Blog
Author: Justin Parry Within the sphere of foreign language teaching in the United States, there are many heritage language learners. The term ‘heritage language learner’ is difficult to define in second language acquisition (SLA). Here is one definition, from The Center for Applied Linguistics (retrieved from http://www.cal.org/heritage/research/faqs.html#2): ” A heritage language learner is a person studying a language who has some proficiency in or a cultural connection to that language through family, community, or country of origin. Heritage language learners have...
Author: Justin Parry There will be a Chinese Culture Festival in various parts of Tucson from September 22–30, which is free of charge. This festival, presented by The Confucius Institute at the University of Arizona, will include a variety of events that are targeted to promote knowledge and appreciation of China’s culture and language. These events will no doubt be a great opportunity for learning about China’s rich culture and long history. For your convenience, here is the breakdown of festival...
Author: Sasha Kuchuk Did you miss your chance to attend The Third International Conference on the Development and Assessment of Intercultural Competence this January? Or would like to revisit some of the presentations? CERCLL has made available the videos of the keynote address, plenary addresses, and some paper presentations. You can see them on CERCLL’s YouTube Channel, and you can also find and download presentation slides and some other materials on the CERCLL’s website. To access to the video of Heidi Byrnes’ s presentation: Reconsidering...
Author: Sasha Kuchuk CERCLL’s project “Bringing Global Cultures and World Languages into K-8 Classrooms“, directed by Dr. Kathy Short and developed in collaboration with Worlds of Words – the International Collection of Children’s and Adolescent Literature at the University of Arizona, keeps growing and welcomes its newest addition – a Language and Culture Kit for the Russian language and culture. This project was originally designed to introduce K-8 students to less commonly taught languages (LCTLs) and cultures to create an interest in foreign language study and to make...
Author: Sasha Kuchuk CERCLL’s biennial International Conference on the Development and Assessment of Intercultural Competence is an excellent opportunity not only to catch up with the recent developments in the field and to learn from experts and peers, but also to present one’s own research. The recently concluded ICC 2012 focused on “Intercultural Competence and Foreign/Second Language Immersive Environments,” and brought together about 270 academic and language professionals from around the globe. Over four days, the conference featured one keynote and...
Author: C. Bothelo “I feel very strongly that the ideal shouldn’t be mastery of another language, because that’s an unachievable goal and holding it up as the aim just makes students feel hopeless… We should emphasise the pleasures of languages, rather than the need for complete competence.” —Marina Warner, “English that’s good enough: The mastery of English is not the intimidating ideal any non-native should seek: a smattering will do.” The Guardian, March 13 2012. Having attended the Multilingual, 2.0? symposium this...
Author: C. Botelho For those teaching in a non-language discipline, is it possible to incorporate second language acquisition/pedagogy into the cirriculum? According to Dr. Julian Hermida, the answer is “yes.” Dr. Hermida argues that just as writing across the disciplines needed to be addressed in undergraduate courses, so too does the teaching and learning of a second language. Some of the proposed means to accomplish this endeavor include: Choose a second language (L2) and connect it to your course. This...
Author: K. Peckenpaugh A recent article from the Chronicle of Higher Education (“Business Schools Worldwide Fall Short on Globalization, Report Says”) notes the results of a three-year study on globalization undertaken by an international task force of business school leaders. The report highlights a number of curricular gaps, such as that between overseas experience and curricular content, noting that “most business schools place more emphasis on studying abroad than on developing and integrating global content within the curriculum.” The overall conclusion?...
Author: C. Botelho The United States does not have an official language, although 31 states have adopted English as an official state language. In Puerto Rico, Spanish and English are both official languages, with Spanish being the dominant language and English being required for all federal matters. This has not stopped GOP presidential primary candidates Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum from advocating for some sort of “Official English” policy as a condition for Puerto Rican statehood. Romney has retreated from...
Author: Sasha Kuchuk In February, CERCLL has co-sponsored the Where Are Your Keys?workshop presented by the American Indian Language Development Insitute (AILDI) at the University of Arizona. During this workshop, Evan Gardner, the original developer of Where Are Your Keys? (WAYK) – a game-based system for acquiring languages, and other WAYK team members have introduced about 40 participants to the WAYK system and have helped them to start acquiring Apache, O’odham, and Navajo. WAYK is a game, a system, and a philosophy. WAYK sessions are...