Changes to InterCom

We have made some changes to InterCom and will no longer be using Blogger to share content. 

InterCom helps language educators stay up-to-date on issues in language education and locate quality, relevant ideas for the classroom in one weekly customized email digest. Our editor monitors professional online communications such as listservs, blogs, and organizational websites to find the most relevant, useful information and resources for language professionals. Each issue of Intercom includes:

• Weekly topic: A brief insight into an issue relevant to language teaching and learning
• Activity of the week: An activity exemplifying the application of the week's theme
• Spotlight: Update on CASLS activity
• Publications: Links to publications that match your interests
• Professional development: Links to professional development opportunities
• Language corner: Resources and ideas for language professionals, customized to your interests

If you would like to continue to receive InterCom, please subscribe.

Using Student-Made Illustrations To Extend Class Discussion

From http://martinabex.com

Teacher Martina Bex writes:

“One of my favorite strategies for generating interesting discussions based on new vocabulary is having students draw an illustration for a scenario. For example, have the kids draw a picture of somewhere that they went, something that they saw, what they watch on TV, or what they like. These illustration-based discussions are great for providing compelling, comprehensible input to students because they personalize the structures. Here are several strategies for extending the activities beyond the actual discussion.”

Read on for the strategies: http://martinabex.com/2013/12/20/extend-your-discussion

New Ideas and Tools Each Day

The ellensclass blog is by an English language teacher, and it is full of activities, ideas, and reflections for students and teachers. Associated with the main blog are two others, An Idea a Day and Read. Know. Learn. Go. The first provides a new idea or writing/speaking prompt each day, while the second provides a new description of a tech tool each day.

The main blog is available at http://ellensclass.wordpress.com
An Idea a Day is available at http://useenglisheveryday.wordpress.com
Read. Know. Learn. Go. is available at http://readknowlearngo.wordpress.com

Five Tools That Help Students Plan Stories

From http://www.freetech4teachers.com

Here are descriptions of and links to five free tools that students can use to plan and outline their stories: http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2013/12/five-tools-that-help-students-plan.html#.UsBQzPZRaU4

Internet Resources for Language Teachers and Students

From http://mafla.org

The Massachusetts Foreign Language Association’s website includes a Hot on the Web page, which is frequently updated with websites of interest to language teachers and students. Recent posts include new year’s activities in French, a reading for Día de los Reyes in Spanish, and a Pinterest board with holiday traditions.

Browse the page at http://mafla.org/teaching-ideas/h-o-w

ISE Beyond the Classroom: Activities for Study Abroad

From http://isebeyondtheclassroom.wikispaces.com/Introduction+and+Instructions

Based on the 21st Century Skills Map developed through a collaboration spearheaded by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21), ACTFL/P21 Skills for World Language Students, ISE has developed this wikispace as a resource to share activities that deepen your students' experiences before, during and after their program abroad.

Each of the skill based pages on this site includes
1. the 21st century skills specific to world language learners,
2. the goals to develop those skills
3. and proposed activities to help your students achieve these goals before, during and after their ISE program.

Contributors to the pages have uploaded files that include study units and other destination and language based material to help you prepare your students to make the most of their program abroad. Search by destination (China, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Mexico, Peru, Spain) or language (French, German, Spanish, Mandarin) to access the files. You may narrow down your search further by clicking on "Pages and Files" above this page and then by searching the "tags" set up by language, destination and/or specific 21st Century skill. You can also contribute your own files.

The website is available at http://isebeyondtheclassroom.wikispaces.com/Home+Page

Article: Supporting English-Learner Achievement: What States Can Do

From http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning-the-language/2013/12/supporting_english-learner_ach.html

Supporting English-Learner Achievement: What States Can Do
By Lesli A. Maxwell
December 19, 2013

English-language learners are in every state, most school districts, and many classrooms. At 10 percent of the nation's public school population and growing, education policymakers in every state need to be attuned to their needs.

So argues a new policy brief from the Education Commission of the States.

In the brief, ECS describes the prevalence of English-learners and the diversity of the population, which varies greatly state by state. The brief then outlines a number of areas where policy actions could help educators better support the success of ELLs.

Read a summary of the policy brief and access the brief itself at http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning-the-language/2013/12/supporting_english-learner_ach.html

Interactive Digital Book of Writing Prompts from MakeBeliefsComix

From http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/Resources/Spark

MakeBeliefsComix.com presents its new free interactive digital book to encourage writing --Make Beliefs to Spark Your Writing.

The intent of Make Beliefs to Spark Your Writing is to let your mind roam to new places and ideas and express all the wonderful things that are within you. For example, make believe someone discovered a note you had placed in a bottle that washed up on the beach. What would it say? Or, imagine that today you’re going to do one heroic deed. What will that be?

To read and write in the book, just click on the cover. By doing do, you will download a PDF that will reveal a book of picture and word prompts to spur your imagination and stimulate your creative writing and thinking.

This book is formatted as an interactive digital journal or diary. It will allow you to write directly on your screen into the areas with lines on each of the book’s pages. When you are done typing, simply save the document until the next time you are inspired to make new entries. You also can print out any pages that you want. And, if you wish, you can send the completed digital book as an email attachment to someone with whom you wish to share your special thoughts.

Access the new digital book at http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/Resources/Spark

New Issue of Dialogue, Online Newsletter of New York State TESOL, Available

From http://dialogueonline.nystesol.org/aboutus.html

Dialogue is the online newsletter of New York State TESOL members. In the December 2013 issue:

Dialogue News & Announcements
Letter from the Editor
Upcoming Events
NYS TESOL Annual Conference Reactions

Columns:
Tech Tools: Quizlet: An exciting tool for language study by David Parker
Clearly Speaking: Sentence Stress: Content Words, Function Words and Focus Words by Joyce Mandell
First Year Focus: Classroom Management, or Who’s Running the Asylum? by Jennifer Scully

Access the latest issue at http://dialogueonline.nystesol.org/14_02

Two Online Tools for Helping with Regional and Colloquial English

From http://www.freetech4teachers.com

Richard Byrne recently described two tools that could be of use to English language learners on his Free Technology for Teachers blog.

The first is a dictionary of American regional English. Read his description of it and access a link to the site at http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2013/12/the-dictionary-of-american-regional.html?#.UsBWbfZRaU4

The second is a game called Turn-O-Phrase, which practices colloquial phrases with images. Read about it and access it at http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2013/12/turn-o-phrase-helps-students-learn.html#.UsBWivZRaU4

Free Spanish Color and Number Activities from Rockalingua

From http://www.spanishplayground.net

Rockalingua has a free 11-page set of printable activities to teach children Spanish colors and numbers. Learn more about and access the free activities and also read more about Rockalingua in this blog post: http://www.spanishplayground.net/free-spanish-color-number-activities-rockalingua

Two Articles about New Year’s in Mexico

Here are two English-language articles about New Year’s in Mexico:

Celebrating New Year’s Eve in Mexico - http://www.inside-mexico.com/newyear/newyearcelebration.htm
New Year's Rituals in Mexico - http://www.inside-mexico.com/newyear/newyearsrituals.htm

Día de Reyes Infographic

The Día de Reyes is coming right up, and here’s an infographic about the celebration in Mexico that you can show your students: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/26317979046244920

Southern Oregon University's Summer Language Institute for French and Spanish Teachers

Are you a French or Spanish teacher? Join us for a unique, intensive program specifically designed to meet the needs of middle school, high school and community college French and Spanish teachers. Southern Oregon University's Summer Language Institute for French and Spanish teachers offers summer study programs for French teachers in Angers, France and for Spanish teachers in Guanajuato, Mexico. You can earn your Master of Arts degree over three summers or come for just one summer to receive credits applicable to ongoing recertification.

SOU's Summer Language Institute for French and Spanish teachers combines courses on language acquisition and pedagogy with language and culture courses to allow you to improve both your language proficiency and cultural understanding while becoming a better teacher.

For more information, see the program webpage at http://www.sou.edu/summerlanguageinstitute or http://www.sou.edu/summerlanguageinstitute/french or call Anne Connor 541 552-6743 (Spanish) or Daniel Morris 541 552-6740 (French).

Database of Classical Scholars

From http://cdh.sc.edu/dbcs

The Database of Classical Scholars is a project initiated by the American Philological Association and provides a virtual research environment for study of American, British, and European classical scholars. Each biographical entry contains vital information, followed by a narrative assessment of the scholar's life and contribution. The third section contains the title of the dissertation (if any) followed by extensive listing of scholars works and source material for the scholar's life. Each entry will be fully searchable in all fields. The website will also feature a separate Wikiform database for living classicists to submit entries on themselves. The website will also feature videos created by the Classics Conclave of Boston in which prominent classicists give their analysis of the present state of scholarship on the ancient world.

Access this project at http://cdh.sc.edu/dbcs

AATG German Summer Study Program for High School Students

From http://www.aatg.org/?SummerStudy

Are you a high school student looking for adventure in Germany? Are you a parent looking to provide your child a summer study opportunity with a proven track record? Are you a teacher looking for a three-week immersion program where students connect with language and culture?

The German Summer Study Program for High School Students sponsored in cooperation with the German government's Pedagogical Exchange Service (PAD) provides homestay and school experience. Live with a German family, attend classes and experience the German language and culture firsthand. Nearly 2,500 students have benefited from this unique experience!

The 2014 Summer Study Program application is now available. For more details, including specific dates and locations, go to http://www.aatg.org/?SummerStudy

Summer MA Program in Japanese Pedagogy at Columbia University

2014 Summer M.A. Program in Japanese Pedagogy at Columbia University

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures) invites applications for the 2014 Summer M.A. program in Japanese Pedagogy. The program runs from June 2nd (Monday) to August 1st (Friday), 2014.

I. Three-week Pedagogy Course (6/02-6/20):
- Elementary Japanese Pedagogy, Prof. Naomi Fujita Geyer (University of Wisconsin at Madison) and Dr. Fumiko Nazikian (Columbia University)

II. 3 MA Courses (6/23-8/01):
- Phonetics, Phonology and Morphology, Prof. Timothy J. Vance (National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics)
- Semantics, Prof. Wesley Jacobsen (Harvard University)
- Syntax, Prof. Michio Tsutsui (University of Washington)

Degree candidates may fulfill the requirements for the M.A. degree in three consecutive summers or in any three summers within a period of six years by taking eleven courses and writing an M.A. thesis. The thesis is required to have a focus on a particular area of Japanese pedagogy. Students take courses for six weeks in one summer and nine weeks during the other two summers.

We also welcome non-degree students for the three-week Elementary Japanese Pedagogy course.

Special Admission Requirements: B.A. or equivalent from an accredited institution in the U.S., Japan or elsewhere, proficiency in English (for native Japanese speakers: 570/IBT88/CBT230 TOEFL or above) or Japanese (for non-native Japanese speakers/ACTFL: Advanced-High or above).

More information is available at the following websites.
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/gsas/departments/japanese-pedagogy/department.html
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/ealac/japanese/pedagogy.html

Application deadline: February 17th, 2014.
Online Application: https://app.applyyourself.com/?id=COL-GAS

Successful applicants will be notified of their admission by the middle of March. On-campus housing is available during the summer.

Contact: Shigeru Eguchi, Administrative Director of the 2014 Summer M.A. Program in Japanese Pedagogy, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures (EALAC), 407 Kent Hall, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027
Email: se53 at columbia dot edu
Tel: 212/854-3523; FAX: 212/678-8629

Eguchi, S. Summer MA Program in Japanese Pedagogy at Columbia University. JTIT-L listserv (JTIT-L@LISTS.PSU.EDU, 23 Dec 2013).

American Association of Teachers of Japanese Spring Conference

From http://www.aatj.org

AATJ’s 2014 Annual Spring Conference will be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, March 27, 2014.

The conference web page is available at http://www.aatj.org/event/2014-03-27-060000/aatj-spring-conference

Fulbright-Hays Seminar Abroad in China

From http://www2.ed.gov/programs/iegpssap/index.html

Announcing the Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad Competition for Summer 2014

What? Study abroad
When? Summer 2014 for four weeks
Where? China
Who? You! If you are an elementary or secondary educator in the United States in the fields of social sciences and humanities, including languages
Why? To learn about China’s country, people, and culture and to develop curriculum for U.S. schools

For additional information, read below and visit the Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad (SA) Program website at: http://www2.ed.gov/programs/iegpssap/index.html.

Eligibility Requirements: You need to be: (1) A citizen, national, or permanent resident of the United States; (2) Currently employed full-time in a United States school system at the K-12 level; and (3) Have at least three years of full-time teaching experience.

What the program pays for: Round-trip international airfare plus…program-related travel within the host country, room and board, and miscellaneous expenses.

What you pay for: $450.00 plus…passport, visa, travel insurance, miscellaneous personal expenses.

Application Deadline: Wednesday February 5, 2014 at 4:30pm EST

For more details go to http://www2.ed.gov/programs/iegpssap/index.html

Basic Information about Chinese Varieties on Omniglot

Omniglot is a website dedicated to writing systems and languages. It includes a page that discusses writing in Chinese as well as the major groups of Chinese varieties (with links to separate pages for each group).

Access the Chinese page at http://www.omniglot.com/chinese/index.htm