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LLC News

January 2012 Archives

Integrating Technology into Literacy Teaching and Learning

A Practical Approach to Integrating Technology into Literacy Teaching and Learning
March 29 - 31, 2012, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Go to: www.edtheturtle.com/tlcbeach for more detailed information

Daggett, November, Schrock - KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Presenters represent 19 States and Canada

INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY INTO THE TEACHING OF LITERACY

ESL/IECP Program Coordinator Position The Department of Applied Linguistics at Pennsylvania State University

ESL/IECP Program Coordinator Position The Department of Applied Linguistics at Pennsylvania State University seeks a fixed-term, multiyear program coordinator for its Intensive English Communication Program (IECP) starting in Fall 2012. The successful candidate will be committed to international education and will be able to work effectively in a strong team environment to meet and exceed the needs and expectations of international students seeking high quality English academic preparation in a college or university setting.

Primary duties include directing the IECP program, working with Global Programs and other university programs and committees to identify IECP needs, and developing a comprehensive plan for responding to them; developing and updating curriculum, textbook/equipment selection, and instructional materials; scheduling courses; supervising faculty and staff, and leading professional development of faculty. The ESL Program Coordinator will also be a member of the Applied Linguistics graduate faculty and will be eligible for serving on masters and doctoral level committees. Minimum Qualifications: * A Ph.D. in Teaching English as a Second Language (T.E.S.L.), Applied Linguistics or related field. Applicants with a MA degree in TESOL, applied linguistics or related fields will be considered but must have extensive experience in ESL administration, supervision, and teaching. * Several years teaching experience in an Intensive English or Academic English preparation program in a college or university setting where English is the language of instruction. * Record of on-going professional development. * Administrative and/or program development, testing and program assessment experience. * Command of the English language at the level of a native speaker. Preferred qualifications: * Experience in teacher development. * Experience teaching ESL/EFL abroad. * Proficiency in one or more languages other than English. * Experience developing, teaching and assessing online courses. Application Procedure Review of dossiers to begin March 2, 2012. Applications will be accepted via the faculty search website (www.la.psu.edu/facultysearch/) until the position is filled. Please provide cover letter; CV; three confidential letters of recommendation; transcripts of graduate program(s); documentation of administrative /supervisory/teaching excellence; supporting materials such as observation reports, peer reviews, and student evaluations, and copies of any published materials relevant to this position. Letters of recommendation may be emailed to lmm38@psu.edu or sent via post to 234 Sparks Building, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802.

About the IECP The IECP is a dynamic community of outstanding faculty and staff whose mission is to provide quality language instruction to nonnative speakers of English with an emphasis on the skills necessary for academic success. The IECP is affiliated with the Department of Applied Linguistics, which is part of the College of the Liberal Arts. Like the IECP, the Department’s mission is to advance understandings of language use and language learning from a range of anthropological, sociological, and psychological perspectives. Department faculty are committed to teaching and mentoring students and are recognized world wide for their topically and geographically diverse research involving a broad spectrum of languages and settings. Penn State is committed to affirmative action, equal opportunity and the diversity of its workforce.

WTUL Call for Papers - Future of Media

“What is the future of media?”
WTUL Broadcasts the Future will be held on March 31st-April 1st. The conference is open to graduate and undergraduate students. The deadline to submit abstracts and CVs is February 17th.
WTUL.jpg

CFP & Call for Artists - Theorizing the Web 2012

#TtW12
www.cyborgology.org/theorizingtheweb/2012/

Saturday, April 14th
University of Maryland

Keynote Session: “Social Media & Social Movements”
Andy Carvin (NPR; @acarvin) with Zeynep Tufekci (UNC; @techsoc)

Deadline for Abstracts: February 5th
Registration Opens: February 1st

Call for Papers:
Building off the success of last year’s conference, the goal of the
second annual Theorizing the Web conference is to expand the range and
depth of theory used to help us make sense of how the Internet,
digitality, and technology have changed the ways humans live. We hope
to bring together researchers from a range of disciplines, including
sociology, communications, philosophy, economics, English, history,
political science, information science, the performing arts and many
more. We especially encourage international perspectives. In addition,
we invite session and other proposals by tech-industry professionals,
journalists, and other figures outside of academia. Intersections of
gender, race, class, age, sexual orientation, and disability will not
be isolated in seperate panels; instead, we fully expect these issues
to be woven throughout the conference.

