Call for Consortium Workshop

The Consortium for Language Teaching and Learning is pleased to announce that it seeking proposals from its members schools for the organization of a workshop on issues of pedagogy to be held in the fall of 2013 on one of its member campuses. To support this initiative, the CLTL offers funding of up to $5000 in support of the workshop. Proposals must be submitted by a member of the language faculty of one of the member institutions. Joint proposals by more than one institution are particularly welcomed. All proposals will be reviewed by members of the Consortium Board, and one will be selected for funding.

More details are available in the attached document below.

Call for Proposals

Rethinking the Language Center (Presentations)

Introduction to the Symposium
Nelleke Van Deusen-Scholl, Director, Yale Language Center; Executive Director of the Consortium for Language Teaching and Learning

Introduction to the Keynote Presentation
Nelleke Van Deusen-Scholl, Director, Yale Language Center; Executive Director of the Consortium for Language Teaching and Learning

The Educational Promise of the Language Center
Claire Kramsch, University of California at Berkeley

Presentation slides available here.

Panel 1: Mission (Facilitated by Catherine Baumann, Senior Lecturer, Director of the Language Program in German, University of Chicago)

Richard Kern, Associate Professor and Director of the Berkeley Language Center, University of California at Berkeley

Presentation slides available here.

Stéphane Charitos, Director of the Language Resource Center, Columbia University

Dianna Murphy, Associate Director, UW-Madison Russian Flagship Center; Associate Director, Languages Institute, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Presentation slides available here.

Panel 2: Stucture (Facilitated by Richard Feldman, Director, Language Resource Center, Cornell University)

Dan Soneson, Director of CLA Language Center, University of Minnesota

Presentation slides available here.

Mary Toulouse, Director of FLL Resource Center and Visiting Instructor of French, Lafayette College

Presentation slides available here.

Ray Clifford, Director, Center for Language Studies, Brigham Young University

Presentation slides available here.

Panel 3: Governance (Facilitated by Elsa Amanatidou, Senior Lecturer, Modern Greek Studies. Director, Center for Language Studies, Brown University)

Steven Clancy, Director of the Slavic Language Program, Harvard University

Presentation slides available here.

Hiram Maxim, Director of The Emory College Language Center and Associate Professor, German Studies, Emory University

Presentation slides available here.

Rethinking the Language Center in the Age of Globalization - A Symposium sponsored by the Consortium for Language Teaching and Learning and the Yale Center for Language Study

When: November 9 and 10, 2012

Where: Yale University

Approximately twelve years ago, the Consortium for Language Teaching and Learning convened a small symposium at Yale University to discuss the then emerging role of language centers at institutions of higher education (cf. Garrett, 2001).  Since then, there have been significant developments with a major impact on foreign language education in the United States: the post 9/11 emphasis on the so-called critical languages, the 2007 MLA report “Foreign Languages and Higher Education: New Structures for a Changed World,” and the strong movement toward institutional globalization.  Centers must adapt to meet the current goals of foreign language education, which, as noted in the MLA Report, are shifting toward an emphasis on translingual and transcultural competence. Moreover, the brick and mortar presence of the language center as a sophisticated technology space has lost some of its relevance, as technology has moved toward online applications that allow students and faculty to access resources from anywhere, whether that be at home, in the office, or abroad. However, other needs have become more urgent: professional development and support of language faculty – especially those in so-called bifurcated departments - has become central to and even a critical part of the mission of language centers. The language center has also become a space for innovation and experimentation in language teaching, where new approaches can be piloted and new technologies can be tested.

The symposium will be held at the Whitney Humanities Center and will start on Friday night (November 9) with an opening talk by Claire Kramsch (UC Berkeley) entitled "The educational promise of the language center" followed by a reception. On Saturday (November 10), there will be three panels, devoted in turn to Mission, Structure, and Governance, each with three invited speakers.  We hope to bring together colleagues from a range of institutions across the United States.

You can register for the conference here.

Please click here for a copy of the conference program.

Parking and accommodation information can be found here.

We invite you to participate in this discussion.