K-12 outreach conferences planned by International Institute

An article in the Oct. 15 New York Times – “Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity”- detailed the heightened interest in Chinese language instruction, but also the shortage of teachers of Chinese across the country.

The very day that article was published, the UW–Madison International Institute was hosting a workshop for teachers called Current Pedagogical Approaches in Teaching Chinese. Teachers from Texas, New York, Florida, and New Jersey as well as Wisconsin attended the workshop. At present, there are 52 teachers of both Chinese and Japanese in Wisconsin, eight in Chinese and 44 in Japanese.

In the next several months, other International Institute programs will be holding K-16 workshops and conferences that focus on language and cultural instruction and that are a valuable resource for teachers around the state and country.

The member programs of the institute, established in 1996 as a joint initiative of the Division of International Studies and the College of Letters and Science, offer a range of outreach services each year, including talks, conferences, K-16 workshops, teaching materials, audio-visual materials and language institutes.

Upcoming events include:

Saturday, Nov. 5: “Change in the Middle East: Disciplinary and Pedagogical Perspectives,” from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The conference teaches Middle Eastern perspectives and issues at high school and college levels and is sponsored by the Middle East Studies program. For more information, visit http://www.mesp.wisc.edu/, or e-mail bjulrich@wisc.edu.
Saturday, Nov. 19: The 4th Annual International Children’s and Young Adult Literature Celebration: “Open a Door… Open a Book… Open your Mind… to the World.” The interactive workshop will run from 8:15 a.m. to 5 p.m., for K-12 educators, librarians, students and children’s literature enthusiasts, with an aim to internationalize statewide reading curriculum. Registration is $30 for students and $50 for non-students. Registration deadline is Nov. 7. For more information, visit http://wioc.wisc.edu, or e-mail rweiss@wisc.edu.
Saturday, Dec. 3: “China and the Environment,” a workshop designed for K-16 teachers from diverse disciplines, including science, the social sciences, art and language. For more information, email cmerritt@wisc.edu.
Saturday, Feb. 11, 2006: A workshop for K-12 French, German, and Italian language teachers at the Wisconsin Association for Language Teachers Winter Workshop, sponsored by the Center for European Studies, with the UW–Madison Language Institute. For information, email kain@wisc.edu or cfarryth@wisc.edu
Feb. 17-19, 2006: “Hmong Language and Culture,” a three-day workshop offering introductory Hmong language with a qualified language instructor, supplemented by lectures and panels featuring UW–Madison faculty and community-based specialists. Registration is $85 and the deadline for enrollment is Jan. 20, 2006. For details, email pachoy@wisc.edu.
Saturday, Feb. 18, 2006: “Designing Effective Assessment for the Japanese Language Classroom,” sponsored by the Center for East Asian Studies. For more, email cmerritt@wisc.edu.

Several UW–Madison programs may prove valuable to foreign language educators or to teachers adding a global perspective to their curriculum.

For more information: