The Twelve Months of Membership

Posted on January 26, 2017 by Cardinal Editor

Julie Frye, Membership Chair
Lexington High School French teacher

Julie

*I am enrolled in OFLA via OEA, and so my OFLA dues are automatically deducted from my paycheck. The renewal date for OFLA members who choose this option is 15 January annually. All other members have a renewal date of 1 September annually (or every 3 years on the same date).

For the first month of 2017, my OFLA membership gave to me… two gifts! One, the auto-renewal of my membership* through OEA payroll deduction. And two, Early-Bird registration for the OFLA Annual Conference! Continue reading →

Posted in General, Membership, Uncategorized, Winter 2017 | Leave a comment

What is a Seal of Biliteracy and What Will It Mean for Ohio Language Learners?

Posted on January 26, 2017 by Cardinal Editor

Ryan Wertz, Kathy Shelton and Paula Sondej

World Language Consultants, Ohio Department of Education

On November 30th, the Ohio Legislature passed Ohio Senate Bill 3, which – among other things – created a provision for an Ohio Seal of Biliteracy. At the time this article was being written, the governor had just signed the bill into law on December 15th. Now that it has been signed, the law will go into full effect in 90 days. At that point, the State Board of Education will assume responsibility for creating the education rule that enacts the Seal of Biliteracy legislation. In turn, the State Board of Education will turn to the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) to work out the details: the requirements for qualifying for a seal of Biliteracy, the timeline for its implementation and the logistics of conferring the Seal on deserving learners. This process represents the culmination of years of advocacy work initiated by the Ohio Foreign Language Association with strong partnership by the members of Ohio TESOL and spearheaded most recently by OFLA Advocacy Chair Martha Pero Halemba. Passage of this legislation is proof that, when our profession comes together to collaborate and advocate for something it wants, anything is possible. Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, Around the State, Uncategorized, Winter 2017 | 2 Comments

Ohio Legislators Vote for the Seal of Biliteracy!

Posted on January 26, 2017 by Cardinal Editor

Martha Halemba, Hudson City Schools

Professional Development Chair

On December 15, Governor Kasich signed SB3 that also contained HB 487, our Seal of Biliteracy Bill. In ninety days, it will become state law. We have done it! We have provideda means for our students to be recognized on their diplomas if they are literate in two languages. Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, Uncategorized, Winter 2017 | 1 Comment

Exciting News for Camp OFLA 2017

Posted on January 25, 2017 by Cardinal Editor

Lori Winne, Ph.D., Early Language Learning Chair
Co-Director, Camp OFLA

OFLA continues to support Camp OFLA with scholarships for campers and stipends for H.S. counselors and teachers. The mission of OFLA is committed to world language study beginning in the primary grades, so that every learner, from early childhood through adult, acquires a high level of communicative and intercultural competence. That mission is represented very well within the week of Camp OFLA and it is a mission for world language learners of all languages.

Three exciting updates are in the works for 2017! First, Camp OFLA will offer more languages and more weeks for campers to participate! Secondly, Illinois will be joining us this summer! Thirdly, pre-service and teachers needing credit for license renewal will have an opportunity to add elementary experience to their coursework. Continue reading →

Posted in Committee News, Early Language Learning, General, Uncategorized, Winter 2017 | Leave a comment

What’s New for New Teachers?

Posted on January 25, 2017 by Cardinal Editor

RESA News for 2017

Lesley Chapman, Beginning Teachers Chair 
French Teacher, Sycamore High School

Like all things new, the RESA program is growing and changing each year. It is important to know what those changes are for this year if you are a teacher in that program. Continue reading →

Posted in Committee News, Professional Development, Uncategorized, Winter 2017 | Leave a comment

Twelve Tips for Implementing Authentic Resources in Your Classroom

Posted on January 25, 2017 by Cardinal Editor

Lisa Sobb, OFLA Secondary Language Learning Committee Chair
Sylvania Southview High School

