Language immersion programs at UW-Madison [The Capital Times]

Todd Finkelmeyer —  The Capital Times 7/21/2008

The Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute and the South Asia Summer Language Institute are eight-week intensive language training programs for undergraduates, graduate students and professionals. The eight-week courses, both of which are currently hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, count as one full year of language.

The Southeast Asian institute offers instruction at the first-, second- and third-year levels in Burmese, Filipino, Hmong, Indonesian, Javanese, Khmer, Lao, Thai and Vietnamese. The program is part of a nationwide network of teaching faculty from such institutions as Arizona State University; Cornell University; Northern Illinois University; Ohio University; University of California, Berkeley; University of California, Los Angeles; University of Hawaii at Manoa; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; University of Michigan; University of Washington; UW-Madison; and Yale University.

Representatives from these institutions meet annually to discuss the program, with all major decisions subject to approval by a governing board. For more information, go to www.seassi.wisc.edu.

The South Asia Summer Language Institute offers language instruction in Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sinhala, Tamil, Telugu, Tibetan and Urdu. Sponsoring universities include: Columbia University; Cornell University; Syracuse University; University of California, Berkeley; University of Chicago; University of Pennsylvania; University of Texas at Austin; University of Washington-Seattle; and UW-Madison.

For more information, visit www.sasli.wisc.edu.

Push for Americans to Learn Arabic Abroad [Inside Higher Ed]

By Elizabeth Redden for Inside Higher Ed

The number of American students studying in Kuwait recently plunged 50 percent in one academic year — well, that is, it fell from two to one.

In developing a new study abroad arm, America-Mideast Educational and Training Services, Inc. is counting on that number going up, as well as the number of Americans deciding to study in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, and Tunisia. Despite that shocking decline in Kuwait, the number of students studying in the Middle East and North Africa has been rapidly increasing, climbing in the Middle East, for instance, 30.8 percent in one year, from 1,977 in 2004-5 to 2,585 in 2005-6, according to data from the Institute of International Education.

Meanwhile, the study of Arabic at U.S. colleges increased 126.5 percent from 2002-6, according to the Modern Language Association.

Yet, while interest is growing, capacity has not kept pace, making AMIDEAST’s expansion significant in that the organization hopes to create an extra 500 to 700 study abroad slots within five years, according to its study abroad director.

“There’s this huge increase in interest,” said Jerome Bookin-Weiner, director of study abroad and outreach for AMIDEAST, a nonprofit founded in 1951 headquartered in Washington and with field offices throughout the Middle East and North Africa. The organization managed its first AMIDEAST-branded study abroad program in Morocco last fall, and is developing semester- and academic-year programs starting in 2009 for Egypt, Jordan and Kuwait, in addition to summer options — an intensive Arabic program in Morocco and a “learn and serve” program in Tunisia.

UW senior serves as translator for Bucks’ Yi Jianlian [The Capital Times]

By Todd Finkelmeyer, The Capital Times

Matt Beyer is the first to admit he’s catching his breath just a bit as he wraps up a whirlwind senior year at UW-Madison.

“I’m not going to lie, it was really intense,” said Beyer, who is taking two courses this summer to complete his undergraduate degree. “When the year was over, I felt a little burned out.”

A little burned out?

Not only was Beyer putting the finishing touches on a triple major of Chinese, East Asian studies and journalism, but from October through April he served as the interpreter for Milwaukee Bucks 7-footer Yi Jianlian, a rookie from China.

The Bucks play 82 games during the regular season, with half 75 miles down the road in Milwaukee and the rest at various NBA cities around the country. And with rare exception, Beyer was at Yi’s side as an interpreter for media interviews both before and after every game.

“You know what the strange thing is?” said Beyer, who recently turned 23. “As intense as it was, I miss the season already. It was so fun, and now watching the NBA playoffs on TV I wish the Bucks were still in it. I didn’t sleep much during the year, but everything was so exciting and new, I just felt grateful to be in that position.”

Beyer, who grew up in Elm Grove, a suburb of Milwaukee, was first introduced to Chinese culture when he traveled with his family to the city of Xi’an, where his parents adopted a young boy and girl from an orphanage. He was 10 at the time.

Beyer eventually became so interested in China that he spent two years studying there straight out of high school before enrolling at UW-Madison in the spring of 2005.

New Online Methods Course for Instructors of Less Commonly Taught Languages

The Language Institute and the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages are pleased to announce the Fall 2008 pilot of Methods of Teaching Less Commonly Taught Languages, a new online course for post-secondary instructors of less commonly taught languages (LCTLs). Enrollment is limited!