Submit abstracts online at http://tinyurl.com/TtW12.

Topics include:

Citizen/participant journalism and media curation

Identity, self-documentation and self-presentation

Privacy and publicity on the Web

Cyborgism and the technologically-mediated body (e.g., body modification)

Political mobilization, uprisings, revolutions and riots on social
media (including the Arab Spring/Fall, Occupy)

Repression and the Web: Surveillance, wire-tapping, anonymity, pseudonymity

Code, values and design

Epistemology of the Web: Wikipedia, Global Voices, “filter
bubbles” and the prosumption of information

Theorizing whose Web? How power and inequality (e.g., the Digital
Divide) manifest on the Web

Mobile computing, online/offline space

Digital dualism & augmented reality; should the online/offline be
conceptualized as seperate or enmeshed

Education, pedagogy and technology in the classroom

What art/literature can offer research and theory of the Web

We plan to curate 7 open submission panels, 4 presenters each as well
as a couple invited panels and a keynote session on social media and
social movements with Andy Carvin (NPR) and Zeynep Tufekci (UNC).
Other events may be added before April.

The first Theorizing the Web conference happened last year. We decided
to do this because there often is not a place for scholars who are
theorizing about the Internet and society to gather and share their
work. The 2011 program consisted of 14 panels, two workshops, two
symposia (one on social media’s role in the Arab revolutions, the
other, on social media and street art), two plenaries (by Saskia
Sassen on "Digital Formations of the Powerful and the Powerless" and
George Ritzer on "Why the Web Needs Post-Modern Theory"), and a
keynote by danah boyd from Microsoft Research and NYU on "Privacy,
Publicity Intertwined." Presenters traveled from around the world
(including Hong Kong and New Zealand).

There will be a new website with much more information coming January
2012. For further inquiries, email theorizingtheweb@gmail.com.

Call for Artists:

In addition to traditional presentations, the conference will feature
a variety of artistic and multimedia events. As such, we invite
proposals from artists for relevant works or performances in any
medium as well as for discussion of such pieces. We seek to display
art of all forms during the conference and after at a reception. This
could include, but is not limited to, paintings, sculpture, poetry,
fiction writing, digital art, and performance art.

TESOL Workshop - American University

Please join The TESOL Program at American University for Professor Robin Barr's "Call 'Em As You 'Ear 'Em" phonetics workshop on Sunday, January 29, 2012 from 9:00am-2:00pm in American University's Butler Board Room (6th Floor of the Butler Pavilion). This workshop will focus on ear training and transcription techniques that help improve ESL/EFL pronunciation teaching.

Breakfast and lunch will be provided; breakfast will begin at 8:30am. The fee for the workshop is $20.

You can register for the workshop by emailing your name, organization, and contact details to tesol@american.edu. You may also register via phone by calling (202) 885-2582.

Please contact us with any questions.

The TESOL Program Staff
American University TESOL Program
Department of Language and Foreign Studies
4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20016
Phone: (202) 885-2582
www.american.edu/cas/tesol/

January/February Arts and Humanities Flyer + Events

A-H_flyer_JAN%5B1%5D.jpg

Service-Learning and Civic Engagement Conference

2012 Service-Learning and Civic Engagement Conference Community-Based Learning: Paving the Way for Change

To submit your proposal, please submit your answers to the questions below through the online form at: www.baltimorecollegetown.org/events/service-learning-conference/request-for-proposals/ by Monday, January 30, 2012 at 5pm. Proposals will be evaluated and you will be notified of the status by Monday, February 6, 2012. You then have until 5:00 pm on Friday, February 10, 2011 to confirm.

You can present the workshops in the following format: Workshop (75 minutes) Round table discussion over lunch.

