National Council of Organizations of
Less Commonly Taught Languages
Fifth National Conference
Washington, D.C.
April 12-14, 2002
Expanding Our Capabilities: Focus on Teacher Preparation and Professional Development for the Less Commonly Taught Languages
The Fifth National Conference of the National Council of Organizations of Less Commonly Taught Languages (NCOLCTL) is scheduled for metropolitan Washington, D.C. on April 12-14, 2002. The first day of the conference (April 12) will be held at the Foreign Service Institute and the final two days (April 13 & 14) at the Holiday Inn Arlington at Ballston, both located in Arlington, Virginia.
Proposals are solicited for individual papers, colloquia and poster sessions. The formats are described below. Proposals should fall broadly within the Conference theme of "Expanding Our Capabilities: Focus on Teacher Preparation and Professional Development for the Less Commonly Taught Languages." Although proposed presentations may focus on individual languages, each should address issues that clearly relate to more than just that one language. Sessions might include:
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Discussion of classroom-based research in the LCTLs; |
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Description of effective pre-service teacher preparation activities; |
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Description of effective inservice professional development programs; |
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Identification and analysis of needs in the area of professional development in the LCTLs; |
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Addressing professional development needs in the LCTLs, such as increasing learner-centeredness, adaptation of older textbooks, etc.; |
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Reports by individual LCTL teachers on their own individual efforts to continue to develop professionally; |
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Uses of technology in teacher preparation and professional development; |
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The role(s) of immersion experiences and summer institutes in professional development; |
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Effective training and supervision of new or inexperienced LCTL teachers; |
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Sharing of innovative instructional materials, teaching activities or classroom arrangements for an LCTL; and |
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Other topics related to the theme. |
Proposals on such other topics as curriculum development and learner needs analysis, will also be considered.
Individual papers are 20 minutes long. A paper should focus clearly on one or more issues related to the theme. Papers may be based on research or practical experience.
Colloquia are 90 minutes. A colloquium proposal should specify three or more presenters who will address one of the conference themes. Preference will be given to panels that cut across different languages or language groups.
Poster and presentation sessions may focus on completed work or work in progress related to the teaching and/or learning of less commonly taught languages. They may be of either the traditional poster format, such as presentation of materials or of results of research in progress, or demonstrations of instructional or information technology. However, any proposal requiring technical support must specify in detail the type of hardware and software needed.
Proposals should indicate the title and kind of presentation (paper, colloquium or poster session) in the upper left-hand corner, and the name of the presenter, the presenter's institution and the presenter's primary language(s) in the upper right-hand corner. The proposed title should not exceed ten words. Next should appear a 50-75 word abstract suitable for inclusion in the conference program. The proposal text should be 150-200 words long and may not exceed one page in length.
If possible, proposals should be submitted in electronic format by email to Scott McGinnis: smcginnis@nflc.org. If email is not available, proposals may be sent to the following address by hard copy:
Scott McGinnis
National Foreign Language Center
7100 Baltimore Avenue, Suite 300
College Park, MD 20740
Phone 301-403-1750 x18
Fax 301-403-1754
Email smcginnis@nflc.org
The final deadline for receipt of proposals is December 1, 2001. Applicants will be notified by email within one week of the receipt of their submissions. They will be notified by the Program Committee by January 7, 2002, whether their proposal has been accepted.