Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures
News
URI's Foreign Language Teacher Education Program has earned National Recognition by ACTFL/NCATE
URI’s Foreign Language Teacher Education Program has received "nationally recognized" status
from the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) and the
National Council for Accreditation on Teacher Education (NCATE). In the
report, URI’s committee submitted 8 key assignments that all foreign language
education students do, the rubrics for those assignments, data on student
performance over the past 3 years and sample vita from department faculty who
work directly with teacher education. Below is a brief statement from ACTFL’s
website on the significance of this achievement:
NCATE is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council of Higher Education as a professional accrediting body for teacher preparation. NCATE determines which colleges of education meet rigorous national standards in preparing teachers and other classroom specialists. Functioning as the profession's quality control mechanism for teacher preparation, NCATE is a coalition of 33 national education organizations, which represents teachers, teacher educators, subject matter specialists, and policymakers. ACTFL, in conjunction with the Standards Collaborative, joined NCATE as a member organization in 1998. Member organizations such as ACTFL represent millions of Americans who support rigorous, high quality teacher preparation.
22 URI Students Take a Study Tour To Germany
The International Engineering Program’s annual study tour to Germany took place
from January 7 – January 18, 2008. Accompanied by German faculty members
Doris Kirchner and Norbert Hedderich, the 22 students visited companies all over
Germany as well as the Technical University of Braunschweig.
The tour took URI students to Hamburg (where the group was received by Dr. Joerg Draeger, Hamburg’s senator for science and research), Braunschweig, Goslar, Friedrichshafen, Tübingen, Lake Constance and Munich. Among many other places the group visited the Europe’s largest aircraft maintenance and overhaul facilities at Lufthansa Technik, the headquarters of Volkswagen AG, Leitz- Hexagon (a company specializing in sophisticated measuring instruments), ZF Industries (which manufactures car and truck transmissions and steering columns) and the brand new and futuristic delivery center of the Bavarian Motor Works (BMW).
Please, click here to read a more detailed report on the tour (PDF Document).
Language Lab Stays Ahead of the Technological Curve
The URI Language
Learning Resource Center (LLRC) unleashed Apple MacOS X Leopard on its computers for the Spring 2008
semester. As the latest operating system
offered by Apple, it brings ease of use to new heights. These computers are easier than ever for
students to use between classes, to complete their assignments, check email, or
chat with friends. Using Apple iChat
Bonjour messaging, the process for recording conversations for foreign language
classes is streamlined, taking much less time to learn and complete a project
compared to the old recording program.
Located at 301 Independence Hall, the URI Language Lab is a multi-purpose lab that offers computers to students for general and academic use.It served a record-crushing 5,120 patrons in the Fall 2007 semester, and expects a larger number this semester. The secret to success? Their friendly, ready-to-help staff.
Please, click here to visit the Language Learning Resource Center website (PDF Document).
The Strength of Language Instruction at URI
The 2007 National Survey of Student Engagement has demonstrated the strength of language instruction at URI. The Survey compared URI students with those of 608 other colleges and universities. The results show that seventy two percent of URI seniors have studied a foreign language, compared with 41 percent of students at the other schools. This semester 3,109 students are enrolled in various language courses, most predominantly in French, German, Italian, or Spanish. Interest has also increased for Arabic, Chinese, Latin, Ancient Greek, Greek, Japanese, Portuguese and Russian. These facts attracted the attention of the NBC 10 News' reporters, who visited the Department and dedicated a news clip to our program of study.
More information about the Survey
Watch the NBC 10 News video clip
Video Clip from NBC 10 News (Nov. 23, 2007). Displayed with special permission of Media General Operations. All Rights Reserved
Clip of the Week
Do you know your students? Think twice...
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