When Mrs. Moser showed our Spanish Two class photos of Mayan pyramids, I could not imagine myself in such a place. Since then, I’ve been to Mexico, Uruguay, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Canada, and Brazil. Truly, travel is more than the destination. It is the experience, the unexpected, the growth in discovering what you didn’t know you didn’t know. If you’ve been there, you know that sentence isn’t a grammatical error. Traveling with students makes for even more poignant memories. Place names take on extraordinary value. La Fortuna waterfall is where we splashed as the fish darted around us. Teotihuacan is where we conquered the Sun and the Moon in an afternoon. Monteverde is where one conquered his fear of Spanish and chatted with area school children. This summer, remember that travel isn’t impossible. It’s invaluable.

The following positions were posted in June 2019 on the Teach in Nebraska website

Spanish 9-12, Full-Time, Cedar Catholic Jr.-Sr. High School, Hartington
Spanish 9-12, Full-Time, St. Thomas More School, Omaha
Spanish 9-12, Full-Time, Elgin Public Schools, Elgin
Spanish 9-12, Full-Time, Kearney High School, Kearney
World Language, 9-12, Full Time, Lourdes Central Catholic School, Nebraska City:
ALL LANGUAGES WILL BE CONSIDERED

NILA’s Annual Conference is October 11-12 at the University of Nebraska Kearney. This year’s event will feature support for the new world language standards as well as professional development offerings on timely topics. NILA has arranged for an evening social at Cunningham’s On the Lake and for a discount at a local hotel.

From Lincoln to Le Tour Eiffel: High School Students Abroad

Lincoln Public Schools French teachers Will West, Sasha Van Zandt, and Kristen Tangen organized a trip to France for 22 students in March 2019. LPS has offered travel abroad for 50 years. The commitment to this experience remains strong as plans for a trip to France in 2020 continue.

LPS Teachers leaders Sasha Van Zandt, Kristen Tangen, Will West.

What was your itinerary? We spent 5 days in Evreux, France for a family stay, and 3 days in Paris, visiting many sites and monuments.
Describe how this affected your understanding of the language. The LPS-sponsored trips have always included a family stay, because the main purpose has been for students to have that immersion experience where they are living with a family, practicing their language, making connections, experiencing what it’s like to go to school, hanging with their host sibling and his/her friends, etc. I feel their understanding of the language grows immensely…they find it frustrating, joyful, funny, embarrassing, thought-provoking, and educational! Students are often very nervous about the family stay, and yet many tell us afterwards that it was their favorite part and that they learned the most during that time.
What was your most unexpected surprise? I think the most unexpected or surprising benefit to students is how much they grow in their independence, self-knowledge, and desire to travel again in the future
What travel service did you use? LPS has traveled with ISE/Xperitas for many years (I think 40+ years), in part because this company offers a family stay experience.

From Crete to Costa Rica: High School Students Abroad

Spanish teacher Angela Wagoner organized and led a trip to Costa Rica in early June 2019 with her students at Crete High School.

What was the purpose of your travel? Student experience – they did some tourist travel and also did a short homestay with a family and took classes at a language academy.
Describe how this affected your students’ language growth. This is my third personal experience with Costa Rican Language Academy (CRLA) and their homestay and language program. It is rejuvenating to be immersed in Spanish each day. I feel my proficiency increasing as I am there and remembering things about the language and culture I feel I have forgotten or that do not stick when I am in the States.
What was your most unexpected surprise? How much the students immersed themselves in the culture. On the very first day in San José, multiple students went with their host families and did cultural experiences such as church, playing soccer/basketball with groups of people, and really just immersing themselves in the experience.
What travel service did you use? We used a mix of Explorica and the Costa Rican Language Academy (CRLA) services. For our next trip we will just be using CRLA – it is much cheaper and much more personalized experience.

From Kearney to A Coruña: Summer Study for College Students

Associate Professor of Spanish and Graduate Program Chair Dr. Michelle Warren organized and accompanied ten University of Nebraska Kearney students to La Universidad da Coruña, A Coruña, Spain during the month of June 2019.

UNK students with Dr. Michelle Warren at the Tower of Hercules in A Coruna.

