COUNCIL ON LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION

2012 - 2013 Yearly Overview

COUNCIL BUSINESS MEETINGS

WORKSHOPS AND PRESENTATIONS

CLI Winter 2013 Breakfast Meeting
Wednesday, 13 March 2013 |9:00 am – 12:00 pm | Kresge Hall 1-375

Speaker: Monica Chavez, Associate Chair at the Department of German at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She works on linguistics, second language acquisition and language pedagogy.
Presentation: The Precarious Connection between Language Teaching and Second Language Acquisition (SLA) Research: Are They Meant for Each Other?

The precarious connection between language teaching and second language acquisition (SLA) research: Are they meant for each other?
This talk will not answer the title question. The question however, will encourage us to excavate around some of the conflicts that mar – and perhaps permanently will – what many expect to be a symbiotic relationship.
We will review in brief (a) how SLA since its inception has suffered (or, some may say, benefitted) from multiple disciplinary affiliations that have left the field in definitional muddy waters; (b) how the low regard in which teaching, particularly language teaching, has been held in academic hierarchies over long periods of time has both resulted from and contributed to its conceptual decoupling from research; (c) how new approaches to SLA research, especially those that emphasize the social embedding of teaching & learning, cannot insist on broadly applicable interpretations of its findings; and (d) how as SLA has grown into a scientific field with distinct research paradigms and theories, it has also come to demand a type of literacy only possessed by its own adherents.
As is true for some types of therapy, the goal may not be to get two conflicting partners to stay together but rather to respectfully articulate differences and identify parcels of common ground.

GLOBAL LANGUAGES INITIATIVE

During the year 2012/2013, the Global Languages Initiative was launched and many of the events that have traditionally been part of the programming by the CLI were modified or changed to celebrate this occasion. The Global Languages Initiative is a campus-wide effort to promote the importance of multilingual and intercultural skills across all disciplines. To compete, lead, and serve in a rapidly changing and interconnected world, such knowledge is not a luxury, but a necessity for all Northwestern students.  Knowing a foreign language and culture is more important than ever!  Please explore the webpage, watch the video featuring lots of linguistically inspired Northwestern students, and find out about the exciting events that the GLI has planned and is planning for the future! http://www.gli.northwestern.edu

SYMPOSIUM

Chicago Language Symposium 2013
Friday, April 13 – Saturday, April 14, 2013 | Northwestern University

Topic: World Languages and the Roles They Play in Academia
Keynote Speaker: Rosemarie Feal, Director of the Modern Language Association
http://languagesymposium.northwestern.edu
Keynote: “World Languages on an American Campus? Get Outta Here!“