Course Description

Methods of Teaching Less Commonly Taught Language is a fully online course developed in the University of Wisconsin-Madison Language Institute, in collaboration with the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages (NCOLCTL), to provide pre- and in-service teachers of less commonly taught languages (LCTLs) at the postsecondary level with an introduction to language teaching methods.

The course is built around the National Standards for Foreign Language Education, with a framework that responds directly to the particular challenges shared by many instructors working in LCTLs in the United States.  The course is based on original material authored by the project team, videotaped interviews with LCTL professionals and students, videotaped exemplars of classroom practices, and readings from professional journals and other works.  In this course, you will reflect on your and other’s teaching practices, learn about approaches to language teaching and research in language learning, and apply new ideas and methods to your teaching.

Course authors

Sally Magnan, Dianna Murphy, Robin Worth, Erlin Barnard

Questions about enrolling

Dr. Dianna Murphy, (608) 262-1575

Click here for more Information.

UW–Madison Receives Federal Grant for Middle East Studies

The Middle East Studies Program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison received a grant from the U.S. Department of Education to increase expertise among students and faculty on this strategically important region. The grant will allow UW–Madison to expand the available pool of knowledge of Middle East languages and cultures across the campus.

“This grant allows the Middle East Studies Program to meet the demands from undergraduate students wanting more and higher language and culture programs,” said Uli Schamiloglu, Director of Middle East Studies. “Not only can we now meet these demands but we can also provide a strong dependable resource for a better understanding the region.”

With the grant the Middle East Studies program plans to develop advanced Colloquial Arabic courses as well as regularize the offering of three levels of Persian. It also plans to enhance the Persian summer immersion program and expand in its study-abroad programs for students. The program will reach out to the campus and community by improving their resources in library holdings, films, speakers, and faculty development grants. It will also create relationships with institutions in the Arabic world that will strengthen its resource base and available opportunities for students.

The Department of Education awards Title VI A funding to develop, enhance, and apply international undergraduate programs to strengthen and advance foreign languages and studies.

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Students embrace Arabic in new International Learning Community

By Dana Bedessem, Division of International Studies

Arabic script runs along the dormitory hall of the third floor in Adams Hall. To an outsider it looks like an intricate design flowing among the plaster, but to the residents it provides direction and introductions to their fellow floormates.

This is Baytunaa, the Arabic floor in the International Learning Community (ILC). Baytunaa, meaning “our home,” houses five undergraduate students dedicated to speaking Arabic and learning about the different Arabic-speaking countries and cultures.

Baytunaa really does feel like a cozy little home. Students receive special Arabic instruction outside of their daily classes while sitting in overstuffed comfy chairs in front of the fireplace.

[Above: Cristina Treviño-Murphy reads from a selection of Arabic text during professor Dustin Cowell’s class session as part of the International Learning Community (ILC) Arabic floor study program in Adams Hall. Photo: Bryce Richter]

Sadam Issa, a Jordan native is the language floor coordinator.

“I have students of all levels learning and practicing standard Arabic, the Arabic used in modern journalism, legal systems and other formalities in Arabic-speaking countries,” says Issa. “It’s the language people use when speaking to someone of another Arabic dialect.”

Residents of Baytunaa meet with Issa three times a week to watch movies, play games and converse in Arabic. These meetings enhance speaking and writing skills while providing cultural knowledge of the Arabic world. This is all part of a one-credit Integrated Liberal Studies course all ILC students are required to take. It provides heightened cross-cultural understanding.

“ILC is one of the many ways in which UW–Madison prepares its students for an increasingly interdependent world,” says Gilles Bousquet, dean of the Division of International Studies. “It’s global competence training at its best.”

“I feel motivated to speak and learn more Arabic living here in Baytunaa,” says Cristina Treviño-Murphy, a freshman resident studying sociology. “It’s so much easier to find the resources to practice Spanish or French, but not Arabic. I have so many resources for practicing that are almost impossible for people to find. I can speak Arabic with people living on my floor and get help from a native speaker — Sadam.”

Baytunaa residents and all other ILC residents have the greatest resource of all — a fluent speaker in their language of study living on their floor.

“I have students in my room all the time asking questions about Jordan or wanting help with their homework,” says Issa. “They’re good students, they want to be here, and they want to learn.”

Baytunaa not only provides the necessary and hard-to-find resources for students, but it also prepares them for their futures.

“My experience here learning Arabic and living in Baytunaa has provided and continues to provide me with so many different perspectives,” says sophomore Michael Goldstein. “In order to learn and speak Arabic you have to apply a whole new way of thinking, it’s incredibly challenging, but very rewarding.”

