Ahlan ya colleagues, Welcome to the Arabic K-12 Bulletin, a biweekly resource for elementary, middle, and high school Arabic teachers, administrators, and researchers. This edition offers a new grant opportunity to create Arabic Teachers' Councils, and an exciting opportunity for high school students to do a hybrid online Arabic course. You will also find below more suggestions of activities and helpful websites to consider as you plan k-12 classes, another great book recommendation, and a summary of a thought-provoking article about how students view their own failure. As always, if you would like to reach us please send a message to arabick12@gmail.com. Lucy Thiboutot, Editor |
The Arabic K-12 Teachers Network consists of more than 1,000 educators, administrators, and researchers interested in the Arabic K-12 field in the U.S. It is a free membership provided by the National Capital Language Resource Center's Arabic K-12 Project. Recent issues of the Bulletin are archived here: http://bit.ly/10KRZi3 . All members are welcome to submit posts in English or Arabic and may do so by e-mailing their content to arabick12@gmail.com specifying their content for the listserv. This listserv is focused on elementary, middle, and high school Arabic teaching. Job openings at the university level can be found on the AATA's website . |
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES NEW RESOURCES FOR YOUR STUDENTS AND CLASSROOM GRANT OPPORTUNITIES AND JOB ANNOUNCEMENTS NADA'S WEBSITES: "EdModo" BELAL'S ACTIVITIES: "Writing Race" MEOC BOOK RECOMMENDATION: "Living through the Arab-Israeli War since 1948" CURRENT RESEARCH: "Mindsets About Failure and Effort" FOCUS ON LEARNING: "Program teaches NM students new languages, sends them around the world" |
Workshops and Webinars DC-area educators: you may be interested in attending a free teach-in on Syria, this Saturday September 21 from 9:15 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Georgetown University. The morning session will be geared to educators, and after lunch, they will open the doors to the general public. During the morning session, two scholars/practitioners will explore how to teach about refugees and displaced persons, the international refugee regime, laws and organizations, and ways to approach teaching about these subjects. In the afternoon, three speakers will address the following topics: "Syria: A Beginners' Guide"; "The Syrian Uprising: Causes and Dynamics"; and "Refugees, Displaced Persons, Humanitarian Aid, and Host Countries." All questions and registration requests should be directed to Zeina Azzam by phone at 202-687-6176 or by e-mail at seikalyz@georgetown.edu . Primary Source announces a new online course "Windows to the Islamic World: Art, Architecture, and Music" that will run this fall. This is a 4-week course open to all K-12 educators running from November 6, 2013 – December 10, 2013. Participants in this course will learn about the key features of Islamic art, Arabic calligraphy, "Arts of the Book," Islamic architecture, and the music or "soundscapes" of Islam. More details and registration information can be found at http://bit.ly/1fS7MBg . Aldeen Foundation and Qatar Foundational International are offering an online free professional development program for Arabic educators called Interactive Arabic Classroom from October 7 to November 18, 2013. The course allows you to spend about 90 minutes per week listening to lectures and watching instructors model the best teaching practices, and also interact with experienced teachers during live classes online. Space is limited, and registration runs from September 16-30. Register online at http://bit.ly/199Uluv and email Mrs. Thouraya Boubetra with any questions at aldeenarabiconlineeducation@aldeenfoundation.org . Concordia Language Villages is offering Qatar Professional Development Workshops this fall with full scholarships, substitute teacher reimbursement, and travel stipends for current and future teachers of Arabic, October 10-13. These workshops will bring together K-16 Arabic language teachers from across the United States to explore innovative instructional strategies. All Arabic language teachers are invited to apply for this workshop. To register: http://bit.ly/Xm0v7y . The Center for Advanced Study of Language (College Park, MD) is interested in seeking participants for a study on how learners of Arabic understand and decipher cultural allusions in Arabic. Participants who are native speakers of English, at least 18 years old, not native or heritage speakers of Arabic, and have completed at least 3 years of university-level Arabic courses are welcome to apply. Each participant receives $25 cash after right taking the test. Testing will be conducted at a convenient location near the participant. Contact kburk@casl.umd.edu for more information. Professional Conferences The annual meeting of the Middle Eastern