NALRC - National African Language Resource Center

Dinka, Nuer, and Sudanese Arabic speakers based in the U.S. urgently needed.

Contact us at [email protected].

What are some research-based strategies for supporting heritage learners in mixed classrooms? Join the ACTFL Critical Conversation on June 8 at 8:00 p.m. ET to discuss this important topic on !
Both members and nonmembers are encouraged to attend.
Register and learn more at: https://www.actfl.org/learn/critical-conversations-world-language-education

Participant 05

Shannon Hahn is chair of foreign languages and Spanish instructor at Durham Technical Community College in Durham, NC where she has taught since 2005 after receiving her MA in Hispanic Language and Literature from UNC Chapel Hill. She has presented at regional, national and international conferences on integrated performance assessment and proficiency-based teaching, online teaching, and globalization of curricula across disciplines. Before beginning her teaching career, Shannon worked in international freight forwarding where she managed exports and imports by air and sea transport. She often shares these experiences with her students to show them how language proficiency can open doors in business and beyond. She looks forward to incorporating business concepts into language courses at her institution to better prepare students for employment in the global workforce and to teach them skills that will transfer to other aspects of their lives.

Participant 04

Dr. Veronica Trapani joined OSPI as the Associate Director for Content, World Languages and International Education in 2020 after a decade of teaching German and English in Michigan, Tennessee, New York, and Germany. In 2021, she successfully completed her Ed.D. through Vanderbilt University, focusing on the social and emotional well-being of international students. Veronica serves on the Executive Board of the National Council of State Supervisors for Language (NCSSFL) as Technology Coordinator. She is also currently working with ACTFL to collect data to support National Board Certification for All Languages. Veronica’s interests, outside language acquisition and education, include cats, Detroit Red Wings hockey, films, hiking, skiing, and musical theater.

Participant 03

Margaret Mwingira is pursuing a PhD in Special Education at Indiana University, Bloomington where she also teaches Kiswahili. She had also studied and worked with second language learners, special needs’ students, and the deaf community in the Psychology and Curriculum Departments at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. Margaret began her teaching career at a high school in Tanzania where she taught social sciences and English. She continues to work with students and preservice teachers in special education programs in IU School of Education, language learners in IU African Studies Program and in schools in Bloomington and its environs. She is attending the workshop because she is interested in how business components can be added to language syllabuses.

Participant 02

Lindsay Giacomino is a Lecturer of Spanish in the World Languages and Cultures Department at Iowa State University. She received her M.A from Indiana University, Bloomington in Hispanic Linguistics in 2017, specializing in phonetics/phonology, sociolinguistics, and second language acquisition, and a dual B.A. in Spanish and Linguistics from St. Cloud State University. Prior to beginning her graduate studies, she was a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant and taught English at a university in Colombia. Lindsay taught Spanish Conversation for Professionals at Iowa State, which focuses on agriculture, engineering, and business in the Spanish-speaking world. She is attending the Business in World Languages Workshop so that she can improve her knowledge of developing and delivering curriculum on Language for Specific Purposes (LSP) in Spanish, as she believes LSP is the future of foreign language pedagogy.

Participant 01

Yetunde Alabede is a Ph.D. student of Curriculum Instruction and Teacher Education at Michigan State University where she is also a Global Curriculum Fellow and works with Preservice World Language Teacher Candidates. She holds a bachelor’s in Education and English and master’s of in Cross-cultural and International Education. She is interested in language education policy, foreign language teaching, language curriculum development, and implementation. As a language field instructor and a teacher educator she is interested in the Business in World Languages Workshop to hone her skill in how to train Preservice Teachers and in-service teachers whom she works with on developing learning plans that are project-based with a contemporary outlook. She is also interested in the workshop to consolidate her experience using Backward Curriculum Design in language teaching.

The second edition of our Workshop on Incorporating Business Concepts in World Languages Instruction (A.K.A. Business in World Languages) is already ongoing. Details about the participants coming soon.

Participant 10

Segun Fabiyi is pursuing a master’s in African Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington. He holds a bachelor’s in English from Obafemi Awolowo University. Between 2020 and 2021, he was a Fulbright FLTA at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill where he taught Yoruba. He currently works as an Associate Instructor and a Researcher with IU African Studies Program. He hopes to learn about Backward Curriculum Design from the Summer Institute.

Participant 09

Abiodun Awokoya holds a BA and an MA in linguistics from the University of Ibadan. Her research interests include Second Language Acquisition and language and technology. Her goal for attending the Summer Institute is to have a better understanding of standard-based and thematically organized Backward Curriculum Design.

Participant 08

Twalha Twaha Abbass is a novelist, a graduate student of African Studies, and an Associate Instructor of Kiswahili at Indiana University, Bloomington. As a language instructor, Twalha is motivated to continuously acquire new language instruction skills. His inspiration goes back to 2017 when he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and started teaching English at a high school. Between 2019 to 2020, he taught Kiswahili at Indiana University as a Fulbright FLTA. Twalha views the Summer Institute as another opportunity to enrich his foreign language teaching career.

Participant 07

Ann Njeri is an experienced curriculum specialist with a demonstrated history of working in the education management industry. She is skilled in research, ESL/EFL, English, Kiswahili, lexicography, translation, interpretation, editing, proofreading, staff development, educational leadership, instructional coaching, and teaching. She graduated from Kenyatta University and was also trained at Westford International Language Centre and the International TEFL/TESOL Training Institute.

Participant 06

Nandipa Sipengane teaches isiZulu at Yale University. She also works with the Shared Course Initiative organized by the Yale Centre for Language Studies, which allows her to teach isiZulu to Columbia University and Cornell University students. Nandi holds a bachelor’s in education from the University of Pretoria and a master’s in African languages and literature from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Nandi’s home languages are isiZulu and isiXhosa. She also speaks Sesotho and Afrikaans to a useful level.

Participant 05

Oreoluwa Esther Martins has the Nigerian Certificate of Education (NCE) in English and Yoruba Language, and she is a licensed teacher registered under the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN). She is currently pursuing her first degree in Education and Yoruba language. Oreoluwa has passion for imparting kids with knowledge about Yoruba language. She is interested in learning how to create a simplified and child-friendly curriculum for her students and believes that the NALRC Summer Institute will guide her through this.

Participant 04

Kaosarat Aina holds a BA and an MA in Linguistics and African Languages from the University of Ibadan where she also worked with the Centre for General Studies, teaching Use of English to first year students. She is currently a PhD student at the University of Georgia and she has taught Yoruba language for two semesters. Kaosarat is enthusiastic about the use of technology in second language learning. Through the Summer Institute, she hopes to get a deeper understanding of the Backward Curriculum Design and how to use target language at least 90% of class time.