CARLA Working Paper Series
The CARLA Working Paper series was created to share what has been learned from CARLA's initiatives with language teachers, quickly and cost-effectively.
- Many of CARLA's publications are now available free as downloadable PDFs!
- Some of CARLA's publications are available through Barnes and Noble or Amazon.
- The Maximizing Study Abroad series is available through Amazon and the University of Minnesota Bookstore (individual copies and bulk orders).
Struggling Learners and Language Immersion Education
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This handbook provides dual language and immersion educators with rich information and practical resources that address common concerns with children who struggle with language, literacy and learning. It includes: Real Stories—case narratives that recount lived experiences with struggling learners from a range of educational specialists, administrators and teachers; Background information and research summaries that provide important information about the existing knowledge base on this topic; Discussionof issues as they relate to language minority and language majority learners; Guiding principles to inform program policies and practices; Reference materials and useful web resources to assist educators in meeting the needs of a wide variety of language and learning challenges.
Maximizing Study Abroad: An Instructional Guide to Strategies for Language and Culture Learning and Use
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Created as a companion to Maximizing Study Abroad: A Students’ Guide to Strategies for Language and Culture Learning and Use, this guide provides language teachers and study abroad professionals with both a solid understanding of language and culture learning theory and concrete ways to use this knowledge to support students in their skill development. This instructional guide is written with the busy professional in mind and features a “tool kit” of more than 100 hands-on activities that are ready for use in pre-departure, in-country, and re-entry initiatives for study abroad programs, as well as in language classroom at home and abroad. With its creative activities, practitioner-friendly theory sections, teacher-tested tools, and professional advice, this user-friendly guide will allow you to quickly and easily integrate or adapt then to meet the unique needs of your classroom or study abroad program.
Maximizing Study Abroad: A Students’ Guide to Strategies for Language and Culture Learning and Use
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Aimed at students who want to make the most of their study abroad experience, this flexible and user-friendly guide helps students identify and use a wide variety of language and culture learning strategies. The Students' Guide begins with three inventories designed to help students be more aware of how they currently learn language and culture. The following sections of the guide provide students with tools and creative activities that they can use to enhance their favored learning strategies and try out unfamiliar ones. Students can use this guide as they prepare for study abroad, during their experience, and once they return.
Examine sample activities from the Maximizing Study Abroad Program Students' Guide.
Diversity and Transformation in Language Teacher Education: Selected Papers from the 10th and 11th Language Teacher Education Conferences
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This volume contains selected papers from the tenth and eleventh International Language Teacher Education (LTE) conferences held in 2017 at the University of California, Los Angeles, and in 2019 at the University of Minnesota, respectively. In keeping with the mission of the biennial LTE conference, both events addressed the education of teachers of all languages, at all instructional and institutional levels, and in all the many national and international contexts in which this takes place, including: English as a Second or Foreign Language (ESL/EFL) instruction; foreign/modern/world language teaching; bilingual education; immersion education; indigenous language education; heritage language education; and the teaching of less commonly taught languages.
A common theme across the two LTE conferences was diversity. Whereas the first conference targeted the diverse nature of student populations in an increasingly multilingual world and the importance of language teacher educators in addressing the challenges and potentials of this diversity, the second conference highlighted the desire to explore teachers and teacher educators as individuals functioning within diverse sociocultural contexts. The five papers included in this volume provide a view into this diversity as they address the various perspectives, contexts, languages, and frameworks in which language teacher education takes place.
Developing Advanced Speaking Proficiency: Instructional and Curricular Models for Post-Secondary Language Programs
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The six chapters in this edited volume report on curricular and pedagogical interventions designed to improve students' speaking proficiency in upper-level postsecondary language, literature, and linguistics courses and based on work carried out as part of the Language Flagship Proficiency Initiative. The practical examples and curricular models presented within these chapters are easily adaptable to multiple contexts, languages, and courses and can serve as models for language programs wishing to facilitate students' advanced-level speaking development.
