Since 1994, the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures has been organizing at least two yearly workshops for West Michigan area high school teachers of Modern Languages and GVSU's language faculty. These workshops intend to build a bridge between high school teachers and university professors, and to discuss the many issues we all face as we teach foreign languages to our students. Our purpose is to provide a forum for all of us to share our ideas, our resources, our questions and our concerns. In each workshop, teachers and professors are invited to prepare short presentations on the subject chosen, and during the workshop quite naturally a discussion occurs between all participants. The atmosphere is very relaxed and informal. A breakfast and a lunch are provided by GVSU, and we all have the opportunity to learn about our colleagues and their concerns.

Since our first informal workshop, we have focused on such areas as the State Foreign Language Core Curriculum, Assessment, Foreign Languages and Technology, Current Events and Cultural Developments: How to find information and incorporate it effectively in the classroom, Communicative Activities in the Modern Language Classroom, Teaching Students with Disabilities, Teaching Culture in a Language Class, Cooperative Learning, Folklore Awareness in the Classroom, Food, Careers and Foreign Languages, and Traveling with Students.

Please let us know if you want to be on our mailing list, want to attend a workshop, or want to prepare a talk.

Previous topics include:

• Linking Language Students to Local and Target Language Communities (Spring 2022)
• Advocacy Workshop for promoting K-16 World Language Programs (Fall 2019)
• High-Leverage Teaching Practices in the Language Classroom (Spring 2019)
• Intercultural Communicative Competence for Every World Language Student (Fall 2018)
• Make it Meaningful: Technology, Culture, & Higher-Level Thinking (Fall 2017)
• Breaking Down the IPA: Integrated Performance Assessment for your Classroom (Spring 2017)
• Building Communicative Confidence in the Classroom: Motivational Teaching Practices (Fall 2016)
• Speaking of Strategies… How to Get and Stay in the Target Language (Spring 2016)

"Speaking of Strategies...How to Get and Stay in the Target Language" (Spring 2016)

Article: Going for 90% Plus: How to Stay in the Target Language by Douglass Crouse