PSMLA CONFERENCE MANY LANGUAGES, ONE STATE: LET'S COLLABORATE! State College, PA October 17 -‐ 18, 2014 Schedule At A Glance Pre-‐Conference Workshop, Thursday, October 16, 2014 (10:00 am -‐ 4:00 pm) "Get the True Rating You Deserve as a PA World Language Teacher with the Danielson Framework Evaluation." Donna Spangler, Hershey Middle School Effective world language teachers provide quality comprehensive input to promote language acquisition to their students; yet, the PA Danielson evaluative tool is predicated on student learning outcomes and student output. How can PA world language teachers deal with this disconnect? Come to this full-‐day workshop and create a game plan to get the “true” rating you really deserve as an effective world language teacher. Friday 7:30 -‐ 8:30 Registration/Coffee/Exhibits 8:30 -‐ 9:30 Session 1 Developing Communicative Proficiency through Task-‐based Instruction David Brightbill and Sarah Aguilar-‐Francis Saturday 7:30 -‐ 8:30 Registration/Coffee/Exhibits 8:30 -‐ 9:30 Session 5 Finding a good job that is enjoyable is a life skill. Learners of a new language have a special advantage in their job search. This will be a presentation of an instructional unit centered on the theme of professions and obtaining a job using the new language. All of the main elements of this unit will be presented with useful handouts. As educators, we know that students learn best when they are actively engaged. In this session, participants will learn to design real-‐
life tasks using authentic resources, which will motivate their students to use the target language. Presenters will focus on the three modes of communication and provide a step-‐by-‐step process for unit design. Access to numerous examples for all language levels will be provided. Session 1 Promoting Foreign Language Education through Active Collaboration Turan Balik Session 5 Presenter will discuss the importance of maintaining and improving fluency in the target language, the Cemanahuac immersion experience in Cuernavaca, Mexico, classroom applications, and the process of applying for the PSMLA Cemanahuac Scholarship. Current Practices of Asian Language Teaching in U.S Colleges Haruko Iwami, Wen-‐Hua Du, Sorin Huh and Suchismita Sen The demands for Asian languages have increased rapidly due to recent economic growth of Asian countries and the influx of Asian students in the US. However, teaching Asian languages presents unique challenges in various areas from assessment to material/curriculum development. This session will present how these issues have been addressed in four different language programs at Penn State including Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Hindi. It is important to raise public awareness on the benefits of language learning in order to promote advocacy. This session focuses on the opportunities available for language educators to form international partnerships, projects, study abroad programs and actively engage stakeholders in the process. Session 1 PSMLA Cemanahuac Scholarship: Immersion Experience Amy Liermann Landing my Dream Job! Eric Smith Session 5 Playdough, Jello, Chapeau, Starburst, Sparkle, Battleship and more! Sarah E. Crawford Entice your students to participate in the second language acquisition process by encouraging student engagement through the use of Playdough, Jello, Chapeau, Starburst, and other low-‐prep, highly engaging, easily adapted, student-‐centered activities to expand vocabulary usage, whether through writing or speaking. Presentation will be in English, with examples in French, German, and Spanish. Session 1 Integrating Technology and Authentic Materials in Instruction and Assessment. Kevin Nerz Session 5 Our session is dedicated to goals and methods of teaching German pronunciation. As an introduction, we will provide tips and tricks of basic articulatory phonetics. Then, we will discuss appropriate goals in teaching pronunciation in the second language classroom and present teaching-‐methods that incorporate German pronunciation in a communicative classroom. Finally, we will talk about our own research findings related to pronunciation training. Emerging technologies and authentic materials are current buzzwords in foreign language instruction. While these “buzzwords” may sound impressive, many teachers are at a loss in how they can effectively adapt to the ever-‐changing array of available technologies and resources. This session will guide its participants through specific steps in which teachers can transform and thereby improve their instructional effectiveness through technology and authentic materials. Friday 9:30 -‐ 10:30 Continental Breakfast/Exhibits 10:30 -‐ 11:30 Saturday 9:30 -‐ 10:30 Continental Breakfast/Exhibits 10:30 -‐ 11:30 Session 2 National Spanish Examinations: Standards-‐Based Assessments Using Online Technology Kevin Cessna-‐Buscemi Session 6 Session 6 J.P. McCaskey High Schol Campus, an urban school located in Lancaster, received the Bronze level PEP award for the first time. This session will highlight the motivation and challenges behind applying for this program. Also, this session will highlight and address the benefits of the PEP program and the positive impact it has had on WL curriculum and instruction. Session 2 Making the Invisible "Visible" on the Danielson Framework Donna Spangler Do you ever feel like you need to be a magician to get a good rating on the new PA Teacher Effectiveness Model as world language teacher? The deck seems stacked against you: your evaluator doesn't know second language acquisition research; he/she doesn't speak the What Makes a Successful French Program Mary Helen Kashuba SSJ This session will describe exemplary French programs on all levels of instruction. The presenter will indicate criteria and suggest implementation of best teaching practices. She will explain the current AATF initiative for Exemplary French Programs, based on the PEP criteria. The session will include motivational techniques and examples