THE BILINGUAL BRAIN IS SHARPER AND MORE FOCUSED, STUDY SAYS

April 30, 2012, 5:01 PM Wall Street Journal Blog / Health Blog By Robert Lee Hotz The ability to speak two languages can make bilingual people better able to pay attention than those who can only speak one language, a new study suggests. ...Through this fine-tuning of the nervous system, people who can master more than one language are building a more resilient brain, one more proficient at multitasking, setting priorities, and, perhaps, better able to withstand the ravages of age, a range of recent studies suggest. Indeed, some preliminary research suggests that people who speak a second language may have enhanced defenses against the onset of dementia and delay Alzheimer’s disease by an average of four years, as WSJ reported in 2010. The ability to speak more than one language also may help protect memory, researchers from the Center for Health Studies in Luxembourg reported at last year. ... See: http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2012/04/30/the-bilingual-brain-is-sharper-and-more-focused-study-says/?mod=dist_smartbrief

Momentum Builds for Dual-Language Learning

.....Experts say the interest in dual-language programs now is driven by an increased demand for bilingual and biliterate workers and by educators who see positive impacts on academic achievement for both English-learners and students already fluent in English.... Still, several studies in recent years have demonstrated that ELL students and other frequently low-performing groups, such as African-American students, do well in dual-language programs. ... http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/03/23/26duallanguage_ep.h31.html?tkn=SVRFiB%2BHyniCxugGb6XDd7Fwu6eYTyd1p%2FQd&cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS1

NEALLT 2012 CONFERENCE

Teacher Roles and Practices in Technology-Enhanced Instruction March 30 - April 1 Carnegie Mellon Pittsburgh, Pa See http://www.neallt.org/

Adventures of a Teenage Polyglot

NY Times Article By JOHN LELAND Published: March 9, 2012 SOME people pick up a little Hebrew before their bar mitzvahs, or learn Spanish from their mothers, or can speak some Japanese from a semester abroad. Timothy Doner, 16, is not one of those people. In the fall of 2009, after studying for his bar mitzvah, he decided he wanted to learn modern Hebrew, so he continued with his tutor, engaging in long dialogues about Israeli politics. Then he felt drawn to learn Arabic, so after eighth grade he attended a summer program for college students at Brigham Young University. It took him four days to learn the alphabet, he said, a week to read fluidly. See complete article: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/nyregion/a-teenage-master-of-languages-finds-online-fellowship.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

U.S. Ethnic Mix Boasts German Accent Amid Surge of Hispanics

The U.S., first populated by Native Americans, rediscovered by Europeans and colonized under the flags of the Spanish, English and French, is now filled with Germans. More than half of the nation’s 3,143 counties contain a plurality of people who describe themselves as German-American, according to a Bloomberg compilation of data from the Census Bureau’s 2010 American Community Survey. The number of German- Americans rose by 6 million during the last decade to 49.8 million, almost as much as the nation’s 50.5 million Hispanics. (Click here to explore an interactive county-by-county map of U.S. ethnic groups.) see entire article at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-06/u-s-ethnic-mix-boasts-german-accent-amid-surge-of-hispanics.html

ACTFL announces revision of Proficiency Guidelines and support materials.

Important news for everyone who tests proficiency! The ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines have been revised for 2012 with updated descriptions of what individuals can do with language in terms of speaking, writing, listening and reading. A new feature of the Guidelines is their publication online, supported with glossed terminology and annotated, multimedia samples of performance at each level for speaking and writing, and examples of oral and written texts and tasks associated with each level for reading and listening. See....http://actflproficiencyguidelines2012.org/