Workshop Proposals will be scored and selected using the following criteria:
1. Applicability to the conference themes: The workshop content offers a significant contribution to the purpose of the conference and can clearly fit into a specific theme.
2. Defined outcomes: The workshop has a clear purpose and objectives.
3. Nature of the proposed workshop: The workshop format is dynamic and engages the audience through participation and discussion.
4. Quality of content: The workshop provides the audience with concrete ideas, models or research that can be applied on their campus and/or community.
5. Collaboration: The workshop is collaborative and involves multiple perspectives. We encourage proposals by community partners, in addition to those by students, faculty and staff at area colleges and universities.
Since there are only two concurrent workshop sessions, conference organizers will combine similar proposals into group presentations.
1. Lead Presenter Name and Title:
2. Name of College, University or Organization:
3. Lead Presenter's E-mail Address:
4. Lead Presenter's Phone Number:
5. Lead Presenter's Organizational Address:
6. Additional Presenters: Please include name(s) and title(s) and indicate faculty, staff, student or community partner. If you do not yet have names, please add placeholders such as Student Presenter 1, Faculty Presenter 2, etc.
7. Proposed Presentation Title (No more than 15 words. This will be published and may be edited. Make it catchy!)
8. Conference Workshop Themes: Please check the theme(s) your session will address.
Community Partnerships: What are the best practices in community-campus partnerships, and what are we learning? Examples in this area include the process of initiating and sustaining community-campus partnerships, setting short and long-term goals, and innovative initiatives with community organizations. Presentations should include partner voice.
Issues in Our Community: What social issues are important in our surrounding communities? What are the root causes of the social problems we see? For example, your workshop might explore homelessness, environmental issues, or health disparities. Presentations may also explore different strategies developed, on campus or in the community, to address current issues. How do we develop relationships with Community Partners to address issues identified by the community?
Social Justice Leadership on Campus: How do our campus communities encourage active citizenship and working for social change? Examples include campus advocacy efforts, awareness campaigns, innovative ways to discuss diversity topics such as race, oppression, privilege, and social identity, etc.
Academic Service-Learning: How does your course integrate the community into the classroom Examples include service-learning course design and best practices, faculty development, reflective practice, institutionalization of service-learning in areas such as promotion and tenure, community-based research initiatives, living-learning communities, service-learning course assessment and impact. Student Led Community Service Initiatives: How do your community service initiatives partner with the community? How do you create and develop strong community service initiatives on your campus? Examples include: alternative breaks, service initiatives in student clubs and organizations, student leadership, recruiting and training volunteers, retention of members, marketing and advertising, and building campus support.
Career Building for Students and Practitioners: How does community-based learning translate into potential career paths? How can others get involved with service, service-learning, civic engagement and the non-profit sector as a career? What experiences are useful to be a successful practitioner in this field?
Measurement and Assessment of Community-Based Learning: How do you measure the impact of your work in the community? What tools do you use? How do the outcomes inform future planning?
9. Please provide an abstract description of your workshop and objectives. No more than 250 words. This description may be published.
10. Please provide a description of your proposed workshop to be used in the conference program. No more than 50 words.
11. Please describe how your workshop will contribute to the overall aims of the conference, the specific workshop theme(s) you have chosen, and how it will engage participants? (no more than 150 words)
12. List the concrete ideas/models that workshop participants can apply on their campus and/or community.
13. Why is this presentation important to share? Why is there a need for others to hear about this topic? (no more than 150 words)
14. Which audience(s) will your presentation target? Please check all that apply: Faculty Administrators/Staff Students Community Partners
15. Presentation Time Availability: Please select the session(s) that are you are available to facilitate your workshop. Please select all available options -- the Workshops Committee will do its best to accommodate your request. Morning Afternoon Both
16. Please select the materials that you would need for your workshop. Please note that these are not guaranteed. Easel, flipchart and markers LCD projector
17. What is the maximum number of participants who may attend your workshop? No cap to number of participants Maximum Participants (please indicate #)
18. Please provide a brief biography (no more than 150 words) of each of your workshop presenters to be used in the conference program.

Roundtable Proposals will be accepted based on topic and table availability.
1. Roundtable Facilitator Name and Title:
2. Name of College, University or Organization:
3. Facilitator’s e-mail Address:
4. Facilitator’s phone Number:
5. Facilitator’s organizational Address:
6. Proposed Conversation Topic (No more than 15 words. This will be published and may be edited. Make it catchy!)
7. Which audience(s) will your round table discussion target? Please check all that apply: Faculty Administrators/Staff Students Community Partners
8. Please provide a brief biography (no more than 150 words) of the table facilitator to be used in the conference program.

