Why It's Time to Learn Another Language

presents a great list and poster about the benefits of being bilingual. See  http://www.edudemic.com/learn-another-language-bilingual/

Stay Up to Date-- Upcoming Conferences

ATP Innovations in Testing Conference
March 2-5, 2014 | Scottsdale, AZ
Measured Progress sponsors and exhibits

http://www.innovationsintesting.org/     

Measured Progress Assessment Leadership Conference
March 7, 2014 | Las, Vegas, NV
http://www.measuredprogress.org/alc

ASCD Annual Conference
March 15–17, 2014 | Los Angeles, CA
Measured Progress exhibits
http://ac14.ascd.org/Default.aspx

OWL Testing Software supports current innovations in assessment. OWLTS is extremely flexible to enable you to get the data you need.

COLUMBIA, CORNELL, AND YALE NOW USING OWL TEST MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Three More Top Schools have selected the OWL Test Management System for Language Assessments

Pittsburgh, PA (PRWeb) 20 February 2014 -- OWL Testing Software announced today that the universities of Columbia, Cornell and Yale and are using the OWL Test Management System for their Shared Course Initiative. The Shared Course Initiative is a cooperative learning program coordinated by the language centers at each of the three schools. Instructors participating in this Shared Course Initiative will use the OWL Test Management System (TMS) to manage language assessments for Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTL).

For more information, please see
https://www.owlts.com/yale-columbia-cornell-using-owlt-testing-software.asp

Bloomberg Rankings: The Languages of Business

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzJHNyWoGTmnSm4wNGc5TUJHTVdrejJybnFNSHIyV3dYV3VV/edit

America the Beautiful in Different Languages

Check out the different languages...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=443Vy3I0gJs&feature=share&list=PLCIVZWq1FAwcWJmgdF5o3-QTZZ-OnBUgA

Why Machines Alone Cannot Solve the World's Translation Problem

 

Huff Post Tech
Nataly Kelly
VP, Market Development at Smartling and Co-Author, ‘Found in Translation’, Posted: 01/09/2014 
  
Why Machines Alone Cannot Solve the World’s Translation Problem

Sixty years ago this week, scientists at Georgetown and IBM lauded their machine translation “brain,” known as the 701 computer. The “brain” had successfully translated multiple sentences from Russian into English, leading the researchers to confidently claim that translation would be fully handled by machines in “the next few years.”

Fast forward six decades, and MIT Technology Review makes a remarkably similar proclamation: “To translate one language into another, find the linear transformation that maps one to the other. Simple, say a team of Google engineers.”

Simple? Not exactly.  

Read article at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nataly-kelly/why-machines-alone-cannot-translation_b_4570018.html

Give Bilingual Students Credit!

Does your school district acknowledge and reward students with  bilingual ability?

OWL Testing can provide the testing tools to give bilingual students an opportunity to earn a world language certificate for their native language that counts toward their foreign language requirement in college and enhances their prospects with employers.

Free online, peer-reviewed journal on foreign language teaching

 

 The January 2014 edition of The International Journal of Foreign Language Teaching is now available for download

 

IJFLT is a free on-line, peer-reviewed scholarly journal that advances theory and practice in foreign and second language teaching...dedicated to communicating research, articles and helpful information regarding language acquisition to support teachers as they endeavor to create fluent, multilingual students.

 

www.ijflt.org

2014 Study Abroad Opportunities

2014 AATG German summer study program for high school students

Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad Competition for Summer 2014

Overseas Balkan Language Programs

Overseas Eurasian Language Programs

Summer and Fall/AY Russian Language Immersion Programs

Boren Scholarships and Fellowships

IPA Rubrics are changing.

News from ACTFL
Paul Sandrock:
The IPA Rubrics are changing in a few different ways - and will be finalized when a new publication comes out later this year: Implementing Integrated Performance Assessment, by Bonnie Adair Hauck, Eileen Glisan, and Francis Troyan.