What was the purpose of your travel? Students worked on their linguistic and cultural fluency.
Describe how students interacted with the community. Students lived with local families and attended classes at the University of A Coruña. They also participated in city and area excursions, ate tons of delicious local food (including octopus!), and enjoyed time on the coast.
What was the most unexpected surprise? While almost all of our students came to the program fluent in Spanish, none of them had ever spent time in Spain. Their biggest surprise was learning about regional differences between Latin America and Spain and cultural differences between Galicia and Spain. A Coruña is located in the autonomous province of Galicia.
What travel service did you use? Dr. Michelle Warren organized the trip in cooperation with the Universidad da Coruña and a local agency, Ad Astra, which provided housing. For more information or to reserve your spot on next year’s trip, email Dr. Warren at warrenm2@unk.edu

From Lincoln to La-Point-Du-Bout: Professional Development in Martinique

Lincoln Public Schools French teachers Lisa Maupin and Sasha Van Zandt traveled to the International Conference in La-Pointe-du-Bout, Martinique, sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF) in July 2018. Maupin and Van Zandt presented a session entitled “Reaching Each Student Through Learning Stations, Technology and Authentic Resources”. They had the opportunity to learn about Martinique’s history, French colonization, the long-lasting effects of the slave trade in the French West Indies, the Creole language, culture and cuisine.

Lisa Maupin and Sasha Van Zandt with Catherine Daniélou, President of AATF (American Association of Teachers of French)

How did this experience impact you and your teaching?
“We have learned a wealth of information from our trip, not only within the sessions themselves and on the excursions, but through the everyday exposure to the people and culture of Martinique. Partaking of the food, hearing the language, seeing and smelling the flowers, walking the streets, shopping the markets – all of this is a treasure trove for a language teacher. The aggregate of these experiences is now brought back to the classroom and transformed how we teach, exposing in turn our own students to a rich and vital part of the francophone world” – Lisa Maupin

“It’s these kinds of experiences that continue to keep our flames and passion for teaching lit and allow us to keep our classrooms alive and connected. Learning that Martinique is a part of France, drawing connections between slavery in the US and slavery in Martinique, checking that Napoleon was really that short, finding out how much older Josephine was than Napoleon before they changed their birth dates, learning that 1 in 5 people are unemployed, or traveling virtually by mapping out flights and a hotel stay–these are small steps to becoming stronger global citizens, one of the main skillsets that a language teacher wants to develop in their students.” – Sasha Van Zandt

The revision of the Nebraska world language standards continues. A public input survey was released in May to all world language endorsed teachers in the state, the Nebraska Department of Education website, and the Educational Service Units. Feedback has been processed and is under review. Once the review process and editing is complete, the updated draft will be presented to the Nebraska State Board of Education in August for a first review. It is hoped that the State Board of Education will approve the world language standards in September. To see the draft standards, visit www.education.ne.gov/worldlanguage.

The Institute for the International Education of Students, IES Abroad, is a non-profit study abroad provider that surveyed program participants who studied abroad from 1950-1999. Over 3,400 respondents shared how studying abroad impacted their lives during and since their experiences.

Studying Abroad Made Me A Better Person
• 97% said studying abroad served as a catalyst for increased maturity.
• 96% said studying abroad increased self-confidence.
• 95% said studying abroad has had a lasting impact on their worldview.
• 89% said studying abroad enabled them to tolerate ambiguity.
• 73% said studying abroad continues to influence decisions about family life.

Studying Abroad Made Me A Better Leader

• 98% said studying abroad helped them to better understand their own cultural biases and values.
• 94% said studying abroad continues to influence interactions with people from different cultures.
• 64% said studying abroad has influenced them to explore other cultures.

Studying Abroad Made Me A Better Student
• 87% said studying abroad influenced subsequent educational experiences.
• 64% said studying abroad influenced a decision to attend graduate school.
• 63% said studying abroad influenced a decision to expand or change academic majors.

Studying Abroad Made Me A Better Communicator
• 42% now use a language other than English on a regular basis.

Sources: “The Benefits of Study Abroad” by Dr. Mary M. Dyer and Courtney K. Peters on iesabroad.org and “Study Abroad Participation by State” by NAFSA: Association of International Educators at nafsa.org.

