ULIMI The Bulletin of the National AfricanLanguage Resource Center (NALRC)

INSIDETHISISSUEFrom theDirector

1

NALRC ProjectsContinue to Grow

2

National Council ofLess Commonly

Taught Languages5

African LanguageStandards and

STAMP Workshop8

SummerInstitute 2007

10

Reflections onthe SummerInstitute 2007

12-13

Summer CooperativeAfrican LanguageInstitute (SCALI)

InstructorWorkshop

14

FLTA Orientationand Workshop

14-15

Announcements16

From the DirectorDr. Antonia Folarin Schleicher

The NALRC continues in its quest for excellence in Africanlanguage pedagogy. We are grateful to the InternationalEducation and Graduate Programs Service (IEGPS) of theDepartment of Education for its continual support of theNALRC activities.

The NALRC has been actively involved in many exciting projectsover the past year. In June, many scholars participated in theAfrican Language Standards and STAMP (Standards BasedMeasurement of Proficiency) workshop at the University ofWisconsin, Madison. This year’s workshop brought togetherinstructors of Wolof, Akan-Twi, Hausa, and Afrikaans to begindeveloping Standards documents for their respective languages.These scholars are Fanta Diamanka, Aissatou Diop-Hashim,Omar Ka, Mamarame Seck (Wolof), Joe Amoako, JamesEssegbey, Samuel Obeng, Seth Ofori, Charles Owu-Ewie (Akan-Twi), Ibro Chekaraou (Hausa) and Jacques du Plessis (Afrikaans).Other participants were Sam Mchombo who reviewed theSwahili Standards and Ayoola Shotonwa who observed theprocess of Standards development. Some Standards drafts were

revised and reviewed with the assistance of Alwiya Omar and Antonia Schleicher, who participated indeveloping the Swahili and the Yoruba Standards respectively. By the end of the workshop, the Wolofand Akan-Twi groups completed full drafts of the Standards for their languages.

The NALRC published a record six new books this year: Aquilina Mawadza’s Ngativerenge Shona,Leonard Muaka and Angaluki Muaka’s Tusome Kiswahili, Sana Camara’s Wolof Lexicon and Grammar,Abdullahi Abdinoor’s Af Soomaali Aan Ku Hadalno (Hadallo), Mazemba Anatole Nzwanga’s Let’sSpeak Kikongo, and the second edition of Katrina Thompson’s Swahili Learners’ Reference Grammar.Ibro Chekarou’s Let’s Speak Hausa is also in the pipeline. In addition to the new textbooks anddictionary, we have increased our African language brochures, adding SiSwati, Ndebele, Acholi,Kimbundu, Afrikaans, Dinka, Tsonga and Nuer to the existing list.

I extend profound gratitude to the many African language scholars around the world who contributedto the accomplishment of the NALRC’s goals. These include authors of the latest and forthcomingbooks from the NALRC press: Aquilina Mawadza, Leonard Muaka, Angaluki Muaka, Sana Camara,Abdullahi Abdinoor, Mazemba Anatole Nzwanga, Alwiya Omar and Leonce Rushubirwa. Omar andRushubirwa’s sterling efforts have given birth to the third level Kiswahili textbook, Let’s Communicatein Kiswahili. The commitment and dedication that these and other scholars have demonstrated isnothing short of remarkable.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank many other people who participated in the NALRCprojects such as the Summer institute and the development of language brochures and pamphlets.These challenging tasks were accomplished through the commitment of many. Thank you once againSteve Timm and Joe Nosek for yet another successful Summer Institute. Thanks too to Patricia Kuntzfor your invaluable contribution to the Standards and STAMP workshop and Christine Brown for

NALRC Director Antonia Folarin Schleicher

Fall 2007Vol. 8

NALRCPERSONNELAntonia SchleicherDirector

Adedoyin AdenugaAssistant Director

Kehinde OmosebiAdministrative Staff

Matthew H. BrownProject Assistant

Joseph ChikoweroProject Assistant

Upenyu MajeeProject Assistant

Method RutechuraProject Assistant

UILIMI is a publication of theNational African LanguageResource Center (NALRC). It ispublished annually todisseminate information issuingfrom the center.

Responses to and commentsabout this newsletter are stronglyencouraged. Please contact theeditor, Joseph Chikowero, via e-mail at nalrc@mailplus.wisc.edu

National African LanguageResource Center4231 Humanities Building455 North Park StMadison, WI 53706Tel:(608) 265 7905Fax: (608) 265 7904E-mail: nalrc@mailplus.wisc.eduWebsite:http://lang.nalrc.wisc.edu/nalrc

leading a well received NCOLCTL pre-conference workshop.

I also extend my gratitude to the team behind the scenes: the NALRC’s AssistantDirector Adedoyin Adenuga; Outreach and Dissemination Coordinator, KehindeOmosebi; Project Assistants, Joseph Chikowero and Matt Brown. Thank you for allyour dedication and hard work.

