve their proficiency in these modalities.


Using Images as a Cultural Product and for Critical Analysis

Friday, October 30, 2015
1:30-4:30 p.m.
Location TBA
Register Online by Friday, October 23, 2015

Presented by Gwen Barnes-Karol & Maggie Broner, St. Olaf College. This workshop will include an overview of theoretical considerations that can guide foreign language instructors in curricular planning, as well as a selection of activities using images as a point of departure towards greater student understanding of the target culture. The presenters will share materials they have created and used successfully with their own students.

The PACE Project is funded by a grant from The Language Flagship.

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

PACE Project Workshop: Advanced Oral Proficiency & Communities of Practice

Thursday, September 3, 2015
9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Northrop, Founders Room
Register Online by Tuesday, August 24, 2015


All CLA language instructors are invited to a two-part Professional Development event during the Thursday of Welcome Week. This event is co-sponsored by the PACE Project and the Department of Spanish and Portuguese.

Oral Proficiency at the Advanced-Level: 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m
Judith Liskin-Gasparro, recently retired from the University of Iowa, will lead a workshop on targeting oral proficiency at the advanced level, especially in content courses. Her examples will be in Spanish, but the content will be beneficial to instructors of all languages. This workshop is especially recommended for instructors who currently teach upper-division courses or are interested in doing so in the future.

Lunch: 12:00 to 1:30 p.m.
This will be an opportunity for graduate students, P&A instructors, and faculty to mingle and talk about the workshop and the PACE Project.

Communities of Practice: 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
Kris Gorman from the Center for Educational Innovation (CEI) will guide us through the formation of Communities of Practice among language instructors. The goal of this workshop is to provide a space where instructors can brainstorm areas for investigation and inquiry regarding the practice of language teaching, and to create “Communities of Practice” around specific themes. The groups will set expectations and schedules for pursuing their common interest throughout the year.

The deadline to register online is Tuesday, August 24. we hope that you can come! If you have any questions regarding the workshop, you can contact Caroline Vang at cevang@umn.edu.

The PACE Project is funded by a grant from The Language Flagship.

Updated Pedagogical Innovations Reading Group (PIRG) article

The main article to be discussed during the next Pedagogical Innovations Reading Group (PIRG) meeting this Thursday, August 13 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. has been changed. The new article is Maite Correa’s article about flipped classes. To learn more about what we do at our PIRG meetings, please contact Caroline Vang at cevang@umn.edu.

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Language Center Staff News

Rachel Sherman Johnson has left her position as the graduate Language Center Assistant Coordinator to accept an internship in the Center for International and Cultural Education at Gustavus Adolphus College, her undergraduate alma mater. This new position aligns well with her academic research interests and professional goals. She remains enrolled in her PhD program in Comparative and International Development Education here at the University of Minnesota, and plans to defend her dissertation, “Creative Minds Abroad: How Students in Design Majors Make Meaning of Their International Education Experiences,” in Spring 2016.

Rachel made invaluable contributions to the Language Center during her two years in the position. In addition to serving as the supervisor of the main office staff and operations, she brought her academic experiences and communication skills to many projects across the department, including data analysis for the PACE Project, brainstorming ideas for Languages Across the Curriculum integration, and forging connections with language units outside of CLA. We will miss her warm and compassionate personality, her passion for language education and student service, and her ability to collaborate thoughtfully on any project.

The search for a new graduate Assistant Coordinator is in progress.

Pedagogical Innovations Reading Group (PIRG): a forum for language instructors

Thursday, August 13, 2015
12:00-1:00 p.m.
Jones 35

The next Pedagogical Innovations Reading Group (PIRG) meeting will be Thursday, August 13 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Jones 35. A detailed description of this reading group is available in a previous posting about our first meeting, held at the beginning of June. Next week’s PIRG discussion will be on Shelly McCallum, et al.’s article about flipped classes. To learn more about what we do at our PIRG meetings, please contact Caroline Vang at cevang@umn.edu.

Monday, July 27, 2015

Report from the Pedagogical Innovations Reading Group (PIRG)

We had a smaller group for the latest PIRG meeting, held on July 22, 2015. But despite the small group, we had a lively conversation around Timothy O’Connell et al.’s article, “Students’ Appropriation, Rejection, and Perceptions of Creativity in Reflective Journals” (International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 2015).

After assessing 42 reflective journals from undergraduate students at an Australian university, O’Connell et al. concluded that promoting creativity through these reflective journal assignments led students to a “deep approach” to learning. Within this “deep approach,” students engage meaningfully with the subject matter as they use their critical thinking skills. O’Connell et al. listed four conditions that they believe are necessary ingredients for creativity to be fostered in an individual: relevance, ownership of knowledge, having control of the learning process, and innovation. In this study, the students who demonstrated creativity submitted reflective journals that were high in these four factors as compared to those who resorted to a simple “word processing assignment.”

