NALRC Summer 2001 Institutes: Foreign Language Learners' Strategies and African Language Classroom Management

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As interest in African language learning and teaching increases, so does the need to prepare our graduate students and teaching assistants who are planning to pursue African language teaching as a profession. The Summer 2001 Institutes have been designed to help meet this need. The institutes will train fellows in a number of crucial areas central to the effective design and operation of an African Language Program. African language teachers and scholars who are interested in professional development are also encouraged to participate in the institutes.

Program Description:
The program consists of two (2) week-long intensive institutes that will provide an introduction to a) foreign language learners' strategies and b) African language classroom management. The first week will prepare fellows to deal with different learners' strategies they may encounter in their teaching. The second week will focus on classroom structure and management, material presentation and creating syllabi and lesson plans. An NALRC certificate of completion will be awarded at the end of the program.

Funding for each fellow includes the following*:

· Travel expenses to and from Madison (each fellow will be reimbursed for his/her travel expenses);
· Room and board;

*Fellows will be reimbursed upon the completion and submission of all the projects assigned during the course of the institutes.

Eligibility:
Applicants must be graduate students in good standing in the fields of African languages, linguistics, cultural studies, literature, second language acquisition, or any related field at an accredited institution of higher education. African language instructors are also encouraged apply.

Experience in teaching African languages is preferable, but not required. All applicants must demonstrate serious interest in African language learning and teaching.

Application Process:
Each applicant should submit a letter of application and supporting documents for the Summer 2001 Institutes to the NALRC by March 30, 2001. Applicants will be notified of selection by April 16, 2001.

· Supporting documents are a current CV and three (3) letters of recommendation. One of the letters should be from the director of the applicant's African language program or language program coordinator.

Each applicant may choose to attend one or both institutes*:

Institute I (June 25-June 29, 2001): Foreign Language Learner's Strategies
Institute II (July 2-6): Classroom Management

* Applicants should state, in their letters of application, whether they plan on attending both institutes or only one.

About the NALRC
The National African Language Resource Center is a federally-funded, non-profit national foreign language center dedicated to the advancement of African language teaching and learning in the United States. The Center's mission is to serve the entire community of African language teachers and learners the United States by sponsoring a wide range of educational and professional activities designed to improve the accessibility and quality of African language instruction in the United States.

About the Summer 2001 Institutes
The Summer 2001 Institutes will help prepare African language educators in the areas of learner strategies and classroom management, both of which are essential to effective language teaching.

Facilities
NALRC's location at the University of Wisconsin-Madison provides access to all of the university's state-of-the-art classroom facilities. Institute sessions will be held in classrooms on the UW-Madison campus.

NALRC Staff
Antonia Folárìn Schleicher, Director
Amadou Fofana, Project Assistant
Aiming Wang, Program Assistant
Adesope Olusola, Technology Assistant