In this, the eighth volume of ULIMI, we provide detailed information about the majorNALRC projects this past year, namely the NCOLCTL Conference, the AfricanLanguages Standards workshop, the Summer 2007 Institute, the FLTA workshops, theSummer Cooperative African Language Institute Workshop and new NALRCpublications. We truly appreciate your invaluable feedback that continues to guide usas we strive to meet your needs and expectations. Shukran. Jerejef. Asante. E seun.Zikomo. Thank you.

NALRC Projects Continue to GrowThe National African Languages Resource Center was established in September 1999 witha grant from the US Department of Education to improve the accessibility of Africanlanguages in the United States by strengthening the field as a profession and bydeveloping resources for the teaching, learning, and research of African languages. TheCenter’s mission is to serve the entire community of African language educators andlearners in the United States by sponsoring a wide range of educational and professionalactivities designed to improve the accessibility and quality of African language instructionin the United States. The Center encourages a variety of pedagogical approaches toaccommodate learner diversity, and advocates the integration of language and culturelearning and the acquisition of fluency in these areas. It facilitates dialogue amongteachers, learners, and administrators from a wide variety of cultural and institutionalperspectives, and promotes the profession of African language teaching.

During the eighth year of funding, the Center continues its activities and services in thefollowing areas:

1. National African Language Program Coordination

2. African Language Materials Development and Dissemination

3. Research in African Language Pedagogy

4. African Language Program Development and Evaluation

5. Professional Development for African Language Educators

1. National African Language Program Coordination

i. African Language Program Inventory List

The NALRC continues to upgrade the African language program inventory on aregular basis so that information about programs in African languages can beavailable to various universities and colleges that are planning to start Africanlanguage programs. The list also helps individual learners who are interested inlearning African languages and who look for local institutions offering those languagecourses. In order to maintain the most accurate list of African language programs inthe US, the NALRC welcomes your suggestions. Please visit out websitehttp://lang.nalrc.wisc.edu/nalrc/home.html to view the latest list.

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ii. African Language Pedagogy Evaluators’ List

The NALRC continues to make available a list ofscholars whoa re willing to serve as consultants fornew or existing African language programs. Theseexperienced African language pedagogists assist theCenter’s mission by evaluating existing Africanlanguage programs and by helping to start newprograms. These evaluators, and the programdevelopers themselves, are provided with access toAfrican Language Program Development andAdministration: A History and Guidelines for FuturePrograms. This NALRC-published text is a product ofthe life-long teaching and coordination experienceof African language pedagogist Prof. EyambaBokamba.

iii. African Language Coordinators’ TrainingProgramsThe NALRC trains African language coordinatorsthrough various types of workshops. Theseworkshops aim to promote African languagecoordinators effectiveness in working with a varietyof African language instructors, whose languagethey may not understand. These workshops teachthe coordinators to work with instructors better andto mentor them more successfully. If you and yourlanguage coordinator need such training, pleasecontact the NALRC office.

iv. African Language Resource List

The NALRC maintains a list of African languageinstructors, native speakers, and scholars who areinterested in working as translators, interpreters,and testers for government and non-governmentagencies. This list is updated whenever the Centerreceives information about new resource people. Ifyou are interested in providing this kind of service,please call or e-mail the NALRC office.

v. African Language Materials andWorkshop List

In order to satisfy the Center’s mission to providethe entire community of African language educatorswith teaching resources, the NALRC assesses theneed for materials across the field of Africanlanguage pedagogy. The Center has reviewedAfrican language materials needs annually since itsinitial needs assessment in 1999. Part of this processincludes gathering information about existingmaterials and workshops for African languageinstructors. These materials range from textbooks toaudio and video tapes, web-based materials, androle-play cards. The catalog of existing materials andrequests for new materials is critical to the materialdevelopment and publication process at the NALRC.So far, all the NALRC publications originated fromthese annual needs assessments. The NALRC urges

scholars and instructors, who may be interested indeveloping such materials to contact the NALRCoffice. We also encourage them to contact us forany material and workshop needs to which theNALRC should attend.

2. African Language Materials

Development and Dissemination

The NALRC has placed a high priority on developingand disseminating African language materials because,in the field of African language teaching, the need forteaching materials is so great. Through the tremendousefforts of diverse scholars and African languageteachers, the NALRC has contributed to thedevelopment and dissemination of language teachingmaterials ranging from commonly taught Africanlanguages, such as Kiswahili, to less-commonly taughtones such as Amharic. Towards the end of last year, theNALRC published two texts, the Wolof Lexicon andGrammar and for the Let’s Read Series, NgativerengeShona. The Center also published a journal. In addition,the NALRC has completed work on eight Africanlanguage brochures, taking the number to thirty-eight.