Proposal submission questions may be directed to Corinne DeRoberts, Towson University, at 410.704.5764 or cderoberts@towson.edu

For additional conference information, please contact James Smith, Coppin State University, 2601 W. North Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21216, (410) 951-1289 or jsmith@coppin.edu, or visit the conference website at: www.baltimorecollegetown.org/events/service-learning-conference.

Gender Ideologies/Public Discourses CFP

Gender Ideologies and Public Discourses CFP
22.08.12-24.08.12
Freie Universität Berlin
Deadline for the submission of abstracts is January 31, 2012.

We welcome abstract submissions to the following thematic panel at the Sociolinguistic Symposium 19 at Freie Universität Berlin from August 22 to 24, 2012. Please use SS19 submission tools at http://www.sociolinguistics-symposium-2012.de/

Gender ideologies in public discourses
SS19 Session ID: 182
Topics: Gender, Language ideology, Language & Media, Discourse analysis, Identity

Sociolinguists and linguistic anthropologists have been studying the relationship between social action and linguistic ideologies. This session aims at investigating such relationship with respect to gender ideologies in public discourses (Philips 2003, McConnell-Ginet 2011). We consider public discourses as a site for the display, negotiation, challenging, and/or (re-)construction of gender ideologies. By "public discourses", we mean both discourses that take place in public settings and discourses that are accessible to general audiences in media and new media alike.

Papers can take a variety of perspectives and seek to understand the relationships between gender ideologies and public discourses. We are interested particularly in studies that are linguistic data-driven and seek to combine analysis of micro-and macro-level issues and questions. As "all communication involves acts of stance, in which speakers take up positions vis-à-vis the expressive, referential, interactional, and social implications of their speech" (Jaffe 2009), we see stance and stancetaking of gender in the public space as a theoretical and methodological gateway to understanding how gender ideologies mediate with language and social actions.

We would particularly welcome contributions that engage in discussing one or more of the following:

§ Stance and stance-taking in constructing/negotiating gender identities

§ Public displays and discursive practices of masculinity/femininity/sexuality

§ Discursive practices and tropes about language, usage, and speakers in relation to gender ideologies

§ Gender, modernity and cosmopolitanism

§ Media and New Media (particularly interactive social media as a site for gender ideologies)

This panel aims to bring together papers with a unified theme for journal publication. Accepted authors are expected to submit a full conference paper by mid-July, 2012 for circulation among panel members.

Key References

Jaffe, Alexandra (2009) Stance: sociolinguistic perspectives. OUP

McConnell-Ginet, Sally (2011) Gender, Sexuality, and Meaning: Linguistic Practice and Politics. OUP

Philips, Susan (2003) The power of gender ideologies in discourse. In The handbook of language and gender. By Janet Holmes, Miriam Meyerhoff. Wiley-Blackwell.

Silverstein, Michael (1985). Language and the culture of gender: at the intersection of structure, usage and ideology. In E. Mertz and R. J. Parmentier (eds.), Semiotic Mediation, 219-59. Orlando: Academic Press.

Walton, Shana and Alexandra Jaffe (2011) "Stuff White People Like": Stance, Class, Race and Internet Commentary. In in Digital Discourse edited by Crispin Thurlow and Kristine Mroczek. OUP

Baltimore City Schools - Paid Grad Internship

Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools) is still accepting applications for its SY2011-12 Graduate Intern Program. Interns will be assigned to projects that focus on any number of public education policy issues and challenges. Interns are placed in departments based on their background, interests and the needs of the departments. At the conclusion of the academic year, Graduate Interns will provide a written report for the CEO, summarizing their project and overall experience. While providing City Schools with valuable research and project management during the year, this internship is also designed to encourage talented individuals to pursue careers in or related to public education.

This year’s internship will begin in mid January. Graduate Interns will be able to work up to 20 hours/week ($20/hr) and will be required to attend various meetings and brown bag lunch meetings with City Schools cabinet members.

City Schools will be accepting applications through the online applications below:

CEO Graduate Internship

If you are unable to access the posting through the hyperlink above, please find the posting on www.baltimorecityschools.org under careers, job code IRC 1283.

