Individual responses...

I think the situation in teaching LCTLs is a difficult one- decreasing numbers of majors are resulting in the merger of programs and a decrease in language offerings. Graduate programs are shrinking with a direct effect on undergraduate offering (fewer TA's, fewer sections and fewer LCTL's staffed). We are in danger of losing our professional training in critical areas in Slavic- not to mention to narrowing of the FL experience for undergraduate to the same three high school languages, if even so many.

We need publicity and efforts in behalf of teachers to educate institutions about the importance of retaining and teaching LCTL at the university level, and change is long overdue at the secondary school level. We should be teaching LCTL's there to respond to 20th century needs (if not those of the 21st) instead of the 19th century French + German tracks.

Chinese is only borderline-less-commonly-taught: textbook, colleagues in the field, students, are all fairly plentiful. Interest is steady. The need for it is perceived. All these are blessings. The concerns are the same as with other humanities fields: not enough time for research, too much pressure from legislatives and administrators to show quantified results and measure proficiency. most of our heritage students are more or less proficient already. We are trying to improve their exposure to and appreciation of quality and intangibles while also building basic proficiency with the non-heritage students.

I feel that LCTL's should promote the idea of having 2 perspectives and not letting only native speakers do the teaching. Second speakers often make excellent teachers

I would like info on materials, books, methods relevant to teaching Russian. Nothing theoretical, but actual help from actual people who actually teach.

I work with several people who publish like business on how to teach but I can not actually teach themselves---this kind of " help is no interest to me.

We need help in getting people to sign up for something other than Spanish

Many of us have very heavy teaching loads and little administrative support

Since I devote so little time to the teaching of Dutch, professional development in that area doesn't get a very high priority, but I would like to be informed of opportunities, especially those class enough to take advantage of

I am not sure whether your questionnaire is really relevant to my discipline or not. Classics should probably be put in a sub-category along with other ancient languages, like Hittite and Sanskrit, in the teaching of which oral proficiency is not a major concern

All I can say is I wish there were some national advocacy group working on keeping these LCTL in university. Many of us are dying or being killed ("Who needs a foreign language anyway?" seems to be the attitude)

Low status of African languages in their own countries is a hindrance to their growth abroad as valuable communication tools. I feel that creating links between official bodies in the US and language/government institutions in Africa, together with funding for African language projects, could contribute to a change in existing language attitudes.

Most teachers of LCTLs(especially native speakers) are desperate need of course work + workshops in methods(But they were not acknowledge this!)

Workshops for teachers of 2 languages: ways of linking +bringing or keeping 2nd languages up to par. Especially Advanced. Conversation +Composition (2 courses) for French would be helpful; here we only have lab program.

Teaching foreign languages in this country is frustrating because there is frequently no language requirement for entering college freshman or graduating college students, especially B.S and M.S Students.

This questionnaire was completed by the instructor who has taught Dutch at Columbia for the past 20 year, and is now retiring. This position will be filled by another instructor in more or less similar conditions

More opportunities locally +regionally for each language group(in my case Japanese) to get together for networking and professional development. It ultimately translates into money. If we can offer local teaches stipends to attend meetings and retreats, we will see unfamiliar faces attending.

I have always suffered from a split identity. Am I a language teacher, teacher of Literature?

some years I have used on preparing materials from my language teaching to the detriment of my research (which contributes to my merit increases). Some years I do research and lecture language teaching because which are routine. Some years I develop literature courses (which draw a lot of students).

Language classes can cause amount of grammar exercises. They have to be kept current on the language or topics will fell state. I wish there was an easy and inexpensive way to share exercises.

Greek textbooks are numerous now, but the students still need time to practice translation and to memorize vocabulary. With the availability of the internet, language materials(grammar and vocab) need to be accessible for use in the classroom and later on the students own time. but given the time pressure typical of a college setting, these resources need to reading in order to become user friendly.

Any professional development would be most helpful if it both recognized the uniqueness of ancient languages and at the same time integrated the concerns of classicists into its program. I often feel there is a tendency for modern language instructors to forget about classics.

As technology for language teaching advances so rapidly, I must constantly catch up with the programs in the use of computer software -e.g, writing Japanese characters on the computer. I simply don't have the time for everything (I am also teaching literature in translation) and therefore my present greatest concerns: How to make the university administration understand the necessity of hiring lab assistants-people other than language teachers do not understand its need and the complexity and all the chores involved in language teaching.

Some coordinating web site would be useful. The big challenge is having to develop new technology and materials for LCTL + a shortage of funds to pay for it.

Department in which LCTLs are taught should have a friend or informed system of mentoring, new teachers.

In a state university where enrollments are deemed indicators of relevance and "success" of a course, less commonly taught languages seem always to be relegated to teaching "overload" status--this means that time available for curriculum development , etc,. is severely limited. This has been perhaps the biggest problem. I've encountered in developing a Tamil curriculum.

Cornell at present has developed as two-track system for Japanese: one is our long-established Japanese 101-102 and 201-202/203-204 which is associated with the garden method. The other is 141-142 and 241-242which is taught in a very different format. We are being stuffed from the dept of modern Languages to the dept of Asian Studies so there will be further changes.