NALRC: African Language Materials

Textbooks: Let’s Speak African Language Series

• Tuseme Kiswahili by F. E. M. K. Senkoro (2003)• Dardarsha Egyptian Arabic by Mustapha Mughazy(2004)

• Tósolola na Lingála by Eyamba Georges BokambaandMolingo Virginie Bokamba(2004)

• Lets’ Speak Amharic by Bezza Tesfaw Ayalew (2005)• Masikhulume Isizulu by Thandiwe Nxumalo andDumisile N Mkhize( 2005)

• A Re Bueng Setswana by Sheila Onkaetse Mmusi(2005)

• Ngatitaure Shona by Aquilina Mawadza (2006)• Ma Yenka Akan (Twi) (2006) Seth Ofori (2006)

fall 2007 / 3

• Bua Sesotho by Solomon Chapholi (2006)• Af Soomaali Aan Ku Hadalno(Hadallo) by AbdullahiAbdinoor (2007)

Textbooks: Let’s Read African Language Series

• Tusome Kiswahili by Leonard Muaka & AngalukiMuaka (2006),

• Ngativerenge Shona by Aquilina Mawadza (2006)

Textbooks: Learners’ Reference Grammar(LRG) Series• Swahili LRG by Katrina Daly Thompson & AntoniaFolárìn Schleicher (2001)

• Pulaar LRG by Amadou Tidiane Fofana & AntoniaFolárìn Schleicher (2002)

• Asante-Twi LRG by David Adu-Amankwah (2003)• Bamanakan LRG by Amadou Tidiane Fofana &Mamery Traoré (2003)

• Zulu LRG by Audrey N Mbeje (2005)• Shona LRG by Peter Jamali, Antonia FolárìnSchleicher, and Aquilina Mawadza

• Amharic LRG by Bezza Tesfaw Ayalew (2005)

Textbooks: DictionaryWolof Lexicon andGrammarby Sana Camara(2006)

Instructional Technology Materials:

Companion Audio CDs

• Je K’Á So Yorùbá by Antonia Folarin Schleicher(2004)

• Je K’Á Ka Yorùbá by Antonia Folarin Schleicher(2004)

• Tuseme Kiswahili By F.E.M.K. Senkoro (recorded byAlwiya Omar, Pauline Gichiru,

• Magua Muthai, and Abdulkarim Mahamud)• Let’s Speak Amharic by Bezza Tesfaw Ayalew (2005)• Dardasha Egyptian Arabic by Mustapha Mughazy(2005)

Multimedia CDs• Je K’Á So Yorùbá (Elementary) by Antonia FolarinSchleicher (2003)

• Je K’Á Ka Yorùbá (Intermediate) by Antonia FolarinSchleicher (2003)

• Je KÁ Gbo Yorùbá (Advanced) by Antonia FolarinSchleicher (2002)

Vocabulary Flash Cards – 15 languagesAmharic, Bamana, Chichewa, Kikuyu, Lingala, Luyia,Pulaar, Shona, Swahili, Tigrinya, Twi, Wolof, Xhosa,Yoruba, Zulu

Online Yoruba courses(Beginner and Intermediate)

• Jê K’Á Sæ Yorùbá by Antonia Folarin Schleicher(1993)

• Jê K’Á Ka Yorùbá by Antonia Folarin Schleicher(1998)

Others Materials• NALRC Annual Bulletin – ULIMI: (2000, 2001, 2002,2003, 2004, 2005) 2006 – in press

• Journals: JALLT - 2001, JALTA - 2003, JNCOLCTL –2004, 2005, 2006

• African Language Role Play Cards by Antonia FolarinSchleicher (2003)

• African Language Program Development andAdministration by Eyamba Bokamba (2003)

• The Pedagogy of African Languages by Schleicherand Moshi (2000)

• African language posters

Brochures: (37 African languages)ArabicAmharicBamanaBembaChichewaHausaIgboIsiXhosaKikongoKikuyuKinyarwandaKpelleKrioLingalaLugandaMendeMalagasyOromoPulaarSetswanaSesothoShonaSomaliSwahili

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TemneTigrinyaTwiYorubaWolofZuluAcholiNdebeleSiSwatiDinkaTsongaKimbunduAfrikaans

Textbooks in progress:• Let’s Speak African Language Series:• Let’s Speak Pulaar• Let’s Speak Wolof• Let’s Speak Sudanese Arabic• Let’s Speak Kikongo• Let’s Speak Hausa• Let’s Communicate in Swahili (Advanced level)

Brochure in Progress• Luo• Nuer• Masai• Sukuma

Learners’ Reference Grammar Series:Yoruba Learners’ Reference Grammar

K-12 African Language Series:K-12 YorubaK-12 Swahili

Any African language material need?Contact the NALRC:Tel: (608) 265-7905nalrc@mailplus.wisc.eduhttp://lang.nalrc.wisc.edu/nalrc

NCOLCTL 2007Conference26th - 29th April

The 10th Annual Conference of the National Councilof Less Commonly Taught Languages was held at theMadison Concourse Hotel in Madison, Wisconsin, April26-29 2007. Held under the theme, “ProfessionalHorizons in LCTLs: Reality and Promise”, theconference was organized courtesy of the NCOLCTLSecretariat from its offices at the University ofWisconsin, Madison.

This year’s participants were drawn from as far afield asItaly, Portugal and Britain while many LCTL enthusiastsfrom Asia, Africa and the Middle East presented onvarious facets of less commonly taught languages.Abstracts from professionals and practitioners atvarious universities and government departments wereaccepted while exhibits from publishing concerns werealso showcased.

