Author: Victoria Williams

I recently attended the 2014 Conference of the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages, held in Chicago, Illinois. I presented a brief talk and a poster in the poster session Teaching Less Commonly Taught Slavic Languages. In addition, I was asked at the last minute to act as chair of the…

I gave a lecture presentation on a project I co-authored with Kazuya Saito at the 166th Acoustical Society of America (ASA) on December 4, 2013. I have been presenting my work at the ASA since the 156th conference in Miami. The ASA is an international scientific society dedicated to promoting research on acoustics and its…

I recently participated in the Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association’s 67th annual conference in Vancouver, Washington. The RMMLA continues to be one of the best literature and language conferences. It has great variety, excellent presentations, and a genuine esprit de corps among participants. Everyone is always willing to share and discuss their ideas about teaching…

Thanks to generous support from the BLC, I was able to attend the weeklong International Convention of Teachers of German (ITD, Internationale Tagung der Deutschlehrer und Deutschlehrerinnen), which took place in summer 2013 in Bolzano, the capital of Italy’s autonomous province of South Tyrol, where a special statute protects the rights of a German-speaking minority.…

From October 10-12, 2013, I attended the sixty-seventh annual Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association (RMMLA) convention held in Vancouver, WA. The RMMLA is a regional MLA convention only by name. In reality, the convention surpasses the regional limits of the Rocky Mountains by including wide-ranging scholarship and academics from the entire country as well as…

Traditionally, learning grammatical patterns, expanding vocabulary, and practicing conversational phrases have been emphasized in second/foreign language classrooms. With this narrow but prevalent way of conceptualizing the goals of language instruction, few teachers fully envisage themselves teaching culture. The current project focuses on a particular way of viewing culture in terms of history and memory. By…

For my project, I have created and trialed cultural materials for use in second-year French classes that look at non-hexagonal (or Francophone) cultures on their own terms. By putting together cultural units that focus on specific geographical places and topics, I expand the idea of engaging with French culture beyond traditional ideas of Paris-centric themes…

Teachers of World Languages, including Heritage Language, are invited to participate in the professional learning programs, Foundations of Effective Language Teaching I and Foundations of Effective Language Teaching II. Applications may be accepted by fax or by mail. The program will be offered on five Saturdays: September 28, October 26, December 7, January 25, and…

Hello EBWLP participants! I hope everyone is having a wonderful and relaxing summer! My official retirement date as Director of the East Bay World Language Project was yesterday, June 30, as my husband I will be moving to our new home in Suttons Bay, Michigan later this summer.  We’ve found a wonderful home on the…

There’s still time—now until July 20—to submit a proposal for presenting at this excellent, local conference. Check out FLANC’s website (http://fla-nc.org) for the latest conference information. Follow FLANC on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/flanc/