TandemPlus is happy to welcome Nick Ott as the new TandemPlus Assistant. He takes over from outgoing TandemPlus Assistant Sanaz Jabbari, who has graduated and is working a full-time job until she attends dental school next fall.
Having worked in the Language Center’s Main Office for the past four years, Nick is not a new face to the department. He will be graduating this May with a BSB in Marketing and BA in German, after which he hopes to teach English abroad. Already in the selection process for the Peace Corps and Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship programs, he will know soon to where in the world he is going. Upon his return, he hopes to become a foreign language teacher like many of the professionals he has come to know through his work in the Language Center.
Nick says, “I am excited to work more directly with a program that had such an impact on my college career. I still talk to my 2013 Tandem partner almost every week!”
This semester, Tandem plans to continue building these kind of meaningful relationships centered on language learning! You can reach us at tandem@umn.edu.
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
2017 CARLA Summer Institute Funding Opportunities
Registration is now open for the 2017 CARLA Summer Institutes!
The one-week institutes run July 10-28, 2017 and cover a variety of topics including second language acquisition basics for teachers, classroom assessment development, content-based instruction, and implementing technology in the second language classroom. In addition, an online five-week session on Using the Web for Communicative Language Learning runs from July 10 to August 13, 2017.
For instructors of French, Spanish and German
The PACE Project will provide funding for up to ten instructors of French and Spanish at the University of Minnesota to attend one of the 2017 CARLA summer institutes. Funding will be awarded to the first ten French and Spanish instructors who apply online before April 1, 2017. Pending availability, funding will be opened up for German instructors who apply online before April 1. Each instructor may apply for funding to only one institute. Please note that some institutes fill up quickly. Please indicate your interest as soon as possible.
Questions about this special funding can be directed to Stephanie Treat at treat002@umn.edu.
The PACE Project is funded by a grant from The Language Flagship.
For LCTL instructors
CARLA offers instructors of Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTL) at the University of Minnesota a special scholarship to attend one of the 2017 CARLA summer institutes. Instructors are required to pay a non-refundable $25 commitment fee, but the balance of the institute cost will be paid by CARLA –a value up to $325! A limited number of scholarships will be awarded to current University of Minnesota LCTL instructors on a first-come, first-served basis until April 1, 2017. Each instructor may apply for funding to only one institute. Please note that some institutes fill up quickly. Please indicate your interest as soon as possible.
Questions about this special funding can be directed to Karin Larson at larso205@umn.edu.
The one-week institutes run July 10-28, 2017 and cover a variety of topics including second language acquisition basics for teachers, classroom assessment development, content-based instruction, and implementing technology in the second language classroom. In addition, an online five-week session on Using the Web for Communicative Language Learning runs from July 10 to August 13, 2017.
For instructors of French, Spanish and German
The PACE Project will provide funding for up to ten instructors of French and Spanish at the University of Minnesota to attend one of the 2017 CARLA summer institutes. Funding will be awarded to the first ten French and Spanish instructors who apply online before April 1, 2017. Pending availability, funding will be opened up for German instructors who apply online before April 1. Each instructor may apply for funding to only one institute. Please note that some institutes fill up quickly. Please indicate your interest as soon as possible.
Questions about this special funding can be directed to Stephanie Treat at treat002@umn.edu.
The PACE Project is funded by a grant from The Language Flagship.
For LCTL instructors
CARLA offers instructors of Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTL) at the University of Minnesota a special scholarship to attend one of the 2017 CARLA summer institutes. Instructors are required to pay a non-refundable $25 commitment fee, but the balance of the institute cost will be paid by CARLA –a value up to $325! A limited number of scholarships will be awarded to current University of Minnesota LCTL instructors on a first-come, first-served basis until April 1, 2017. Each instructor may apply for funding to only one institute. Please note that some institutes fill up quickly. Please indicate your interest as soon as possible.
Questions about this special funding can be directed to Karin Larson at larso205@umn.edu.
TandemPlus Spring 2017 Registration and Orientation
Welcome back to a snowy campus! Classes are underway again, and that means Tandem registration is open for Spring 2017. The free, voluntary TandemPlus Program provides language learners the opportunity to improve second language skills while gaining cultural insight by engaging in conversation exchange with native speakers of the language they are learning. Any and all language and culture learners are encouraged to sign up or re-register. Registration at tandem.umn.edu takes no more than five minutes.
