NFLC Receives Funding for Language Training

The University of Maryland’s National Foreign Language Center (UMD-NFLC) is proud to  announce that we have become a DLNSEO funded Language Training Center (LTC) which will  provide language courses in Korean, Russian, and Ukrainian beginning this fall.  

Additionally, UMD-NFLC’s existing Title VI Language Resource Center (LRC) has been  renewed for funding for another four years, 2022-2026.  

Please see information about each center below.  

LTC Background  

With decades of experience supporting government partners and developing courses, learning  materials, and assessments in over 100 languages, the LTC will provide language courses  specifically tailored to the government’s needs.  

In order to support government and military linguists to carry out their missions UMD-NFLC  will offer courses centered on current, relevant, and authentic curriculum which will be taught in  carefully sequenced thematic units that integrate culture, area studies, and language.  

UMD-NFLC offers five-week hybrid and online language courses, providing 150 hours of direct  instruction with an additional 50 hours of guided practice in the form of graded homework,  online assessments, and online learning modules. Students also have access to the UMD-NFLC’s  Language Portal, an online collection of language learning materials and assessments, and they  can earn ten Continuing Education Units for completing the course.  

Korean; Blended (classroom and online); Incoming ILR 2 Course pre-requisites

Russian; Blended (classroom and online); Incoming ILR 2 Course pre-requisites

Ukrainian; Online; Incoming ILR 2 Course pre-requisites

Pedagogical Approach  

UMD-NFLC’s courses are designed around its research-based principles of effective language  teaching, which maximize students’ proficiency gains:  

• Implementing a standards-based and thematically organized curriculum  • Integrating culture, content, and language in the classroom
• Adapting and using expertly-leveled, authentic materials 
• Using the target language and providing comprehensible input 
• Facilitating a learner-centered classroom 
• Conducting performance-based assessments  

Institution Website: https://nflc.umd.edu/LTC  

LRC Background  

Professionals in Education Advancing Research and Language Learning (PEARLL) at the  University of Maryland promotes a multifaced, research-based program for excellence in  language instruction. PEARLL offers a common vision for high-quality language learning and  provides materials and models of professional learning for language educators, with a special  focus on the needs of instructors at community colleges, historically Black colleges and  universities (HBCUs), and of less commonly taught languages (LCTLs). PEARLL’s goals for  the 2022-2026 LRC grant period take a comprehensive view of the knowledge and skills world  language educators need to prepare students to thrive in an increasingly interconnected world,  particularly in light of post-pandemic teacher needs.  

1. To promote models of educator effectiveness for language learning, PEARLL will  increase the reach of the Teacher Effectiveness for Language Learning (TELL)  Framework, develop and pilot model curricula for courses at community colleges and  HBCUs, and identify a network of model classrooms that serve as regional hubs for  professional learning. 
2. PEARLL seeks to facilitate reflective practice for language educators by continuing to  contribute to the development of Catalyst, an online portfolio for language educators;  maintaining communities of practice; publishing a guide to action research for language  educators; and supporting an educator in resident who will contribute to PEARLL  projects.
3. Recognizing the importance for language teachers of having knowledgeable and skilled  supervisors and teacher leaders, PEARLL will help leaders develop leadership skills to  support teacher effectiveness through a guide to effective world language programs, a  leadership certificate, a summer leadership academy, and research on how program  leaders adapt to and implement their learning.
4. To connect language teacher educators and classroom practitioners, PEARLL will  support and host the International Language Teacher Education Conference and identify  how the TELL Framework can facilitate the transition from being a student teacher to a  classroom teacher by examining how the TELL Framework is used in language teacher  training. 
5. Building on PEARLL’s experience offering in-person and virtual professional learning,  PEARLL will continue to provide professional learning opportunities for language  educators, including a hybrid summit focused on LCTL educators and a series of annual  summer institutes for classroom teachers. These activities will be supported by two  research projects, one to understand language teachers’ needs for professional learning,  and a second to identify whether there is a relationship between professional learning  offered by PEARLL and participating educators’ teaching practices.  

PEARLL’s projects will draw on PEARLL’s and UMD-NFLC’s expertise and experience in  offering high-quality professional learning opportunities; developing resources such as model  curricula; and collaborating with teachers, schools and districts, and colleges and universities  around the country.  

Institution Website: https://pearll.nflc.umd.edu