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Heritage Languages in America: Alliance News Flash
November 2012 www.cal.org/heritage
IN THIS ISSUE
Online Resources
Heritage Programs
STARTALK
Consortium Update
 
 

Spotlight

 

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) 2012 Annual Convention and World Languages Expo
November 16-18, 2012
Philadelphia, PA

Join Alliance members at the following ACTFL 2012 presentations.

• Increasing Heritage Language
 Student Engagement Through
 Literacy

• Development and Vitality of
 Heritage Language Education
 in the US

• Helping HL Students Succeed in
 FL Classrooms: Strategies and
 Assessment

• Curriculum and Assessment in
 Heritage Language Programs:
 Chinese, French, Spanish

Learn more.

Online Resources

Heritage Voices Collection: New Program Voices Now Available
Heritage Voices Collection logoThis online collection of documents is designed to allow heritage language speakers and programs to share their unique voices. This month, the Alliance is pleased to highlight two heritage program voices.

En Nuestra Lengua Literacy and Culture Project
This program, a collaboration between the University of Michigan, the Ann Arbor Public School District, and members of the Latino community in Ann Arbor, seeks to develop academic language proficiency of Spanish-speaking children.

Read the En Nuestra Lengua Heritage Voice. PDF icon (131 KB)

Tarbuton, Israeli Cultural Center
Located in the San Diego metropolitan area, the center offers Israeli-themed programs and classes (in Hebrew and English) for the local community and Modern Hebrew instruction for heritage language speakers.

Read the Tarbuton Israeli Cultural Center Heritage Voice. PDF icon (290 KB)

Browse the full collection.

Heritage Language FAQs and Briefs

Answers to frequently asked questions on heritage language issues are posted on the Alliance website, with supporting Heritage Briefs which outline the issue in greater detail. For this November edition of the Alliance News Flash we highlight the following FAQ.

What is language loss?
An issue of major importance to heritage language communities is language loss. Language loss can occur on a personal or familial level, which is often the case with immigrant communities in the United States, or the entire language may be lost when it ceases to be spoken at all. The latter scenario has become an all-too-common threat in indigenous communities, because their languages are not spoken anywhere else in the world. Read the Heritage Brief.

Heritage Programs

Heritage Language Program Database
This online, searchable database of programs in community, K–12, and higher education settings allows heritage language programs to exchange ideas and resources with one another.

Learn more about the online collection or submit a heritage language program profile.

STARTALK

STARTALK Resource Lists of Language Specific Materials
STARTALK has compiled lists of language specific materials including language specific and pedagogical articles, text and reference books, cultural and language-learning websites, authentic materials and media, professional organizations, and community and heritage organizations.

Visit the STARTALK website to read and download the PDFs.

Consortium Update

teacher and student photoNational Consortium of Language Program Databases
The National Foreign Language Center (NFLC) at the University of Maryland, working under the auspices of the STARTALK project, has established the National Consortium of Language Program Databases hosted by the Center for Applied Linguistics. Consortium partners collaborate with the goal of making data about language programs from a variety of sources readily available to the field.

The list of Consortium partners continues to grow and now includes

  • The Alliance for the Advancement of Heritage Languages, managed by the Center for Applied Linguistics
  • The American Association of Teachers of German (AATG)
  • The American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP)
  • The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)
  • Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA)
  • The Chinese Heritage Language Education and Research Project (CHeLER), managed by the
    University of Toledo
  • The DesiLearn Initiative, managed by the National Capital Language Resource Center at The George Washington University
  • The National Heritage Language Resource Center (NHLRC)
  • The STARTALK Initiative, managed by the National Foreign Language Center at the University of Maryland

Online Language Programs Directory
Consortium Homepage PhotoThe Consortium is pleased to launch the prototype for the Online Language Programs Directory as part of CAL’s work for the STARTALK project. Visitors to the website can search the directory for snapshot data from two of the Consortium partners, providing a proof-of-concept for possible
future activities.

 

Visit the Consortium website to learn more.

Collaborate with the Alliance

Smiling manThe Alliance for the Advancement of Heritage Languages is seeking to develop community among professionals working in heritage language education and research by providing information and resources of interest.

Bookmark the Alliance website to stay up-to-date with the latest information.

The Alliance News Flash is a quarterly online newsletter created for professionals working in the area of heritage language education, to create connections and to give updates on new developments and recent resources in the field. If you have suggestions for articles for the Alliance News Flash, for Alliance activities, and other ideas to create community, please email the Alliance at heritage@cal.org.

Share the Alliance News Flash

Encourage friends and colleagues to sign up to receive the Alliance News Flash by sharing the link to our Join Our List form

To unsubscribe, send an email to heritage@cal.org.

 

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