Research Approaches to Second Language Acquisition: Proceedings of the 2018 SLA Graduate Student Symposium
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This volume includes six selected papers from the Second Language Acquisition Graduate Student Symposium held at the University of Iowa in April 2018. Entirely student-run, the Symposium is an annual conference dedicated to giving student researchers and educators the opportunity to present studies that address current issues in second language acquisition. The Symposium is a collaboration between the University of Iowa, the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Second Language Teaching and Learning: Diversity and Advocacy Proceedings of the 2017 Second Language Acquisition Graduate Student Symposium
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This volume includes five selected papers from the Second Language Acquisition Graduate Student Symposium held at the University of Minnesota in April 2017. Entirely student-run, the Symposium is an annual conference dedicated to giving student researchers and educators the opportunity to present studies that address current issues in second language acquisition. The Symposium is a collaboration between the University of Iowa, the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Developing Responsible Global Citizenship Through Cultures and Languages Across the Curriculum (CLAC): Selected Papers from the 2016 CLAC Conference
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The essays in this collection are based on presentations given at the 10th Conference on Cultures and Languages Across the Curriculum (CLAC) held at Drake University in October 2016. The essays represent a broad variety of approaches and facets that illustrate the inherently flexible nature of CLAC's main principle of promoting transformational learning through the integration of content, language, and culture.
The 2016 CLAC Conference was organized by the CLAC Consortium, which has been holding conferences at member institutions since 2004, first annually, and more recently, every 18 months. This is the first printed volume based on presentations given at one of the conferences.
Expanding Our Horizons: Language Teacher Education in the 21st Century Selected papers from the 6th and 7th International Language Teacher Education Conferences
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This edited volume on language teacher education includes fourteen refereed papers based on presentations at either the 6th International Conference on Language Teacher Education (held in Washington DC in May 2009) or 7th International Conference on Language Teacher Education (held in Minneapolis, MN in May 2011). The papers showcase research and practice related to the education of language teachers from many different national and international contexts including foreign language education, English as a Second/Foreign Language, and heritage language instruction. This sharing of ideas and insights into language teacher education in such diverse international, national, and disciplinary contexts is truly intended to help all language teacher educators to expand their horizons and improve their practice.
Bridging Contexts, Making Connections: Selected Papers from the Fifth International Conference on Language Teacher Education
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Eight papers originally presented at the Fifth International Conference on Language Teacher Education were selected for inclusion in this volume dedicated to the diversity of voices in the field. While each paper speaks to a different teaching context, they all highlight ‘best practices’ in language teacher education. Some of the papers address practices in different contexts and others challenge readers to rethink the knowledge base of language teacher education, to think critically about what this knowledge consists of and why, and to describe classroom and professional tools that will best equip language teachers to help their students achieve their language learning goals.
Voice and Vision in Language Teacher Education: Selected Papers from the Fourth International Conference on Language Teacher Education
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This volume of fourteen selected papers presented at the Fourth International Conference on Language Teacher Education showcases work from eight different national contexts in settings as diverse as English as a Foreign Language (EFL), English as a Second Language (ESL), French immersion education, and Spanish and Japanese language instruction. Echoing the theme of the conference, these papers highlight a diverse range of teacher educator voices as they interact with the vision of conceptual frameworks teacher educators have come to share. The ideas and insights presented in these papers help to push forward our understandings and our practice of language teacher education.
Developing Classroom Materials for Less Commonly Taught Languages
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This book provides both principles and practical guidelines for LCTL teachers of all levels and languages to transform raw materials into activities for the language classroom. Grounded in research, the author lays out a series of principles that serve to remind teachers of the possibilities that exist when they consider using authentic materials in the classroom. Each principle in the book is accompanied by numerous practical examples in a wide variety of languages created by the author and by teachers who have participated in a summer institute led by Bill Johnston and Louis Janus at CARLA since 1999.
Styles- and Strategies-Based Instruction: A Teachers' Guide
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Styles- and strategies-based instruction helps students become more aware of their learning style preferences and gives them a set of strategies to maximize their language learning ability. This guide helps teachers to identify the individual needs of their students and incorporate opportunities for students to practice a wide range of strategies for both language learning and language use.
Each chapter in this guide begins with background material on topics related to styles- and strategies-based instruction and provides a bridge from theory to practice by including fun, hands-on activities for teachers to use in their own classrooms. This guide is a complete revision of Strategies-Based Instruction: A Teacher-Training Manual (1997). While it is now more explicitly targeted at the classroom teacher, it also includes important information for professionals engaged in research and teacher development.
Creating Teacher Community: Selected Papers from the Third International Conference on Language Teacher Education
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The papers in this volume were selected from presentations originally presented at the Third International Conference on Language Teacher Education held in Minneapolis in May 2003. Rooted in different instructional settings, the selected papers offer a window into many of the issues touched upon at the conference and suggest directions for future discussions in the field of language teacher education. This volume is organized according to three themes of the conference: a) The Knowledge Base of Language Teacher Education; b) Social, Cultural, and Political Contexts of Language Teacher Education; and c) Process of Language Teacher Education.
