ACTFL 2007 San Antonio

ACTFL 2007 in San Antonio was a huge success! NCJLT sponsored twenty-five educational sessions, three poster sessions, and held our first-ever Japan Pavilion, in which we had ten cultural demonstrations by our local affiliates. Additionally, we had shamisen, dances performed by K-12 students in Texas. In addition to the Japan Pavilion, we had our firstever NCJLT luncheon in which we had 111 attendees, a great number considering it was our first time ever. We were also very fortunate to have several chances to discuss issues related to Japanese instruction and advocacy with numerous leaders in our field including, among several others, Professor Yasuhiko Tohsaku from UCSD, and Professor Hiroko Kataoka from California State University Long Beach, 2007 recipient of an ACTFL Florence Steiner Award for Leadership in Foreign Language Education.

Call for Proposals

The National Council of Japanese Language Teachers will once again sponsor sessions at the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Conference in Orlando, Florida in 2008. We welcome all teachers in grades K-16, who are members of NCJLT to submit a proposal to present a session at the conference. NCJLT will make every attempt to accept proposals in a range of grade levels and topic areas. All presenters at NCJLT-sponsored sessions must be members of NCJLT.

No presentations that are for advertisements/sale purposes will be accepted. All costs for attendance at and travel to the conference are the responsibility of the presenter. There are also certain fees charged for the use of audio/visual equipment during your presentation, ranging from $10 to $100, depending upon the equipment. If accepted to present, as a NCJLT member you will be required email your handouts or presentation to ncjlt@JapaneseTeaching.org and to submit a 200-300 word write-up about your session for the winter Oshirase by the January 1 deadline. Failure to submit this article could result in rejection of future proposals. Please send any questions to ncjlt@JapaneseTeaching.org, attention: ACTFL Chair.

The Call for Proposal submission deadline is January 11, 2008 for ALL co-sponsors and ACTFL sessions. No exceptions will be made. You must be a current member of NCJLT in order to present under NCJLT. To make a proposal, visit the ACTFL 2008 proposal page www.actfl.org. NCJLT will not be conducting a separate Call for Proposals. Please click on the 2008 Call for proposals on ACTFL web site at www.actfl.org. From the Call home page you will begin to enter your proposal. During the submission process you will see a drop-down menu listing NCJLT session and click it. At that time the submitter will have the option of submitting the proposal directly to NCJLT. After that closing date of January 11, 2008, all proposals submitted to NCJLT will be forwarded to NCJLT review committee.

NCJLT Grant Award for First Time Attendee at ACTFL

This $200 stipend and the regular ACTFL Conference registration fee is intended to facilitate first time attendance of an NCJLT member's participation in the ACTFL Conference held every November. Applications must be emailed by April 15, 2008.

Eligibility

First time attendee and a member of NCJLT (including an in-service teacher or a pre-service teacher studying at graduate or undergraduate level.

Application Requirements

On a separate paper answer each of the following questions in 500 words or less. Please type or neatly print your answers.

1. What are your goals for professional development?

2. How will attending ACTFL help you achieve these goals?

3. How will you share what you have learned or achieved at ACTFL with other teachers?

Also include a statement testifying that this is the first time that you've attended ACTFL and your school and preferred contact information including school name, city, state, telephone and fax numbers, as well as email address and any other necessary information.

Notification and Responsibilities

Recipients will be notified by e-mail by July 1st, 2008 (prior to the early bird registration deadline) and should expect to attend at least two full days of the conference.

*Please email the materials to NCJLT@japaneseteaching.org with "ACTFL Grant" in the subject line.

Application Download

ACTFL Conference Obligations

Recipients will be required to write a minimum 500-word article for the Oshirase (January 1 deadline) reflecting on their experience at ACTFL. They will also be required to assist in manning the NCJLT Booth at the Japanese Pavilion. Additionally, they are expected to attend at least two full days of the ACTFL conference.