The importance of including authentic resources in the world language classroom cannot be overstated.  Not only do they provide exposure to current, authentic language, but they also can be inspiring and motivating when students get to see just how far their language has progressed.  Here are some suggestions I’ve gathered from my experiences incorporating authentic resources in my classroom: Continue reading →

Posted in Committee News, General, Uncategorized, Winter 2017 | Leave a comment

Building a Successful Japanese Program in Marysville

Posted on January 24, 2017 by Cardinal Editor

Iya Nemastil
ネマスティル ・イヤ
Ohio Association of Teachers of Japanese, Vice President
Japanese Teacher, Marysville High School

In order to build a successful language program, it is essential to advocate and lead with proficiency-based teaching practices to build a comprehensive language curriculum. The Japanese program in Marysville is in its third year, offering Japanese 1, 2, and 3 at both Marysville High School and Early College High School, as well as Japanese 1 and 7th grade exploratory Japanese at Bunsold Middle School. Our program is currently the largest Japanese program in the state of Ohio with over 200 students enrolled in all three schools. We have built this program from the ground up, adding one level of Japanese at a time. I have had the pleasure to choose a relevant curriculum which is always growing and updating itself with the students’ interests and passions in mind. We don’t use a particular textbook or written curriculum. Instead, we teach high-frequency vocabulary and sentence patterns in order to get our students to be able to communicate and have useful language skills right away. Everything is contextualized and builds on itself, so students are repeatedly exposed to material until it becomes second nature. Continue reading →

Posted in Affiliates, General, Uncategorized, Winter 2017 | Leave a comment

AATG News

Posted on January 24, 2017 by Cardinal Editor

Deborah Page

In this issue: Fall Conference Held, Dennis Boyd New OFLA Liaison, Spring 2017 Chapter Meeting/Election for Second Vice President, and 2017 Ohio AATG Officers

Fall Conference Held
The Ohio Chapter of the AATG held its fall conference on November 4-5, 2016 at the Hyatt Place Hotel in Worthington (Columbus). The conference began on Friday afternoon with award-winning Gerhard Maroscher, who presented the history of his recently published memoir, Why Can’t Somebody Just Die Around Here? He traces the story of his family’s life in Transylvania, and how the events of World War II forced family members to flee. The book chronicles their journey and eventual move to the United States, and speaks of the resilience of the human spirit, dedication to family and the love of freedom. Following this presentation, the group enjoyed dinner together, and participated in the sing-a-long with the Columbus Männerchor, who were performing at the restaurant. Continue reading →

Posted in Affiliates, Committee News, General, Uncategorized, Winter 2017 | Leave a comment

2017 National French Contest/Grand Concours Registration

Posted on January 24, 2017 by Cardinal Editor

Nicole Hanlon, Buckeye Valley High School
Vice Présidente, AATF Ohio

nicole-hanlon

Interested in having your students participate in the Grand Concours? The National French Contest, “Le Grand Concours” is an annual competition sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French. Students of French in grades 1-12 in all 50 states and abroad take a written test and compete for prizes against students with a similar educational background.

Registration information can be found at https://www.frenchteachers.org/concours/. The sign-up deadline for online testing is February 19th, 2017. If you have any questions, please contact me at nhanlon@mybvls.org. Continue reading →

Posted in Committee News, General, Uncategorized, Winter 2017 | Leave a comment

AATSP Winter 2016-2017 Update

Posted on January 24, 2017 by Cardinal Editor

Angela Gardner
AATSP Buckeye Chapter President

businessangela

Since the last publication of The Cardinal in the fall, The Buckeye Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP) has several updates to share.

Firstly, we have a Chapter Poster Contest Coordinator. Her name is Lindsay Dollinger. The Poster Contest Deadline is March 1st, 2017. Send poster entries to 9200 US Route 42 South, Plain City, OH 43064. To contact Lindsay for more information, send her an email at: dollinli@japioneers.org. Please consider submitting an entry or entries for the context, more information is available at aatsp.org. This year’s theme is <>. See the screenshot below from the website for more detailed information. Continue reading →

Posted in Affiliates, General, Uncategorized, Winter 2017 | Leave a comment