Spanish continues to be the most common foreign language taught in
elementary schools.
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Strategies & Methodology
Click here for information on the latest in early language teaching methods.
Materials & Curricula
Discover a wealth of information on foreign language curricula and teaching materials.
Student Assessment
Find information on how to assess students' foreign language skills.
Search a database to find programs in your area.
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Courses & Workshops
Here you will find workshops and courses of particular interest to early foreign language teachers. In addition to online courses, the list includes courses offered both during the school year and over the summer, arranged in alphabetical order by state. Also, please check our resources under Teacher Certification Programs and Calendar of Events.
If you would like your workshop or course listed or know of others, please send us an e-mail.
Online Courses
Foreign Language Teaching Methods Online
The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) and Weber State University (Ogden, UT) have developed a graduate online teaching methods course for preservice and inservice K-12 foreign language teachers. The course was described in a feature article of LanguageLink (2002).
Teaching Languages Other than English in Childhood
This online course is for foreign language teachers wishing to extend their certification to the elementary grades. It will be offered by the University of Long Island during the 2010 Summer Session II.
Spanish/French Language and Culture Online
These graduate courses, offered by Bennington College,
VT, allow students to explore cultural issues in the target language
through authentic texts. The weekly workload for these courses averages
5–6.5 hours/week. Three graduate language credits. For more
information or to register, contact Nancy Pearlman at 802-440-4710
or npearl@bennington.edu.
Developing Leaders Through Teacher Research: Action Research for Teachers
Because action research can be complex and dynamic, students
are assigned a mentor who will support them through the research process.
Students are required to correspond with their mentor at least once a
month, developing and refining their projects as they unfold. Students
are also encouraged to enter into online discussions with the other students
in their mentor’s care to strengthen both their cohort ties and
their research skills by helping each other. The weekly workload for this
course averages 6–8.5 hours/week. Four graduate education credits.
For more information or to register, contact Nancy Pearlman at 802-440-4710
or npearl@bennington.edu.
Iowa
National K-12 Foreign Language Resource Center at Iowa State University
The Center usually offers summer institutes on a variety of topics, including leadership development.
Maine
Summer Methods Workshop, University of Maine, Farmington
This graduate level three-credit class is designed to help teachers incorporate modern languages into the K-8 curriculum. The course is based upon the Learning Results of the State of Maine and is appropriate for teachers from any state who wish to incorporate foreign language teaching and learning standards into their classrooms. It can be taken for French or Spanish.
Michigan
Center for Language Education and Research (CLEAR)
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
CLEAR offers summer workshops for teachers. Past topics included: (1) Developing online language materials and (2) Toward friendly assessment in the foreign language classroom. CLEAR offers Continuing Education Units (CEUs) from the State of Michigan, which are free of charge and may count toward teacher certification. More information is available on the Web site or by phone at 517.432.2286 or email.
Minnesota
Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA)
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Weeklong workshops on a variety of topics, including immersion techniques, content-based curriculum development, and the use of technology. For more information, see the CARLA Web site or contact by telephone (612) 626-8600 or email.
Concordia Language Villages
Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota
This graduate course in second language methodologies focuses on immersion language instruction and how it can be applied to the K-12 language classroom. After an introduction to immersion teaching principles and their application to the language classroom, participants visit the Concordia Villages to see the methods in action. For a half-day the participants become villagers at one of the Scandinavian Language Villages, experiencing what it is like to be beginning language-learners. Subsequent visits to the Villages allow teachers to observe how the language they teach is taught and reinforced throughout the day. They are encouraged to participate in all the activities offered throughout the day from language-learning sessions to songs, dances, soccer, artwork, café, and nature hikes.
Languages: 13 languages, including German, French, Spanish, Arbaic, Scandinavian, and Asian languages. Three credits are possible through Concordia College after fulfilling requirement. Cost is 1135.00; scholarships are available to teachers of the Central States and for German language teachers through
AATG.
Information at
the Web site or by phone (800-222-4750) or
email.
New Jersey
The Foreign Language Educators of New Jersey (FLENJ)
Offers regular workshop of interest to early language educators. For more information, registration, and directions, go to their Web site.
Upcoming workshops include how to use student performance data and curriculum adjustments to maximize student performance.
New York
New York State Association of Foreign Language Teachers Summer Institute
August 3-6, 2009
SUNY, Oneonta, New York
A wide variety of workshops, including for FLES and middle school level, are offered.
Ohio
Summer Program East Asian Concentration at Ohio State University
Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Training Programs for Teachers of Japanese and Chinese as well as language immersion classes and camps fro students.
For more information, consult the Web site or contact by phone (614) 688-3080; or email.
Texas
National FLES Institute of Texas
The Hockaday School, Dallas, Texas
This 4 1/2 day intensive workshop is
offered in the summer. It is intended to provide detailed instruction to all FLES teachers, program administrators, and foreign language supervisors involved with the teaching of foreign language at the elementary level. Note: The institute is not offered in 2010.
For more information, check the Web site or contact Marcela Gerber, Institute Director & Founder.
Washington, D.C.
NCLRC Summer Institutes for Foreign Language Educators
Georgetown University, The George Washington University, Center for Applied Linguistics; Washington, D.C..
NCLRC offers a wide variety of workshops that focus on teaching Arabic, French, Spanish, Chinese, assessment, video production, and culture, among others. For more information, see the Web site or call 202-973-1086.
Updated
May 26, 2010
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