of careers using French. Come and learn ways to improve your program and publicize its success story! This session will focus on the content and administration of the National Spanish Examinations (NSE), the most widely used standardized tests of Spanish in the US. We will discuss exam content, how the NSE measures both proficiency and achievement based on content and performance standards, online test administration procedures, and how the exams can be used as formative and summative assessments. Participants will be introduced to the free online practice materials available on the NSE website. Session 2 The PEP Process and Data : A Framework for Growth Alison Browning and Amie Savidge Teaching German Pronunciation Richard Page, Ines Martin, Ashley Roccamo What Have We in Common: Fostering Transcultural Competence Through Authentic Materials Christina Frei and Bridget Swanson This workshop draws on the AP framework for World Languages and translates a theme-‐based approach to first-‐year language instruction. The presenters discuss strategies for creating modules that are thematically engaging, based in authentic materials, and foster transcultural competence from the start. Topics include how to structure modules around essential questions, how to integrate reflective journaling, and how to didacticize authentic material for the beginner. Session 6 Authentic Materials in the German Classroom Peg Meyers, Cathy Altmeyer, John McLaughlin Wondering how to infuse more real world resources into your German instruction? During this session, participants will learn how and where to search for authentic resources. Examples of short audio, short video, visual, and print resources will be given along with corresponding language; and, the "proficient/distinguished" category involves students in charge of their learning. Come get some tricks to increase your teacher rating. Session 2 Choosing a Textbook: From the US or from Germany? Lieselotte Sippel, Susanne Nimmrichter, Andrew Whitlock activities and assessments. Participants will also be given the opportunity to create their own materials using these sources. Materials are appropriate for all levels of German. Session 6 Language textbooks from publishers in German-‐speaking countries and from American publishers differ in many ways. This session will introduce the major differences, including the presentation of grammar and vocabulary, listening, exercises, tests, and the way in which cultural information is presented. Participants will have the opportunity to try out and evaluate some of the activities to explore what German textbooks have to offer. Friday 11:45 -‐ 1:15 Luncheon and Keynote Speaker: Christina Frei, Ph.D. Vertical Team Building: Advances in Language Education Curricula Friday 1:15 -‐ 2:00 Exhibits 2:00 -‐ 3:00 Session 3 Using Stations to Engage Students in All 5 C’s Nathan Campbell and Megan Flinchbaugh Students need to be exposed to different regional language varieties and different registers to develop successful linguistic competence. Nevertheless, most mainstream textbooks utilized today focus on standard language. An emphasis on language varieties is urgently needed in order to prepare students to effectively communicate in the target language. Saturday 11:45 -‐ 1:30 Luncheon and PSMLA Business Meeting 1:45 -‐ 2:45 Telenovelas: Linking Culture and Advanced Functions in the Spanish Classroom Gisela P. Dieter Session 7 Participants will learn new and exciting ways to differentiate their classrooms through the use of stations. This session will share several strategies that will engage students in culture using authentic materials while helping them to focus on key grammatical and vocabulary concepts. A complete folder with handouts on how to develop unique cultural and language activities at any level will be given. Session 3 Increasing Intercultural Awareness Through the Film "Almanya -‐ Willkommen in Deutschland" Lauren Brooks and Lieselotte Sippel This session demonstrates teaching intercultural competency through the film "Almanya – Willkommen in Deutschland". Student’s exposure to Turkish-‐German culture in contemporary Germany facilitates their knowledge of the "Gastarbeiter" phenomenon of the late 50s and 60s. Language plays a central role in the film and focuses on cultural identity. Sample activities include pre-‐film hypothetical questions, discussing the importance of language, as well as common stereotypes and misconceptions. Analyzing and reproducing linguistic variation at lower level Spanish courses Lucía Osa-‐Melero and Rebeca Bataller Participants will see how incorporating segments of Betty la Fea as text in the Spanish classroom can provide opportunities to explore controversial cultural issues, as well as to enhance learners’ ability to articulate complex functions in the target language. The soap opera’s social commentary provides a venue to express opinions and formulate hypothesis as students discuss complicated cultural realities in an effective yet safe environment. Session 7 Students' Perspectives of Assessments to Improve Learning and Teaching Nancy Zimmerman and a group of German and Spanish BSED students from Kutztown University A panel of teacher candidates discusses participation in a research project in which they reflect upon the efficacy of assessments, corresponding feedback, and their impact on learners’ L2 proficiency. The students began journaling in April and will use the results from the COPI, APPLL and assessments administered in their language classes to determine their personal “roadmap” toward reaching the ACTFL guideline of Advanced-‐Low. Session 3 Reading Strategies & Differentiated Instruction: A Perfect pairing! Sarah Hines and Tamara Bojsen Session 7 The word “forest” holds different cultural connotations for different people through the world. Come share ideas for thematic units from historic, mystic, and scientific perspectives based on the forest. Focus will be on historic events, romanticism