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Christine Brown at the NCOLCTL pre-conference workshop

NCOLCTL President Gautami Shah presents Thomas Hinnesbusch with theWalton Award

Sponsors of this year’s conference included theUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison International Studies;the International Institute, the Center for East AsianStudies, the Center for South Asian Studies, the Centerfor South East Asian Studies, the Department ofAfrican Languages and Literature, the African StudiesProgram, the National African Language ResourceCenter, NCOLCTL, the UW-Madison College of Lettersand Science, among others.

Led by Christine L. Brown of the Glastonbury (CT)Public School System, the traditional Pre-conferenceworkshop was held on Thursday 26 April under thebanner “The Role of Standards in the LCTLs”.NCOLCTL’s Vice-President, Hong Gang Jin chaired thisworkshop which addressed issues involving the impactof standards across disciplines, the content of thelanguage standards K-16, material development needs,assessment development and the implications ofstandards-based teaching, among others.

That same evening, NCOLCTL President, Gautami Shahmade the Conference Welcome Reception.Immediately after her address, the Natyarpana DanceCompany presented their well-received “SacredGeometry” performance as part of the WelcomeReception. This was followed by the University ofWisconsin Second Semester Arabic class with theirpolished performance of “Bush in Cairo”, an imaginarycultural encounter between President George Bush andthe Egyptian television programming.

The next morning, April 27, General Welcome Remarkswere delivered by Antonia Schleicher, Gilles Bousquet,Magdalena Hauner, and Gautami Shah. Immediatelyfollowing, Ambassador Robert Finn, of the WoodrowWilson School and Lecturer in Turkish Literature in theDepartment of Near Eastern Studies, PrincetonUniversity, delivered the keynote address of theconference, titled, “Multilingual, Multidimensional,Multitasked”.

Four other plenary sessions were held during thecourse of the conference. One of the prominentspeakers who graced this year’s conference was HisExcellency Prince Firas bin Raad, the Private Secretaryfor Health Affairs to King Abdullah of Jordan. ThePrince’s paper was entitled “LCTLs and Peace-buildingin the Middle East.” Other plenary speakers includedJNCL-NCLIS’ Executive Director J. David Edwards andCASL’s Executive Director, Richard Brecht whosepresentation was on “US Language Policies in the 21stCentury”.

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Dianna Murphy presents a paper at the NCOCTL conference

Antonia Schleicher, Gerald Lampe and Gautami Shah with Prince Firasbin Raad at the NCOLCTL conference

His Excellency Prince Firas bin Raad of Jordan at the Second PlenarySession during the NCOLCTL conference

An exhibitor discusses a point with a patron at the NCOLCTL conference

Almost seventy (70) papers were presented at thisyear’s conference on topics ranging from standards andassessment in LCTLs, developing online LCTL materials,curriculum design for 21st century challenges, onlineLCTLs teacher training and many others.

NCOLCTL member organizations such as the AmericanCouncil of Teachers of Russian (ACTR) - a professionalmembership association committed to advancing theteaching of Russian language and literature, the SouthAsian Language Teachers Association (SALTA), theConsortium for the Teaching of Indonesian and Malay(COTIM) held their annual meetings during theconference. In addition, the Hindi Standards WorkingCommittee and the South Asia Language ResourceCenter also held their meeting at the conference.

On Saturday, April 28, a banquet was held in honor ofThomas J. Hinnebusch, winner of this year’s A. RonaldWalton Award, which recognizes distinguished servicein the field of LCTLs. In his acceptance speech,Hinnebusch traced his long and distinguished career inservice of LCTLs from his days at University of Dar EsSalaam in Tanzania in the 1960s to his currentLanguage Materials Project at UCLA that focuses onover 100 LCTLs. He also challenged established

professionals and up and coming scholars in the fieldto harness technological innovations to further LCTLgoals.

The NCOLCTL conference remains a substantial forumfor the sharing of successes and problems in the fieldof LCTLs. Many attendees expressed gratitude forinformation sharing about professional issues in LCTLs,especially matters of standards and assessment, theSTARTALK program and others.

The staff of the NCOLCTL Secretariat are grateful tothe many people who contributed so much of theirtime and energy into making this year’s conference asuccess. We would especially like to thank thevolunteers who gave their time at the registrationtable, as session chairs, as performers, etc. We lookforward to seeing everyone again next year for the11th NCOLCTL annual conference.

fall 2007 / 7

Thomas Hinnebusch shares a point with attendees after receiving theWalton Award

Ambassador Robert Finn addresses a Plenary Session at the NCOLCTLconference

Michael Everson gives a talk at the Walton Award ceremony

African LanguageStandards andSTAMP WorkshopMay 21-26, 2007

In 2006, the NALRC began the process of developingStandards for African languages. These Standards arebased on the model developed by the AmericanCouncil on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL),which first published the Standards for ForeignLanguage Learning in the 21st Century in 1996. Thisdocument is a collection of criteria that normalizescontent across levels for the teaching of variouslanguages. While the Standards do not dictate how alanguage should be taught, they identify the skills thatstudents should have mastered after completing variouslevels of instruction. Also included with these identifiedskill sets are “Sample Learning Scenarios,” which offerexamples as to how particular skills may taught in acommunicative classroom. The goal of the Standardsmovement, and the kind of instruction that it implies, is

ULIMI / 8

the production of students who are well versed in the“Five Cs;” Communication, Cultures, Connections,Comparisons, and Communities; with respect to thelanguage of study.