Mentorship, Collaboration & Undergrad Research Workshop

Mentorship, Collaboration and Undergraduate Research
in the Social Sciences and Humanities

March 23-25, 2012
Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI

This workshop will bring together teams of three to five faculty members and administrators engaged in enhancing undergraduate research opportunities at their home institutions, focusing on undergraduate research as faculty development, student-based inquiry and institutional support structure. The three days will consist of plenary lectures presented by facilitators associated with CUR interspersed with individual team meetings with CUR mentors. Faculty and administrators from disciplines throughout the social sciences and humanities will spend the weekend discussing models of undergraduate research, mentorship and collaboration; what "research" and "mentorship" mean in different disciplines in the social sciences and humanities; assessing the value of undergraduate research; and means of augmenting funding for undergraduate research internally and externally.

Application Deadline: February 3, 2012.

For more information about this institute, please visit http://www.cur.org/institutes/socscihum.html.

Council on Undergraduate Research
734 15th St, NW, Suite 550
Washington, DC 20005
http://www.cur.org/
cur@cur.org

LLC Open House May 2012

LLC-Open-House-Spring-2012.jpg

BALISAGE 2012 STUDENT SUPPORT AWARDS

BALISAGE 2012 STUDENT SUPPORT AWARDS
Students! An inexpensive way to attend a truly excellent technical conference!
Held annually in Montréal, Balisage is the premier international conference on markup languages, technologies, theories, and practice focused on the creation of robust, lasting information systems. (But don't take our word for it; try Googling it: http://www.google.com/search?q=markup%20conference.)
Support for attending Balisage 2012 will be available for some full-time students in the field of markup technologies and related disciplines, including Computer Science, Library and Information Science, and Digital Humanities.
Award details will be announced as soon as we can. (We don't yet know how much money we will have for student awards.) In past years, the first prize winner received travel to Montréal, accommodations at the conference hotel, and conference registration. Second and third place winners received smaller awards.
To be eligible, you must be currently enrolled full time in an academic degree program, as documented in your CV. More important, you must have a demonstrable interest in and commitment to our field.
Details about the application process and requirements are available on Balisage's website at: http://www.balisage.net/special/students.html
Application materials will be accepted in plain text, HTML, or PDF and are due on April 20, 2012 (the same day Balisage paper submissions are due). Please send applications to info@balisage.net. Be sure you include contact information.
Awards will be offered at the discretion of the conference committee. Both successful and unsuccessful applicants will be notified as to their award status by June 20, 2012.
Find out more about the Balisage series of conferences at http://www.balisage.net. Then come to
Montréal to experience the cutting edge of this fascinating field at the crossroads of technology, textual studies, database theory, and philosophy.
-- The Balisage 2012 Conference Committee

Chris Justice at CCBC's WID/WAC Writing Exchange Conference

Chris Justice presented at CCBC's 5th Annual WID/WAC Writing Exchange
Conference on January 20th. His presentation, “Navigating Successfully
Across Disciplinary Borders: WID, New Literacy Studies, and the
Composition Classroom,” drew upon the scholarship of James Gee and
John Swales and focused on how discipline-specific writing courses
enhance student literacy by deepening students' understanding of
discourse communities.

CFP for CATaC’12: Beyond the digital/cultural divide: In/visibility and new media

On behalf of the CATaC (Cultural Attitudes towards Technology and Communication) Organizing Committee, I am very pleased to pass on to you the first CFP for CATaC’12: Beyond the digital/cultural divide: in/visibility and new media (June 18-20, 2012, Aarhus, Denmark).

The biennial CATaC conference series, begun in 1998, has become a premier international forum for current research on the complex interactions between culturally-variable norms, practices, and communication preferences, and interaction with the design, implementation and use of information and communication technologies (ICTs).

Our 2012 conference, as the title suggests, begins with the recognition that the ongoing issues and challenges clustering around digital divides – often involving mutually reinforcing cultural divides – extends beyond classic and stubborn problems of access to new media and communication technologies.

For example, matters of representation come into play, issuing in a cluster of questions:
Whose images and words are seen/presented/promoted and whose aren’t? And why?
If activists are using new media to represent realities of, say, oppressed indigenous people in a given country, is this better than no visibility at all, even if the people in question do not have access or skills to present themselves as subjects?

