TEACH BETTER PODCAST
I was invited to participate in the Teach Better Podcast series. I enjoyed sharing my thoughts on teaching heritage language students. Here it is!
YALE: CENTER FOR LANGUAGE STUDY
I participate regularly in the informal workshops (the varied “Brown-bag” series, “10-Min. Tech Talks”, and “Heritage Language Group”) at the Center for Language Study. The workshop format promotes fruitful dialog among colleagues from different departments and programs and encourages post-workshop reflection on one’s own teaching. As a result, I have incorporated in my teaching ideas from colleagues in Korean, German and French, to mention a few.
In the spring of 2014 I attended a multi-session workshop on assessment lead by Mary Jo Lubrano, Testing and Assessment Specialist at the Center for Language Study at that time. The knowledge I gained from these sessions has lead me to take a critical look at the material I use for assessment and to revise when necessary. A subsequent workshop (fall 2014) on “Testing the Test” has provided me with essential tools for evaluating not only my own testing material. I hope to develop a Spanish placement exam for heritage language learners in 2019.
YALE: INSTRUCTIONAL INNOVATION WORKSHOP
Since its inception, I have applied and been accepted to all but one (designed for a specific group of participants) of the Instructional Innovation Workshops. I have applied concepts learned in each of these workshops to my teaching.
- 2008 Instructional Innovation Workshop: Teaching with Technology
- 2009 Instructional Innovation Workshop: Assessment.
- 2010 Instructional Innovation Workshop: Distance Learning.
- 2011 Instructional Innovation Workshop: Heritage Languages.
- 2012 Instructional Innovation Workshop: Testing and Assessment.
- 2013 Instructional Innovation Workshop: E-portfolios.
- 2016 Instructional Innovation Workshop: Community-based Teaching.
- 2017 Instructional Innovation Workshop: OPI Training.
- 2018 Instructional Innovation Workshop: Questioning culture(s)/Teaching culture(s).
YALE: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAVE
In 2007, I applied for and was awarded a professional development leave to create a databank of activities for the Spanish for Heritage Speakers courses. I continue to edit, improve and add to these activities and use them regularly in my heritage language classes. Moreover, the knowledge I gained has helped me help others (see SERVICE).
YALE: HERITAGE-MEETS-HERITAGE
In the spring of 2016 I initiated a heritage language research project across languages. I began with three co-investigators representing Greek, Korean and Russian. The group has since grown, with as many as six languages represented . The basic tasks for students were:
- Completion of a questionnaire on the heritage language speaker/learner experience.
- Reflection and discussion with students of the same heritage language.
- Videotaped conversation with a student from a different heritage language.
My colleagues and I presented a snapshot of our project at a round-table discussion at ACTFL 2016 (Boston) and a more extended version at the Third International Heritage and Community Languages Conference hosted by the National Heritage Language Resource Center at UCLA in February 2018. I invited to share aspects of the project at the National Heritage Language Resource Center Teacher workshop in 2017 and 2018. Take a look!
NATIONAL HERITAGE LANGUAGE RESOURCE CENTER at UCLA
My first contact with the National Heritage Language Resource Center was in 2010, when I gave a poster presentation (“Integrating Group and Individual Assignments in the Spanish for Heritage Speakers Class via an Online Databank of Activities”) at the First International Conference on Heritage/Community Languages. I was immediately drawn to the organization and its directors, from whom I knew I could learn a great deal about Heritage Language teaching. I have since returned five times: I applied and was accepted to and received funding for two Research Institutes and two Workshops for Heritage language instructors (both five-days long). I also returned in the spring of 2014 for the Second International Heritage and Community Languages Conference, where I presented a teaching unit and chaired two panels. In the summer of 2014 I attended the teacher workshop as a mentor. My tasks included monitoring and responding to the pre-workshop blog, opening the morning sessions with a discussion of participant submitted questions, and advising participants on their final projects. I have enjoyed every session and returned with ideas and material for my own courses. I hope that my ties with the NHLRC will remain strong.
- 2010 First International Heritage Language Conference
- 2011 National Heritage Language Resource Center Research Institute
- 2012 National Heritage Language Resource Center Research Institute
- 2013 National Heritage Language Resource Center Workshop for Heritage Language Instructors certificate.NHLRC
- 2014 Second International Heritage and Community Languages Conference. From Fragmented to Multifaceted
- 2014-2018 National Heritage Language Resource Center Workshop for Heritage Language Instructors (Mentor)
- 2018 Third International Heritage and Community Languages Conference. “Heritage Meets Heritage: Fostering and Empowering the Heritage Language Learner.”