The Standards document has been revised three times,to include an increasingly diverse representation oflanguages. Many less-commonly taught languages suchas Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Italian, andArabic are now represented. Besides Arabic, however,no African languages are yet included in the publisheddocument; though the work done in last year’s NALRCStandards Workshop, to develop documents for Swahili,Yoruba, and Zulu, will soon bear fruit. These documentshave been written and revised and are in the process ofofficial review for ACTFL publication. When complete,they will constitute a major leap forward and anincrease in visibility for African language pedagogy inthe United States.

This year’s workshop brought together instructors ofWolof, Akan-Twi, Hausa, and Afrikaans to begindeveloping Standards documents for their respectivelanguages. Some of the participants brought drafts withthem, which they immediately began reviewing andrevising, while other participants began from scratch.

Alwiya Omar discusses a point at the Standards workshop

Aissatou Diop-Hashim makes a point during the Standards workshop

Antonia Schleicher stresses a point during the Standards workshop

The Standards workshop in session

Professor Antonia Schleicher led the workshop, helpingall instructors understand the evolution of theStandards movement, how the Standards have beenconceived, and how to create them for Africanlanguages. Professor Alwiya Omar, one of the keydevelopers of the Swahili Standards, assistedparticipants with formulating and writing drafts. At theend of the week, the Wolof and Akan-Twi groupscompleted full drafts of the Standards for theirlanguages.

On Wednesday, May 23, Sachiko Kamioka and GregHopper-Moore, from the Center for Applied SecondLanguage Studies at the University of Oregon, joinedthe workshop to discuss another ACTFL initiative:Standards-Based Measurement of Proficiency (STAMP).The STAMP project seeks to develop computer-basedassessments to evaluate student ability in a particularlanguage, with regard to the guidelines established bythe Standards for that language. For the Africanlanguages, tests are being developed for Yoruba andSwahili, which were showcased. Workshop participantswere also encouraged to begin developing tests fortheir languages.

The workshop lasted for six days, with participantsworking Monday through Saturday. While all wereexhausted at the end of the week—especiallyconsidering that the Spring semester had onlyconcluded days before the workshop began—theoutcome was impressive and inspiring. The NALRChopes to continue this program and bring togethermore African language instructors to make significantachievements for the field.

Participating in this year’sworkshop were:

Wolof

• Fanta Diamanka – Ohio University

• Aissatou Diop-Hashim – Howard University

• Omar Ka - University of Maryland

• Mamarame Seck – University of Florida-Gainesville

Akan-Twi

• Joe Amoako – Delaware State University

• James Essegbey – University of Florida-Gainesville

• Samuel Obeng – Indiana University

• Seth Ofori – University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Charles Owu-Ewie - Ohio University

Hausa

• Ibro Chekaraou – Michigan State University

Afrikaans

• Jacques du Plessis – University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Other participants included:

• Sam Mchombo – University of California, Berkeley(Reviewing the Swahili Standards)

• Ayoola Shotonwa – Lagos State Radio; Lagos, Nigeria(Observing the process of Standards development)

• Patricia Kuntz

fall 2007 / 9

Standards workshop participants gather for a group photoJacques du Plessis shares a thought during the Standards workshop

SummerInstitute 2007May 29th - June 8th

For the 8th year running, the National AfricanLanguages Resource Center hosted a Summer Institutein Madison, WI for professional development in theteaching of African languages. Through these annualinstitutes, the NALRC has equipped a total of 126African language instructors, practitioners andenthusiasts in the latest communicatively-orientedapproaches in teaching African languages to bothnative speakers and foreign learners and students.

New teachers such as university Teaching Assistantsbenefit from hands-on, research supported Africanlanguage pedagogy. They also get a sense of theatmosphere of a new foreign language classroom whileexperienced teachers learn new strategies andtechniques to apply to their classrooms. New instructorsalso benefit from the cultural knowledge that theAmerican instructors, Steve Timm and Joe Nosek bringto the Institute.

The 2007 Institute began on Tuesday, May 29, and ranuntil Friday, June 8. Twenty-four African languageteachers and enthusiasts converged at Madison fromvarious locations such as Fisk University, HowardUniversity, University of Lagos (Nigeria), IndianaUniversity and Yoruba Wunmi (UK). African languagesrepresented at this year’s institute were Kiswahili,Yoruba, Akan-Twi, ChiShona, Lango, Xhosa, Arabic andWolof.

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Seth Ofori gives an Akan-Twi demo during the Summer Institute

Florence Ebila gives a Lango demo during the Summer Institute

Olajumoke Mofolasayo presents a Yoruba demo at the Summer Institute

NALRC Director Antonia Schleicher welcomes Summer Institute fellows

Steve Timm directs a Yoruba demo at the Summer Institute

Instructors for this year’s institute were Steve Timm andJoe Nosek, UW-Madison teachers and practitioners ofdiverse pedagogical theories for the languageclassroom. During the first week of the institute, Mr.Timm taught and modeled best practices for instructionin speaking, listening, reading and writing skills. Mr.Nosek led the second week, presenting a variety ofstrategies for realizing vocabulary retention andproviding goal-based assessment.