In particular:
Local and indigenous HCI/ID is about making visible the semiotic scripts and political processes of meaning construction that shape the process of technology design and knowledge representation from a sociotechnical perspective. Making visible these scripts enables the assessment of the value of these tools and frameworks from indigenous and/or local perspectives. Key concerns here are (1) to examine the meaning and validity of democratic values that drive participatory design as a discipline, and (2) to question ‘exported’ representations of what constitutes good usability and user experience.

And:
How do new practices of cloaking messages in otherwise public or semi-public media; for example, the strategies of online steganography work to create intentional invisibility in otherwise visible spaces? Are there important culturally-variable elements in these practices that, when brought to the foreground, help illuminate and clarify them in new ways?

Finally:
What are the role(s) of (culturally) diverse understandings and representations of gender in structuring the frameworks and practices of design and implementation. How do these roles foster the visibility of some vis-à-vis the invisibility of “others” (in Levinas’ sense, in particular)?

Additional submissions are encouraged that address further conference points of emphasis:
Theoretical and practical approaches to analyzing “culture”
New layers of imaging and texting interactions fostering and/or threatening cultural diversity
Impact of mobile technologies on privacy and surveillance
Gender, sexuality and identity issues in social networks
Cultural diversity in e-learning and/or m-learning
Culturally-variable approaches to online identity management/creation, privacy, trust Copyright and intellectual property rights – recent developments, culturally-variable future directions?
Culturally-variable responses to commodification in online environments
Both short (3-5 pages) and long (10-15 pages) original papers are sought for presentation. Panel proposals addressing a specific theme or topic are also encouraged.

Our provisional schedule

Submission of papers (short or full), panel proposals: 17. February 2012
Notification of acceptance: 16. March, 2012
Final formatted papers (for conference proceedings): 19. April 2012
Further details regarding program (including keynote speakers and pre-conference activities), registration fees, travel and accommodations will be available soon on the conference website,.

We look forward to welcoming you to Aarhus next June!

Frederick News-Post Article: Yasuko Walcott

Something to prove: Student, 70, earns doctorate after 11 years
Originally published December 21, 2011

By Blair Ames
News-Post Staff
Photo by Travis Pratt

Yasuko.jpg

Yasuko Nadayoshi Walcott, who recently defended her doctoral dissertation, is set to graduate today from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

If you quit, Yasuko Walcott says, you won't survive as a first-generation immigrant.
Walcott emigrated from Japan in 1969 to live in New Mexico with Bill, the American husband she married in Japan.

"First-generation immigrants have so many different kinds of problems, but you still have to keep going to prove that you're an acceptable citizen," she said.

Walcott had lived in America from 1962 to 1966 while studying at San Francisco State University. She returned home after graduation but had no success in finding a job in her field.

"Japanese society wasn't ready for educated women," she said. "I was only 30 years too early."

Even with an American college education, she had a hard time adjusting to the American lifestyle when she returned to the U.S.

Walcott overcame those challenges to become an educator, teaching Japanese at the high school and college levels.

It was that same determination that allowed the Frederick County resident, now 70, to accomplish another goal recently.

In August, she successfully defended her dissertation to the faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and will be awarded a doctorate in philosophy 11 years after beginning the program.

She is slated to graduate today with about 150 other students. Walcott is the oldest UMBC graduate to earn her Ph.D. this year, according to Elyse Ashburn, UMBC director of communications. Ashburn said the university does not track graduates' ages, which makes it hard to determine if Walcott is the oldest to ever complete a doctorate.

While most graduate students finish in five to seven years, Walcott juggled a cancer diagnosis and a full-time teaching load at UMBC as she completed her degree.

"I'm very grateful, as much as I'm grateful to my family, but also to school because they never threw me out," Walcott said, laughing, during an interview in her home just outside of New Market.

After being diagnosed in March 2006 with colon cancer, she has been in and out of the hospital. Her most recent stay was in September 2010.

A Japanese professor at UMBC since 1994, Walcott taught three four-credit courses each semester during her studies.

"Students come first before I study my own," she said. "That made it even harder."

Walcott has also taught at Montgomery College, Montgomery County Public Schools and Loyola College.

Despite being a teacher, Walcott said the early course work was so difficult, she cried nearly every day for the first two years while earning her doctorate.