and sustainability. Build connections with other curriculum areas through the forest. Do you often feel your students aren’t reading with the clarity you would like? Do they often read a piece of text without true comprehension of the main idea? Do you feel some students need more of a challenge, while others lag behind? Our presentation will offer numerous strategies (writing, listening, and speaking) to improve reading comprehension at a variety of levels within the target language. Session 3 How I Combine Art and Project–based learning in Teaching Chinese Yian M Rui Session 7 3:15 -‐ 4:15 Session 4 Promoting & Managing HS Foreign Language Honor Societies: A Participant Discussion Michael Bogdan Saturday 3:00 -‐ 4:00 Session 8 After an introduction by the presenter of his school's French and Spanish honor societies, session attendees will share concerns and successes of their honor society experiences. Come prepared to talk about how your school promotes its honor societies, discuss solutions to problems that arise, and leave with resources and contacts for continued collaboration and program enhancement. Session 4 Digital Portfolios Allison Mellet Engage all learners as you increase your digital preparedness and learn how to create a dynamic digital portfolio. Using the digital world, this session will model how to create and maintain a portfolio that will enhance student engagement, creativity, communication and self-‐reflection. Differentiating Instruction in the World Language Classroom Maria Shroyer and Katy Ricker Maria Shroyer and Katy Ricker are World Language teachers in the State College Area School District. In this session, they will explain and demonstrate how to use Differentiated Instruction in beginning levels of World Language. They will provide a brief explanation of the history and current trends in differentiation, as well as practical applications of differentiation, specific to language learning. Examples will be given in Spanish, German and French. . I will show students' work to explain how I combine art and projects to teach the Chinese language and culture. I will show the artwork and projects created by my students with their Chinese writing to explain the process of how I used students' background knowledge such as their drawing/painting skills to learn Chinese. I will bring physical samples of students' work in addition to photographs shown in my power point. Friday Bringing the Forest to the World Language Classroom Kathy Fegely, Ester Eichler, Christopher Gwin Prezi, Youtube, and Tootsie Rolls: Technology for Improving Second Language Pronunciation Joseph Bauman A persistent challenge for adults learning a second language is the mastery of native-‐like pronunciation. This presentation explores how Prezi, YouTube, and even chewable candies can offer L2 learners immediate audio-‐visual and sensory feedback, enabling targeted improvement of L2 sounds. Although Spanish and English are the primary languages of interest, the techniques generalize to many language pairings. The audience will engage hands-‐on with several methods discussed. Session 8 Using Social Service to Increase Engagement and Encourage Community Connections Bridget Wendell During this session, attendees will be shown examples of projects used to engage all levels of language learners in community service within the foreign language classroom. Attendees will be given a template to create their own projects as well as time to brainstorm ideas and collaborate with colleagues. To end, we will discuss ways to use community service to draw attention to specific language programs. Session 4 Teaching the Globalized Culture of Germany Through Authentic Materials Gabriele Eichmanns Maier and Martina Wells Session 8 The impact of globalization on Germany is an important theme in the context of inclusive classroom teaching. We intend to present a variety of authentic materials in order to demonstrate how new global concepts can be used to teach culture in the context of German language instruction and how much Germany and its culture have become diversified in an age of increasing global ties. German is not a homogeneous block but has many variations (regional and social dialects; variations of standard). Learners will encounter these varieties in materials and target cultures. Thus, language courses should develop awareness for these varieties. The workshop presents sample lessons and guides participants in developing ideas to integrate language varieties into lessons as well as utilizing varieties to teach the standard language and culture. Session 4 Virtual Worlds for Language Learning: Benefits and Challenges David L. Parrott, Nick Zwart, Barbara Simpson Session 8 The 3D virtual town of Plauderstein is the setting for German language role-‐playing lessons. Students enter the town as avatars and participate in spoken language activities in a fun video-‐game like environment. The presenter will provide details and examples of how this emerging technology can provide a new tool for language instructors to engage students and help them practice valuable language learning skills. Friday 4:30 -‐ 5:00 Awards 5:00 -‐ 6:00 Wine & Cheese Reception/Exhibits/Language Lotto Teaching About and With German Dialects and Variations of Standard Joerg Meindl Student Diversity and Equity in World Language Classrooms Marsha Plotkin and Devin Browne In an era of rapid educational reform, World Language teachers must examine and define their role in this movement. Thanks in part to support from the Gates Foundation, Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) has taken on equity as a primary problem of practice. PPS World Language teachers have been charged with examining teaching practices through the lens of racial equity. Presenters will discuss preliminary results of efforts to increase the number of students of color in World Language classrooms and retain students at all levels of language study, especially in levels 3 and beyond.