Studies Association (MESA) from October 10-13 includes a Middle Eastern Outreach Council (MEOC) teacher workshop on Saturday, October 12, from 9am-4pm, at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. This workshop explores the diverse Middle Eastern, North African, European, Latin American, and Caribbean origins of cultural traits that permeate everyday life in Louisiana and the southern United States. Workshop attendees will also get access to the MESA FilmFest and the MESA book exhibit. Registration is $25, but if you register before September 30 you get a $10 discount! To learn more and register: http://bit.ly/17V7OWd . The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) conference will be held November 22-24, 2013 in Orlando, FL. ACTFL is dedicated to the improvement and expansion of the teaching and learning of all languages at all levels of instruction. Register online by Oct. 30. For more information: http://bit.ly/12dLiY5 . Teachers in New England: the Massachusetts Foreign Language Association (MaFLA) conference program is now online. Check out the workshops and sessions for the upcoming conference in Sturbridge, MA, October 17–19, 2013. There will be several sessions especially for Arabic teachers, too! For more information: http://bit.ly/17pr4N1 . Call For Proposals and Papers The 17th National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages is scheduled for April 24-27, 2014, at the Westin Chicago Northwest, IL. Proposals are solicited for individual papers, colloquia, and poster sessions to be presented at this conference. Submissions should fall broadly within the conference theme, "Collaboration and Internationalization: Enhancing and Sustaining Quality Outcomes for LCTLs." The deadline for receipt of proposals has been extended to September 30, 2013. If you have any questions regarding proposal submission, please contact the NCOLCTL Secretariat at: secretariat@ncolctl.org or Tel: (812) 856-4185. The Foreign Language Association of Virginia (FLAVA) will be holding its annual conference October 3-4, 2013 at Williamsburg, VA. FLAVA is seeking papers, panels, and workshops on teaching Arabic L2. Last year we had eight sessions on Arabic that where well-attended by teachers of Arabic, French, Spanish, Chinese, and more. School teachers as well as college professes are strongly encouraged to share their teaching and research with teachers of other languages attend this annual meeting. For more details: http://bit.ly/Xf3aBL . |
The National Middle East Language Resource Center (NMELRC), in cooperation with Qatar Foundation International and Brigham Young University Independent Study, is offering a hybrid online course for high school students. The high school implementation of Arabic Without Walls, winner of the 2010 Distance Education Course Award, covers the basics of both spoken and written Arabic and enables students to acquire real-world communication skills. This process starts with students attending a one-day course in their region and continues as they work online with a tutor and a cohort of students who form a tight-knit learning community. Students who have done so have gone on to win NSLI-Youth Scholarships (www.nsliforyouth.org) to study in the Arab world. For more information on registration, cost and credit please visit: http://bit.ly/1bfmfcG . The Institute for Middle East Studies (IMES) Title VI Outreach Program at The George Washington University (Washington, DC) maintains a film and book library and Skype-a-Scholar program that is free and available to area educators. You can view a list of all of the library resources and find out more about the films using our new Film Guide which contains synopses of the films and classroom usage ideas for educators. The Skype-A-Scholar program brings university experts to your classroom through Skype, to converse with students for an in-depth, innovative learning experience. Contact imesnrc@gwu.edu for more information on these programs. Wikispaces (http://bit.ly/1fbMfTM) offers free wikis for K-12 teachers. Wikis are simple group websites that are easy for anyone to edit. They are great for classrooms, work groups, clubs, and more. Wikis can be public or private, have no advertising on them, provide unlimited usage, and are completely free. Created by Bill Zimmerman, Make Beliefs Comix (http://bit.ly/1dfZYgu) is a free site that allows users of all ages to create educational comic strips. Visitors can choose their characters, their characters' emotions, and add talk or thought balloons. The site is great for language learners and creative types. American Councils for International Education coordinates the U.S. Department of State's FLEX, YES, and A-SMYLE programs, where students from the Middle East and other areas of the world have competed against their peers and earned a scholarship to come to the U.S. for a full academic year. The students live with an American