The group impressed with its determination and adviceflowed freely and yet critically across various languagegroups.

On Thursday, June 7, a ceremony to present certificatesto participants was held in Bascom Hall. Openingremarks were delivered by NALRC Director, ProfessorAntonia Schleicher and Professor Sandra Arfa, Directorof the Program in English a Second Language at UW-Madison. Prof. Schleicher stressed the importance ofskills gained from the Institute in equipping Africanlanguage teachers in their classroom teaching.

Participants, professors and invited guests were treatedto an evening of blues and harmonica music by themulti-talented Joe Nosek. Moses Mabayoje and hisYoruba ensemble chipped in with their Oriki Olodumare(praise poetry) and Joe Nosek partnered with and SteveTimm for their humorous “Performance and SpeechAct” to conclude this section of the ceremony.Thereafter, Professor Tejumola Olaniyan of theDepartments of English and African Languages andLiterature gave a brief speech, noting the great work ofthe NALRC continues to do in training African languageteachers before presenting certificates to participants.

The closing remarks and Vote of Thanks were deliveredby Aissatou Diop-Hashim, a French professor andaspiring Wolof instructor at Howard University.

After the awards were given out, everyone enjoyeddinner provided by Buraka Restaurant while Africanmusic throbbed in the background. The followingteachers and practitioners received certificates ofcompletion from the NALRC:

Seth A. Ofori (Akan)University of Wisconsin-Madison

Saddam Issa (Arabic)Beloit College – WI

Reem M. Hilal (Arabic)University of Wisconsin-Madison

Mary Youssef (Arabic)University of Wisconsin-Madison

Said Hannouchi (Arabic)University of Connecticut-Storrs

Sami Alkyam (Arabic)University of Wisconsin-Madison

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Participants and instructors gather for a group photo at the awardsceremony

Tejumola Olaniyan presents a certificate to aspiring Wolof instructor,Aissatou Diop

Summer Institute participants, Nasra Ahmed and David Kyeu discuss alesson plan

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Joseph Chikowero (ChiShona)University of Wisconsin-Madison

Ashford M. Njogu (Kiswahili)University of Kansas-Kansas

David Wambua Kyeu (Kiswahili)University of Wisconsin-Madison

Florence Ebila (Lango)University of Wisconsin, Madison

Elaine Mshomba (Kiswahili)University of Pennsylvania, PA

Nasra Ahmed (Kiswahili)Indiana University-Bloomington

Mohamed Yunus Rafiq (Kiswahili)Indiana University-Bloomington

Zablon Mgonja (Kiswahili)Fisk University-Nashville, TN

Beatrice Mkenda (Kiswahili)University of Wisconsin-Madison

Merchades M. Rutechura (Kiswahili)University of Wisconsin-Madison

Francis Fanyana Lukhele (Xhosa)University of Wisconsin-Madison

Aderoju Adepoju (Yoruba)Lagos State Radio Service, Nigeria

Florence Olufolake Olamijulo(Yoruba)University of Wisconsin-Madison

Adeyemisi A. Haastrup (Yoruba)Yoruba Wunmi, UK

Titilayo Ayoola Shotonwa (Yoruba)Lagos State Radio Service, Nigeria

Reflections on theSummer Institute2007

Elaine MshombaGood evening. It’s my privilege to represent the Swahiliteachers group and to share with you some reflectionson these past two weeks. It’s been such a pleasure tobe here and I’m so grateful, for so many reasons.

First, we’re meeting in Wisconsin. Who would haveever guessed that such an amazing center for Africanlanguage resources would be located in Wisconsin?! Ofall places—and it’s nowhere near Africa! Yet it’sfortunate for us that the NALRC is here and that wegot to join them for this institute. Mid-westerners aregenerally very friendly people, as are Africans, so itdoes seem fitting to be here. And we got to enjoy thestunning views of the glistening waters of LakeMendota. What a wonderful place for a professionalretreat!

I’m sure I speak for all the participants when I say howgrateful we are for the leadership of the NationalAfrican Language Resource Center—for our visionaryand energetic Dr. Schleicher and her superb staff—Doyin and Matt, who were so generous with their timeand resources. We are truly thankful to you and to allwho pitched in to make this institute run so smoothly.

The program itself was designed beautifully. We’recertainly the beneficiaries of an established program,one that has undoubtedly evolved and been improvedeach year, to be as impressive as it was these past twoweeks. We were given lots of opportunities to play theroles of both teacher and student. As East Africans liketo say, “Elimu haina mwisho”—education has no end.As a teacher with many years of experience, it wasrefreshing to observe other teachers delivering their

Elaine Mshomba reflects on the 2007 Summer Institute

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mini-lessons and to feel the joys and frustrations thatour students feel. While I know many new teacherswere introduced here to the concept of communicativelanguage teaching, even those of us with experiencewere able to gain new insights and lots of practicalideas. Steve, with his humor, and Joe, with his gentleand thoughtful manner, each did a masterful job offacilitating the sessions, and their afternoondemonstrations and presentations were excellent. Youfolks really went out of your way to help us, and weare grateful.

