The Texas Foreign Language Association NEWSLETTER

Transcription

1 The Texas Foreign Language Association NEWSLETTER Volume 2 Issue 3 Summer 2018 Letter from the Editor I hope that everyone had a restful summer break! As you plan for the new school year, I hope that you make TFLA part of your professional development. We are thrilled to be going to the San Antonio River Walk for our fall conference and look forward to seeing you all there! Lauren Snead, Ed.D. TFLA Executive Board Marie Douglass Connie DeCastro-Herz Stephanie Escobar Diana Sullivan Susan Dworaczyk Nella Spurlin Lauren Snead Adrian Kasbergen Meredith G. Clark MayDell Jenks In This Issue Letter from the president Upcoming Fall Conference Call for Student Artwork Call for Journal Manuscripts TFLA Summer Institute Recap Becoming a Regional Coordinator

2 Dear TFLA Members, I hope you all had a wonderful First Day back in your world language classroom, in the fabulous state of Texas! Our TFLA Summer Institute took place in July at the Texas State University campus in San Marcos TX, and it was an amazing event! Many educators joined us from all over the state and took advantage of this opportunity to learn from National Presenter Laura Terrill who led us into a deeper understanding of planning and assessing for learning. Despite the heat (over 100-degree days!), we had a fantastic time collaborating, networking, sharing and learning from one another. This was a truly enriching experience for all involved. So much talent was present in the room! As you settle into your classrooms with your students, I would like to remind you of our 2018 TFLA Annual Fall Conference in San Antonio, October 25-27, at the Hyatt Regency Riverwalk. We already have over 100 sessions lead by talented presenters from all over our state, and beyond. If you take a look at the preliminary list of sessions you will find that this year, there will be an even wider array of topics, courses, levels, and languages represented. You will also have the opportunity to meet with many exhibitors ready to impress you with innovative products and materials for your classroom. You can find more information about this event on our TFLA Website. So start planning and register for this enriching and fun-filled event here. Now that we are well on our way to another amazing school year, I am looking forward to seeing all you at in October in San Antonio! Sincerely, Marie-Christine Douglass TFLA President

3 2018 TFLA Fall Conference October 25-27, 2018 Hyatt Regency Riverwalk San Antonio, Texas

4 2018 TFLA Summer Institute TFLA held its 5th annual Summer Institute July 23-25, 2018 at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. Approximately 140 teachers from around the state attended the three-day workshop. The week was filled with learning, sharing, and creating. Returning as presenter, Laura Terrill, focused this year's program on creating a learning environment for proficiency. Teachers created effective assessments and designed lessons to maximize student learning. TFLA would like to thank Stevens Learning Systems, Vista Higher Learning and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for providing a working lunch on the last day of the summer institute. Teachers were given the opportunity to collaborate and network with colleagues while working on their proficiency-based unit and daily lessons. It was a wonderful learning opportunity. We are already looking forward to next year s Summer Institute!

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6 Ken Stewart Future Language Educator Scholarship SCOLT is excited to announce the Ken Stewart Future Language Educator Scholarship! SCOLT is dedicated to building professional capacity and wants to encourage students to pursue language teaching careers. Due to a generous gift by our own Ken Stewart, SCOLT is now able to award $1000 annually to a high school senior who wants to be a World Language teacher. The first award will be made at the 2019 conference in Myrtle Beach, SC. The recipient will receive $1000 to be used for college expenses. S/he will also receive free registration to the SCOLT conference in their senior year of college as well as his/her first year of teaching! The scholarship recipient will be asked to give SCOLT progress updates throughout his/her college career. The recipient will be invited to attend the SCOLT conference to accept the award, but travel funds will not be provided. If the recipient is unable to attend the conference, we will arrange to video conference with the student during the awards ceremony. Requirements: High school senior with intent to pursue a World Language teaching career 3.5 GPA in World Language Courses 3 letters of recommendation (language teacher, peer, another teacher/ administrator Produce a 2-3 minute video in the target language* addressing a professional topic. *Classical language students may record their response in English Complete application submitted by Jan 31, Application and additional information can be found at scolt.org

7 TFLA Wants You for Big Bend! Would you like to be more involved in leadership for your profession? Do you enjoy working with colleagues and sharing ideas? Do you enjoy the challenge of creating and organizing activities and meetings? If so, consider becoming a regional coordinator for TFLA! As part of its mission to serve the teachers of Texas, TFLA has established a network of regional coordinators to represent the teachers of each region, provide feedback about teacher needs, and help organize and direct a regional conference for local teachers within their area, so that all world language teachers can attend high-quality professional development. There are 8 regions throughout the state. Big Bend is currently seeking a regional coordinator. Regional coordinators: serve a two year term. attend TFLA events. present at the TFLA annual conference. have experience presenting and speaking to a group. are able to use technology to share and communicate. help organize and direct a regional conference for local teachers least once during their term. are familiar with the newly adopted TEKS, ACTFL proficiency guidelines, and world readiness standards. If you would like to apply to serve as a regional coordinator, please contact Nella Spurlin at PD_development@tfla.info for an application form.

8 See Your Student s Work on the TFLA Journal Cover We are looking for the best student art related to world language education to be the cover of our next TFLA Journal. Have your students submit their art via PDF to publications@tfla.info by October 1, We look forward to seeing the wonderful submissions!

9 Call for Journal Manuscripts TFLA welcomes a variety of articles related to foreign language and second language acquisition. The audience of the TFLA Journal includes educators and administrators of all levels of foreign language education. Consider submitting your article related to foreign language teaching strategies or research in foreign language. Membership is not required for submission. The following manuscript requirements should be followed for article submissions: Formatting Guidelines - Submissions must adhere to APA 6 th edition guidelines. Photographs - Send photographs as separate files. Language - Articles should be written in English, but may include examples, words, and short statements written in other languages. Please include the English translation for these words. Length Article length is limited to 5,000 words. Publication The submission must not be published, in press, or under review anywhere else. Submission - Please submit articles electronically to publications@tfla.info Please submit articles by Novermber 15, 2018 for the Fall 2018 edition.if you have any questions, please contact Lauren Snead, Director of Publications at publications@tfla.info.