The Language Collaboratory Series – Fall and Spring 2022-23 – Language Institute

Postgraduate success: Connecting Language Students with Needs, Wants, and Expectations of the World Beyond the Classroom

Building on a strong foundation from the previous years, the Language Collaboratory continued in 2022-23 to offer a series of online sessions that provided space for a stimulating dialogue between a discussant from one of the participating institutions or an invited guest from another institution and session attendees.

The Language Collaboratory’s 2022-23 sessions focused on situating language programs, language learning and instruction in the rapidly-changing world society, responding to the needs and wants of spaces beyond the classroom. Specifically, our discussants addressed elevating career readiness in the language curriculum, promoting service learning and other forms of community engagement, articulating the value of transferable skills and competencies gained during one’s language-learning journey, and other ways of preparing students for success after they graduate.

This fall and spring, the discussants and attendees were guided by the following questions:

How do language instructors forge connections to life and work skills in their teaching?
How can the language curriculum better equip students with global competencies?
How do language instructors prepare students for career exploration?
How can the language classroom better prepare students to adjust to change and flexibility?
How can language programs remain competitive to recruit and retain students in a changing job market?
What role and responsibilities do language instructors have in career readiness approaches?

Spring 2023 Sessions

Language Beyond the Classroom: Engaging with Communities of Migrant Workers and Asylum Seekers, Dominique Butler-Borruat and Mabel Rodriguez, University of Michigan Residential College, 3:30-4:00 pm, Monday, April 24, recording coming soon
From Language Students to Duolinguists, Parker Henry and Elisa Camps Troncoso, Duolingo, 3:30-4:00 pm, Thursday, April 20, recording coming soon
A Multilingual Oral History Project, Claire Frances and Azul Trejo Zetina, University of Iowa, 3:30-4:00 pm, Monday, April 3, session recording
Understanding Success in Undergraduate Language Certificates: Success Rates and Their Implications, Amanda Dalola and Adolfo Carillo Cabello, University of Minnesota, 3:30-4:00 pm, Monday, February 20, session recording

Fall 2022 Sessions

Lead with Language: Putting Language Skills to Work, Kaitlin Koehler, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and Toni Landis, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 3:30 pm, Thursday, December 1, session recording
Marketable Language Competencies, Rebekah Paré, Washington University in St. Louis, 3:30 pm, Thursday, November 3, session recording

Designing a New Language Curriculum From the Ground Up, Felix A. Kronenberg, Michigan State University and Wonneken Wanske, Cégep Heritage College and University of Ottawa, 3:30 pm, Thursday, October 27; session recording
Postgraduate Success for Language Learning: Framing Questions and Undergraduate Student Perspectives, Dianna Murphy, UW-Madison and Claire Frances, University of Iowa, 3:30 pm, Monday, October 3; session recording

Session recordings are available via the Language Collaboratory YouTube Channel.

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From New Pathways From College to Career: Preparing Students for a Rapidly Changing Workforce:

“Where do you see yourself in 10 years?” was an answerable question for graduates in an era when workers started and retired from the same company. But, not only are few of today’s college graduates likely to stick with a single employer, their job responsibilities will change many times over the course of their careers.

Preparing students for career exploration and flexibility is a skill they will need throughout their work lives. The challenge for colleges will be to design pathways to careers that remain navigable even as the jobs themselves morph and shift.

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About the Language Collaboratory

The Language Collaboratory was established in the Fall 2020 as a partnership that promotes the advancement of intercollegiate dialogue on the teaching of languages and cultures. It represents collaboration between the language centers and institutes at the University of Iowa, the University of Michigan, the University of Minnesota, Michigan State University, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The purpose of this initiative is to provide collaborative professional learning opportunities for educators of language, culture, and literature at the five institutions.

About the Sessions

All sessions are held synchronously via Zoom. Sessions are scheduled for Mondays or Thursdays, 3:30-4:00 (4:15) pm central, 4:30-5:00 (5:15) pm eastern. Sessions are 30 minutes in length, with additional 15 minutes of optional discussion for those interested in digging deeper into the topic.

Target Audience

While we welcome any educator to join our professional development sessions, it may be helpful to know that these discussions are specifically oriented to language research and practice in the context of higher education in the USA. As such, K-12 instructors and international participants may find the parameters of our discussions less relevant to their teaching and learning contexts.

Accommodations

We strive to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals to engage fully. Automated live-captions are available for every session. To request accommodations or discuss access needs please contact Adolfo Carrillo Cabello (carri093@umn.edu) from the University of Minnesota, at least a week in advance prior to the event. Requests made after that point cannot be guaranteed.