University of Hawai'i National Foreign Language Resource Center (NFLRC).

The University of Hawai'i National Foreign Language Resource Center engages in research and materials development projects and conducts Summer Institutes for language professionals among its many activities.

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Distance Education, Distributed Learning & Language Instruction: Reports from the Field (July 27-30, 2004, University of Hawaii at Manoa)

The NFLRC invites language educators with significant experience using distance and distributed learning models to propose presentations for the Symposium. Presentation proposals should address new technologies, innovative software, research projects, or new uses for old software. Possible topics could include but are not limited to

* Issues in distance/distributed learning administration, infrastructure, or delivery

* Instructional design or development of Web courses/materials

* Online interactions and community

* Electronic resources for educators

Proposals can be for 45-minute sessions, 75-minute sessions, or electronic poster sessions (e.g., class Web site tours, multimedia instructional materials demos, etc.). Financial support is available for presenters of 45-minute and 75-minute sessions only--up to $800 per session to help defray travel expenses, with the possibility of supplementary support if there are multiple presenters in a session. The deadline for online proposal submissions is March 1, 2004. For more information, visit our symposium Web site.

Cultural Diversity and Language Education Conference (September 24-26, 2004, University of Hawaii at Manoa)

This conference, co-sponsored and organized by the NFLRC and the UH Center for Second Language Research, will focus on theories, policies, and practices associated with cultural and language diversity in educational contexts and will provide a forum for examining a broad range of issues concerned with the potential and challenges of education that builds on diversity. The primary strands for exploring diversity in language education at the conference are

* Foreign/Heritage Language Education

* Bilingual/Immersion Education

* English Language Education

* Language Education Planning and Policy

* Literacy Education

Proposals for individual papers, colloquia, or workshops related to theory, research, practice, and policy in these strand areas are welcome and can be submitted online--deadline March 31, 2004. For more information, please visit our conference Web site.

NFLRC Publications

Task-Based Language Teaching: A Demonstration Module (text, video, CD). This Research Note illustrates Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) as developed by Michael H. Long. The set consists of a demonstration video, audio CD, and an explanatory text. The introduction in the text describes TBLT, the task-based needs analysis and materials development underlying pedagogic tasks, and teaching procedures. In addition, the text contains a demonstration lesson including a Teacher's Manual and Student Workbook (in both Korean, the demonstration language, and in English, as a template for other languages), color maps, scripts, Korean language audio files on CD, transcripts of the audio files, and two sample tests.

Group Dynamics in the Language Classroom (video). Group dynamics is one of the most, if not the most, important areas for teachers who wish to create a well functioning, interactively supportive classroom for language learning. The presentation in this video looks briefly at the recent research and theory in the area and the practical aspects of dealing with forming, transition, performing, and closing with groups. The cohesive group, shifting leadership styles, student roles, and the contribution of the environment, and how we can adjust it, are demonstrated and discussed.

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