World Languages Day begins accepting Applications of Interest on January 17th, 2012!
What is an Application of Interest and why do we require it? Read on!
The origins of a fun language and culture event:
Interest from high school teachers to bring their students to attending World Languages Day has been growing ever since the event debuted in 2004. On the day of the event, approximately 1000 high school students visit the University of Minnesota campus to take three mini-courses on foreign language-related topics. Most of the courses are introductory and interactive and help get participants excited about continuing their study of a current language, or learning a new language.
Overwhelming popularity:
In 2009, after 1600 students enrolled for an event intended for 1000 students, we decided that we needed a new registration system. In 2010, we debuted the Application of Interest, along with a two-step registration process.
Organizing enrollment:
This January, interested teachers are invited to submit an Application of Interest to bring their students to attend the 2012 event. This application includes a short summary of the reasons they wish to bring their group to the event. If more teachers submit applications than we can accommodate, the planning committee selects which groups to invite. The goal is to bring as much geographic, linguistic and cultural diversity to the event as possible. We also give priority to schools who are underrepresented at the U of M and we place emphasis on sophomore-level classes, to ensure that we are reaching the best possible audience. Any groups that we are not initially able to accommodate are placed on a waiting list, and we are often able to invite some schools from the wait list.
In addition to the approximately 1000 students who attend the event in person, we will also accommodate some schools who wish to attend the event virtually and participate in interactive online classes.
This year's event is scheduled for May 15, 2012 and we will be accepting Applications of Interest from January 17 through January 31, 2012 at http://worldlang.cla.umn.edu/.
High school teachers on our email list have received a user name and password for the Application of Interest, and the application link will go live on Tuesday, January 17.
For more information about the event, please visit our website: worldlang.cla.umn.edu
or contact Stephanie Treat at treat002@umn.edu.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Monday, January 9, 2012
Reserve Films and the DCL
Instructors: If you have films from your personal collection that you would like to share with students, the Language Center will place your films on reserve for students to check out and view in Jones Hall. However, many students find the necessity of viewing the films during business hours restrictive. We strongly encourage you to consider the Digital Content Library (DCL) as an alternative to placing films on reserve in Jones Hall.
In the case of subtitled films, the readability of the digitized version may be insufficient for some students, and in those cases, you may consider both putting the film on reserve, and having it digitized through the DCL.
You can check the DCL catalog and view films at: http://dcl.umn.edu/, and learn more about this service at Elsie Speaks.
In the case of subtitled films, the readability of the digitized version may be insufficient for some students, and in those cases, you may consider both putting the film on reserve, and having it digitized through the DCL.
You can check the DCL catalog and view films at: http://dcl.umn.edu/, and learn more about this service at Elsie Speaks.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Rachel Says Goodbye
After working for the Language Center on and off ever since I was a Freshman undergrad in 2003, I will be leaving the office in mid-January to pursue a full-time position as the French Coordinator for a non-profit educational organization, called Intercultural Student Experiences. I am excited about this opportunity, but I am sad to leave the Language Center, especially in the middle of World Languages Day planning. This was my second year as primary coordinator for World Languages Day, but I have helped out with the event dating back to its debut in 2004. However, I have no doubt that World Languages Day 2012 will be a success; Stephanie Treat, the previous primary coordinator, will continue planning as usual.
I have enjoyed the opportunity to work with all the staff, volunteers and participants of World Languages Day and I hope to cross paths again with you in the future.
If you have any questions or concerns about this year's event, please contact Stephanie Treat at WLD@umn.edu or at 612-626-6017
Thanks so much everyone!
Rachel Faynik Marbell
I have enjoyed the opportunity to work with all the staff, volunteers and participants of World Languages Day and I hope to cross paths again with you in the future.
If you have any questions or concerns about this year's event, please contact Stephanie Treat at WLD@umn.edu or at 612-626-6017
Thanks so much everyone!
Rachel Faynik Marbell
Thursday, December 15, 2011
TandemPlus News
On Friday, December 2, TandemPlus hosted the second annual "Mocktail Happy Hour" at the Tea House Restaurant close to campus. Seventeen students attended the event and spoke languages like Japanese, Arabic, Chinese, and English. We discussed everything from linguistic similarities to culture to politics, all while enjoying a delicious variety of Chinese appetizers. This was the last TandemPlus event for the Fall semester. The Tandem team hopes that you will all join them again next semester.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Choosing a language podcast
Millions of podcasts are available through iTunes for language learners. With so many options, it can be difficult to find a good podcast, but by searching the right way you will easily find the podcast that suits your language-learning needs.
Beginner -- Go to iTunes Store/Podcasts. Click on Language Learning under Quick Links on the navigation bar on the right-hand side of the Podcasts page (Figure 1). Search for podcasts in the language of your choice. Most of these podcasts are instructional and suited for beginner to intermediate students.
Figure 1.
Intermediate -- You can also find podcasts in your target language by doing a Power Search. Go to iTunes Store/Podcasts, and access Power Search either under Quick Links in the upper right-hand corner of the iTunes Store homepage or on the upper left of any store search results page (Figure 2). Then search for podcasts in the language of your choice. Your search will return only the podcasts in the target language. Some of these will be instructional, and some will not.
Figure 2.
Advanced -- Go to iTunes Store/Home/Manage/Change country (on the bottom of the screen Figure 3); select the country of your choice. When this feature is enabled, iTunes will reflect the options for the country you've selected. Be ready! The language on the page will also automatically switch to the language of the country you've selected, too. Now when you click on Podcasts, you will find a huge array of content-based options, all in the language(s) of the country you've chosen.
Figure 3.
Once you have found podcasts you enjoy, you can click on Subscribe to receive regular updates of these podcasts, which you can download onto your iPod or iPhone, and listen and learn on the go.
Beginner -- Go to iTunes Store/Podcasts. Click on Language Learning under Quick Links on the navigation bar on the right-hand side of the Podcasts page (Figure 1). Search for podcasts in the language of your choice. Most of these podcasts are instructional and suited for beginner to intermediate students.
Figure 1.
Intermediate -- You can also find podcasts in your target language by doing a Power Search. Go to iTunes Store/Podcasts, and access Power Search either under Quick Links in the upper right-hand corner of the iTunes Store homepage or on the upper left of any store search results page (Figure 2). Then search for podcasts in the language of your choice. Your search will return only the podcasts in the target language. Some of these will be instructional, and some will not.
Figure 2.
Advanced -- Go to iTunes Store/Home/Manage/Change country (on the bottom of the screen Figure 3); select the country of your choice. When this feature is enabled, iTunes will reflect the options for the country you've selected. Be ready! The language on the page will also automatically switch to the language of the country you've selected, too. Now when you click on Podcasts, you will find a huge array of content-based options, all in the language(s) of the country you've chosen.
Figure 3.
Once you have found podcasts you enjoy, you can click on Subscribe to receive regular updates of these podcasts, which you can download onto your iPod or iPhone, and listen and learn on the go.
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