Terri Wright, Treasurer
French Teacher
Millard South High School, Metropolitan Community College
tlwright@mpsomaha.org

How would you describe your classroom?
I am eclectic in the classroom. I believe that a variety of methods help me to connect with all of my students and ultimately create a more well-rounded student. The three guiding principles of relationships, relevance, and rigor are the foundation on which I build each class.
How do you feel that NILA has helped you develop as an educator?
NILA and NAATF (Nebraska Association of Teachers of French) have provided important opportunities to network and grow. With a lot of help from area French teachers, family, and my students, I planned and hosted the biannual State French Convention in 2016 and 2018. I was honored to be chosen as the NILA World Language Educator of the Year in 2017. This allowed me to represent Nebraska at the Central States Conference for World Language Teachers in 2017. I love to share ideas with colleagues at the local, regional and national levels.
What about you would probably surprise others?
I have recently taken up acting at murder mystery dinners on the weekends.

The following positions were posted in April 2019 on the Teach in Nebraska website at www.nebraskaeducationjobs.ne.gov

French 9-12, Papillion La Vista South High School, Papillion
Spanish 9-12, Part Time, Lincoln Lutheran High School, Lincoln
Spanish 9-12, Lourdes Central Catholic School, Nebraska City
Spanish 9-12, Schuyler Community Schools, Schuyler
French 9-12, Mt. Michael Benedictine School, Elkhorn
French 9-12 Part Time, Lincoln Pius X Catholic High School, Lincoln
Spanish 7-12, Gothenburg Public Schools, Gothenburg
Spanish 7-12, Morrill Public Schools, Morrill
Spanish 7-12, Maxwell Public Schools, Maxwell
Spanish 6-12, Long Term Substitute, Grand Island Central Catholic, Grand Island
Spanish 1-12, Lindsay Holy Family, Lindsay
Spanish K-12, St. Francis of Assisi School, Humphrey

Linda Gjere
Millard North Middle School
Millard Public Schools
11 years teaching
8 years as a substitute

Sherry Runnels
St. Francis School
5 years of service at St. Francis
Over 30 years in education

Vicki Huskey
Conestoga Jr-Sr High School
Conestoga Public Schools
13 years in the Conestoga District
34 years in education

Shirley Rytych
Shickley Public Schools
46 years in education

Diana Harris
Lourdes Central Catholic Schools
Diocese of Lincoln
45 years at Lourdes Central
49 years in education

These names were submitted by administrators. If you would like to honor a 2018-2019 retiree, there will be one more opportunity in our June/July edition. Please send the teacher’s name, school, district, and years of service to stephanie.call@nebraska.gov

Call for Proposals: Nationals Association for Bilingual Education 49th Annual Conference

NABE invites all education experts, researchers, authors and successful practitioners with information of interest to submit a proposal. They also encourage multilingual proposals.
View the full call for proposals at http://www.nabe-conference.com/proposals.html
Submit proposals by June 30, 2019

49th Annual NABE Conference
Pre-Conference: February 25, 2020
Conference: February 26-28, 2020
Las Vegas, Nevada

NABE is seeking proposals that engage participants in topics related to quality education for DLLs such as:
• achieving educational equity for DLLs
• ensuring social justice for DLLs through strong linguistic and academic attainment
• providing equal educational opportunities for DLLs

CASLS’ Nationwide Faculty Learning Community for the Development of Reflective Practices

The Center for Applied Second Language Studies (CASLS) sponsors a nation-wide faculty learning community focused both on supporting practitioners’ engagement in reflective professional practices and on providing resources for practitioners to engage their students in reflective learning. Nominate yourself and/or someone you know for participation in this community by filling out this form by June 1. Participants will engage in a series of five one-hour webinars from July 8-July 12 designed to promote introspection and to share information and resources related to national initiatives (like LinguaFolio) designed with reflection in mind.
Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdscBPOPbofXi18Md67dQFqTU6Z46zOhYudJgDtbqlt6xd20g/viewform

Santillana Spanish Works! Sampler
In honor of World Language Week to make students realize language will help their career and civic life, Jimmy Moorhead, Santillana and Vista Publishing, would like to share this digital sample of the Spanish Works career readiness series (Levels 1-4 High School Spanish). This series strongly addresses the need to highlight language in its primary place in international commerce.
http://promos.santillanausa.com/ES_SpanishWorks_SAMPLER/

Open Language Resource Center at the University of Kansas
Online and printable activities in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, French, German, Haitian Creole, Persian, Portuguese, Quichua, Russian, Slovene, Somali, Spanish, and Uyghur.
https://olrc.ku.edu/about

French Embassy Launches Podcast “The Thing About France”
American cultural figures talk about the complex relationship between France and the U.S. The first episodes are out and more are on the way.

