CARLA Going “Green” Institute-- Funding Available!

Capitalize on your students’ interest in being “green” by using environmental themes in your language classroom! In this exciting new institute, you will get the latest on key sustainability issues and inspirational tools from Design Thinking and core content-based instruction technologies.

This institute is being offered for a special registration rate of $150-- for a full week of extraordinary professional development!

Find out more at http://www.carla.umn.edu/institutes/2015/goinggreen.html

The PACE Project will provide funding for up to 5 foreign language instructors at the University of Minnesota to attend the CARLA Going “Green” institute. The one-week session runs from July 13 to 17. Funding will be awarded to up to 5 instructors on a first-come, first-served basis.

Inquiries about this special funding can be directed to Stephanie Treat at treat002@umn.edu. Questions about the Going “Green” institute should be sent to Karin Larson at larso205@umn.edu.

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

TandemPlus Summer Information; Welcome Salma

Summer registration for TandemPlus will open on Monday, June 15, 2015. The summer program is diverse and energetic; anyone interested in having a language conversation partner for summer is encouraged to join. During the summer session, TandemPlus will host one or two events during July and August, and all TandemPlus participants are invited to participate. Stay tuned for more information about the events.

This summer, Salma Bile joins the TandemPlus staff as the Tandem assistant. Salma, who previously has worked in the Language Center both in the Multimedia Lab and the Main Office, says, “I am from San Diego, California, but I currently live in Apple Valley, Minnesota. I am a Senior here at the University of Minnesota in the College of Biological Sciences, majoring in Biology. I am fluent in both English and Somali. I have also studied Arabic for a little over three years now. I’ve been a participant in Tandem since my freshman year, and now I am very excited to start my work with the program that has played an instrumental role in shaping my language skills!” Welcome, Salma!

Pedagogical Innovations Reading Group: a forum for language instructors

Wednesday, June 3, 2015
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Jones 117

The Language Center is pleased to announce the launch of a new summer reading group for language instructors!

So - what is a Pedagogical Innovations Reading Group?

The Reading Group will consist of language instructors who are interested in reading and discussing journal articles once every three weeks. At each meeting the moderator will present a different journal article describing a pedagogical innovation that may spark some ideas for your teaching.

The first meeting will be Wednesday, June 3 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in Jones 117.

If you are interested in joining, simply register your interest and some topics that you're interested in exploring related to language learning or teaching through this short form. This will give us a good gauge of what article to discuss for the first meeting. If you have any questions, you can contact Caroline Vang at cevang@umn.edu. Looking forward to an "innovative" summer!!

The Ever Popular TandemPlus Punch Pizza Party

TandemPlus hosted its final event of the semester at the ever popular destination of Punch Pizza in Stadium Village. With the sun shining, the pizza fresh, and the conversation lively, it was a great time for everyone to take a break from the end-of-semester hustle.

The Spring semester is just about wrapped up, with many of Tandem’s participants graduating, but Tandem will commence again in the summer semester! Look forward to registering at tandem.umn.edu sometime in early June.

PACE PD Peer Team Spring Celebration!

Friday, May 8, 2015
9:30-11:00 a.m. & 12:00-1:30 p.m.
Nicholson 135

The PACE Professional Development Peer Team will be hosting a final get together for all CLA language instructors for a coffee and doughnut hour and/or pizza and soda lunch on May 8.

Coffee and doughnuts will be served 9:30-11:00 a.m. and pizza and soda will be served 12:00-1:30 p.m. Please come and join us for a quick bite and to reminisce about this past academic year.

We hope this will be a chance to take a quick break from your grading and wish each other well before our summer extravaganzas.

Hope to see you there!