In this article we demonstrate how we created a context in which digital storytelling was designed and implemented to teach multilingual middle school students in the summer program sponsored by a local nonprofit organization, the Latin American Association, in a city in the southeastern United States. While implementing the notion of…

The Language Resource Centers (LRC) program provides grants to institutions of higher education to establish, strengthen, and operate resource centers that serve to improve the nation's capacity to teach and learn foreign languages. Eligible applicants are institutions of higher education. Duration of the grant is four years. Center activities…

A new program for core French teacher candidates called FLAGS (French Language and Global Studies) was established at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in 2007. The program is intended for those who are keen to teach core French and possess rudimentary proficiency in the language but may not necessarily have the same proficiency or prior…

This article is a reflection of English teaching in Chiclayo, Peru, at a not-for-profit cultural center. It starts with a brief explanation of the authors' desire to help transform the community through English teaching. The article then explains the concept of civic education and offers a three-tiered approach that has been designed to help the…

In order to help teachers negotiate the changing contexts of foreign language education, the National K-12 Foreign Language Resource Center (NFLRC) at Iowa State University began offering summer institutes in 1994. The authors were surprised at the intense interest in the institutes focused on technology. Since then the NFLRC has offered 36…

As the fortunate participants in the National Endowment for the Humanities summer institute entitled La Realidad Mágica de Oaxaca, the authors designed interactive ways to share their rich and colorful learning experiences with their students and colleagues. This article discusses how the authors presented their Oaxacan adventures in an all-day…

A summer seminar at Northern State College brought together German teachers from South Dakota to sharpen oral skills by speaking only German for three weeks and to revitalize teaching skills through classroom videotaping, all while earning academic credits. (MSE)

Describes the activities and objectives of an intensive summer institute on language awareness for elementary school teachers. Evaluation of the institute included home school visits and found two benefits of the institute: (1) increased awareness and tolerance for language and cultural differences, and (2) significant practical applications of…

This paper advocates that Wisconsin teachers of French should participate in immersion programs for each Department of Instruction recertification cycle. Typically, teachers obtain their immersion experience in France, initially as undergraduate students and subsequently as tour guides for their own students. The paper suggests that North American…

Describes the projects of the Alabama Commission on Higher Education's (ASHE) Foreign Language Consortium, established through federal funding in 1985 to enhance teacher training programs. The impact of the Consortium on foreign language instruction in Alabama is discussed. (Author/CB)

An institute in oral proficiency and teaching effectiveness for practicing secondary Spanish and French teachers is described. The spoken language classes of the institute took place daily, 4 hours per day for 4 weeks, using a modified Foreign Service Institute (FSI) method of small group instruction. Native speaker tutors were used who were…

The importance of using culturally authentic materials in foreign language instruction is discussed within the context of national calls for American students to understand other cultures. A brief report on a summer institute for Spanish teachers is presented. Participants studied the teaching of culture, some tenets of U.S. culture for awareness…

The origins, development, and results of a summer institute for middle school foreign language teachers held at the University of Arkansas during summer 1983, and re-funded and extended for the next 2 years, are described. The project originated from several needs in middle school foreign language instruction: the challenges in teaching to the…

Discusses a summer program conducted to retrain North Wales French teachers. It is suggested that French teaching in North Wales will be enriched by the enthusiasm of the teachers who took this course. (three references) (CK)

This paper describes an intensive, four-week summer institute for foreign language teachers that focused on the Thai language. The institute emphasized a six-point mantra of teaching methods: (1) task-based instruction; (2) learner-centered instruction; (3) contextualization; (4) authenticity; (5) spiraling; and (6) balance between skill-getting…