Language Training Center Highlighted

The Language Training Center in Indianapolis, which offers language and culture training, interpretation and translation services, was featured in the Indianapolis Business Journal. It's owned by Martin George, a former director of the English as a Second Language program at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis.

He has, according to the IBJ "found himself in high demand among some of the world’s biggest athletes and sports properties, from basketball star Yao Ming and IndyCar Series drivers to the NCAA and LPGA."

Read more here.

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Foreign Language Study Gains in Indiana

A report by the Modern Language Association of America notes that Indiana showed substantial gains in foreign language study at the university level between 2006 and 2009, specifically: 26.7%.

The MLA has gathered and analyzed data on undergraduate and graduate course enrollments in languages other than English in United States colleges and universities since 1958.

Nationwide, course enrollments in languages other than English reached a new high in 2009.

According to the MLA, "In terms of ranking, Spanish, French, and German lead as the three most studied languages, followed by American Sign Language (ASL), fourth in the survey since 2006. Italian, Japanese, and Chinese come next, in the same sequence they have occupied since 1998. Arabic has jumped two positions since 2006 to eighth, now ahead of Latin and Russian, but, with enrollments at 35,083, it is closer in numbers to Latin (32,606) than to Chinese (60,976). Enrollments in courses in Korean have overtaken those in Modern Hebrew, to rank after Portuguese as the fourteenth most commonly studied language in 2009."

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IU to host its first World Language Festival

Indiana high school students from across the state will converge in Bloomington on 7 March when Indiana University hosts its first-ever World Language Festival.

Participants will have the opportunity to learn about subjects as diverse as traditional African drum and dance techniques, ancient Chinese calligraphy, Slavic languages, Germanic celebrations, common French gestures and current cultural issues in the Middle East.

More than 300 students, teachers and parents from approximately 15 Indiana high schools are expected to take part in the event, which begins at 8:30 a.m. in Ballantine Hall, where all of the day's events will take place.

A schedule of events with presentation descriptions, general information and a list of sponsors can be found online.

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Foreign Tongues and Chinese Art

The June issue of Indianapolis Woman has two "don't miss" articles.

The first is a profile of Betsy Hall Fehsenfeld, an artist whose ties to the world have resulted in a blockbuster cultural exchange. She facilitated the connections between Shandong University in China and the Indianapolis Art Center, resulting in "Two Worlds, One Language". The series of events and exhibits runs 28 June through 23 August.

(See also this post and this one for more posts on this groundbreaking event.)

The second, titled "Foreign Tongues", explains why everyone should learn a second (or a third or a fourth or...) language. Even those of us who live in the Hoosier heartland!

Indiana first state to adopt East Asian language standards

Action taken by the State Board of Education this week made Indiana the first state to adopt grade-level standards specific to Chinese, Japanese and Korean languages for all grades kindergarten through twelve.

The Indiana Department of Education’s World Language Standards Revision Task Force developed a separate, yet related, set of standards specifically geared towards East Asian languages, according to a press release.

The revision of the state’s standards for world languages is part of a larger effort designed to equip Indiana students with the skills needed for success in a global economy. Click here for Indiana’s academic standards for world languages.

International Film Festival Lineup Announced

The lineup has been announced: 191 films representing 45 nations will screen at the 2007 Indianapolis International Film Festival.

See the list alphabetically.

See the list by nation of origin.

Polyglot Corner of Indy

According to the Demographics feature on page 48 of this week’s Indianapolis Business Journal, 10 percent of the 17,080 people living in the 8,408 households in the 46250 ZIP code speak a foreign language at home.

Foreign Language Immersion Program To Be Cut Back?

A rare foreign language immersion program in a Marion County public school is on the bubble, according to a report by veteran reporter Howard Smulevitz in The Indianapolis Star today.

Fortunately, the Lawrence Township School board, parents and students objected to the proposal “to remove kindergarten classes from a Spanish immersion magnet program as part of a plan to balance enrollments in elementary buildings” at a meeting Monday night. Read more here.

Lawrence Township is justly proud of its international studies programs, which began in 1994. The school’s website notes:

“We are an international magnet school serving over 700 students in grades kindergarten through five. At Forest Glen we believe that through a strong focus on understanding other cultures our students will be better prepared to meet the challenges of the global community of the future.”

Forest Glen's Global Studies Program enables students develop an in-depth interest in world studies and geography as they make cross-cultural connections. In addition students attend daily Spanish classes, according to the website.

In the Spanish Immersion Program, all conversation and instruction in classrooms is in Spanish, from kindergarten through third grade. Students in fourth and fifth grades have instruction in Spanish for half of the day, and in English for half of the day.

The Nationalities Council agrees wholeheartedly with the board, parents and students! Don't cut back on this innovative program! What about adding immersion Spanish to kindergartens in the other Lawrence Township Schools instead?

IFLTA World Language Teacher of the Year

Lisa Calvin, associate professor of Spanish at Indiana State University, has been recognized as the state’s finest college-level language teacher by the Indiana Foreign Language Teachers Association, according to a news release from ISU.

Calvin received the 2006 Collegiate-Level World Language Teacher of the Year Award from the IFLTA, which has a membership of 630 foreign language teachers, at its annual conference in Indianapolis, ISU reports.

Calvin became eligible for this award after the Indiana chapter of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese named her the 2006 Teacher of the Year-University Level this summer. As a recipient of that award, she was asked to submit a portfolio, including essays and letters from colleagues and former students, to be considered for the IFLTA’s coveted Teacher of the Year honor.

The Nationalities Council also sends its congratulations to Prof. Calvin!