MERLOT World Languages Showcase

ACTFL Video Podcast Contest

MERLOT World Languages is pleased to showcase the winners of the first ACTFL Video Podcast Contest. Students in elementary, middle school, high school, colleges and universities submitted digital videos that described why language study was important to them personally. The contest was an official activity of Discover Languages Month and part of the ongoing Discover Language campaign. The aim of Discover Languages is to keep the importance of speaking a second language on the minds of educators, students and all citizens.

MERLOT World Languages joined the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), the Center for Language Education and Research (CLEAR), and sponsor ASC Direct to help plan this successful national Student Video Podcast contest in February 2008. Plans are already being made for a contest next year.

Teachers and students who are thinking of putting together video projects like the ones featured in this project might want to check out
.CLEAR's Rich Internet Applications which provides an easy to use tool for uploading digital video that is free for non-commercial use by educators. Putting the technology in the hands of tech savvy students creates excitement about using language outside the classroom. Video projects in the target language also make students focus more on pronunciation and the clear delivery of a message in a second language. As they practice their video scripts, they do so with a purpose that is not just about language study. In such a project, students are addressing the Communities standard of the Foreign Language Standards which calls for using the target language in real-world settings.

CLEAR's Guide to Hosting a World Languages Day

For the last four years, CLEAR at Michigan State University has hosted a World Languages Day. This year, the event will be held on April 12 on the MSU campus in East Lansing, Michigan It will attract hundreds of high school students, their families and teachers to a day-long conference. The purpose is to " focus on the experiences that languages offer, and highlight the opportunities available for language and international study at MSU." MSU offers more than 50 languages and is known for its excellence in internationalization.

CLEAR shares its model for a World Languages Day in its Celebrating the World's Languages: A Guide to Creating a World Languages Day Event . The guide was co-authored by personnel from CLEAR at Michigan State University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the University of Minnesota. It is a practical step-by-step guide that goes from rationale to implementation of a World Languages Day.
This publication is offered free to educators as part of its service as a U.S. Department of Education Title VI Language Resource Center.