"It was too difficult and so demanding," she said.

It took her five years to finish the course work before she even started her dissertation.

Walcott's 490-page dissertation was on a familiar subject: "Experiences of Japanese women who married American military personnel and emigrated to the United States between 1945 and 1965."

Walcott interviewed six women in Washington and Virginia, asking them to describe their lives in Japan and how they changed since moving to America.

She found that they all share characteristics of being independent, strong, intelligent, flexible and full of common sense.

"They are very strong because so many of them had to cope with lots of problems by themselves because husbands, soldiers -- they may be gone for months at a time," she said.

Some of the women were disconnected from their family or didn't have the money to travel back to Japan while their husband was gone, Walcott said.

"Their families just cut them off because they married Americans -- the enemy," she said.

Many of the women moved to the U.S. with very little knowledge of English, she said.

Another challenge for Walcott while writing her dissertation: English is her second language.

"I may sit there half a day and write only one line," she said.

During her research, Walcott interviewed the women in Japanese, and then translated the interviews word by word to English before she wrote.

After taking 11 years to complete her doctorate, Walcott said she has no plans to continue her education.

Her son's family planned to travel from Oregon and her daughter planned to travel from Tokyo to attend the diploma ceremony.

It's one of the few times her entire family will be together.

"That itself means a lot," she said. "Especially for our grandchildren to show them your grandmom could do it. Hopefully that will inspire them."

This article has been corrected. Walcott lives just outside of New Market.

Training Specialist (Language Testing and Training) at Peace Corps

Training Specialist (Language Testing and Training) at Peace Corps

Peace Corps is seeking a Language Testing Specialist. Please see the
detailed position description below. Those interested in applying
should complete the full application online through Peace Corps' online
job application website:

https://www.avuedigitalservices.com/casting/aiportal/control/doVacancySe
arch?agencyCode=PC

Position Number: D10253

Peace Corps job vacancies may also be accessed from this page:
http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=jobs.pcvac

Introductory Statement: This position is located in the Training Unit
within the Office for Overseas Programming and Training Support (OPATS).
The position reports to the Washington DC headquarters of the Peace
Corps. The purpose of OPATS is to build capacity of field staff through
training that will help staff better support Volunteers. Training is
designed and delivered to improve post staff performance and competence.
The Peace Corps language program focuses on providing guidelines,
concepts and techniques for conducting training, integrating language
and cross-cultural training and managing a training and certification
program for measuring individual proficiency and the overall
effectiveness of language training at Posts. The incumbent will: oversee
the agency's language proficiency testing program using the American
Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) scale; oversee the
collection and evaluation of language testing results; and support other
language training initiatives. The incumbent will report to the
Supervisor of the Training Unit. Note: Position requires 25% overseas
travel.

MDAs and Duties for this Position
________________________________

Educational and/or Vocational Testing and Evaluation 40%
o Plans, evaluates, delivers, and oversees the delivery of the
agency's language proficiency testing program for Volunteers who learn a
language as part of their assignment. Develops policy in coordination
with OPATS and the Inter-America/Pacific, Africa, Eastern Europe,
Mediterranean and Asia regions and provides technical guidance on
language testing and its relationship to language training and the Peace
Corps mission.
o Serves as authoritative consultant and troubleshooter in the
planning, development, and evaluation of experimental programs,
resulting in new or modified educational or vocational testing or
evaluation techniques and initiatives. Oversees and coordinates all
aspects of tester training workshops worldwide by cooperating with the
regions and posts to schedule, implement and evaluate tester training.
Monitors reliability of testing at posts by overseeing in-country
self-checks, and examining test interview samples, tester certification
and renewal of certification. Researches and implements innovative
technological initiatives relevant to language testing appropriate for
Peace Corps posts and relevant to Peace Corps' mission. Maintains a pool
of qualified tester training contractors to conduct tester training in
the field. Conducts periodic review of tester training as it occurs in
the field.
o Regularly reviews and revises tester training materials, including
paper manuals and tape recorded materials to ensure that materials are
appropriate, culturally sensitive and reflective of Peace Corps'
initiatives in language testing and tester training.

