The 2023 SLCTLs was a hybrid event on April 20th, 2023 at the Crowne Plaza Chicago-Northbrook. In 2023, SLCTLS was held in conjunction with the conference of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages (NCOLCTL). Panel discussions at SLCTLS 2023 focused on language-specific collaborations that cross institutional (and often national) boundaries. Panelists shared the nature of their collaborations, which challenges they encountered, and which opportunities grew out of cross-institutional cooperation. Below, you will find the schedule and short summaries of each presentation (in alphabetical order according to language).
Schedule SLCTLS 2023
- 1:30-2:15 Meet & Greet
- 2:15-2:25 Welcome
- 2:25-5:00 Panels
- 5:00-5:30 Discussion
Instructor-to-Instructor Strategic Sharing and Collaboration
Collaboration in Burmese
Presenters: Chan Lwin (Arizona State University) and Maw Maw Tun (Northern Illinois University)
Chan Lwin and Maw Maw Tun shared the work they have been doing with colleagues Ye Min Tun, Yu Yu Khine and Kenneth Wong to create real-world-relevant reading assessments for Burmese, and how this has impacted their day-to-day classroom instruction.
Collaboration in Cantonese
Presenters: Pui Shan Fiona Hui (New York University) and Raymond Pai (University of British Columbia)
Pui Shan Fiona Hui and Raymond Pai presented on their collaborative efforts in teaching Cantonese, which include sharing co-curricular events, exchange of digital and print resources, and connecting students in their classes to one another.
Collaboration in Hebrew
Presenters: Adi Raz (University of Michigan) and Renana Schneller (University of Minnesota)
Adi Raz and Renana Schneller shared the rich benefits their multifaceted collaboration, including course sharing, staying up to date on Hebrew language news and media, and lending one another general career support.
Collaboration in Indonesian
Presenters: Liana Kosasih (National University of Singapore), Sakti Suryani (University of Wisconsin-Madison) and Elisabeth Arti Wulandari (Clarkson College)
Sakti Suryani, Liana Kosasih and Elisabeth Arti Wulandari discussed their efforts developing, piloting, and revising reading tests of #Indonesian for English speakers and non-English speakers across institutions.
Collaboration in Korean
Presenters: Hee Chung Chun (Rutgers University) and Ji-Young Jung (Columbia University)
Hee Chung Chun and Ji-Young Jung discussed their work to develop assessments and curricula that meet the needs of heritage and non-heritage learners of Korean. They also shared their experiences in the development of the textbook and workbook for a Korean textbook, Integrated Korean: Accelerated I & II.
Collaboration in Turkish
Presenters: Banu Ozer Griffin (Cornell University) and Oya Topçuoğlu Judd (Northwestern University)
Oya Topçouğlu Judd and Banu Ozer Griffin, instructors of Turkish, presented on a range of collaborations, including assessment designs, curricular revisions, materials sharing, hosting cross-institutional cultural events, and joint conference presentations.
Collaboration in Vietnamese
Presenters: Hong Dinh (University of Wisconsin – Madison) and An Sakach (Arizona State University)
Hong Dinh and An Sakach shared their experiences with iterative piloting of reading assessments for Vietnamese. While they acknowledged the challenges of long-term collaboration across several time zones, Hong and An also highlighted the benefits of collaborative problem-solving in a team.
Common Themes
Across the presentations at SLCTLS 2023, many of the collaborative teams expressed common challenges and opportunities in their collaborations.
Common forms of collaboration include:
- Presenting together at conferences
- Sharing and co-hosting co-curricular activities across institutions
- Redesigning specific level curricula
- Developing and piloting assessments together (often a continuation of work started at the University of Chicago Language Center workshop on test design and development)
Many presenters highlighted advantages of collaborative work:
- Shared work means more endurance for long-term projects
- New perspectives that come from working in a team, new solutions
- Each team member bringing own strengths to projects
- Pedagogical support
- Emotional support in a demanding career
- Community building
Teams also shared some of the challenges of these projects:
- Little administrative support from institutions, including no access to sabbaticals or course releases
- Lack of authentic materials for some LCTLs
- Iterative nature of long-term projects
- Time differences and differing work rhythms of team members
- Differences across institutions such as course length, class sizes, demands of curriculum
