Category Archives: TFL

Guest Lecture on SLA Research

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ortegaDr. Lourdes Ortega, Linguistics Professor at Georgetown University, will be giving a lecture on “How Useful is Instructed SLA Research for Teachers, and What does Epistemological Diversity have to Do with it?” Professor Ortega will examine ways in which the blooming of cognitive, sociocultural, and sociocognitive theories of additional language learning has invigorated the capacity of SLA researchers to make meaningful contributions to knowledge about language teaching. Come join on Friday, May 17th, from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm in McGowan 102.

Arab Spring Turns into Sand Storms

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Guest Lecturealaa on Arab Spring, organized by the Arabic Studies Program.

Prof. Alaa Eligibali from the University of Maryland will speak        Thursday, April 4th, from 2:15pm to 1:15pm in McGowan 100.

A little more than two years ago, parts of the Arab world experienced what later came to be known as the Arab Spring. Initial world and domestic consensus of hope and optimism are turning into ambivalence and even skepticism. As chaos claims the day, many wonder if that spring has turned into a true Arab spring of sand storms and poor visibility.  Was the imagery drawn for the Arab revolutions indeed prophetic?

2nd Annual Celebrating Foreign Language Education: A Monterey Bay Symposium

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cropped-FLS_logo_blogheader-copy_111        In honoring our late Dr. Leo van Lier, the 2nd Annual Celebrating Foreign Language Education: A Monterey Bay Symposium will commence on Saturday, March 30, 2013. Our keynote speaker this year is Peter DeCosta speaking on “Scales: An Alternative Lens for Investigating Foreign Language Learning and Teaching.” In addition, we will have speakers for local institutions speaking on assessment methods, technological tools, and intercultural competency.
        Ready to register? Please go to http://mflsymposium.eventbrite.com to register today! Interested in participating in this meaningful event? We are looking for participants for the poster session. If you have a curriculum design project, a Kumar trade fair project, or a research project that you would like to showcase, please fill out our Poster Session Signup Form. If you would like to volunteer some time to help out with the event, please fill out our Volunteer Form. Volunteers will receive a waived $15 registration fee and lunch will be provided. For more information, please visit our website at mflsymposium.org We look forward to celebrating foreign language education with you on March 30th!

Alumna Teaches Chinese at The Bush School in Seattle

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Check out this clip of a KOMO news interview with Shuang Gou (MATFL Chinese ’10), Michael Rawding (MIIS board member), and his daughter. Shuang Guo, teaches the first ever Chinese course offered at the Bush School in Seattle, WA and Michael’s daughter is one of her students. The students’ parents and school administration are extremely pleased with her teaching. Michael Rawding called her “fantastic!”

BUILD Language Classes Begin

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In case the BUILD Program representatives somehow missed visiting your new-student orientation, or, perhaps, you’ve been out of the country doing Peace Corps, we’d like to remind you that free weekly language classes are being offered by the BUILD Program.

This semester, 14 different languages, from French to Farsi, are being offered. BUILD has also expanded to offer additional levels of language classes, so if you’ve just returned from 3 years in Japan but never really studied the language, you’re able to choose between the beginner or the intermediate level class.

Curious? Check out the class schedule on the BUILD blog.

Have questions? Interested in getting even more involved with BUILD? Shoot an email to  miisbuild[at]gmail.com. They are friendly people and happy to answer your questions!