Finally, I want to thank my fellow participants. Therespect for each person and sweet spirit I have foundhere, and I have to add—especially the camaraderie ofmy Swahili teachers group—have truly nurtured myspirit. I leave here with a renewed enthusiasm for thisprofession and a genuine love for each of you. It’s beena privilege to take part in this institute with you thesepast two weeks and I wish for all of you an abundanceof God’s blessings. Thank you.

“When is a contagion an epidemic?”Reflections on the 2007 Summer Institute by JoeNosek and Steve Timm

Something is happening out there—a phenomenon thelikes of which we have not seen before, a contagion ofsorts, spreading like wildfire—perhaps even anepidemic. And it is something wonderful and exciting,exhilarating and electrifying (and about as much fun asa person can stand): the virtual explosion we witnessedat this year’s Institute. Twenty-five teachers of Africanlanguages came together to teach and learn from eachother the art of teaching an African language!

Never had we seen so many participants at oneInstitute; never had we needed to secure an extra roomfor the language lessons; and never had we had to“fit” so much language into our heads in nine days.Would the “epidemic”—in years past, we had seen 15,

nine, 11 participants—overwhelm and consume us?And this year, they came from not only severalcampuses in the U.S., as in the past, but fromoverseas—London, and Lagos. How would they “mix”?How would the varied purposes for their participationaffect the Institute? How would the needs of so manytalented people be met in just nine days?

We soon discovered that this “epidemic” was not oneof disease but one of intellectual excitement, of thetwin thrills of understanding and of enablingunderstanding, and of the twin joys of helping eachother through the stumbles and sharing in the triumphsas everyone (the two of us included) found our variousways ahead in improving our abilities as teachers, fromthe first Xhosa click to the last do-re-mi in Yorùbá; fromthe first “wawili wawili” of Swahili to the final “maismohu” in Arabic; from the first Wolof “jamm rekk”to the last “ing” in Lango; and from the first“akwaaba” in Akan to the last ChiShona (everyone sayit with us) “zvakanaka.”

Of those thrills and joys there are enough to fill severalissues of ULIMI. We limit ourselves here to saying thateach and every one of the twenty-five entered into theteaching and learning with the unfettered enthusiasmthat only open minds and hearts can create. Theyoffered encouragement to each other; they offeredconstructive criticism to each other; and they offeredtheir time and energy to each other as students oflanguage. Often—such was the appetite of ourepidemic—the discussions of individual lessons andalternative methods carried over into the breaks.

Now, we can say that this epidemic wrought only anincrease in the well-being of the teaching of Africanlanguages both here and abroad, one that we expectto go on and on, for it is surely impossible that thosewho began the epidemic could do anything but carry itforward—their avidity and abilities will ensure this.

For our especial honor and privilege to be a part of theepidemic, we thank profoundly the NALRC: its tireless,irrepressible director, Professor Antonia Schleicher, its“man-behind-the-keyboard,” the orchestratorAdedoyin “Doyin” Adenuga, and its man-behind-thecamera (and behind the handles of the two-wheeledcart) Matthew “Matt” Brown.

We also want to express our best wishes of success andour deepest gratitude, for the joy they brought to us,to the participants: Aissatou, Màmá Florence, EbilaFlorence, Elaine, Nasra, Beatrice, Stella, Ayo, Mary,Reem, Yemii, (it is two i’s, right?), Ade, Moses, Seth,Zablon, “Supervisor,” David, Mohamed, Francis, Said,Sami, Saddam, and finally but in no way the least, Jozeand Kenny, both of whom not only participated butalso continued to carry out their duties as members ofthe NALRC staff. To each of you, we repeat the last

Joe Nosek and Steve Timm perform a humorous skit at the awardsceremony

ULIMI / 14

word of our final lesson (in ChiShona, so if you do notremember, please e-mail Joze! [who will of courseforgive us if we have conjugated it incorrectly])—andwe sincerely hope it comes true—Tichaonana.

SummerCooperativeAfrican LanguageInstitute (SCALI)Instructor’sWorkshopJune 14th and 15th, 2007

On June 14 and 15, Antonia Schleicher led a workshopfor instructors at the Summer Cooperative AfricanLanguage Institute (SCALI). This year’s host, theUniversity of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign was the venueof the workshop which whose theme was “TeachingSpeaking, Listening, Reading and Writing in anIntegrative Approach”.

The two-day training workshop focused on theTeaching speaking, listening, reading and writing skillsin an integrative approach. The training incorporatedAssessment as a daily routine, addressing grammar atbeginning level, language as a learning tool andteaching culture as content.

FLTA Workshop andOrientationAugust 12-16 and 20 -24, 2007

As the work of the National African Language ResourceCenter (NALRC) gets more and more recognition, theNALRC is called upon to train more and more languageteachers. This summer, the NALRC organized andhosted two orientation programs for about 90 ForeignLanguage Teaching Assistants (FLTAs) selected byFulbright-Hays to assist in the teaching of various worldlanguages in the Unites States during the academicyear 2007-2008. The first session was held at theSheraton Hotel in Madison, WI from Sunday, August 12to Thursday August 16, 2007. The second session washeld at the Madison Concourse Hotel from Monday,August 20 to Friday August 24, 2007.