[Above: Student Michael Goldstein studies in his residence hall room in Adams Hall. The Arabic floor program focuses on teaching students the Arabic language through an immersive learning environment that includes not only Arabic-based classes, but also a living environment designed to surround the students with Arabic in their everyday lives. Photo: Bryce Richter]

The residents of ILC have a unique opportunity to live in a cross-cultured environment. Every floor has its own language and identity specific to those countries where the language is spoken.

“The ILC is a place where people speak five to six different languages and have been to so many different places, all of these details and backgrounds create for an amazing environment that you can’t get anywhere else,” says Treviño-Murphy.

All ILC residents are encouraged to share their views and ideas with one another at bimonthly roundtable dinners, creating a little global community of knowledge and insight.

Academics Talk With Government Representatives About Creating a National Language Policy [The Chronicle of Higher Education]

By Paula Wasley, The Chronicle of Higher Education

A professor of German took one more step in bringing experts together to work on developing a national language policy on Wednesday.

An invitation-only conference held at Georgetown University here drew representatives from academe, the federal government, and nongovernmental agencies who share concerns that the country needs to improve its linguistic resources.

The meeting was the fruit of a nearly yearlong effort by Heidi Byrnes, a German professor at Georgetown and editor of the Perspectives column in The Modern Language Journal.

The conference accomplished more than what participants agreed was a much-needed dialogue about how the country can build its linguistic competencies to meet its military, intelligence, diplomatic, and economic needs. It also resulted in the formation of a panel that has been charged with developing a national foreign-language-policy platform and creating a roundtable at the National Academies to discuss foreign-language policy.

“Recent societal and sociopolitical developments and specific decisions on the part of various governmental agencies have laid bare the fact that the foreign-language field … has very little voice in developing and implementing a comprehensive strategic plan necessary to create a language and area-studies-competent citizen for the 21st century,” said Ms. Byrnes. (Click here to read the rest of the story. Subscription only.)

World Languages Day to Draw 700-plus Students from Across Wisconsin

CONTACT: Wendy Johnson, (608) 262-1473, wsjohnso@wisc.edu

MADISON - It’s a rite of passage each spring for thousands of state high school students - heading to Madison for basketball, hockey and wrestling tournaments and a taste of the city, the university and a day or two out of school.

But the siren call is not just for sports enthusiasts. The campus beckons each spring to those interested in exploring world languages and cultures at World Languages Day, an annual event sponsored by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Language Institute that attracts some 700 students from 25 Wisconsin high schools. This year’s event, the 7th World Languages Day, will take place on April 22 in the Memorial Union and the Pyle Center.

Through more than 50 class sessions on language learning, storytelling, skits, cinema, dance and music, students are exposed to many diverse world languages and cultures. Over 30 languages are represented in these sessions, from Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Norwegian and Spanish to Yoruba.

French-Language Quebec Youth Identity Symposium at UW-Madison

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Friday, February 15, 2008

CONTACT:    Ritt Deitz, Executive Director, UW-Madison Professional French Masters Program (608) 262-4090, mdeitz@wisc.edu

Historic Under-the-Radar French-Language Quebec Youth Identity Symposium at the UW-Madison French House on March 13.

MADISON—How do young people in the French-speaking Canadian province of Quebec  As they enter professional life in their twenties (and sometimes later), in a global age defined by international movement and rapidly shifting career expectations, is being a North American French speaker in Canada more important to them than it was to their parents?  Are they more likely than their elders to advocate for some form of separation from Canada, as many Québécois did in the build-up to the 1980 and 1995 referendums on sovereignty?  Or have those with feelings that would have been considered “separatist” twenty years ago turned their wishes into new forms of affiliation and solidarity?  Most urgently, what kind of impact has massive immigration into Quebec from non-Western countries, and affirmative-action-style provincial legislation known as “reasonable accommodations,” had on young French-speaking Québécois identity? identify themselves culturally?

These are the questions that visiting Quebec scholars and filmmakers will discuss at a one-day symposium, on Thursday, March 13, on the campus of the UW-Madison, at a French-language symposium called “Diversité culturelle et identité francophone:  la jeunesse québécoise et la crise des ‘accommodements raisonnables’” (Cultural Diversity and Francophone Identity:  Quebec Youth and the ‘Reasonable Accommodations’ Crisis).

2 school districts adding elementary Spanish [Wisconsin State Journal]

by Gena Kittner for the Wisconsin State Journal

Two Dane County school districts will be saying “hola ” to new language programs at the elementary level this fall.In the Oregon School District, Spanish will be taught in kindergarten through fourth grades starting this fall, with fifth and sixth grades added in the fall of 2009, said Courtney Odorico, Oregon School Board member.