3 STUDY / TRAVEL OPPORTUNITIES!!

1 University of Rhode Island German Summer School 2012 Deutsche Sommerschule am Atlantik June 24 - August 3, 2012 http://www.uri.edu/iep/dssa Please forward to anyone interested! Intensive German language instruction in an immersion setting for undergraduate, graduate students and high school teachers of German Six week immersion program, consisting of two 3-week sessions (June 24 - July 13; July 15 - August 3) Fully-accredited intensive courses at five levels of instruction, including beginners Participants earn transferable University of Rhode Island credits Native-speaker instructors from Germany Complete two semesters of college German in 6 weeks of total immersion Extensive extra-curricular program of cultural presentations, recent films & excursions Internationally recognized Goethe Institute Certificate Exams B1 and B2 offered Optional short courses in German for Reading Knowledge, Pronunciation and Intonation, Technical German, Business German, German for Musicians, German for Philosophy, History and Art History Partial work-study financial aid available Deadline for application June 1st. Early application advised. For more information visit http://www.uri.edu/iep/dssa or email hedderich@uri.edu. Norbert Hedderich, Ph.D. Professor of German Chair, Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures 112 Swan Hall Director, German Summer School University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI 02881 Tel. 401-874-4710 Fax: 401-874-4694 From: Alena Palevitz [mailto:apalevitz@americancouncils.org] Sent: Wednesday, February 01, 2012 1:15 PM Subject: Reminder: State Dept. Grants for Educators ``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` 2 Dear Colleague: Our non-profit organization, American Councils for International Education, would like to remind you of two fully-funded programs for educators, whose deadlines are fast approaching. I would appreciate your assistance distributing these announcements to anyone who you think is interested, and I am happy to answer any questions you have about these programs. My contact information can be found at the bottom of this email. Both programs are fully funded through the U.S. State Department. Study Language in China or Egypt Intensive Summer Language Institutes (ISLI) provides fellowships for U.S. classroom teachers to spend six weeks overseas studying intermediate and advanced-level Arabic in Alexandria, Egypt, and Chinese in Changchun, China. Current K-12 teachers, community college instructors of Arabic and Mandarin Chinese, and students enrolled in education programs who intend to teach these languages can apply. Participants earn ten hours of graduate credit through Bryn Mawr College, and are provided with peer tutors and roundtrip airfare. All travel and study-related costs are fully covered. For more information, please visit www.americancouncils.org/isli or email isli@americancouncils.org. Program Application Deadline: March 2, 2012 Connect Internationally The Educational Seminars Program provides short-term professional development opportunities to teachers and administrators from around the world, for 2-3 week reciprocal exchange programs and one-way professional development programs. Participating countries include Argentina, Brazil, Thailand, and Uruguay for reciprocal exchanges and Greece, India, and Italy for one-way programs. All Educational Seminars provide airfare, training, travel health care, and living costs. For more information, please visit www.americancouncils.org/es or email edseminars@americancouncils.org. Upcoming Program Application Deadline for Argentina, Brazil, Thailand: March 30, 2012 Sincerely, Alena Palevitz Program Officer, Teacher Programs, Arabic and Chinese Intensive Summer Language Institutes American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS 1828 L Street, NW, Suite 1200 Washington, DC 20036 Tel: 202.833.7522 Fax: 202.833.7523 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``` 3 Dear Educators, Hello! The Keizai Koho Fellowship is an all expense paid fellowship to Japan. This once in a lifetime experience is open to Social Studies teachers and educational administrators. Applications for the 2012 Keizai Koho Fellowship Program must be received byFebruary 17, 2012. The application is straightforward and available online... http://kkcfellowships.com/fellowships/index.html Check out this not-to-be missed all expense paid ten day backstage pass to Japan! Who: Middle and High School teachers of Economics, Social Studies, and History. Supervisors,specialists, and school administrators at the district and state levels; and faculty associated withcolleges directly concerned with the training of K-12 teachers. What: Two-week Educator Tour of major industrial and corporate facilities, meetings with key businessleaders, meetings with educators including school visits, discussions with teachers and students, and ahome stay with a Japanese family in Japan. Where: The ten-day itinerary in Japan will focus on Tokyo. Typically, there is at least one scheduled visitto a destination outside of Tokyo. When: July 1 - July 13, 2012 (Tentative) Why: For an opportunity to learn first hand about contemporary Japanese societyand enhance the teaching of Japan in the classroom. How: Apply Now! Applications are due February 17, 2012.