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Past Conferences:
2012
Beyond the OPI: Making Oral Assessment Relevant
Saturday, March 31, 2012 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
CBA Events Room (3.304)
This workshop continues the conversation begun last fall with testing specialists from the Foreign Service Institute regarding student assessment using Oral Proficiency Interviews. Now, UT practitioners will share their experiences and techniques for adapting and applying the government model to an academic setting, and will show how on-going oral assessment can be implemented throughout our language courses.
Click here for the conference website.
The 13th Texas Foreign Language Education Conference (TexFLEC)
Welcome to the Classroom of Tomorrow: Forging the Future of Language Education
Friday, February 24 - Saturday, February 25
McCombs Graduate School of Business (GSB)
This year’s conference focuses on how language classrooms of the future may appear. Language classrooms are rapidly changing with the adoption of new technologies, increased globalization, budgetary constraints, and new research findings with regard to learner factors and identity issues. It is time for language educators and researchers to gather and discuss how these new developments present opportunities and challenges for language education.
Click here for the conference websites.
2011
What They Say...is What You Get: Assessing Oral Proficiency
Saturday November 12, 2011 10:30 AM - 3:30 PM
CBA 3.304 (Events Room)
A one-day workshop designed to cover the basics of oral assessment by eliciting ratable speech
samples in class. What They Say..... is What You Get will feature specialists from the Foreign Service institute. This workshop will give practical knowledge of how to better assess Oral Proficiency within the classroom, whether using intensive or traditional instructional practices.
For the conference page please click here.
Heritage Language Workshop with Professors Olga Kagan and Maria Carreira
Tuesday October 11, 2011 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Chicano Culture Room, Union Building 4.206
Two specialists in heritage language instruction will provide UT faculty and teaching staff with valuable insight into preparing curricula, materials, and design syllabi for heritage language learners drawing on the experiences of Russian and Spanish, but applicable to all heritage groups.
Click here for the conference websites.
Teaching the Whole Class: Learner Differences in the Language Classroom
Saturday September 24, 2011 10:30 AM - 3:00
Mezes Building Basement 0.306
This workshop is organized to prepare language instructors to teach the different learners in our classrooms. It will give participants practical and theoretical knowledge of how to approach different types of learners with different needs in language courses. Speakers from the UT community who teach language, specialize in teaching different learners , and/or deal with different needs in the language classroom will share their experiences, practices, outcomes, and give examples of activities used to teach all of our students.
Click here for the conference websites.
How to Teach Intensive(ly): High Voltage Teaching in the Foreign Language Classroom
Saturday, August 13, 10:00-4:00
McCombs Graduate School of Business (GSB) 2.124
This one day workshop will discuss how to integrate Intensive methods into existing language classes and how to turn Intensive teaching into Intensive courses. Lectures will focus on general methodology and results from current Intensive classes at UT and offer suggestions for curricula and syllabi as well as types of out of class assignments that can be implemented in high school and college level classes.
Click here for the conference websites.
Language Learning 2.0: Emerging Technology - 21st Century Technology in the Foreign Language Classroom
Friday, June 24, 2:00-5:00 PM (GSB 2.124)
Saturday, June 25, 10:30-4:00 PM (GSB 2.124)
This two day workshop will focus on technology use in the foreign language classroom. Presenters will discuss innovative techniques for developing materials and delivering instruction for immediate use in high school and college classroom. Speakers will demonstrate ways to integrate technology into language teaching to help increase time on task for our students both in and out of class.
Click here for the conference websites.
Twelfth Annual Texas Foreign Language Education Conference - "Language Education Across the Academic Pipeline"
April 15-16, 2011
9 AM - 5:30 PM
McComb's School of Business (GBS) 3rd floor Atrium
Sponsored by The Foreign Language Education Program, Texas Language Center at the University of Texas at Austin, and The Department of Bicultural-Bilingual Studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio
The "academic pipeline" is a metaphor that education researchers have used to describe the flow of students progress from primary schools through higher education. The theme of this year's conference addresses crucial questions about that pipeline for ELLs and foreign language learners: To what extent does K-12 language education prepare students to transition smoothly to college and higher education opportunities? What practices provide continuity and support for students as they navigate through elementary, secondary, post-secondary, and continuing education contexts? What factors cause students to "leak out" of the educational system and/or out of language studies?
Click here for the conference websites.
Teaching the Speakers: Heritage Language Learners and the Classroom
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Sponsored jointly by the Texas Language Center and the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies
Presentations at this one-day workshop will focus on one commonly-taught language (Spanish), and less-commonly taught language (Russian). The talks will address the growing necessity of integrating learners with varying degrees of prior exposure to the language into the curriculum, recognizing the different instructional needs, cultural perceptions, and affective factors of heritage language learners. Following the morning presentations, an hour-long open discussion will address any questions and comments.
Click here for the conference websites.
2010
Beyond Babel: The Survival of Language Programs in the Current Economy
November 6, 2010
Sponsored jointly by the Texas Language Center and the College of Liberal Arts
In a climate of shrinking educational budgets and threatened academic programs, language instructors are compelled to seek ways to keep our courses productive and vibrant with fewer resources. This mini-symposium brings together two nationally-known language specialists to present their thoughts on the current situation and ways for us as instructors to survive this difficult period. A panel discussion including some of UT’s own language faculty will continue the discussion, and field questions from the audience.
Click here for the conference websites.
New Media/ New Materials: A Hands-On Workshop for Language Instructors
July 28, 2010
Sponsored jointly by the Texas Language Center and the College of Liberal Arts
The Texas Language Center will host a one day hands-on workshop in developing teaching materials for your language classes. Three experienced language instructors, Carl Blyth, Orlando Kelm, and Tom Garza, and a technical specialist, Kyle Mitchell, will work directly with participants to suggest innovative techniques for delivering instruction and developing materials for immediate use in class — just in time for fall! All four presenters will demonstrate ways to integrate new media into language teaching to help increase time on task for our students.
Click here for the conference websites.
Revisiting Proficiency: 21st Century Views on Language Learning
April 24, 2010
Sponsored jointly by the Texas Language Center and the College of Liberal Arts
Since the creation of the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines in 1986, much of the language teaching profession has used these descriptors to define the learner's functional capacity to use the language. Critics, however, cite both the difficulty of assessing competence through the oral proficiency interview, as well as the descriptors inability to take into account individual learner differences, as limitations of the guidelines. This symposium and workshop aims to bring our understanding of proficiency-based instruction into the 21st century with first-hand recommendations and practices from specialists from the School of Language Studies at the Foreign Service Institute, US Department of State
Click here for the conference websites.
Language Proficiency: Common Questions, Common Goals
January 29-31, 2010
Sponsored jointly by the Flagship Zero to Two Project and the Texas Language Center
Meeting the advanced critical language and acculturation needs of military-track students and assessing what works in faculty and instructor development
Click here for the conference websites.
