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The 2017 COFLT Conference will take place at the University of Oregon in the EMU (Erb Memorial Union) on October 13-14, 2017. The theme is "Experience it.” Keynote speakers are Dr. Beniko Mason and Dr. Claudia Holguín Mendoza. 

Saturday workshop options are as follows:
"Proficiency In Action: Applying Growth Strategies in Our Classrooms" with Kyle Ennis
"Story-Listening Methodology" with Dr. Beniko Mason
"Working with Heritage Learners" with Dr. Claudia Holguín Mendoza

For full details about the conference go to https://coflt.wildapricot.org/page-18100

From https://sites.google.com/site/ecoltaelrc/test-development-workshop-2017

Developing and using rating scales for writing assessment
October 19, 2017
Georgetown University

In this hands-on workshop you will cover fundamental considerations for developing and using rating scales for writing assessment, both in classroom settings and for large-scale tests. In the first part of the workshop we will discuss the role of the rating scale in writing assessment in terms of scoring validity (Shaw & Weir, 2007) and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of different types of rating scales (i.e., holistic vs. analytic scales). You will generate your own criteria for scoring writing for a specific assessment purpose with a particular group of learners and we will experience different methods of rating scale construction. You will also use different published rating scales to evaluate second language writing samples and discuss the benefits and challenges of using different types of scales. You will discuss best practices in training, monitoring, and providing feedback to raters in large-scale assessments and you will discuss how rating scales can be used in classrooms to both lessen teachers’ marking load, provide useful feedback to students, and make use of self and peer assessment.

For full details and to register go to https://sites.google.com/site/ecoltaelrc/test-development-workshop-2017

From http://www.coerll.utexas.edu/

Spanish heritage language workshop
September 30, 2017
University of Texas at Austin

For full details and a schedule, go to http://www.coerll.utexas.edu/coerll/event/spanish-heritage-language-colloquium

From http://www.aakanee.com/main.html

The Aakanee website offers illustrations for language learning — partly tailored to South-East Asia — and various types of recordings stand-alone and guided by illustrations for Thai, Isaan, and Khmer. All content is free and provided under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.

Explore the different projects on the website at http://www.aakanee.com/main.html

Here is a fascinating article with links to documentary videos about the history of Chinese people who have lived in the Mississippi Delta since the end of slavery: http://www.openculture.com/2017/09/learn-the-untold-history-of-the-chinese-community-in-the-mississippi-delta.html

JapanFest 2017 is taking place in Atlanta September 16-17. Learn more about this event at http://www.japanfest.org/

From https://www.aatj.org/jlpt

The Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) was developed in Japan, and has been offered since 1984 in countries all around the world as a means of evaluating the proficiency of non-native learners of Japanese.

In 2017, the test will be administered at 17 test sites located around the country. The test is administered just once a year in the US, on the first Sunday of December.

For more details go to https://www.aatj.org/jlpt

From https://www.stagerussia.com/

Stage Russia performs plays and records them so that they can be shown in cinemas around the United States. The next production is Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull,” available in cinemas September 14. Learn more about the play at https://www.stagerussia.com/the-seagull and find a theater near you at https://www.stagerussia.com/map-the-seagull