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December 4, 2012

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News for and about language educators

Spotlight on Languages

Strategies for raising bilingual children
More than twice as many children ages 5 and older now speak a foreign language at home than they did 30 years ago, thanks to parents who aim to raise their children bilingual. "I want Delila to ... be able to interact with her extended family," a mother named Jennifer Ghurani says about teaching her child Arabic. Experts recommend various ways to create a home environment conducive to bilingual learning, such as hiring a baby sitter who speaks another language or playing foreign language music. Parenting magazine online (11/28)

Brain activity the same whether reading Chinese or French
Researchers have found that people use the same part of their brain even while reading vastly different language systems -- such as logographic characters for Chinese or the Western alphabet for French. Past studies have presumed a difference between the brain function required for reading a one character word and the function required for reading a word made of multiple letters. A better understanding of brain activity during reading could help educators improve literacy learning strategies, this article states. ScientificAmerican.com/Nature Magazine (11/27)

Other News

U.S. Naval Academy student body goes international
The Baltimore Sun (12/1)

Technology & Trends

Md. district integrates foreign language with STEM curriculum
Students at two elementary schools in a Maryland district take a semester of Spanish and a semester of Chinese each year as part of a pilot program, now in its second year, that seeks to infuse foreign language instruction in a curriculum based on science, technology, engineering and math. The language courses primarily focus on science, but also incorporate social studies, language arts, culture and health. The Baltimore Sun (11/29)

Foreign language taught at a distance using Skype
Students at a Wisconsin school are using Skype to participate in a distance learning exchange with a school in Thailand. The Wisconsin students are learning about Asian culture in an accredited class taught by a teacher in Thailand, while students in Thailand learn about U.S. history. Officials recently announced that the program, which began about two years ago, would continue at least until 2015. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (tiered subscription model) (11/30)

Other News

NYC tour company goes multilingual for foreign customers
Travel Agent Central (11/30)

21st Century Skills for Language Learning
The District Supervisor of World Languages at Northern Valley Regional HS believes their language lab supports the 21st century skills approach to learning with the emphasis on students being able to communicate in the target language. They were looking for the best tools to help them prepare their students for the real world. Download the full article.

Policy Watch

Lack of language ability is holding back Scotland's business
Companies in Scotland have failed to take advantage of opportunities in foreign markets and prefer to export to English speaking countries, a new study has found. The trend has developed because Scotland's labor force lacks bilingual workers. The study traced the problem to a drop in the number of students taking foreign language courses during the past decade. Scottish government officials say a plan is under way to improve language skills. BBC (11/26)

Funding plan in Wis. points higher ed in the wrong direction
Benjamin Rifkin, dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the College of New Jersey, outlines the flaws he sees in Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's approach to funding state institutions in this Inside Higher Ed piece. Walker has suggested that resources go to programs providing education in fields the state needs for economic growth. That approach, Rifkin argues, will label programs in foreign languages and the humanities as not useful, even though some of the country's most successful people majored in them. He also points out that no one can predict the state's future educational needs. InsideHigherEd.com (11/27)

Other News

Del. district ramps up elementary language options
Education Week (premium article access compliments of EdWeek.org) (11/30)

ACTFL News

Watch the ACTFL 2012 keynote address by K. David Harrison
Identified by many as the highlight of the 2012 ACTFL Convention, Dr. Harrison's presentation is now available for viewing on the ACTFL website. And it isn't too late to access handouts/presentation slides from convention sessions. There are currently handouts from more than 100 sessions, but check back often as presenters are still uploading handouts.

Submit videos for this year's ACTFL video contest
ACTFL is proud to present its national student video contest to celebrate Discover Languages month during February 2013! This effort is part of the sustained Discover Languages public awareness campaign, which is designed to bring media attention to the critical need of all students to have the opportunity to learn a second language. Cash and product prizes will be awarded to the students who produce the winning videos. The deadline is Dec. 20. Learn more and submit.