Teaching only Spanish is a scaled-down version of what the district originally considered — teaching a different language such as Japanese, Chinese or German — at each of its three elementary schools.

Local competition exposes high schoolers to the study of linguistics

by Kristin Czubkowski, UW-Madison Communications

While the average U.S. high school may not offer classes in Turkish or Indonesian, an international competition will soon be bringing them to Madison’s high school students.

On Feb. 5, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Library and Information Studies and Edgewood High School will host the 2008 North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad Open competition, which is open to all area high school students. Similar events will be held at 12 other locations in Canada and the United States this year as well, and top scorers from the events will have the opportunity to compete again on March 11 at the Invitational Competition.

Computational linguistics competitions, which feature mathematical methods of studying language, trace their origins back to events in Russia and Eastern Europe in the 1960s. Six years ago, the competition went global with the inaugural International Linguistics Olympiad, which the elite problem solvers from the March 11 competition can attend. Last year, students from the United States took top honors in both individual and team categories.

Chinese Made Easy [Capital Region Business Journal]

By Lisa Maddux, The Capital Region Business Journal

No one needs to sell Chris Rampton on the importance of knowing a foreign language in the business world.

The 39-year-old studied mechanical engineering and Japanese in college and has traveled to Japan about seven times. Employed as a hydraulics buyer for John Deere, Rampton said his proficiency in Japanese was one reason he got the job.

And with more business taking place in China and many of John Deere’s suppliers there, Rampton hopes to get involved in that arena as well.

Those are some of the reasons he’s taking UW-Madison’s first online language course, offered in Chinese.

“I had my doubts about an online class,” Rampton said. “But in learning a foreign language, being able to listen to the recorded conversations over and over is an advantage to learning in a classroom. Because there is no set schedule for meetings it is an ideal class for working professionals.”

Online Chinese course connects business professionals to UW-Madison language resources

by Jenny Price, UW-Madison Communications

China holds the promise of major economic opportunities for businesses and entrepreneurs, but having the language skills and cultural knowledge needed to make a good impression could mean the difference between closing a deal and going home empty-handed.

UW-Madison’s Language Institute, in partnership with the Department of East Asian Languages and Literature, is making it easier for busy, working professionals to acquire Chinese language skills with a new three-credit, online course that nontraditional students can fit into their schedules.

“It’s impossible for working professionals who aren’t on campus four or five days a week to take a language course,” says Dianna Murphy, associate director for the Language Institute. “This is really all about access.”

UW-Madison language professors quoted in the Chronicle of Higher Education

Professors Monika Chavez, Department of German and Sally Magnan, Department of French and Italian, are quoted in an article in today’s Chronicle of Higher Education: “Foreign-Language Departments Bring Everyday Texts to Teaching” by Burton Bollag (subscription only, excerpts below).

“If you compare textbooks to those 10 years ago,” says Sally S. Magnan, a professor of French at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, “you see that culture is much more engrained. It goes well beyond the culture boxes,” to which tidbits of culture used to be relegated, she says. The new approach builds on a major reform in language education that took place three decades ago.

UW Alumni Return to Campus to Discuss Importance of Languages in Careers in International Development

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Wendy Johnson, Outreach Coordinator, Language Institute, Tel. (608) 262-1473, Fax (608) 890-1094, wsjohnso@wisc.edu

Madison—Having worked in many countries including France, Morocco, the Kyrgyz Republic, Russia, Peru, and Brazil, three of UW–Madison’s alumni know firsthand how essential their studies in French, Russian, Spanish, and Portuguese have been to their international development work.

“Proficiency in the local language is really invaluable to be able to engage directly with local partners, understand what they are thinking and to create trust and confidence with them,” says Malcolm Childress, UW-Madison alumnus and senior land administration specialist with the World Bank. “In some areas, such as Latin America, knowing the language is a basic prerequisite for working in the country.”

On Monday October 15, 2007, UW-Madison’s Language Institute will host Childress and two other UW alumni for a panel discussion entitled “Language for Life: Languages and International Development.” The event will be held at 4:00 pm in 6104 Social Sciences Building. The event is free and open to the public.

Panelists include:

UW-Madison alumni discuss importance of languages in careers

Having worked in many countries including France, Morocco, the Kyrgyz Republic, Russia, Peru and Brazil, three of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s alumni know firsthand how essential their studies in French, Russian, Spanish and Portuguese have been to their international development work.

