The Catalyst

January 2015

FLANC's Fall Conference moves to Durham in 2015 and 2016 New place, new opportunities.

FLANC's statewide fall conference is moving to Durham in 2015 and 2016. The 2015 conference will be held at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel and Convention Center, located just off I-40, Friday-Saturday, October 2324, 2015. The theme: Power Up and Engage! Celebrating World Language Education. The move was made in response to some members' wish to hold the conference closer to Raleigh some years. To minimize potential new costs for this venue, while keeping, and even adding, to its benefits to members, there are some exciting new features for 2015: Webinars: Starting on Monday, Oct. 19, FLANC will offer evening webinars free to all members. Friday/Saturday Sessions: This year we'll have 50-minute sessions divided into more rounds (9 or 10). This means that conference goers can attend even more sessions over the two-day period. Workshop Timing: 3-hour workshops will move to Friday night and Saturday afternoon. This maximizes the events available, and for many, will require fewer hotel nights, too. Free Parking!: It's amazing, but yes-parking is free at the Sheraton Imperial.

FLANC 49th Annual Fall Conference, Fall 2015 Deadline for submission: Feb 28th, 2015 Conference Theme: Power Up and Engage! Celebrating World Language Education Keynote Speaker: Yo Azama, ACTFL 2012 National Language Teacher of the Year Submission information: 50-minute sessions: Submit original, innovative ideas for language teaching. Sessions that show how world language education develops students' intercultural competence are encouraged, but sessions in all areas of world language education are welcome:

Assessment Advocacy Heritage learners Immersion Learning styles & strategies Proficiency-oriented teaching Stadard-based curriculum Technology, etc. We also welcome sessions that address teaching ideas for specific age levels or languages: FLES Middle & High Schools Community Colleges Colleges & Universities Arabic Chinese French German Italian Japanese Latin Spanish Portuguese Russian, etc. Research roundtables will be back at FLANC again! Submit proposals to share completed or ongoing research in language acquisition. Three-hour workshops: We will offer 3-hour workshops on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon. Submit proposals for workshops that will engage teachers and energize them with great ideas! Click here (http://flanc.org/?sec=conference&page=proposal) to submit a proposal. Questions? Contact Yasuko Rallings ([email protected]), 2015 Program Chair

Spring Conference at UNC-W FLANC Spring Conference in February at UNC-W Mark your calendars! The FLANC Spring Conference will be held at UNC Wilmington on Saturday, February 21, 2015. Carmen Scoggins, winner of the 2014 Best of FLANC Award, will present the keynote session ("Sustainable Teaching for World Language Endurance"). In addition, the conference will feature several of the award-winning presentations from the FLANC 2014 Top Ten list. Sessions will highlight best practices for the implementation of technology, the teaching of culture, and engaging students in authentic learning experiences both within and beyond the classroom. You will not want miss this exciting professional development opportunity! Registration is now open. Please register through the FLANC website (www.flanc.org) by February 10. We look forward to seeing you in Wilmington next month!

Focus on French Grant Award to NC State Promotes the Study of French In early November, North Carolina State University announced that it was one of four university recipients of the Partnership for Innovation and Collaboration on Study Abroad grant awarded by the French Embassy in the United States. The grant was awarded under the auspices of the Transatlantic Friendship and Mobility Initiative, a joint initiative between the two nations to double the number of students participating in study abroad programs by 2025. The grant promises to support the study of French for not only NCSU students, but also high

school students across our state. NCSU has four primary goals for this grant project. First, it intends to open exciting international career opportunities by helping more high school students become eligible to participate in an undergraduate dual degree program with NEOMA Business School in Reims, France. NCSU students in this program spend their junior and senior abroad completing required coursework and a six-month internship, all in French. Second, it will assist NCSU students who are double majoring in French and another discipline to successfully apply for the Benjamin Franklin Travel Grant awarded by the Embassy of France. Third, it intends to encourage underrepresented NCSU students to study in France by creating a short, spring break program in Paris embedded in a semester-long, on-campus course on French culture and diversity. The course will serve the needs and interests of underrepresented groups on campus including student athletes, students preparing to become French teachers, and students from diverse racial and ethnic groups. Finally, the grant will not only benefit NCSU students, but promises to offer exciting opportunities for high school students in the state as well. The university will offer a special summer program in Raleigh for high school students designed to strengthen language skills regardless of how much French is offered at the student's high school. Students who participate in this summer program would earn college credit and receive a guaranteed study abroad scholarship of $1,500 if they attend NCSU and participate in any program in France. The summer program will also include leadership development, college prep, social, and service activities. Contributed by Jeff Pageau (Allied Liasion and FLANC 2013 Teacher of the Year) and Franca Gilbert (FLANC 2014 Teacher of the Year)

Ausgezeichnet! The amazing Wendy Burgbacher and the fabulous Jo Garrison received national awards for their work in the teaching of German, adding once more to North Carolina's huge total of award recipients in recent years. Wendy (World Language Department Chair at Cary Academy) was awarded the Goethe Institut/AATG Certificate of Merit. Jo Garrison (Ligon Middle School) won the Outstanding German Educator award-the highest honor conveyed by the American Association of Teachers of German. Awardees are chosen from among many national nominees and must submit a portfolio that showcases their many accomplishments. Congratulations, Wendy and Jo, for all that you do to support German in North Carolina! Wendy Burgbacher is pictured here in the middle with previous awardee Gabriele Verhoeven and AATG's Susanne Rinner from UNC-Greensboro.

UNC-G Japanese Professor Wins the 2014 AATJ Teacher Award The American Association of Teachers of Japanese (AATJ) announced that Dr. Chiaki Takagi, Senior Lecturer of Japanese Studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, was selected as a recipient of the 2014 AATJ Teacher Award. The Award recognizes outstanding teachers who have demonstrated excellence in teaching, advocacy, and leadership in Japanese education both locally and nationally. Through her dedication and enthusiasm, Dr. Takagi has developed a very successful Japanese program at UNC-G and served the community by facilitating numerous Japan-related outreach events. Please join us in congratulating Dr. Takagi!