The PACE Project has now entered its third year, and the administrative and instructional teams plan to share outcomes from the project at local, regional and national conferences throughout the year. We would love to see you at these presentations, and will keep you informed as conferences approach.
The first public presentation of the year is this week. It is conveniently located on campus and free to all U of M faculty, staff, and students.
Internationalizing the Curriculum and Campus Conference: Preparing Global-Ready Students
Root Locally, Stretch Globally: Students Empowered Through Higher Language Proficiency
Friday, September 30, 2016
9:00 - 9:50 a.m.
Humphrey School of Public Affairs
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
University of Minnesota graduates are disempowered internationally if they must rely on English alone to address global challenges. Funding from The Language Flagship is at work on campus through two grants: Chinese Flagship and the PACE Project. These grants help bring students to higher levels of second language proficiency so they can more fully engage with their community and world. This presentation outlines how the PACE Project collaborates with seven language programs to create a culture of assessment, continuous curricular improvement, and student engagement. Formal assessment provides language programs and instructors with concrete information about student proficiency at various stages in the curriculum; professional development provides a collaborative space and tools for improving the curriculum in light of those results; and self-assessment involves students in the process as they independently identify what they can and cannot do in the language and create their own pathways toward higher levels of proficiency.
Presenters: Dan Soneson, Gabriela Sweet, and Adolfo Carrillo Cabello, CLA Language Center; and Elaine Tarone, CARLA
The PACE Project is funded by a grant from The Language Flagship.
Monday, September 26, 2016
New Accessible Desk in Jones 135
The Language Center walk-in computer classroom now offers an accessible laptop desk that can be raised or lowered to accommodate wheelchairs or serve as a standing desk. The station is open to all students, but the lab staff ask that users give priority to students who need it upon request.
Spanish and Portuguese Language Podcast
The Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies is excited to announce its new Spanish- and Portuguese-language podcast, Voc/zes: el podcast de la Universidad de Minnesota. Their first episode premiered on September 15, 2016.
New episodes of Voc/zes will be released on Thursdays during the 2016-17 academic school year. The podcast episodes will feature interviews (in Spanish and Portuguese) with current and former U of M students, faculty, staff and guest speakers who visit the University. In addition, the podcast will feature interviews with members of the Twin Cities’ Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking communities, including musicians, athletes, artists and community leaders. Each Voc/zes podcast will feature a Current Events Calendar promoting local events of particular interest to language learners and Spanish and Portuguese speakers.
You can access the podcast via Facebook or Twitter @umnvoces. The Podcast is hosted on Soundcloud and is available to Soundcloud users at https://soundcloud.com/user-749661530. You can also use the RSS Feed to follow Voc/zes on your favorite podcast app.
New episodes of Voc/zes will be released on Thursdays during the 2016-17 academic school year. The podcast episodes will feature interviews (in Spanish and Portuguese) with current and former U of M students, faculty, staff and guest speakers who visit the University. In addition, the podcast will feature interviews with members of the Twin Cities’ Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking communities, including musicians, athletes, artists and community leaders. Each Voc/zes podcast will feature a Current Events Calendar promoting local events of particular interest to language learners and Spanish and Portuguese speakers.
You can access the podcast via Facebook or Twitter @umnvoces. The Podcast is hosted on Soundcloud and is available to Soundcloud users at https://soundcloud.com/user-749661530. You can also use the RSS Feed to follow Voc/zes on your favorite podcast app.
Monday, September 19, 2016
Congratulations to Anna Sisombat!
Please help us congratulate Anna Sisombat for receiving the Academic All Star Award. Anna has worked at the Language Center for two years, and currently serves as the Classroom Support student team leader and the Testing Assistant. Anna will be recognized by the Multicultural Center for her Gold-status All Star on Thursday, September 22, 2016.
Anna is a double major in French and Art. She has shared her thoughts on this recognition:
I am truly honored to receive such recognition and achievement. My work ethic not only reflects the academic and employment aspects of my life, but also who I am and have become. The decision to continue my education at the U of M and accept a position at the Language Center has been the best decision I have made yet. Thank you all who have made such a positive impact on my life!
Congratulations, Anna!
Anna is a double major in French and Art. She has shared her thoughts on this recognition:
I am truly honored to receive such recognition and achievement. My work ethic not only reflects the academic and employment aspects of my life, but also who I am and have become. The decision to continue my education at the U of M and accept a position at the Language Center has been the best decision I have made yet. Thank you all who have made such a positive impact on my life!
Congratulations, Anna!
CARLA Presentation: Interpersonal Speaking as a Pathway to Foreign Language Literacy Development
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
12:20-1:10 p.m.
University International Center 101
In recent years, the concept of literacy has emerged as a common goal for collegiate foreign language curricula. Whereas traditional definitions of literacy focus on students’ ability to read and write, modern definitions entail the ability to interpret and create meaning in a range of sociocultural contexts through interaction with authentic target language texts of various genres. This broader definition suggests that literacy development encompasses all language modalities—reading, writing, listening, viewing, and speaking—and that these modalities overlap as learners interact with literary-cultural content to communicate meaningfully. In this presentation, I expand this definition and use illustrative examples to help argue that interpersonal speaking is a viable pathway to foreign language literacy development and increased engagement with literary-cultural content at all levels of the undergraduate foreign language curriculum.
Presenter: Kate Paesani is the new Director of CARLA. Her research focused on literacy-based curriculum and instruction and foreign language teacher development. Before coming to CARLA she was an associate professor and director of basic French courses at Wayne State University.
Cosponsored by CARLA and the Second Language Education Program in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction.
12:20-1:10 p.m.
University International Center 101
In recent years, the concept of literacy has emerged as a common goal for collegiate foreign language curricula. Whereas traditional definitions of literacy focus on students’ ability to read and write, modern definitions entail the ability to interpret and create meaning in a range of sociocultural contexts through interaction with authentic target language texts of various genres. This broader definition suggests that literacy development encompasses all language modalities—reading, writing, listening, viewing, and speaking—and that these modalities overlap as learners interact with literary-cultural content to communicate meaningfully. In this presentation, I expand this definition and use illustrative examples to help argue that interpersonal speaking is a viable pathway to foreign language literacy development and increased engagement with literary-cultural content at all levels of the undergraduate foreign language curriculum.
Presenter: Kate Paesani is the new Director of CARLA. Her research focused on literacy-based curriculum and instruction and foreign language teacher development. Before coming to CARLA she was an associate professor and director of basic French courses at Wayne State University.
Cosponsored by CARLA and the Second Language Education Program in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
© Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved. Equal opportunity educator and employer.