The PD Peer Team would like to thank you for being part of our community, and for engaging in PD events this year. As you wrap up your semester, we would like to hear about your PD needs and interests. Help us shape our professional development agenda for next year, tell us about your experiences and challenges -- what would you like to implement in your classroom? -- and earn a buck doing it.
Complete this survey by Friday, May 20, 2016 and you will be entered in a drawing for a $10 Bordertown Gift Card!
The survey should take no more than five minutes to complete and is compatible with mobile devices. Ready to try your luck? Click here to complete the survey.
We greatly appreciate your feedback as we plan ahead for the AY 2016-2017.
Monday, May 9, 2016
New Community of Practice: Basic Linguistics for all Language Learners
Do you ever wish your students were more prepared to learn a foreign language? Are there linguistic concepts that would be helpful for all language learners to review? If you are interested in discussing how to help your students better understand how language works so that they can be more successful in our courses, then this new Community of Practice (CoP) is for you! We anticipate meeting regularly beginning in Fall 2016. If you might be interested in being part of this group, let the Language Center staff know! We will be in touch with you before our first meeting next fall.
What is a CoP? It is a group of people who share a passion for something that they know how to do and interact regularly to learn how to do it better. By exchanging stories, problems and solutions, the CoP can bring its collective knowledge to bear on individuals' problems. As a community, we will explore concepts we believe are most important for beginning language learners and how these concepts could be demonstrated or "unpacked" for students in an engaging way. All languages welcome!
How interested are you? Let us know!
What is a CoP? It is a group of people who share a passion for something that they know how to do and interact regularly to learn how to do it better. By exchanging stories, problems and solutions, the CoP can bring its collective knowledge to bear on individuals' problems. As a community, we will explore concepts we believe are most important for beginning language learners and how these concepts could be demonstrated or "unpacked" for students in an engaging way. All languages welcome!
How interested are you? Let us know!
Monday, May 2, 2016
Congratulations 2016 SELP Honorees!
Did you know that the Language Center employs approximately twice as many undergraduate student staff as continuing non-student staff? Our undergraduate student staff provide primary assistance to students and instructors in public areas like the Main Office and Multimedia Lab, and provide Classroom Support for our four classrooms. In addition, undergraduate students play a vital role on the following teams: Dev Studio, TandemPlus, Technical Support, Testing and Instructional and more. The Language Center could not run without our dedicated and skilled undergraduate team members.
The Student Employee Leadership Program (SELP) provides an opportunity to recognize student employees who go above and beyond expectations in their work at the university through the annual SELPie awards for Outstanding Student Employees and graduates of the SELP program. Award winners will be honored May 2, 2016 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in McNamara Alumni Center.
The 2016 winners from the Language Center are:
The Student Employee Leadership Program (SELP) provides an opportunity to recognize student employees who go above and beyond expectations in their work at the university through the annual SELPie awards for Outstanding Student Employees and graduates of the SELP program. Award winners will be honored May 2, 2016 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in McNamara Alumni Center.
The 2016 winners from the Language Center are:
- Salma Bile: Outstanding Student Employee Award
- Keerthana Shankar: Outstanding Student Employee Award
- Anna Sisombat: Outstanding Student Employee Award
- Hunter Slack: Outstanding Student Employee Award
Language Center Undergraduate Staff Graduations
After this spring semester, five long-term Language Center undergraduate employees will complete their undergraduate programs. All of them held unique positions in our department and made valuable contributions to language education at the University of Minnesota. Please join us in congratulating the following graduates, and wishing them the best in their future endeavors!
Dimitra Andreadaki, Main Office Assistant, is graduating with a BA in Biology, Society, and the Environment with a minor in Public Health. She is currently working as a nursing assistant and will be starting a year of service with the Minnesota College Health Corps working to increase healthcare access to low-income students in the Alternative Learning Center in Rochester. Afterwards she will apply to graduate school in physician assistant studies.
Salma Bile, TandemPlus Assistant and previous Multimedia Lab Lead Student, is graduating with a degree in Biology. After graduation she will pursue a master’s degree in Nursing at the University of DePaul. After graduate school, she hopes to work abroad as a nurse to help spread health literacy and work as an advocate for the rights of children and women around the world.
Keerthana Shankar, Classroom Support Assistant, is graduating with a degree in Asian Languages and Literature with a focus in Korean. Her plan for after graduation is to find employment at Sejong Academy or a Pet Hotel and then apply for Teach For America next year. Her other goal is to create comics that has plots related to social justice and make an impact in people's lives.
Hunter Slack, Main Office and Moodle Course Assistant, will be graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Business, majoring in Marketing and minoring in Design. While the short term has yet to be decided, his long term career goals are to be working in brand management for exciting consumer brands.