Enhancing Academic Language Proficiency in a Fifth-Grade Spanish Immersion Classroom
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The technical report outlined the results of a study aimed to promote the development of more complex academic language and linguistic structures by giving immersion students the opportunity to enhance their inner voice in that language. Since the development of L2 inner voice in elementary immersion students has not been investigated to any extent, this study set out to determine how the enhancement of the students L2 inner voice in the immersion classroom might influence linguistic knowledge and the ability to comprehend and produce language. It was posited that it might be possible to stimulate increased use of the immersion language by students while also enhancing the academic vocabulary and grammatical structure of the language that they use for specific tasks. More specifically, the pedagogical intervention included: (1) modeling by the teacher and the research assistant (RA) in the use of Spanish academic language to solve problems in science and history, and (2) supporting the students in developing their own L2 inner voice in Spanish through modeling and follow up activities.
Maximizing Study Abroad: A Language Instructors’ Guide to Strategies for Language and Culture Learning and Use
Revised: See new Instructional Guide above
Note: This book has sold out! A new Maximizing Study Abroad Instructional Guide that combines information from the Program Professionals' Guide and Language Instructors' Guide is now available.
Maximizing Study Abroad: A Program Professionals’ Guide to Strategies for Language and Culture Learning and Use
Revised: See new Instructional Guide above
Note: This book has sold out! A new Maximizing Study Abroad Instructional Guide that combines information from the Program Professionals' Guide and Language Instructors' Guide is now available.
Proficiency-Oriented Language Instruction and Assessment: A Curriculum Handbook for Teachers
Available free online.
A Minnesota Articulation Project Initiative · Revised Edition · 635 pp.
This handbook is designed to provide world language teachers with the background knowledge, ideas, and resources for implementing proficiency-oriented language instruction and classroom-based performance measures into their curriculum. Rooted in research and theory, the Handbook is packed with practical tools for teachers to help their students meet challenging standards and become more proficient in their second language.
Bringing the Biodiversity of Ecuador to Spanish Immersion Classrooms
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CARLA Working Paper Series #22 · 93 pp.
This Spanish-language science curriculum was developed by immersion language teachers for use in instructional settings at levels K-8. With funding from the U.S. Department of Education's Group Projects Abroad, a group of Spanish immersion teachers, under the direction of Professors Diane Tedick and Constance Walker at the University of Minnesota, traveled to Ecuador in July 1999 to study issues of biodiversity and environmental protection in Spanish. Based on their in-country research, the immersion teachers worked together with the project leaders to create a high quality content-based science curriculum for use in Spanish immersion programs around the country.
Research and Practice in Language Teacher Education: Voices from the Field Selected Papers from the First International Conference on Language Teacher Education
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These fifteen selected papers from the First International Language Teacher Education Conference in 1999 focus on three particularly important areas in the field of language teacher education: the knowledge base of language teaching; processes of language teacher education; and sociocultural and political contexts of language teacher education.
Second Language Writing Portfolio Assessment: The Influences of the Assessment Criteria and the Rating Process on Holistic Scores
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CARLA Working Paper Series #20 · 53 pp.
This paper reports on a study of the influences of the assessment criteria and the rating process on holistic scores assigned to second language writing portfolio components. Conducted in the context of an English as a Second Language program for adult international students, the findings of the study raise questions as to whether holistic scoring is the most valid scoring procedure in assessing the variety of writing found in portfolios.
Research and Practice in Language Teacher Education: Voices from the Field (Selected Papers from the First International Conference on Language Teacher Education)
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CARLA Working Paper Series #19 · 297 pp.
These fifteen selected papers from the First International Language Teacher Education Conference in 1999 focus on three particularly important areas in the field of language teacher education: the knowledge base of language teaching; processes of language teacher education; and sociocultural and political contexts of language teacher education.
The Introduction and the Index of LTE Conference Proceedings (papers included in this volume) are available online.
Impact of Interlocutor and Task on First and Second Language Use in a Spanish Immersion Program
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CARLA Working Paper Series #18 · 149 pp.
A study of L1 (English) and L2 (Spanish) use by three 5th graders in an immersion classroom, identifying the contexts in which the L1 and L2 are used.
An overview of this research was published in the ACIE Newsletter, June 2000.
Successful Instruction for Literacy-Level Adults
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CARLA Working Paper Series #17 · 67 pp.
This paper explores a range of issues related to successful instruction of literacy-level ESL adults, and describes types of programs as well as factors that affect this population. Includes suggested curricula, handout materials for workshops, student materials and a reading list.
Culture as the Core: Integrating Culture into the Language Curriculum
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CARLA Working Paper Series #15 • 201 pp.
This is the second CARLA collection of conference papers on the very important issue of integrating culture into the second language classroom.