The orientation program itself introduced the FLTAs toissues of curriculum development, dealing withstudents in an American academic environment,standards for learning foreign languages, incorporating

Antonia Schleicher welcomes Fulbright Foreign Language TeachingAssistants at the FLTA Orientation and Workshop

Antonia Schleicher addresses African language instructors at the Pre-SCALIworkshop in Urbana-Champaign

Antonia Schleicher consults with an African language instructor at the Pre-SCALI workshop

fall 2007/ 15

culture into the foreign language classroom, individualdifferences in learning foreign languages, classroommanagement, preparing syllabi and lesson plans, issuesof error correction in a foreign language classroom, andAmerican students’ expectations for languageclassrooms. The perspective and experiences of USstudents in foreign language learning at the Universityof Wisconsin-Madison were given by Dr. CharlesSchleicher, Angela Gutierrez, Samantha Joan Diver, WillLipske and Aaron McKean.

Professor Sandra Arfa, who is also Director of theEnglish as a Second Language program at the Universityof Wisconsin-Madison, presented on the communicativeapproach to teaching foreign languages. FLTAs werealso given the opportunity to demonstrate how to teachtheir respective languages using the communicativeapproach. In addition, they were introduced to issuessuch as teaching culture in a foreign languageclassroom, US academic culture and integrity, using thelibrary for research, and the use of technology inforeign language teaching and learning.

In addition to Antonia Schleicher and Sandra Arfa,other presenters included top level pedagogists andscholars from the University of Wisconsin System, suchas Charles James, Steve Timm, Robin Worth, DiannaMurphy and Jacques du Plessis. Kathy Moulton fromthe University of Florida; UW-Madison Bibliographer forSocial Sciences, Francophone Studies and AfricanDiaspora Studies, Emilie Ngo-Nguidjol-Songolo; theInstitute of International Education’s ProgramAdministrators, Shahreen Rahman and Marsha Firth;

and UW-Madison’s Assistant ViceProvost in the Office for Equity andDiversity, Luis Pinero, completed thecast of presenters.

Since the program took place inMadison, close to the University ofWisconsin-Madison campus, theFLTAs had the opportunity to meetcitizens and American students onand around campus. Students whoparticipated in the orientationprogram spoke highly of theexperience and looked forward toapplying the knowledge and skillsthey learnt in their respectivelanguage classrooms across thecountry.

I would like to use this opportunity tothank the Institute of InternationalEducation (IIE) for giving the NALRCthe opportunity to host this

workshop. Special thanks also go to the NALRC staff:Adedoyin Adenuga, Joseph Chikowero, FlorenceOlamijulo, and Kehinde Omosebi, who worked tirelesslyto make sure that the workshop was very successful. Abig “Thank You” also goes to all the instructors andstudents that presented at the workshop.

Professor Schleicher and some FLTAs gather for a group picture

Assistant Vice Chancellor in the Office for Equity and Diversity Luis Pinerogives a presentation on American Academic Culture

For any questions about dates and locations of conferences,please contact:National African Language Resource Center (NALRC)4231 Humanities Building455 North Park StreetMadison, WI 53706Tel: 608-265-7905Fax: 608-265-7904

ANNOUNCEMENTSTranslations/InterpretationsThe NALRC has been providing quality services in thearea of translation and interpretation of various Africanlanguages. If you need these services, please contactus. We have a resource list of interpreters andtranslators. This list is not restricted to Africanlanguages, and is also open to anyone who speaks aless commonly taught language. If you want to beincluded in the list, please let us know.

Job Opportunities AdvertisementsMany scholars, instructors, and students in the field ofless commonly taught languages visit the NALRCwebsite. Please inform us of any African languagerelated vacancies that you want to fill in yourprograms. We will be willing to advertise them at nocost.

Upcoming ConferencesWe urge our readers to take note of the followingdates for upcoming conferences so that you can planahead and attend these very important conferences inthe 2007-8 academic year.

i. African Studies Association (ASA)

Date: October 18-21, 2007Venue: Sheraton New York Hotel and TowersTheme: “21st Century Africa: Evolving Conceptions ofHuman Rights”Website: http://www.africanstudies.org

ii. American Council on the Teaching of ForeignLanguages (ACTFL)

Date: November 16-18, 2007Venue: San Antonio, TexasTheme: Bridging Cultures Through LanguagesWebsite: http://www.actfl.org

iii. African Language Teachers Association (ALTA)

Date: April 24-27, 2008Venue: Madison Concourse Hotel, Madison, WITheme: African Languages and Globalization:Challenges, Expectations, and PossibilitiesWebsite: http://lang.nalrc.wisc.edu/alta

iv. National Council of Less Commonly TaughtLanguages (NCOLCTL)

Date: April 24-27, 2008Venue: Madison, WisconsinTheme: LCTLs & Globalization: Challenges,Expectations and PossibilitiesWebsite: www.councilnet.org