TIRF Newsletter Issue Date: February 2012
Link: http://www.carla.umn.edu/
Description: The Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA)is one of the US Department of Education’s Title VI National Language Resource Centers, whose role is to improve the nation’s capacity to teach and learn foreign languages.
Examples of Activities:
- This organization’s mission is related to one of TIRF’s research priorities: the optimal uses of technology in language instruction. Individuals interested in online teaching may wish to join the Ning (a virtual meeting place) created for language teachers who teach online, to exchange ideas and share effective practices.
- CARLA also supports those interested in second language assessment. For example, “The Virtual Item Bank” provides teachers with practical ideas and models for developing classroom assessment items. Other useful resources include teacher-created integrated performance assessment units based on the ACTFL model and interpersonal tasks to encourage student speech. Another resource that can be found on CARLA’s website is an online battery of proficiency-based second language assessment tools for reading, writing, listening, and speaking (available in Spanish, German, and French).
- One final online resource is CARLA’s Content-Based Language Teaching with Technology (CoBaLTT). This resources shows teachers how to attend to both content and language in their planning, instruction, and assessment with the support of technology. It offers a variety of information and practical tools for language teachers interested in content-based instruction.
