Short Business Meeting
Milda Ostrauskaite (Concordia College - Minnesota): Fresh from the Graduate School: Adventures of a New Language Teacher.
The goal of my paper is to share happy and sometimes frustrating experiences about my transition from the graduate school to the first full-time teaching position in Norwegian/ Scandinavian Studies at Concordia College. Some of the issues I would like to address are related to the development of materials, improvement of teaching strategies and interaction with students. I believe my insights could be helpful for other new faculty members who might have undergone similar experiences but never had a chance to address their concerns to a larger community of teachers. I also think that more experienced pedagogues will have an opportunity to remember what they went through when they just started teaching and to ponder how they can assist their younger colleagues. I hope to generate a discussion how the to make the transition for the new faculty easier and faster by suggesting a few ideas that in my view could be beneficial to beginning teachers.
Mary Thrond (Minnesota State University Moorhead): The Travel Portfolio: Portfolio Assessment as a Tool to Ensure Student Learning While Traveling Abroad.
Portfolio assessment is a valuable tool to ensure the metacognitive process in any learning situation. While you are abroad with students concerning yourself with everyday logistics they can be especially useful to ensure that students are cognizant of and responsible for their own learning goals. I have implemented portfolio assessment based on the ACTFL National Standards in my teaching in the past. Recently, I worked with the portfolio experience on a student trip to Costa Rica. I hope that sharing those results will shed light on the travel and learning experience for those who travel with students at any level.
Igor Babikov (Concordia College - Minnesota): Different Countries, Different Cultures, Same Ideas.
In this presentation I'll discuss my personal experience as both Russian Native Assistant and Concordia College student. I'll demonstrate differences and similarities of Russian and American educational systems as I have seen them. I will attempt to compare systems of private education in the United States and the Russian Federation.
Zacharie Petnkeu Nzepa (Concordia College): Classroom and Other Challenges for Non-Citizen Teachers of Foreign Languages.
I will draw from my experience of a foreign teacher of French language and culture and Francophone cultures in the USA to examine how cultural misunderstanding can impact in class interaction and pedagogical effectiveness. To this end, I will rely upon verbal communication and some linguistic features. I will end up with my own ways as tentative solutions to the challenges.