Tasks include:
* Leads the development of methodologies, policies, and
procedures for administering new testing programs and products.
* Provides technical assistance in the development of new or
expanded language testing or language education programs, in areas such
as program design, content and evaluation.
* Develops and implements annual strategic plan for language
testing program.
* Recruits, screens, orients, coordinates, provides technical
guidance to, and monitors and evaluates language tester training
consultants.

Tests and Measurements 30%
o Monitors and establishes guidelines and policy for measuring
achievement of instructional objectives for major training initiatives.
o Serves as the primary source for coordinating, monitoring and
reporting language testing of Volunteers worldwide.
o Monitors the effectiveness of language training evaluators by
listening to taped interviews.
o Monitors the effectiveness of language training programs by
collecting and analyzing the scores received by Volunteers on
their language proficiency tests.
o Participates in the evaluation of PCV training by promoting
continuous assessment of language training activities in order to
determine those training models which are most effective in achieving
programmatic goals.

Tasks include:
* Leads the development of methodologies, policies, and
procedures for administering testing programs and products.
* Provides technical assistance in the development of new or
expanded language testing or language education programs.
* Advises on the development of experimental language testing
programs.
* Responds to internal and external requests for language
testing and language tester training data and analysis.

Training Course Delivery 30%
o Serves as technical expert in broad, complex subject areas.
Conducts training-of-trainers workshops and other training activities to
improve field staff abilities in designing and implementing language
testing and training activities.
o Reviews and analyzes language training designs and materials in
response to field requests for assistance. Provides feedback to posts
along with recommendations for training improvements.

Tasks include:
* Participates in the planning, design, and delivery of
training-of-trainers workshops that support the development of a strong
tester and tester trainer cohort at Peace Corps posts.
* Keeps current in the field on instructional design and
informational technology and assesses and implements appropriate
technological developments.

Required Qualifications and Experience
* Substantial experience as a competency-based language tester
with a major language testing instrument such as ACTFL OPI or ILR OPI
* MA in Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, Language Assessment,
or Teaching English or other languages as a Second/Foreign Language

Desired Qualifications and Experience
* Certified ACTFL OPI tester
* Certified ACTFL OPI tester trainer
* Experience training language instructors to conduct language
proficiency tests, ideally speaking tests.
* Experience designing and facilitating teacher education or
professional development, ideally in international contexts.
* Experience teaching second or foreign languages, ideally in
international settings.
* Ability to travel internationally.

Ruth Goode
Language Training Specialist * Overseas Programming and Training
Support * Peace Corps
1111 20th Street, NW | Washington, DC 20526 | (: 202.692.2662 | *:
rgoode@peacecorps.gov

ESFLCW 2012 - Deadline Jan 15

The 23rd European Systemic Functional Linguistics Conference and Workshop
(ESFLCW 2012)
9-11 July, 2012
University Residential Centre of Bertinoro, Italy

TAKE NOTE OF THE IMPORTANT DATES!!
** ABSTRACTS SUBMISSION 1 December – 15
January, 2012
(ABSOLUTE FINAL CLOSING DATE) 15 January, 2012
Inform acceptance by 28 February,
2012
Registration opens 1 March,
2012
**SOLE & ABSOLUTE
REGISTRATION & PAYMENT DEADLINE 15 April, 2012

CONFERENCE THEME:
Permeable contexts and hybrid discourses

The Theme is meant to address the increasingly typical nature of text and
discourse: hybridity. In an SFL perspective, this means that the cultural
and situational contexts that tend to activate meanings and wordings must
also be seen as being hybrid, or as Hasan (2000) has more fittingly put
it, permeable. It is not simply that predetermined qualities of genres are
being mixed, combined, hybridized: the fact of the matter is that by these
devices people extend, elaborate and reclassify their discursive contexts.
Derrida’s celebrated claim that one cannot not mix genres should really be
rephrased as contexts of life cannot but be permeable; the rest follows by
the dialectic of language and discursive situation.

CONFIRMED PLENARY SPEAKERS:
Caroline Coffin (Open University)
Srikant Sarangi (Cardiff University)
Geoff Thompson (University of Liverpool)

***For all important details on the venue, fees, how-to submit proposals,
etc, please go to the Conference Website:
http://www.lingue.unibo.it/ESFLCW2012

Chair of English Linguistics
Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures
Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna