Events
- Annual Convention
- Great Teaching Round-up
- Leading from the middle
- fall conference for faculty leaders
- The Texas Network
"I think there is something more important than believing: Action! The world is full of dreamers, there aren't enough who will move ahead and begin to take concrete steps to actualize their vision."
Events: 2012 Foreign Language Schedule
Foreign Language Summary
Friday, 11:15 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.
"Working With and Around Technology to Implement an Effective Teaching Methodology"
Speaker: Maximo Rafael Salaberry, Professor of Spanish Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition, University of Texas-Austin
Saturday, 9:00 - 10:15 a.m.
"Si Puedo: Interactive Strategies to Help Students Gain a Tangible Sense of Accomplishment in the Language Learning Process"
Speaker: Sharon Foerster, Retired Coordinator of Lower Division Spanish, University of Texas-Austin
Friday, March 2nd, 11:15 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.
"Working With and Around Technology to Implement an Effective Teaching Methodology"
Speaker: Maximo Rafael Salaberry, Professor of Spanish Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition, University of Texas-Austin
This presentation describes the different ways in which technology can support or hinder the implementation of an effective teaching methodology. The presenter will discuss several examples of the implementation of activities that showcase the principled use of technology to maximize language instruction. Participants in the session will be provided with sample teaching materials that will be used to determine the most appropriate procedures to incorporate technology to the second language classroom.
Biography:
M. Rafael Salaberry (PhD, Cornell University 1997) is Professor of Spanish Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at University of Texas-Austin. As Director of the Language Program, Prof. Salaberry supervises the design of curricula and its implementation in all language courses comprising first to third year Spanish and Portuguese at Ut-Austin. Prof. Salaberry’s main areas of research are (1) the morphological, syntactic and discursive development of tense and aspect among adult second language (L2) learners, (2) L2 teaching in the university setting, including methodology, assessment & testing, and the effects of learning environments (e.g., study-abroad, electronic-mediated interaction), and (3) bilingualism, bilingual education and policies on bilingual education. He has published 8 books as author, editor and co-editor on some of the topics of his research with John Benjamins (2000, 2002, 2005), Georgetown University Press (2003, 2006), Continuum Press (2008), Multilingual Matters (2009), and Mouton de Gruyter (forthcoming). He has also published his work in peer-reviewed journals such as Applied Linguistics, Bilingualism, The Canadian Modern Language Review, Hispania, Language Learning, Language Learning and Technology, Language Testing, The Modern Language Journal, and System. He is also on the Editorial Board of the peer-reviewed journal Language at Internet.
Saturday, March 3rd, 9:00 - 10:15 a.m.
"Si Puedo: Interactive Strategies to Help Students Gain a Tangible Sense of Accomplishment in the Language Learning Process"
Speaker: Sharon Foerster, Retired Coordinator of Lower Division Spanish, University of Texas-Austin
This presentation offers teachers strategies for creating a dynamic Spanish language classroom experience. “Dynamic” presupposes that there is ample movement and conversation exchanges taking place in each class period. This presentation will offer a template that creates a comfortable class atmosphere conducive to active participation that stresses self-expression without sacrificing grammatical accuracy. Fun pronunciation practice exercises, unique vocabulary acquisition techniques and interactive communicative activities will be presented in cooperative learning settings.
Biography:
Sharon Foerster is co-founder and Academic Advisor for Academic Programs International. She received her Master’s degree from Boston University and her Ph.D. in Intercultural Communications from the University of Texas. Before joining the faculty at the University of Texas, where she was Coordinator of Lower Division Courses in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, she was a resident director in Seville, Spain where she taught EFL and foreign language methodology classes. She retired from the University of Texas in 2001, but she continues to teach at the Summer Language School at Middlebury College in Vermont. She is the co-author of seven language textbooks for college-level students published by McGraw-Hill, Inc. and continues to present papers at professional conferences in the States and abroad.
Foreign Language Section Chair:
Janett Hillar, Houston Community College–Southwest