Shoua Thao, Main Office Assistant, will graduate with a Bachelors of Individualized Studies Degree in Mass Communication, Political Science, and Interdisciplinary Design Minor. She is currently finding more opportunities to advance in her marketing and design skills with more internship experience, or FT job in any business marketing department. After a few years of working, she plans to attend graduate school once she narrows down her interests. Her long-term goal is to achieve a position in a PR or advertising agency, working specifically in the creative services department, and possibly become a creative director one day. As for now, she needs a break from school.
Dimitra Andreadaki, Main Office Assistant, is graduating with a BA in Biology, Society, and the Environment with a minor in Public Health. She is currently working as a nursing assistant and will be starting a year of service with the Minnesota College Health Corps working to increase healthcare access to low-income students in the Alternative Learning Center in Rochester. Afterwards she will apply to graduate school in physician assistant studies.
Salma Bile, TandemPlus Assistant and previous Multimedia Lab Lead Student, is graduating with a degree in Biology. After graduation she will pursue a master’s degree in Nursing at the University of DePaul. After graduate school, she hopes to work abroad as a nurse to help spread health literacy and work as an advocate for the rights of children and women around the world.
Keerthana Shankar, Classroom Support Assistant, is graduating with a degree in Asian Languages and Literature with a focus in Korean. Her plan for after graduation is to find employment at Sejong Academy or a Pet Hotel and then apply for Teach For America next year. Her other goal is to create comics that has plots related to social justice and make an impact in people's lives.
Hunter Slack, Main Office and Moodle Course Assistant, will be graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Business, majoring in Marketing and minoring in Design. While the short term has yet to be decided, his long term career goals are to be working in brand management for exciting consumer brands.
Shoua Thao, Main Office Assistant, will graduate with a Bachelors of Individualized Studies Degree in Mass Communication, Political Science, and Interdisciplinary Design Minor. She is currently finding more opportunities to advance in her marketing and design skills with more internship experience, or FT job in any business marketing department. After a few years of working, she plans to attend graduate school once she narrows down her interests. Her long-term goal is to achieve a position in a PR or advertising agency, working specifically in the creative services department, and possibly become a creative director one day. As for now, she needs a break from school.
Workshop on Disabilities and Inclusive Design - We Need your Input!
On March 25, 2016, the PACE Project and CARLA hosted a workshop on Language Learning and Disabilities presented by Dr. Kristi Liu and Dr. Martha Thurlow from the National Center on Educational Outcomes. The workshop explored answers to questions on the distinction between disabilities and teaching-learning challenges, as well as on the identification of institutional and community resources available on campus. Drawing upon specific second language learners’ profiles, the presenters illustrated ways to overcome instructional challenges such as dealing with test anxiety, cultural expectations, and undiagnosed learning disabilities.
The workshop generated many excellent talking points and ideas for working with students needing different types of accommodations. From these conversations came an expressed interest to further explore strategies for working with students with disabilities and learning about the applicability of inclusive design principles and strategies to provide equal access to all learners.
Furthermore, the Disability Resource Center (DRC) and the College of Liberal Arts are receiving an increased number of petitions from students with documented disabilities for modification to the second language requirement. This is in line with the expanded definition of disability provided by the ADA Amendments Act, as well as the nationally acknowledged growing number of students disclosing mental health conditions.
A future workshop is being designed through collaboration between the Committee on Second Language Education (ComSLE), The Disability Resources Center, and the College of Liberal Arts office of Undergraduate Education. The workshop is intended to more closely align with current teaching practices, and provide meaningful strategies for integrating inclusive design into course curriculum.
As such, we are seeking your input in a survey that will help us gather some ideas on your experiences working with students with disabilities and methods of instruction typically used. We appreciate your help in providing such useful information for the development of this workshop. Survey responses are appreciated by Friday, May 6, 2016.
Click here to complete the survey. You will be able to save your entries and return to complete the survey if necessary.
The workshop generated many excellent talking points and ideas for working with students needing different types of accommodations. From these conversations came an expressed interest to further explore strategies for working with students with disabilities and learning about the applicability of inclusive design principles and strategies to provide equal access to all learners.
Furthermore, the Disability Resource Center (DRC) and the College of Liberal Arts are receiving an increased number of petitions from students with documented disabilities for modification to the second language requirement. This is in line with the expanded definition of disability provided by the ADA Amendments Act, as well as the nationally acknowledged growing number of students disclosing mental health conditions.
A future workshop is being designed through collaboration between the Committee on Second Language Education (ComSLE), The Disability Resources Center, and the College of Liberal Arts office of Undergraduate Education. The workshop is intended to more closely align with current teaching practices, and provide meaningful strategies for integrating inclusive design into course curriculum.
As such, we are seeking your input in a survey that will help us gather some ideas on your experiences working with students with disabilities and methods of instruction typically used. We appreciate your help in providing such useful information for the development of this workshop. Survey responses are appreciated by Friday, May 6, 2016.
Click here to complete the survey. You will be able to save your entries and return to complete the survey if necessary.
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