host family, attend school and become a part of the family. Anyone interested in hosting an exchange student for a period of two months to a full academic year, and the ability to provide a safe, supportive, English-speaking environment is welcome to contact the programs for more information. For more information: http://inbound.americancouncils.org . The Peace Corps offers the World Wise Schools website, with cross-cultural learning resources including lesson plans, videos, publications, an online game, and more. Take advantage of these free resources to develop your students' global competencies and prepare them to be engaged, 21st century global citizens. Connecting With Teachers Connect with hundreds of Arabic teachers in America and from around the world on the Teachers of Arabic Language K-12 (TALK12) page on Facebook. Teachers can chat, swap ideas, and give each other advice: http://www.talk12.org . Arabic teachers from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut: the New England Association of Arabic Teachers has been supporting K-12 Arabic teachers since 2008 with workshops, material and resources, and regular meetings. To join, contact Steven Berbeco berbeco@bu.edu. |
Grant Opportunities Qatar Foundation International (QFI) announced a Request for Proposals for new round of QFI Arabic Teachers' Councils. These councils are intended to support the teaching of Arabic in the US by funding local K-12 teacher networks so that they will have the opportunity to meet, network, share resources and ideas, assist schools that would like to start new programs, and reach out to their communities to educate them about Arabic language and culture and advocate for Arabic programs in the schools. QFI is seeking host institutions who will act as initial organizers, administrators, and facilitators for the QFI Arabic Teachers' Councils. Awards for the Teachers Councils are for up to $50,000, and applications are due October 4, 2013. To apply, visit QFI's Grants Management Portal and follow the instructions listed on the Request for Proposals: http://bit.ly/18XUpgj. Contact arabic@qfi.org to receive a copy of the Request for Proposals. Job Openings Amana Academy Charter School (Alpharetta, GA) is searching for a curriculum designer to map the Arabic curriculum from K to 5th grade. For more information, contact Eman Maamoun <emaamoun@amanaacademy.org>. Military and Global Leadership Academy at MG Davis (Charlotte, NC) is seeking a full-time elementary school Arabic teacher for the 2013-2014 school year. To apply, contact the school's principal, Ann Laszewski <Ann.laszewski@cms.k12.nc.us>. Boston Arts Academy (Boston, MA) is seeking a part-time high school teacher for Arabic 1 or Arabic 3 for the 2013-2014 school year. To apply, send a resume and cover letter to Joy Bautista, Academic Dean, jbautista@bostonartsacademy.org. For more information or to receive a copy of the full job announcement, contact Joy Bautista at (617) 359-3243. |
Nada Shaath (Bell High School, CA) suggests: EdModo (http://www.edmodo.com/). This is a social learning network similar to FaceBook but designed specifically for foreign language students and their teachers. In addition to posting assignments and reminders of upcoming quizzes and tests, students can also post their own topics. Do you have a favorite website to share? Send us a link and a short description, and don't forget to include the name and location of your school! |
Belal Joundeya (Renaissance Academy, UT) suggests: Writing Race. Divide the class into 2-3 teams. One student from each team comes and sits in a chair facing the board and their team members line up behind them. Divide the board into team sections. You give a sentence such as, "I like Utah jazz." The first student is going to write "I" and the second team member runs and writes "like," and so on. The first team to finish the complete sentence wins. If no team does it correctly, students can help correct their team mistakes. |
The Middle East Outreach Council (http://www.meoc.us) recommends the young adult non-fiction book Living through the Arab-Israeli War since 1948 by Alex Woolf (Heinemann-Raintree). Living through the Arab-Israeli War since 1948 is commended as an excellent resource on the Arab Israeli conflict because of its "honest attempt to present both sides while not offending any moderates." It is also very readable, making a complex subject accessible to a high school audience. |
Mindsets About Failure and Effort
