University of Minnesota Language Programs: Awards, Honors and Kudos

• Dr. Luis A. Ramos-Garcia, Associate Professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese is a 2007 winner of the President's Award for Outstanding Service. This award recognizes faculty and staff who have provided exceptional service to the University, its schools, colleges, departments and service units. Such service must have gone well beyond the regular duties of a faculty or staff member, and demonstrate unusual commitment to the University community. Dr. Ramos-Garcia was recognized for his collaboration with theater and arts groups in Colombia, Cuba, Peru and Spain, his work to raise awareness of political and gender injustice, and his tireless community outreach activities.
• Chinese Language Students win! On April 14, 2017, five finalists competed in the 2017 Midwest "Chinese Bridge" Speech Contest at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Competition was fierce, but all five University of Minnesota students came away with prizes at their own level! 
• Andy Columbus - First Prize - Accelerated Level 
• Maddie Haas - Second Prize - Level 1 
• Adam Myhand - Third Prize - Level 1
• Helena Mueller - Third Prize - Level 2
• Martin Miller - First Prize - Level 4. Martin was selected to represent the US Midwest in the worldwide Chinese Proficiency Contest in China

Language Center Undergraduate Staff Graduations

This week six 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!

• Sorelle Chekam, Multimedia Lab Attendant, will graduate with a Bachelors of Science in Sustainable Systems Management with an emphasis in Building Sciences and Technology. She was also involved in a project on Zero Energy Homes with classmates and faculty of the department of Biosystems and Bioproducts Engineering at the school. She is currently looking for a job in the same discipline. She will be returning to school after gaining some real life experiences for a Master's program in Sustainable Design. Her long-term goal is to bring the design of durable homes to Africa.
• Maya Christensen, Lead Main Office Assistant, will graduate with a Bachelors of Arts in Urban Studies, Youth Studies, and Sustainability. Directly after graduation she will work as part of the University of Minnesota Youth Programs staff. Her long-term goal is outdoor education-based community and nonprofit work.
• Rachael Falade, Main Office Assistant, will graduate with a Bachelors of Arts in Biology, Society and Environment with a double minor in Public Health and Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature. She is currently interested in biology research and public health work. She will be continuing her education in 2018 when she begins a Master's program in Public Health. Her long-term goal is to work in the health field impacting as many people as possible everyday. She wants to love her job and look back on her career with a smile on her face.
• Chris Michaels, Lead Main Office Assistant, will graduate with a Bachelors of Arts in Asian Languages & Literatures with a minor in Mass Communications. After graduation, he will work in expense management at Plus Relocation in St. Louis Park.
• Nick Ott, Tandem Assistant, will graduate with both a Bachelors of Science in Business and a Bachelor of the Arts, majoring in Marketing, and German, Scandinavian, and Dutch Studies along with a Spanish minor. He has recently accepted a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship grant for the coming academic year, and will move to Hessen, Germany in early September. After assistant teaching English in Europe, he hopes to teach English full-time through the Peace Corps, attend graduate school (abroad or in the US), and ultimately become a foreign language professor at the university level. 
• Anna Sisombat, Classroom Support Student Lead, Testing Assistant, PACE Assistant, and BOSSA Scheduling Assistant, will graduate with both a Bachelors of Arts in French and a Bachelors of Arts in Art with an emphasis on drawing and painting. Anna has recently accepted a full-time position in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy here at the university where she will be working as an Executive Accounts Specialist.

Call for help from the PACE Professional Development (PD) Peer Team

The PACE PD Peer Team will present at the International Association of Language Learning and Technology (IALLT) conference on June 20-23, 2017. The presentation focuses on the successes and challenges of developing and implementing a systematic professional development program that appeals to a diverse group of language instructors.

The PD Peer Team invites language instructors to be part of this project by providing video testimonials describing their experiences with PACE PD events. Specifically, we are interested in collecting stories of successes and challenges.

If you are willing to share your story, please submit a testimonial via Flipgrid by May 31, 2017. You will be asked to provide information about your experiences. We have included four prompts to help you guide your thinking. We ask that you choose one prompt per submission, but you may submit more than one. You may provide your name and language taught, but this is not required.

Your story will help inform future PD events at this university, and help guide PD development for other institutions.

If you have questions about the testimonials or Flipgrid, please contact Adolfo Carrillo Cabello at carri093@umn.edu.

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

LANG Courseshare for Fall 2017

So far, seven LANG Courseshare courses have opened for Fall 2017 registration:

• LANG 2011 Accelerated Catalan I
• LANG 1061 Beginning Persian I
• LANG 2061 Intermediate Persian I
• LANG 1071 Beginning Polish I (partially online)
• LANG 1121 Beginning Vietnamese I - currently full, but the waitlist is open
• LANG 3503 Traditional Korean Poetry Sijo

The scheduling of many other classes is in progress. Because of the complexities of working between multiple institutions, registration for Courseshare courses usually opens later than traditional courses. Students and advisors who do not see the language or level they are looking for should email Pablo Viedma at elsie@umn.edu to convey their interest.

Class-to-Class Tandem Exchanges: Instructor Support and Celebration

Wednesday, May 3, 2017
12:30-1:30 p.m.
Jones 117

You are invited to meet with instructors who have paired their students with language learners around the world for one-on-one Skype conversations through the TandemPlus program! We will share our success stories and discuss how to improve these class-to-class exchanges in the future. If you are curious about how these exchanges work, this is a great opportunity to find out! Cheese, crackers, and fruit will be served. Contact Beth Kautz at tandem@umn.edu with questions.