American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) 2011 Convention
November 18 – 20, 2011
Colorado Convention Center
Denver, CO
View the conference website.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Research Into Practice for Language Teachers
Current research in cognitive and social constructs underlying the second language acquisition process has important implications for teaching and learning. This presentation will provide practical methods and materials for preparing teachers to teach language learning strategies, online resources in assessment training, and resources for LCTL teachers on language teaching methodology.
Presenters include Margaret Malone
2:30 – 3:30pm
Room 603
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Empowering Heritage Language Teaching Through Use of Digital Technologies
Heritage language educators face challenges of limited instructional hours and lack of diverse and age-appropriate materials. Presenters demonstrate how digital stories and educational wikis can address these challenges and foster engaging, creative, and meaningful heritage language learning.
Presenters include Na Liu
8:00 – 9:00am
Room 607
Trends and Best Practices in Foreign Language Assessments from CAL
Participants will learn about the Center for Applied Linguistics' innovative foreign language assessments and assessment resources, including computer and face-to-face assessments. In addition to discussing how these assessments align with best practices in foreign language instruction, the workshop will explore applications to a variety of contexts, from pK-adult.
Presenters: Lynn Thompson and Margaret Malone
9:00 – 9:50am
Exhibit Hall, Workshop Room 2
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Community-Based Heritage Language Programs: Challenges and Successes
Community-based language schools were established by ethnic groups to support learning of their languages and cultures, which represent a rich national resource in the U.S. Program staff often face overwhelming challenges to keep their classes going. This session discusses the challenges and showcases the successes of some community-based schools.
Presenters include Na Liu, Joy Peyton
11:15am – 12:15pm
Room 708
Wikis and Podcasts: Sharing Expertise in Developing Chinese Curriculum
Snippets of Wikis, podcasts, and video clips are shared to bring alive lesson planning in an innovative Chinese curriculum. Teacher verbalization and modeling of strategies for material development, and the planning and delivering of lessons, are highlighted to show how they motivate and engage young learners of Chinese.
Presenters include Nancy Rhodes, Chengbin Yin
2:00 – 3:00pm
Room 602
Promoting Oral Proficiency Gain in Spanish-Speaking Study Abroad Homestay Placements (poster session)
This poster describes preliminary results of a research study investigating the effects of structured training designed to optimize oral proficiency gain in study abroad homestay placements. Host families of students in semester-long programs in Peru and Chile (N=15) were trained in strategies to increase meaningful conversation with students. Quantitative and qualitative analyses are used to examine student language gains as compared with a control group that does not receive the training (N=15). Transcriptions of test responses and conversations are coded for linguistic features specific to the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines—Speaking. Survey data is also presented to explore participant beliefs.
Presenters: Francesca Di Silvio, Margaret Malone, Anne Donovan
3:00 – 4:00pm
B Lobby
Preliminary Findings from the Consortium of Heritage Language Program Databases
This presentation describes an effort to document the work of heritage language programs in the United States in K-12 public and private school, postsecondary, and community-based settings. This will be accomplished through a national consortium and organizational collaborations. Information will include languages taught, types and locations of programs, and curriculum.
Presenters include Joy Peyton
5:15 – 6:15pm
Room 404
STARTALK Assessment: Applications From Research and Practice
This paper describes current assessment programs for intensive, short-term language programs in less commonly taught languages. In addition to analyzing the 83 curricula in six languages, the session describes a research study (N=385) that explored the efficacy of and relationship among a system of three different assessment instruments.
Presenters: Margaret Malone and Katherine Riestenberg
5:30 – 6:30pm
Room 109
The Case for Connecting Foreign and Heritage Language Education
A comparison of foreign language public and private school data with census data indicates a mismatch between what is taught and the heritage languages spoken in the United States. This presentation analyzes this mismatch and addressees how federal, K-12, and community connections can overcome it to advance language teaching in the United States.
Presenters: Terrence Wiley, Nancy Rhodes, Casey O'Hara, Deborah Kennedy, Joy Peyton
5:30 – 6:30pm
Room 304
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Stakeholder Groups in the Development of Arabic Proficiency Assessment Resources
This session explores the collaborative process of developing two resources designed to address the lack of instruments available for Arabic classroom oral proficiency assessment: A self-paced program to train teachers to rate oral proficiency and an online tutorial to increase students’ understanding of key concepts. An iterative development process incorporated feedback from five stakeholder groups: (1) students; (2) teachers; (3) test administrators and raters; (4) test developers; and (5) programmers. Participants and presenters will then define the roles of stakeholder groups relative to results from focus groups, surveys, and cognitive laboratories. Finally, participants will discuss implications for Arabic language teaching.
Presenters: Margaret Malone, Katherine Riestenberg, Francesca Di Silvio
8:00 – 9:00am
Room 108
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