CARLA Saturday Language Teacher Workshops: Engaging Students with Language Learning through Technology

Special professional development opportunities for Minnesota language teachers!

Engaging Students with Language Learning through Technology: Focus on the Interpretive Mode

Saturday, February 7, 2015, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Today, authentic materials of all kinds (text, audio, video, infographics, images) that can complement our textbooks are readily available online, but most of them are not constructed with language learners in mind. How do we help our students work with and understand these materials? What kinds of tasks can we create that engage our students and pave the way for them to comprehend and learn from these materials? How can technology help us do this?

We'll talk about some of the pedagogy behind engagement with texts (Interpretive Mode), and then we'll show you some of our favorite tech tools. We would also like to know what you are doing to guide students through online materials. You will have opportunities for sharing your materials as well as for creating interpretive activities in the workshop. Bring an example of an interpretive activity that you have created and some ideas for text engagement that you'd like to create.

Engaging Students with Language Learning through Technology: Focus on the Presentational Mode

Saturday, March 7, 2015, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Technology is providing a number of tools to fuel our creative energy. Most of these tools can be used for presenting ideas and concepts using the target language. What kinds of projects can students complete that demonstrate their communicative competence? Focusing on the presentational mode of communication, this workshop explores a variety of presentational options available through technology.

Audio podcasts, digital stories, posters, brochures, comics, essays, advertisements, reports, video projects - all are options for students to produce presentations. We will introduce free and inexpensive tools your students can use to create effective productions and demonstrate their presentational competence in the target language.

Bring a theme or task you might ask your students to address in creating a multimedia presentation. We will brainstorm together project options that take advantage of various creative tools.

Both workshops are appropriate for foreign language and ESL teachers at all levels and the cost is $30 per workshop. Registration for the Interpretive and Presentational workshops are online only and requires a credit card. The registration fee is non-refundable. There are two location options:

• Face-to-face: Workshop will be held in room in Jones 35. Hourly parking ($3/hour) is available nearby in the Church St. Garage.


• Virtual/synchronous: Limited spaces are available for teachers to participate using their computer at the same time as the face-to-face option. See details required for virtual participation.

Presenters for Both Workshops

• Alyssa Bonnac teaches English as a Second Language in the Minnesota English Language Program at the University of Minnesota. She has given both face-to-face and online workshops about using technology in the language classroom.


• Marlene Johnshoy is the Online Education Program director and web manager for the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition. She has given numerous workshops on many aspects of web-based language teaching and learning.


• Dan Soneson is the Director of the Language Center in the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota. He is currently the managing editor of the IALLT Journal for Language Learning Technologies, and has been a leader in language learning and technology for over 20 years.