ACTFL SUMMER OPI ASSESSMENT WORKSHOP

Register now: ACTFL summer OPI assessment workshop at Middlebury College
ACTFL proudly announces the summer OPI assessment workshop that will be held at Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT, from July 18-21, 2013 for the following languages: Spanish, Hebrew, German, French and Portuguese. The workshop is a four-day course in professional development to introduce language educators to the Oral Proficiency Interview, ACTFL rating scale and techniques for conducting and evaluating oral proficiency interviews. More information.

There is a huge demand for nannies in Munich

Published: 9 Apr 13 06:39   Print version

 

Being a nanny or au pair can be a great way to experience German culture, but there can be pitfalls. Nicolette Kalbfell explores the ins and outs of working in Munich.

If you happen to be a young, educated English-speaking woman with a knack for keeping children entertained, you can easily find work in Munich these days.

“It was overwhelming,” said Carrie Lawler, a 27-year old full-time nanny living in the Bavarian capital. “After I posted my availability online, the number of interested families willing to hire me was in the dozens.” ....

 Online: http://www.thelocal.de/lifestyle/20130409-49009.html

FYI See what languages are spoken in the U.S.

MLA Language Map and Language Map with Enrollment Data

http://arcgis.mla.org/mla/default.aspx

The languages of the U.S. — in one map

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/03/07/the-languages-of-the-u-s-in-one-map/?goback=%2Egde_1799190_member_221056417

FYI: Testing and Assessment Webinars

Testing and Assessment Webinars

Language acquisition research increasingly points to targeted feedback as a key component for increasing learner proficiency. To receive targeted feedback,however, more refined tools for testing and assessment of learner language are needed. To this end, LARC and CALPER at Penn State (a sister national Language Resource Center) are partnering to offer a series of webinars bringing well-known researchers and practitioners together in online classrooms, with supporting podcasts for each session and webinar archives available for post-session review.

Upcoming Webinars

Date	Time	Title	Presenter	Description	Links
Thursday February 21, 2013	1:30-2:40 pm (Pacific) Check your time zone	Developing Rubrics for Language Assessment	Dr. James Dean Brown University of Hawai‘i at Manoa	Rubrics	Description & Register
Wednesday April 10, 2013	12:30-1:40 pm (Pacific) Check your time zone	Assessing Language Using Computer Technology	Dr. Volker Hegelheimer Iowa State University	Computer Assisted Testing and Assessment	Description & Register

Speaking More Than One Language Could Prevent Alzheimer's

by Nancy Shute

January 10, 2013 4:15 PM

Health News From NPR

...Earlier research has found that people bilingual since childhood are better at the high-order thinking called executive function as they age...Neuroscientists think that having more reserve brain power helps compensate for age-related declines in thinking and memory, and may help protect against the losses caused by Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. The study was published in the Journal of Neuroscience...

See: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/01/10/169066535/speaking-more-than-one-language-could-prevent-alzheimers?ft=1&f=1028

Free Online ESL Writing Workshop

The English as a Second Language Writing Online Workshop is now available, completely free of charge, at http://www.esl-wow.org/.

ESL-WOW is an online multimedia program designed to guide non-native speakers of English through each stage of the pre-writing, while-writing, and post-writing processes: 1) Getting Ready to Write, 2) Developing Your Ideas, 3) Revising Your Work, and 4) Editing and Polishing.

This online resource is designed for community college students and adult learners. ESL-WOW was developed under a grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), U.S. Department of Education.

Early immersion adds up for language dexterity

Program will grow with students

11:38 PM, Nov 9, 2012

. .. Only two states have led statewide immersion programs – Delaware and Utah, according to the state department of education. Utah’s program began about five years ago, and it served as a model as Delaware officials developed their program. But while Utah starts teaching language in first grade, Delaware’s program will begin with kindergarten students, according to the department. It is expected to cost about $1.9 million a year...
See
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20121110/NEWS03/311100040/Early-immersion-adds-up-language-dexterity?odyssey=nav%7Chead&nclick_check=1

Good Suggestions for Language Practice

Michigan State University just posted a new issue of their semiannual newsletter, CLEAR News, the Fall 2012 issue is available free for download.