Don’t forget! The TandemPlus Student Association will continue to host monthly events this semester, beginning with the Spring Kick-off and Orientation event on February 9, 2017 from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. in Bruininks 412. More information on this event, and a complete list of spring activities for TandemPlus participants will be available soon.
For more information about TandemPlus, visit the Language Center’s Website, or send us an email at tandem@umn.edu.
Don’t forget! The TandemPlus Student Association will continue to host monthly events this semester, beginning with the Spring Kick-off and Orientation event on February 9, 2017 from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. in Bruininks 412. More information on this event, and a complete list of spring activities for TandemPlus participants will be available soon.
For more information about TandemPlus, visit the Language Center’s Website, or send us an email at tandem@umn.edu.
Monday, January 9, 2017
PACE Workshop: Applying adult learning principles in the language classroom
Friday, February 10, 2017
9:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Morning session: Bruininks 312
Afternoon session: Folwell 108
Registration required
This workshop will present and explore what is known about adult learning as applied to language acquisition. Stacey Johnson will present frameworks such as experiential learning, transformative learning, and problem-based learning to serve as models for lesson planning in language courses as ways of engaging students and fostering intellectual development. Participants will have the opportunity to explore and adapt models for instruction that address adult language learners and promote deep learning and critical thinking. In hands-on application of the principles and models, they will create and present a lesson that both meets course expectations and allows for instructional flexibility.
This workshop is for CLA language instructors. It is geared towards multi-section instructors who teach from standard syllabi. Hands-on activities will allow participants to distinguish class-level and unit-level instruction, as well as linking content and experience. Participants are encouraged to bring a laptop, syllabus, and textbook.
Join us for a day full of experiential and transformative learning. The morning session will provide opportunities for theory-driven hands-on activities, and the afternoon session will allow for micro teaching demonstrations and reflection. Lunch will be provided for registered participants.
Facilitator: Stacey Margarita Johnson is the Assistant Director for Educational Technology at the Center for Teaching, Vanderbilt University. She is the author of Adult learning in the language classroom, and Hybrid language teaching in practice: Perceptions, reactions, and results.
The PACE Project is funded by a grant from The Language Flagship.
9:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Morning session: Bruininks 312
Afternoon session: Folwell 108
Registration required
This workshop will present and explore what is known about adult learning as applied to language acquisition. Stacey Johnson will present frameworks such as experiential learning, transformative learning, and problem-based learning to serve as models for lesson planning in language courses as ways of engaging students and fostering intellectual development. Participants will have the opportunity to explore and adapt models for instruction that address adult language learners and promote deep learning and critical thinking. In hands-on application of the principles and models, they will create and present a lesson that both meets course expectations and allows for instructional flexibility.
This workshop is for CLA language instructors. It is geared towards multi-section instructors who teach from standard syllabi. Hands-on activities will allow participants to distinguish class-level and unit-level instruction, as well as linking content and experience. Participants are encouraged to bring a laptop, syllabus, and textbook.
Join us for a day full of experiential and transformative learning. The morning session will provide opportunities for theory-driven hands-on activities, and the afternoon session will allow for micro teaching demonstrations and reflection. Lunch will be provided for registered participants.
Facilitator: Stacey Margarita Johnson is the Assistant Director for Educational Technology at the Center for Teaching, Vanderbilt University. She is the author of Adult learning in the language classroom, and Hybrid language teaching in practice: Perceptions, reactions, and results.
The PACE Project is funded by a grant from The Language Flagship.
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
Get involved! Join the Professional Development Peer Team
What are your goals for the new year? Looking for ways to get involved in professional development opportunities? Please consider joining the Professional Development (PD) Peer Team. The group is charged with advising the Language Center on professional development opportunities. As a group, we inform the center on topics of interest to language instructors, current challenges, and ideas to help instructors succeed in their courses, as well as grow and advance as professionals. Our group meets once monthly for an hour session. Please contact Adolfo Carrillo Cabello at carri093@umn.edu to get connected.
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