NEWS TO USE & KNOW
October 26, 2019
The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) provides more than 1,000 merit-based scholarships each year for U.S. high school students to study abroad for a summer or an academic year in over 25 countries. These high school exchange programs prepare young Americans to succeed in the 21st century’s global economy by developing their foreign language skills, increasing their cross-cultural understanding, strengthening their leadership capacity, and fostering new academic insights and ambitions.
Apply now for the following programs:
- Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) – Deadline December 3, 2019
- Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study Abroad (YES Abroad) – – Deadline December 3, 2019
These scholarship programs cover international airfare, tuition, program costs, as well as meals and living accommodations (often with a host family). The programs have no language prerequisites, except select Youth Ambassadors programs, and applicants must be between the ages of 15 and 18 when the program starts. We are particularly trying to reach young people who would not otherwise have the opportunity to participate in a study abroad experience.
Please share this information with teachers, students, parents, and others in your networks who may be interested in these opportunities.
Attached is a flyer with more details. You may find this announcement and other outreach materials at http://bit.ly/studyabroadinhighschool. If you would like to receive printed materials, please send your contact information, and affiliation, and quantity requested to youthprograms@state.gov.
News from our regional, SWCOLT
The Southwest Conference on Language Teaching (SWCOLT) promotes the study of world languages on all levels, serving Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah, principally through its annual conference. Our current executive director, Jody Klopp, has announced that she will be stepping down from her position in August, 2020. As such, SWCOLT would like to announce a vacancy for the position of Executive Director in our organization. Interested applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree in a language other than English, linguistics, language education or related field required (masters or doctorate preferred) and should have at least 10 years of combined experience in world language teaching, standards, research or administration. Please reference the attached search announcement and description of responsibilities for further details.
Letters of application, a curriculum vitae, and three professional references should be submitted by September 20, 2019 to Julie Lozada Ocampo (jlozadaocampo@swcolt.org), chairperson of the ad hoc SWCOLT Executive Director search committee.
Please feel free to forward this email to interested applicants. Thank you for your consideration.
Julie Lozada Ocampo
National Board Certified Teacher, WLOE
Chair, SWCOLT Executive Director Search Committee
Board Member for Nevada and Program Chair for SWCOLT 2020
Membership Chairperson, PLAN
2014 Nevada World Languages Teacher of the Year
Please spread the word that the SWCOLT / CLTA 2020 proposal form has been posted at https://www.swcolt.org
World Languages Standards
From the California Department of Education, April 18, 2019
World Languages Standards Poster!
To support the implementation of the World Languages Standards (WL Standards), the California Department of Education has developed a poster that highlights
- what is essential for educators to know about the new standards,
- why the Communities and Comparisons goal areas have been placed into the primary domain of Communication, and
- how the WL Standards illustrate necessary shifts in instructional approaches intended to bring about optimal performance among students in world languages classrooms.
To download the WL Standards poster, visit the Stanford World Language Project resources Web page at https://cwlp.stanford.edu/resources. Look for the link titled 2019 World Languages Poster.
To access the pre-publication standards recently approved by the SBE, select the link below.
We encourage you and your colleagues to join the World Languages listserv to receive notifications of updates regarding the WL Standards and the World Languages Framework.
State Seal of Biliteracy
There have been some concerns brought to CLTA’s attention about changes to the the State Seal of Biliteracy so we would like to try to shed some light on this with the hopes you will continue to participate in this wonderful program. Beginning with the 2019-2020 school year, there must be an oral component in order to receive the Seal. If your students take the AP/IB Exams, this is sufficient to meet the oral proficiency requirement. For those choosing to meet the requirement other ways (such as 4 years of non-AP language or SAT II Language), each school or district may create its own method of determining oral proficiency. The State has not created or mandated a specific assessment, but has suggested students complete the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Exam as one way of demonstrating oral proficiency. For more information, please go on-line to https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/el/er/sealofbiliteracy.asp.
For those not currently participating in the program, there is no cost to students, schools, or districts so we encourage you to visit the website https://www.clta.net for more information on how you can participate and award your students the California State Seal of Biliteracy.
Tom Beeman, Advocacy Chair, California Language Teachers’ Association
(562) 215-4978 – advocacy@clta
Reminders from the California Department of Education:
Global Education and Empathy: Contributing to a Kinder World
Do you teach 7 to 11 year olds? The KIND Foundation is funding Empatico, a multi-year $20 million initiative to connect students around the globe. It’s a free online learning tool that builds broader world views through meaningful interactions with peers. Empatico’s mission is to make it possible for children worldwide to connect and share, and by giving them this opportunity to meaningfully interact with one another, to create a lifetime of positive change.
Leading technologists, passionate teachers and global education experts have collaborated to develop the beta version of Empatico, which is now available. Teachers are invited to test the tool, share feedback, and help optimize Empatico for their classroom needs.
Teacher Recruitment: ‘Make the Switch’ Campaign
To put a spotlight on mid-career professionals who have become teachers, the CDE is planning the launch of a publicity campaign called “Make the Switch: Become a Teacher,” which features video profiles of individuals who have made the switch, as well as resources letting people know how to become a teacher. If someone you know has switched careers to become a teacher, please be aware that nominations are currently being sought for the video campaign. You can read more about this campaign on the Superintendent’s Initiatives Web page.