An email type of list serve that can be used to interact with all LCTL teachers not just 2 or 3 to discuss issues, consult with other and send materials to each other via the list server or an access site where LCTL teachers can download the latest research on language teaching methods.

There should be collaboration with the American Classical League, Miami University, Oxford OH through which you can access established advocacy groups for Latin-French.

This job is so unstable-every year the program is threatened. I still do not have confirmation on my post for September and it is mid June. It is hard to say how much I personally want to invest in development when it seems that I need to take the field completely. We get paid so little and it is expensive to attend conferences + workshops with no support from my school. I work in developing materials, putting together, new courses, using technology, doing course assessments and student evaluation, teaching culture with languages.

More emphasis should placed on using technology in LCTL teaching.
Two Areas:
1) Development of state of art teaching learning systems
2) Recruitment of students.

In order to provide cultural enhancement, we have created the Japanese Cultural center with the mission statements of:
1) ensuring authenticity in the Japanese art forms
2) providing both visual and performing art programs, and business seminars,
3) introduce less-known but significant Japanese arts and crafts to the community,
4) implementing innovative ideas of using the arts of Japan and the West, and
5) maintaining its authentics tea room and gardens avenue for cultural workshops and a gallery for the display of Japanese folk arts and shops. I run the center only with the community volunteers help teaching load is not reduced for that important part of me as a language teacher is threatened by the task of the cultural center operation. I am a language instructor and wish to stay as one. No funding is available to maintain the center's program

A conference would be good, but not an annual one because there are too many conferences that one needs to attend; Maybe a bi-annual one with a specific theme each time.

It is difficult to get students learning jr high & high school level into college level. Once these students take these classes they see their value. How do we convince students that Greek & Latin can form the foundation for a solid education and are "relevant" in the late 20th century?

Any feedback on good computer assisted programs for lang teaching would be welcome. We're looking for something that will genuinely enhance our teaching, do things that we can't do already. This is supposedly what the computer was good for.

Southeast Asian Language instruction at Yale University is financed by the area studies council and my role is solely administrative

On top of a nine course teaching (over 3 quarters), there is no time left for professional development, in which I am keenly interested. It seems to me that time off course reduction issues are a key for us in the LCTL's and should be promoted in any discussion of our professional development.

Continuity & non traditional classroom learning techniques.

Hard to offer language training support beyond introduction for LCTL students.

Need to take into account immersion contact hours with native speaker teaching aids, use of video, mini-culture groups, etc. to extend conceptualized learning

I think that one of the most important things is communicating the value of our disciplines to administrators, trustees, faculty in other fields, and of course students and their parents. Departments and programs are frequently suspended or cut all together because of low enrollments.

I would like to have some stability for this course within our language curriculum. Creole is a native lang of this state, but is not included in the university curriculum on any permanent basis. I'd like to develop laboratory materials & conduct oral history research on the language but have no resources to do so. If we could offer courses in Louisiana Creole on a regular basis, we could at least train some advanced students.

I feel strongly that students of language, who plan to work in the target area, should receive some training in cultural anthropology.

I'm retiring in 3 years so I'm not the best person for your purposes. "Strategies for Survival" would be useful for Russian teachers. Also more sharing of materials would be helpful.

In most university language teaching is done very poorly because those who teach language have a training in literary criticism end their main interest in literary criticism.

Most of the time, they teach the languages courses to collect the pay. It is an embarrassing situation. I am surprised that languages programs have survived this language. If we want to be honest to the discipline, language professions must be separated from literature professors!

Advocacy for LCTLs is so important for me as a Russian teacher, because my profession is disappearing all around me. Next year I will lose the single full-time colleague I have had in 24 yrs, she will have been at USF for 10 yrs and there is no chance of replacing her because of a decline in enrollments. We are trying to combine forces at FAU, FIU, UCF, and USF to teach LCTLs via distance learning. Some success much frustration with German, Portuguese, and Russian. I will be applying for grant money since outside USF there is insufficient support.

Summer of 1997-99, I have been teaching Advanced Ukrainian for Business at Harvard Ukrainian Summer Institute. I am also the Director of the program that includes 3 levels of language courses and courses in Ukrainian literature, history, and political science. I have also been a great lecturer for Ukrainian culture, language & history for University of Iowa for their US Dept of Defense National Security Education Program Grant for Faculty of Historically Black & Hispanic Colleges and Universities in 1997-98. At WSU, Interdisciplinary Program for Eastern European Business-Curriculum Development Grant

We need workshops on methodology, materials development and testing which can be applied to the classroom immediately. Our teachers are often not trained on teaching a second language and they have very unstable positions as well as very little pay. We need funding if you want us to get to their workshops.

One area of frustration in teaching LCTL langs has always been the "placement" issue. How to decide the covert level (for placement in the right course level) of heritage students because the profile of the heritage student is continually changing. I'd like to see a workshop along these lines & I'd be happy to actively participate & offer my experiences in any such workshops & meeting of LCTL teachers. Also, the problem of text for heritage students is another area less developed. "How to teach Persian to the Persian Student?" These students are both culturally & linguistically "bi" and are both assets and problematic in a given class with non-heritage students.