We are very pleased to announce the creation of The Language Collaboratory, a partnership for the advancement of intercollegiate dialogue on the teaching of languages and cultures, driven by language centers and institutes at the University of Iowa, the University of Michigan, the University of Minnesota, Michigan State University, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The purpose of this initiative is to provide collaborative professional development opportunities for educators of language, culture, and literature at the five institutions. All session recordings can be browsed in our official YouTube channel.
Please join us for the Fall 2022 Series: From New Pathways From College to Career: Preparing Students for a Rapidly Changing Workforce:
“Where do you see yourself in 10 years?” was an answerable question for graduates in an era when workers started and retired from the same company. But, not only are few of today’s college graduates likely to stick with a single employer, their job responsibilities will change many times over the course of their careers.
Preparing students for career exploration and flexibility is a skill they will need throughout their work lives. The challenge for colleges will be to design pathways to careers that remain navigable even as the jobs themselves morph and shift.
The Language Collaboratory’s fall sessions focus on situating language programs, language learning and instruction in the rapidly-changing world society, responding to the needs and wants of spaces beyond the classroom. Specifically, our discussants will address elevating career readiness in the language curriculum, promoting service learning and other forms of community engagement, articulating the value of transferable skills and competencies gained during one’s language-learning journey, and other ways of preparing students for success after they graduate.
All sessions are held synchronously via Zoom. Sessions are scheduled for Mondays or Thursdays, 3:30-4:00 (4:15) pm central, 4:30-5:00 (5:15) pm eastern. Sessions are 30 minutes in length, with additional 15 minutes of optional discussion for those interested in digging deeper into the topic.
Sessions
Designing a New Language Curriculum from the Ground Up
Thursday, October 27, 2022
4:30 -5:00 (5:15) pm
Register Online
Once a curriculum is in place it is difficult to radically change. There is a certain inertia to these educational “spaces of enclosure.” (Edwards & Usher, 2008). Curricula often enshrine educational philosophies, methodologies, and approaches for decades. What if you can design a completely new curriculum? The two panelists will describe and discuss exactly such a process, its practical implications, the resistance encountered, and the benefits gained.
Discussants: Dr. Felix Kronenberg, Director, Center for Language Teaching Advancement; and Associate Professor of German, Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures; Michigan State University; Dr. Wonneken Wanske, Pedagogical Counselor, Cégep Heritage College, and Adjunct Professor of German, University of Ottawa
Marketable Language Competencies
Rebekah Pryor Paré is the Associate Dean for the Letters & Science Career Initiative and the Executive Director of SuccessWorks at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Thursday, November 3, 2022
4:30 –5:00 (5:15) pm
Register Online
Join Rebekah to discuss the competencies our language learners are developing, why they are marketable, and who’s seeking them. Rebekah will share why it is important that students understand and can communicate competencies they are learning and a few strategies to incorporate competency discussions in the classroom.
Discussant: Rebekah Pryor Paré, Associate Vice Chancellor, Washington University in St. Louis
Lead with Language: Putting Language Skills to Work
Thursday, December 1, 2022
4:30 -5:00 (5:15) pm
Register Online
Whether students have developed their language abilities at home, abroad, or in the classroom, it’s important they learn how to leverage their language skills to maximize potential employment opportunities post-graduation. Learn about how the UW-Madison Language Institute and African Cultural Studies Department designed a career course tailored to language students and how you can support your students in developing an understanding of transferable skills unique to language learners and articulating them for use in professional contexts.
Discussants: Kaitlin Koehler, Associate Director, Rising Phoenix Early College High School, Toni Landis, Academic Advising Manager, University of Wisconsin- Madison
Accommodations: We strive to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals to engage fully. Automated live-captions are available for every session. To request accommodations or discuss access needs please contact Adolfo Carrillo Cabello (carri093@umn.edu) from the University of Minnesota, at least a week in advance prior to the event. Requests made after that point cannot be guaranteed.
Sponsors
University of Iowa, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Language Media Center; University of Michigan, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA) Language Resource Center; University of Minnesota, College of Liberal Arts (CLA) Language Center; Michigan State University, Center for Language Teaching Advancement; University of Wisconsin-Madison, Language Institute