“The main article contains numerous language learning strategies for students and teachers alike. Written by Scott Sterling, the article gives concrete ideas students can use to reach their proficiency goals. You can always go to the Newsletter link on our website to download the current or any past issue of the newsletter.”

Four German-style Christmas Markets in PA

Here are some opportunities to enjoy the upcoming season in German=style Christmas Markets:

 

Downtown Pittsburgh reveals Light Up Night plans

November 2, 2012 By Mark Belko / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

…But one of the biggest attractions of the holiday season will arrive a week later when a European-style market makes it debut in Market Square…

In developing the concept, the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership borrowed from the famous centuries-old Christkindlesmarkt in Nuremberg, Germany, and Chicago's Christkindlmarket, which started in 1996 and attracts more than 1 million visitors a year...

Read more:http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-city/downtown-pittsburgh-reveals-light-up-night-plans-660307/#ixzz2B5Ptp8ZD

Bethlehem, PA:

Christkindlmarkt Bethlehem Celebrates 20 Years of Holiday Magic

Over the past two decades, Christkindlmarkt Bethlehem has delighted almost one million guests from near and far with its mix of unique gift ideas, old-world charm and holiday cheer. This year the festival will celebrate 20 years of holiday magic with a six-week run that features more than 125 vendors each week, the most in its history. ..

http://christkindlmarkt.org

Harmony, PA: German Christmas Market

Harmony Museum will hold its annual German Christmas Market, “WeihnachtsMarkt” onSaturday and Sunday November 10th and 11th 2012. Come experience the fun and flavor of the German Christmas Markets held each Holiday season in Germany. Featured this year are German music and entertainment including the Teutonia Maennerchor Dancers from Pittsburgh’s German Club, Swiss Singers, and Burke’s Bavarian Band….

http://www.harmonymuseum.org/Christmas-Market.html

Mifflinburg, PA: Oldest Authentic Christkindl Market in the U.S.

Mifflinburg's version of an authentic Christmas Market, inspired by the 700-year-old traditional German Christkindlmarkt, or Christ Child Market, is a festive event prepared by various churches, organizations, schools, and residents. For three days, Mifflinburg's Market Street, with its many churches, is lined with festive outdoor huts featuring unique handmade crafts and traditional Christkindl treats…

http://www.mifflinburgchristkindlmarket.com

 

Chicago, Ill: The Christkindlmarket Chicago

Inspired by the Christkindlesmarkt in Nuremberg, Germany, which began in 1545, the Christkindlmarket Chicago brings a cherished German and European tradition with international flair and local charm to Chicago. Chicago's largest open-air Christmas festival was first held on Pioneer Court in 1996. By special invitation of Mayor Richard M. Daley, Christkindlmarket Chicago moved to Daley Plaza in 1997 and has become a staple event on the plaza ever since. Together with the support of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), Christkindlmarket Chicago has grown to become one of the most popular winter attractions in the heart of the city.

 

The Christkindlmarket Chicago is also the perfect place for teachers and professors of the German language to bring their students. Here, they have the opportunity to practice skills at the market with numerous German speaking vendors. Several educational activities for students visiting the market include: scavenger hunts, interviews with vendors, or even singing German holiday songs for all to enjoy. At the market, students get to experience authentic German traditions without having to travel any farther than the city of Chicago. From Kindergartners to graduate students the message is loud and clear: The Christkindlmarket is fun, fun, fun!

http://www.christkindlmarket.com/en/

NECTFL'S FIRST 2012-2013 GENERAL WEBINAR

 

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 4-5 P.M. (Eastern Time)

"Engaging Millennial Learners by
Broadening Class Participation"

 

See www.nectfl.org for more information