Call for Proposals: CSCTFL Conference/Extension Workshop: Keeping it in the Target Language

Calling all states to send a proposal to the CSCTFL Conference Workshop/Extension Workshop!
Identify a representative now.

Conference Workshop/Extension Workshop (CW/EW)
Thursday, March 20, 2014 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Keeping it in the Target Language
Presenters: Aleidine J. Moeller, University of Nebraska; Amy Roberts & Katie Hayes, Pius High School, Lincoln, Nebraska

There is much debate about the use of the target language and first language in the world language classroom. How much target language will maximize language development? When should the first language be used and how often? Studies have reported higher language proficiency for students in addition to higher intrinsic motivation for learning a foreign language, lower attrition, and greater appreciation of language learning when target language use is standard classroom practice. Classroom strategies and examples designed to optimize and expand target language use in the classroom will be described and illustrated. Classroom teachers who use target language exclusively in the classroom will share best practices while invoking participants actively in learning tasks and strategies.

Building on language acquisition research and theory, principles and guidelines for integration of the target language will be demonstrated via hands-on tasks and classroom videos. Participants will share their best strategies and develop a plan for a professional development presentation or workshop to be presented in their respective schools, school districts, and professional organizations.

Participants apply in advance to attend this day long workshop; the proposal form can be found here or on the CSCTFL website, http://www.csctfl.org under Conference Workshop/Extension Workshop. Each year approximately twenty-five participants are selected to attend the Conference Work­shop (CW) on Thursday during the annual meeting of Central States. Here they receive information and materials about recent trends in foreign language teaching. Participants are then asked to conduct a similar Extension Workshop (EW) in their local area in order to bring the Conference and its new and evolving ideas to a greater number of teachers.

The CW is the training session during which participants learn to conduct their own workshops. Participants receive a set of materials from each of the presenters, giving them the content information that they can use for their own EWs. They also receive guidelines and ideas for organizing, publicizing, and presenting a workshop. The emphasis in the CW is on the practical application of the new ideas for the classroom. At the end of the six-hour CW, participants are ready to conduct one or more EWs for foreign language educators in their own states. They can adjust the format, time frame, and material selection for their needs.

The ultimate goal of the CW/EW Program is to improve the quality of foreign language instruction by providing up-to-date information to teach­ers unable to attend the Central States Conference. The CW/EW program offers participants the opportunity to learn how to organize and present a workshop, to meet other foreign language educators throughout the CSCTFL region, to strengthen ties with teachers in their local area, and to serve as resource people in their foreign language community. Once participants have attended the CW training, presented their own EW(s), and filed a brief report, they will receive a small honorarium to help cover expenses. The Extension Workshop is open only to those whose proposals have been submitted and accepted, so apply early. Once accepted, the participant must register for the conference and pay a nominal workshop fee that will be fully refunded when the report is filed. Participation in the CW/EW will not replace previous registration in another conference workshop. Questions should be directed to Mary Goodwin, CSCTFL CW/EW coordinator at mgoodwin at bex dot net.

Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. CSCTFL Conference Workshop/Extension Workshop. (csctfl at aol dot com, 8 Oct 2013).