The necessity for “creativity” to be included in an assignment’s rubric evoked varied responses from PIRG members during our discussion. The authors’ definition of creativity was questioned, and each member chimed in with their own observations of students’ creativity in an assignment and how they would assess creativity. Some members also questioned if creativity was necessary for learning. Would it still be possible for students to be critical thinkers in a standard notebook journal assignment with meaningful guiding questions? Or would it make a difference to add “creativity” to the rubric? PIRG members described various assignments in their courses that required creativity in language learning (e.g., having students create their own story following the traditional storytelling style of the target culture, weekly audio journals, etc.).

If you’re interested in joining our PIRG meetings, we will be meeting again on Thursday, August 13 from 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. in Jones 35. This will be our last PIRG meeting for the summer! To learn more about what we do at our PIRG meetings, please contact Caroline Vang at cevang@umn.edu.

TandemPlus Summer Events

The summer TandemPlus program is in full swing, we are hosting many events to allow participants to meet each other and use their language skills in a fun, relaxing way.

On July 20, 2015 TandemPlus and the Arabic program co-sponsored an Eid Lunch to celebrate Eid al-Fitr and the end of Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting. Approximately 14 Arabic learners and 14 native Arabic speakers, along with staff from the Arabic Department, TandemPlus, and MELP, enjoyed a lunch of falafel, chicken shawirma, tabouli, hummus and other treats from Wally’s Falfel in Dinkytown. Beautiful Arabic music played, students learned about the new Arabic Language & Literature Club (UALLC), and many new conversation partnerships were made.

The next TandemPlus event is next Tuesday, August 4 at Punch Pizza in Stadium Village, from 3:30-5:30 p.m. Stop by for some pizza and meet new and old friends. This event is open to all TandemPlus participants, paired or unpaired. It’s a great way to wrap up the semester. See you there!

Summer registration will close on Friday, July 31. If you are looking for a foreign language conversation partner, register today at tandem.umn.edu.

Monday, July 20, 2015

Pedagogical Innovations Reading Group (PIRG): a forum for language instructors


Wednesday, July 22, 2015
12:00-1:00 p.m.
Jones 35

The next Pedagogical Innovations Reading Group (PIRG) meeting will be Wednesday, July 22 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Jones 35. A detailed description of this reading group is available in a previous posting about our first meeting, held at the beginning of June. Next week’s PIRG discussion will be on Timothy S. O’Connell, et al.’s article about academic reflective journals. To learn more about what we do at our PIRG meetings, please contact Caroline Vang at cevang@umn.edu.

TandemPlus Arabic Event


Monday, July 20, 2015
12:00-1:30 p.m.
Nicholson 115

On Monday July 20, 2015 the Arabic Language Program and TandemPlus are co-sponsoring an Eid Lunch! For those of you who aren't familiar with the Muslim holiday, it is a widely celebrated day marking the end of the month of fasting, Ramadan. We will have music, a henna artist and most importantly traditional Arab food catered from Wally’s Falafel and Hummus in Dinkytown. Everyone is invited to this event - you do not need to be an Arabic speaker or learner.

Monday, June 29, 2015

Pedagogical Innovations Reading Group (PIRG) Report

The Pedagogical Innovations Reading Group met on Wednesday, June 24, 2015 to discuss listening strategies in a second language course through Michael Yeldham and Paul Gruba’s article “The development of individual learners in an L2 listening strategies course” (Language Teaching Research, 2014).

Yeldham and Gruba followed four low-proficiency English learners at a Taiwanese university who voluntarily enrolled in a lunch-hour course to improve their listening comprehension. During the first week, the listening strategies course introduced students to a “menu” of listening strategies. Subsequent meetings were used to practice the strategies, which were embedded in the class listening texts (“embedded” approach). During the listening practices, students could choose the strategy they felt was most beneficial for them. This embedded approach fostered a more student-centered environment that encouraged students to self-monitor their learning process.

The study measured the students’ listening proficiency before, during, and after the course, using quantitative (e.g., vocabulary level tests, listening tests, etc.) and qualitative (e.g., journal entries, verbal reports, questionnaires, etc.) measures to gather data. Results showed that by the end of the course, students had improved overall in their use of listening strategies and in their motivation towards language learning. The researchers noted that students were using a variety of listening strategies in a more balanced fashion, were using more metacognitive strategies, and were more persistent regarding challenging listening tasks and extracurricular activities (e.g., watching difficult English movies, etc.). Also notable was one student’s improvement in her comprehension monitoring to identify and correct her faulty hypothesis about a text’s content.

The question remains whether or not other factors such as concurrent English courses and previous knowledge base of listening strategies could have influenced the students’ test scores. The reading group also noted that, unfortunately, the article did not cover the teaching methods utilized by the instructor during the listening strategies course.

However, through our discussion, different instructors were able to share from their own curriculum regarding how they have used the direct and/or embedded approach to teach listening skills at lower levels. An instructor shared about her experience with peer-to-peer discussions based on a listening text, which was followed by a discussion about having students create transcriptions of their own self-recorded speeches to raise self-awareness of areas of improvement and strength.

To learn more about what we do at our PIRG meetings, please contact Caroline Vang at cevang@umn.edu.