Letter from the President

Posted on October 13, 2019 by

WELCOME TO THE 2019-2020 SCHOOL YEAR

Lesley Chapman, OFLA President 2019-2020
French Teacher, Sycamore High School

Dear OFLA Members:

It is my pleasure to welcome everyone to the 2019-2020 school year.  2020 seems so futuristic, doesn’t it? I recall not so long ago hearing the year “2020” and thinking of flying cars and vacations to Mars. While those things are not (yet) a reality, what is real are the advances in education, and particularly in World Language education. Thanks to modern technology, we are more connected to the world – and each other – than ever before. With that connectivity comes incredible strength as a profession. Every day I go on Facebook, Twitter, and teacher blogs, where I find a more united group of collaborators than ever before. This unity is exciting to me and makes me enthusiastic about where the future might bring us. Continue reading →

Posted in Executive News, Fall 2019, Letter from the President

OFLA Teacher of the Year

Posted on October 13, 2019 by

CALL FOR THE OHIO TEACHER OF THE YEAR APPLICATIONS

Cheryl Johnson, OFLA President-Elect
Instructional Technologist for the Dept. of Modern Languages, Denison University 

Do you know an outstanding teacher who is deserving to represent Ohio as the 2021 Teacher of the Year (TOY)? Do you want this deserving teacher to be recognized at the 2021 Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Conference? The Ohio Foreign Language Association (OFLA) Board is pleased to announce a call for applications for the OFLA 2021 TOY. Self-nominations are encouraged! The award for Ohio Teacher of the Year is intended to recognize and celebrate our most accomplished world language teachers. Successful candidates demonstrate that they follow best practices, both state and national standards, as well as proficiency guidelines. Candidates must be full-time world language Pre-K-12 teachers or Postsecondary instructors or professors.  They must spend at least 50% of their time in direct teaching during the year of application with an expectation of teaching for at least two additional years. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized

The First and Easiest Step Toward World Language Advocacy

Posted on October 13, 2019 by

Richard Emch, OFLA Parliamentarian and Bylaws
French Teacher, North Royalton City Schools

Are you an advocate for world language learning? An easy way to advocate for world language learning is often overlooked by world language professionals. Maintaining membership in several professional associations is a simple way to provide funding to support world language learning’s biggest advocacy organization, the Joint National Committee for Languages – National Council for Languages and International Studies (JNCL-NCLIS). If you are unfamiliar with JNCL-NCLIS, this is from its website,  Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, Executive News, Fall 2019 | Leave a comment

2020 OFLA Awards

Posted on October 13, 2019 by

LET’S  RECOGNIZE OHIO’S WORLD LANGUAGE TEACHERS! 

Milton Alan Turner, OFLA Awards Chair
French and Spanish Teacher, Saint Ignatius High School

I am sure we all know incredibly talented teachers in our buildings and districts who are doing amazing jobs with their students. Please help us to identify and recognize them by nominating deserving teachers for one of the 2020 OFLA Awards!

Each year OFLA seeks nominations in fourteen categories: eleven for OFLA members and three for non-OFLA members. The categories are listed below.

Please see this page for more information, including complete descriptions of award categories, and a nomination form. A nomination letter, CV or résumé, letters of support, and additional support documentation are due December 1, 2019. Continue reading →

Posted in Executive News, Fall 2019, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Interpreting Authentic Resources: A Core Practice of World Language Teaching

Posted on October 13, 2019 by

Lucas Hoffman, OFLA Treasurer
Sylvania Southview High School

This is part four in a series of articles about the nationally developed core practices of world language teaching.  In 2015-2016, I started sharing some of the new nationally recognized core practices. As a reminder, core practices are researched-informed best practices that should be mastered practices by any beginning teacher in world language education.  In previous articles regarding these core practices, I wrote about 90% target language use, using research-informed techniques when giving students feedback, and using the backward design model.   Continue reading →

Posted in Executive News, Fall 2019, Uncategorized

Membership

Posted on October 13, 2019 by

MEMBERSHIP IN OFLA

Teri Wiechart, OFLA Membership Chair
Delphos Jefferson High School (Retired)


Why we need you:

  • We need you as a leader in our profession as we are hoping to “stamp out monolingualism” in America.
  • We need your voice to help protect against attacks on our profession.
  • We need teachers with ideas to present at our annual conference, April 2-4, 2020, in Cincinnati. https://tmc.swoogo.com/ofla2020proposal.
  • We need you to support, to collaborate, and to share your expertise with other teachers.

The highlights of what your OFLA membership does for you and our profession:
 Continue reading →

Posted in Executive News, Fall 2019, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Scariest Thing I Did Over the Summer

Posted on October 13, 2019 by

Dina Marsala, OFLA Editor of Electronic Media
French Teacher, Avon Lake City Schools 

The definition of fear: an unpleasant emotion or thought that you have when you are frightened or worried by something dangerous, painful, or bad that is happening or might happen.  We have all felt this emotion at some point in our lives. Some of us let it consume our thoughts while others enjoy the rush it brings. There are some fears that are founded and those that are only in our minds.  Most people try not to put themselves in situations that would induce fear, except during Halloween. I chose to put myself in one of those situations this summer. It ended up being one of the best things I have ever done for my teaching career.   Continue reading →

Posted in Executive News, Fall 2019