The Advisory Committee provides guidance to the CLI chair and the Council as they work to maintain the Council's traditions of excellence in the teaching of languages and cultures. The Advisory Committee members are selected by their department/program, and provide an important connection to the departments and aid the chair in project work.
The Funds Request Committee oversees the distribution of funds from the Curriculum Enhancement, Matching, and Summer Language Institute Funds. These funds are resources provided through the CLI by WCAS to enhance language teaching and learning at NU. This committee is chaired by the CLI Treasurer and meets quarterly to decide upon funding requests from faculty members in any of the language teaching units. Details of the funding request process can be found under “resources” on the CLI website. Current Funds Request Committee members
The Language Brochure Committee produces the brochure “Everything You Need To Know About Learning Languages at Northwestern”. It contains information about policies, placement, study abroad, course descriptions, contact numbers, and email addresses for all of the languages offered at NU. The brochure is distributed annually to advisers in print form and is made available online as part of Purple Prep and under Language Study and Placement. Current Language Brochure Committee members
The Language Faculty Development Committee examines profession-related issues that affect teaching-track faculty in languages. This committee’s goals include clarifying the pathway to promotion for language faculty and describing best practices in achieving language teaching excellence. Current Language Faculty Development Committee members
The Language Symposium Organizing Committee organizes the Language Symposium, a two-day conference held every April, which sheds light on a specific area of language teaching and learning. Although the Language Symposium began in 2000 as part of the CLI efforts to help our instructors stay current with the most recent research and practice in the field of language pedagogy, it has grown significantly and continues to draw presenters and participants nationwide. The Symposium is now co-hosted by Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and DePaul University. For more information regarding the Language Symposium and its history, please consult the symposium page. Current Language Symposium Organizing Committee members
The Orientation and Meetings Committee is responsible for organizing the pedagogy workshops, identifying topics, and finding speakers that are of interest to Council members. It also handles the logistics (reserving rooms and providing the refreshments) for all CLI business meetings, Fall Orientation, and pedagogy workshops. Current Orientation and Meetings Committee members
The Study Abroad Committee is separate from—but collaborates with—the University Study Abroad Committee (USAC); this CLI committee aims to provide a constructive forum for language teaching faculty with especially strong interests in Study Abroad to network around general and specific issues related to it, and also to engage with and provide the Global Learning Office and USAC input on Study Abroad issues specifically related to language acquisition issues. The Committee also organizes the participation of WCAS language faculty to the McCormick School of Engineering Study Abroad Fair in the Fall. Current Study Abroad Committee members
The Excellence in Foreign Language Teaching Award Committee handles the annual teaching award. The chair sends the call for nomination for the annual award, gathers all nominations, and receives nominees’ dossiers. Committee members evaluate the dossiers that are made available to them, discuss their findings, and vote. Committee membership is limited to former recipients of the award. Current Excellent in Foreign Language Teaching Award Committee members
The Less Comonly Taught Languages Committee works to provide solutions to the unique problems that instructors in Less Commonly Taugh Languages face, from professional development opportunities to designing teaching materials and increasing the visibilty of LCTLs on campus. LCTLs are broadly defined as single-instructor languages at Northwestern, but committee membership is open to all language faculty. Current Less Commonly Taught Languages Committee members
The Membership Committee keeps and active roster of CLI and subcommittee membership, in an effort to be better able to encourage members to contribute to the Council's operations, and to allow for greater diversity of ideas and opinions. Current Membership Committee Members
The Outreach Committee aims to increase the visibility and recognition of language teaching in the Northwestern Community. The Outreach subcommittee works collaboratively with offices, programs, and departments across the university to organize events that highlight the role of language learning in our global curriculum. Current Outreach Committee members
Related Weinberg Committee: Language Proficiency Committee
The Proficiency Committee coordinates proficiency testing of students in languages not taught at Northwestern and works closely with the staff of the Office of AccessibleNU to decide on students’ petitions for accommodation in or substitution for the foreign language proficiency requirement due to a disability affecting foreign language acquisition. Members of the committee serve as Language Petition Advisers to guide students in WCAS, and the Schools of Communication, Music, and Journalism through the petition process. Current Proficiency Committee members