Francophone Film and Literature Course French 4950/8956 at University of Nebraska Omaha
In fall 2019, UNO will offer Francophone Film and Literature Tuesdays from 4:30-7:10 with Dr. Patrice Proulx. Some of the films to be discussed include Incendies, Persepolis, L’Ange du Goudron, and Black Girl. The course focuses on a selection of contemporary films and short readings dealing with the Caribbean, Africa, North Africa, and Quebec. One of the primary objectives is the development of critical viewing and reading skills that will allow students to reflect more productively on the social and aesthetic themes in these works. Critical issues to consider are immigration, the construction of identity, the effects of colonialism on different societies, and the geo-political and cultural contexts of the films and the literary works. For more information, contact Dr. Patrice Proulx at 402-554-4839 or pproulx@unomaha.edu.

CARLA Summer Institute Spotlight: Culture as the Core in the Second Language Classroom
Culture as the Core in the Second Language Classroom
July 29–August 2, 2019
University of Minnesota (Minneapolis)
While cultivating deeper understanding on how language-culture-identity informs our teaching, participants will learn ways to integrate culture and language learning that include authentic materials and a new way of looking at culture. Through constructive conversation, hands-on practice, and reflection participants will learn how to:
• Bring everyday culture into language instruction and apply common frameworks of culture and culture learning;
• Create integrated language-and-culture learning objectives and lessons;
• Assess culture learning;
• Use authentic materials for teaching culture and textbooks for culture learning and unlearning.
Find out more about Culture as the Core in the Second Language Classroom:
https://carla.umn.edu/institutes/2019/culture.html

Will West, Communications and Program Chair
French Teacher
Lincoln Public Schools
wwest@lps.org

What was your motivation to become a language teacher?
My high school French teacher, Toni Theisen, motivated me to become a French teacher. Her class was a place where everybody belonged…’honor yourself’ was a mantra that we heard over and over. I believed that being a teacher, like Toni, would be the best way to honor her.
In five words or less, describe your classroom approach.
Give learning power to students
What power do you find in speaking another language?
As a teacher of world language and culture, and a speaker of several world languages, I find power in the ability to communication with other people. I find power in seeing other cultures as part of who I am – not just being an American from a square state, but a citizen of the international community. When I think of the opportunities that I’ve had because I’m not mono-lingual, I cannot even imagine where I would be right now with them! But, my favorite part is the ability to relocate. I don’t say “travel” or “visit”, because when you speak another language, and you understand and participate in the culture, you don’t visit, you live!

Daniel Kritenbrink is a Nebraska native and a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Kearney. While a student at UNK, he participated in a short study tour to the Soviet Union. He spent the following full academic year at Kansai Gaidai University in Japan. Study abroad is the capstone opportunity for demonstrating global understanding. Today, he is The United States Ambassador at the U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Vietnam.

Krittenbrink credits his travel abroad experience for developing more than his language skills. He cites the development of insights into Asian cultures, networking, collaboration, and problem-solving. UNK Professor of History Dr. Doug Biggs agrees, “International travel is the best education possible. For the first time in students’ lives, they are the minority. International travel teaches our students to become much more self-reliant and self-confident. These experiences greatly expand their world view and greatly change who they are as people.” Dr. Biggs led the Nebraska Semester Abroad program to the Czech Republic in spring 2018 and will take another group in fall 2019.

All University of Nebraska campuses offer opportunities to travel and study abroad. Information about programming is found at the Education Abroad Office at each campus. Travel programs may be as short as ten days or as long as an academic year. Proficiency in another language may or may not be a requirement. Study programs include a wide array of topic areas, from the sciences to the humanities.

Regardless of the topic of study, the length of program, or the location abroad, students report similar successes. Calvin Vong, a student at UNO, says, “Studying abroad offered me the opportunity to grow as a person and to see the world in a different perspective. I learned to embrace change, learn more about myself and recognize that there is more to life than I previously thought. Being exposed to so many cultures abroad helped me gain a better understanding of how people in other countries think and act. After studying abroad, I feel refreshed and more determined than ever to achieve my goals.”

(credit: “Engaging the World: 2019 Global Engagement report” from the University of Nebraska Office of Global Engagement.  View the full report here. )