By Kim Marshall | Marshall Memo #501, September 9, 2013, http://www.marshallmemo.com In this thoughtful article in Educational Leadership, former teacher and principal Mark Jacobson describes one of his second-graders telling him she wasn't smart at math, was afraid of being teased, and mistrusted her teacher's reassuring words. "Do you want to change?" he asked. "Yes, but how?" she replied. The key with students like this is changing the way they think about ability, says Jacobson. The goal of students fortunate enough to have a "growth" mindset (Carol Dweck's term) is to get smarter. If they're having difficulty, they work on a better strategy. But the goal of students who have the "fixed" mindset is to look smart. For them, being in a classroom is like stepping onto a stage with all eyes on them. "The teacher owns one of the most important pairs of eyes," says Jacobson. "Fixed-belief students concern themselves with their teacher's every glance. They see the teacher not as a facilitator and resource for their learning but as a rewarder and punisher, as a judge and critic." These students constantly ask themselves, "Am I good enough? Am I smart? Am I right? Did I make a mistake? How will others see me? Does my teacher like me?" "As long as students are driven by what others think of them, they're focused on the external," says Jacobson. "We teachers need to turn them inward, to refocus their attention on their own effort and abilities." If a student mutters the answer to a question and the teacher says, "What?", the student may say, "Never mind" or "I forgot." These students may rebuff an offer of help, afraid that accepting it will make them look incompetent, or they may become dependent on the teacher and stop trying. They tend to be overly sensitive to mild criticism or body language. "I think I'll throw this away," said one of Jacobson's students after classmates offered some suggestions on her story. "We always ask students to try," he says, "especially when they believe something is really hard. However, for some students, 'hard' means 'impossible.'" Here are his suggestions for getting students to believe that effort really can make them smarter: • Have students rate how hard they are trying. Jacobson routinely checked in with his students, asking them to self-assess on a 10-point effort scale and push themselves to try harder. • Give better feedback. General praise like "Good job" is hollow and ineffective, says Jacobson. Feedback should be specific to the tasks or concepts being taught and reinforce incremental progress. "That was a good start, Jeffrey," a teacher might say and encourage the student to keep going. • Ask questions that don't have right/wrong answers. Foster deeper thinking rather than speedy responses and stress accountable talk. • Engage the disengaged. "Adrian, are you with us?" a teacher might ask in the middle of a discussion. "What are you thoughts?" The entire class can be enlisted in encouraging participation, effort, and risk-taking. • Investigate mindsets. Jacobson did some action research in his second-grade class and found that half of the students had the fixed mindset. Teachers should reflect on their own mindset and how it manifests itself in school – and outside. "Afraid of Looking Dumb" by Mark Jacobson in Educational Leadership, September 2013 (Vol. 71, #1, p. 40-43); www.ascd.org; Jacobson is at mjacob47@yahoo.com. |
Program teaches NM students new languages, sends them around the world
By Heather Mills | kob.com, September 9, 2013
Source: http://bit.ly/19BOBKk A group of Albuquerque students spent their summer learning a new language. Not just a new language, but a completely new alphabet. They say it's necessary for our global world. Now, they're hoping other students will follow their lead. Carlo Aragon learned to speak Arabic as a high school exchange student. He's been to Egypt and Oman, and now, he's helping other students do the same. "A lot of students in New Mexico do not get out of the state," Aragon said. "After 9/11, we do not have enough people who actually speak critical languages." That's where the National Security Language Initiative for Youth comes into play. Created in 2006, it's a government initiative to prepare students to become leaders in an ever-changing global world. "The scholarship covers everything, the flight's free, tuition is free, everything is free. It's a full scholarship for students," Aragon said. Students like Sandia High School senior Megan Higgins. Megan was one of six Albuquerque students selected from more than 3,000 applicants. She spent the summer in China. "I would really like to become a foreign services officer for the U.S. Department of State," she said. But, it's certainly not easy. "You have to learn an entire new alphabet; an entire new vocabulary system." Aragon said. Aragon says it's not only rewarding, but it's necessary to understand other, unique cultures. "You have to change your entire mindset. By doing that, I was able to understand, really what Arabic culture was like. What Islam culture was like." he said. "It opens up so much." The languages offered in this intensive program are Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Persian, Russian and Turkish. For more information visit: http://www.nsliforyouth.org . |
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