Culture as the Core Working Papers #11 and #15 have been republished by InfoAge and are no longer available through CARLA.
Motivation and Learning Strategies in a Foreign Language Setting: A Look at a Learner of Korean
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CARLA Working Paper Series #14 · 91 pp.
This paper examines motivational factors and learning strategies mentioned in a language learner's diary from a ten-week Korean class.
Tools for the Articulation of Russian Language Instruction: Standards, a Curriculum Framework, Sample Assessments, and Teacher Resources
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CARLA Working Paper Series #13 · 141 pp.
A practical guide for Russian teachers that features a curricular framework, benchmarks, and sample assessments, all tied to common standards.
Tools for the Articulation of Japanese Language Instruction: Standards, A Curricular Framework, Benchmarks, and Sample Assessments
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CARLA Working Paper Series #12 · 134 pp.
A practical guide for Japanese teachers that features a curricular framework, benchmarks, and sample assessments, all tied to common standards.
Culture as the Core: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Culture Learning in the Second Language Classroom (Selected Conference Proceedings)
and Yelena A. Yershova
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CARLA Working Paper Series #11 · 165 pp.
This CARLA working paper is focused on the important issue of integrating cuture into the second language classroom. Seven of the papers were originally presented at a symposium held in 1991, which examined culture and language issues from an interdisciplinary perspective. The final chapter is a reflection on the 1991 symposium and the follow-up conference held by CARLA in 1994.
Culture as the Core Working Papers #11 and #15 have been republished by InfoAge and are no longer available through CARLA.
Research and Practice in Immersion Education: Looking Back and Looking Ahead (Selected Conference Proceedings)
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CARLA Working Paper Series #10 · 134 pp.
These selected conference proceedings highlight the presentations and discussions held at the conference on immersion education held at the University of Minnesota in October 1995. The papers report on the challenges related to policy and planning and pedagogical and assessment issues.
Report of the Less Commonly Taught Languages Summit: September 20-21, 1996
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CARLA Working Paper Series #9 · 63 pp.
This report summarizes the plenary talks and group discussions at the LCTL summit meeting. Summit sessions covered: promoting and protecting the LCTLs; pedagogy and materials; and governance and technology.
Examples of Strategies-Based Instruction: A Teacher-Training Video
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CARLA Working Paper Series #8
This teacher-training video illustrates how strategies-based instruction has been applied at the University of Minnesota. The videotape contains seven different examples of strategies-based activities, taught by four university-level language instructors of Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, and Spanish. The video was created as a supplement to the Styles- and Strategies-Based Instruction: A Teachers' Guide (2006).
Methodological and Ethical Issues in Classroom-Based Research
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CARLA Working Paper Series #6 · 23 pp.
This paper examines the conflict between theoretical frameworks prescribed by academics and the real world issues faced by researchers conducting studies in the classroom.
The Impact of Strategies-Based Instruction on Speaking a Foreign Language
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CARLA Working Paper Series #4 · 50 pp.
This research report outlines the methodology and results of a study done at the University of Minnesota on the benefits of providing second language learners with formal training in the application of strategies across skills, with an emphasis on speaking.
Second Language Learning and Use Strategies: Clarifying the Issues
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CARLA Working Paper Series #3 · 27 pp.
This paper considers five problematic issues that have arisen in dealing with language learning strategy terminology: the distinction between the term strategy and other terms, the issue of whether learning strategies need to be conscious in order to be referred to as strategies, criteria for classifying language learning and use strategies, a broadening of the concept of strategic competence, and the linking of learning strategies.
Reformulation of Written German From the Second Language Learner's Perspective
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CARLA Working Paper Series #2 · 152 pp.
Reformulation is a second language writing technique in which a non-native's work is rewritten by a native in order to look more native-like. This diary study of a lower-intermediate learner of German shows how the technique can be used as an effective learning strategy by second-language learners.
An Operational Framework for Constructing a Computer-Adaptive Test of L2 Reading Ability: Theoretical and Practical Issues
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CARLA Working Paper Series #1 · 60 pp.
This paper considers the issues in developing a principled, theory-based, computer adaptive test (CAT) of second language (L2) reading proficiency. The paper reviews a variety of models and scales and discusses an operational framework for text selection and item development.
Preliminary Item Response Theory Analysis of the University of Minnesota CLA Language Proficiency Tests in French, German, and Spanish
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CARLA Working Paper Series #5 · 26 pp.
This document provides preliminary item analysis findings based on data collected on entrance and graduation language proficiency tests combining the results based on an item response theory model with classical test theory analyses.