“Proficiency in the local language is really invaluable to be able to engage directly with local partners, understand what they are thinking and to create trust and confidence with them,” says Malcolm Childress, UW-Madison alumnus and senior land administration specialist with the World Bank. “In some areas, such as Latin America, knowing the language is a basic prerequisite for working in the country.”

On Monday, Oct. 15, UW-Madison’s Language Institute will host Childress and two other UW-Madison alumni for a panel discussion titled “Language for Life: Languages and International Development.” The event will be held at 4 p.m. in 6104 Sewell Social Science Building, 1180 Observatory Drive. The event is free and open to the public.

Chinese and Arabic languages gain local popularity

Karyn Saemann
Correspondent for The Capital Times  —  8/21/2007 8:09 am
Click here to read the full article.

Forget Paris.

Today’s kids increasingly want to speak the languages of Beijing and Baghdad.

In Wisconsin and nationwide, the study of Chinese and Arabic remains dwarfed by long-taught counterparts like French, German and Spanish. But they are gaining a toehold.

While some dismiss the trend as short-lived, akin to the Sputnik-era rush to learn Russian, and some media reports suggest a post-September 11 wave of interest in Arabic has already waned, others foresee a long-term shift.

As part of its recent listing of Chinese and Arabic alongside Farsi, Korean, Hindi, Russian and Japanese as “critical” for Americans to learn, the federal government is offering grants to help states hire more language teachers. Wisconsin is among those bellying up.

A $720,000 federal grant recently awarded to the state Department of Public Instruction has allowed Wisconsin to offer a fellowship program designed to fast-track teachers of non-traditional languages into state classrooms this year.

For the last two weeks, 18 prospective Chinese language teachers have been taking part in an intense summer training program at UW-Madison that focuses heavily on the culture of American schools and approaches to learning. In July, the group spent two weeks at a language immersion school in Minnesota.

International Studies and World Languages Student Speakers Bureau

University of Wisconsin-Madison students share their international experiences with high school peers through individual presentations and panel discussions.

Contact Language Institute outreach coordinator Wendy Johnson if you are interested in exploring the possibility of UW students visiting your school.

Click here to read the entire story.

World Languages Day Brings the World to Small-Town Wisconsin

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE:   April 12, 2007
CONTACT: Dianna Murphy, Associate Director, Language Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Tel. (608) 262-1575, Fax (608) 890-1094, diannamurphy@wisc.edu

On Thursday, April 19, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Language Institute will host over 700 high school students and their teachers for World Languages Day, an all-day event that aims to raise awareness of diverse languages and cultures in Wisconsin and around the world.

With 17 of 25 participating schools coming from towns with populations of 10,000 or less, the day offers high school students from smaller communities the opportunity to experience languages and cultures from around the world. Citing students and teachers of Gibraltar High School who will travel by bus for five hours to come to Madison for World Languages Day, Wendy Johnson, coordinator of World Languages Day, states that “we are delighted that many smaller schools feel that the event is worth coming to from rather great distances.”

UW-Madison Students Win Prizes in Chinese

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: April 4, 2007
CONTACT: Ronnie Hess, Division of International Studies, UW-Madison, (608) 262-5590

Madison, WI — UW-Madison students took top honors last month at the third Midwest Chinese Speech Contest, sponsored at Northwestern University by the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Chicago.

According to Hongming Zhang, associate professor of Chinese Language and Linguistics and coordinator of the UW-Madison’s Chinese Language Program, UW-Madison sent a six-member team that competed against 66 contestants from 21 universities in the Midwest.

“Our school had the highest prize rate and was the school which brought home the most first-place prizes,” Zhang says. According to Zhang, UW-Madison students competed in four different levels of proficiency and won three first place awards, one second place award, and two third place awards. As part of the competition, students had to give a three-minute talk in Chinese. “The contest this year had the largest number of participants and was the most competitive one in its history,” Zhang says.

This is not the first time UW-Madison’s students of Chinese have won laurels. Last May, UW-Madison students took first and second place medals in first, second, and fourth year levels of Chinese at the third Wisconsin Chinese Language and Culture Symposium, held on the UW-Madison campus. In 2005, five students received top honors at the First HBA (Harvard-Beijing Academy) Chinese Speech Contest in China, and gold medals at the Midwest Chinese Speech Contest in Chicago.

UW-Madison’s Chinese language program is considered to be one of the best in the U.S., with faculty providing expertise in a wide range of fields, including Chinese linguistics, Chinese thought, and Chinese literature. UW-Madison is recognized internationally for the breadth of its language offerings, with the capacity to teach over 60 languages.