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2007 Chapter Reports Submitted by: Albrecht Classen, Chapter President, Email: aclassen@u.arizona.edu In the spring of 2007, the Arkansas chapter held a workshop, generously supported by the AATG through a chapter grant, on the topic "Rezept als Text." The workshop presenter was the outgoing Presiding Officer of the Chapter Presidents’ Assembly, Ms. Angelika Becker. The workshop was a great success, and many teachers commented on the fact that they were able to take home teaching ideas that they could use both immediately and develop for longer-term projects. The fall 2007 meeting included a presentation on professional development opportunities by Ms. Alicia Stogner and Ms. Robyn Fowler, both of whom recently returned from the AESSIG program in Leipzig. They praised the program and encouraged others in the chapter to apply for the new version of the program, MUTPED, for the summer of 2008. Dr. Jennifer Hoyer discussed the opportunity to earn an MA in the summer at the Deutsche Sommerschule in Taos, New Mexico. After an immersion luncheon, the group divided into discussion groups based on level. The K-12 instructors examined a variety of textbooks for possible adoption next year, and the college instructors discussed how to deal with the placement of incoming students who have previous German experience and the rise of study abroad programs that require no language skills. Submitted by: Kathleen Condray, Chapter President. Email: condray@uark.edu In the fall 2007 semester we had some exciting AATG activities at the University of Hawaii. In October, our chapter hosted the "University of Hawaii Night" at the Ala Moana Oktoberfest. Over 50 German students and attended, as well as AATG members from other universities and high schools on island. In November, we had a fundraiser to raise money for our Weihnachtsfest and German Honors Society initiation. Students donated baked goods, which were sold at a stand in the courtyard of our language building, Moore Hall. The sale went beautifully and generated plenty of income, guaranteeing yet another well-funded Christmas party. At the end of November, our chapter hosted a Stammtisch-style meeting at Manoa Gardens on campus. In December, our Weihnachtsfest/Honors Society initiation was a great success. Nearly 40 German students and faculty joined in the celebration, which was held at "Uncle Bo's" restaurant near Waikiki. Food and drink was excellent, as was the company! After the Honors Society intiation, many stayed on to party until after 11pm. What a terrific time! We had a very rewarding 2007 and are looking forward to a fantastic 2008! Submitted by: Christina McDade, Chapter Secretary. Email: cmmcdade@yahoo.com Although we are a small chapter, we have some very active and dedicated members with lots of ideas and personal initiatives. We still have some special circumstances in New Orleans due to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. As in some other chapters, the distances in the state are such that we do not get to see each other very often. That is one of the reasons that our Spring Meeting usually coincides with Rally Day on the campus of the Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge. It’s a day of language competition for the entire state and very hectic. During the tests, we manage to have our business meeting. Among the discussed topics this year was the never quite resolved problem of getting German teachers certified. However, on a positive note, our member Harald Leder, interim director of the LSU Office of International Programs, reported on a visit of Dr. Udo Corts from the State of Hesse during which an agreement of understanding for a partnership with several Louisiana and Hessian universities was signed, an extension to the already existing Year Abroad programs. In March, Mr. Peter Kerrigan, Deputy Director of the DAAD New York visited Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and the University of New Orleans (UNO) as a follow-up to a 2005 invitation by the DAAD to 60 area students after Hurricane Katrina damaged and closed some local universities for a time. These trips/studies were sponsored by the German government and the State of Hesse. The event at UNO brought together several of the returned students, friends and DAAD alumni in the New Orleans region. There was a panel discussion attended by the Honorary German Consul, W. Paul Anderson, UNO Pol. Sc. Professor Michael Huelshoff and one of the returned students. Our chapter members John Pizer and Harald Leder and others attended the meetings in both universities. We were grateful to Center Austria, one of two or three in the United States, invited us back to the UNO campus for our Fall meeting. Dr. Guenter Bischof, the Center’s director gave an overview of their activities for the 10th anniversary celebration. The After-Katrina picture for local universities seems mixed: UNO’s student body is down by a third; Loyola’s is declining also and the German department had an upper-level course cancelled; while the German enrollment at LSU Baton Rouge and at Southeastern Louisiana University (SLU) at Hammond has increased. SLU teacher Andrea Morshaeuser took her first student group to Germany and is planning another one for 2008. At the high school level we were pleased to have the German program at Ben Franklin HS continue after long-time teacher Andrew LeBlanc’s retirement. Rachel Becker offers courses in German level I, II, III, and AP; she recently attended an Advanced Placement Summer Institute in Houston. This semester, her students are advocating to save the Deutsches Haus of New Orleans, a cultural center that is facing demolition to make way for a biomedical complex as part of the rebuilding of New Orleans. Submitted by: Brigitta Malm, Chapter Secretary. Email: brig22@bellsouth.net 034 New Mexico/El Paso Our spring chapter meeting was held in March in Enid in conjunction with the spring Oklahoma Foreign Language Teachers’ Association conference. Speakers at the OFLTA meeting included Theresa Bell, current OFLTA president, who discussed differences in how advanced German learners and native speakers of German produce noun phrases. (As a foreign language pedagogue specializing in German, Teresa is doing a great job promoting the teaching of German among Oklahoma college students.) Additionally, several students in foreign language education at Oklahoma State University presented on how to use games, language websites, songs, and poems in German instruction. Deutschfest, a statewide competition for students of German in grades 6-12 was again hosted with great success by German Online at the Oklahoma State University campus in April. A report of the event is available on our website (http://okaatg.okstate.edu/). Capitalizing on the success of the 2007 event, organizers are expecting an even greater turn-out for the 2008 Deutschfest to be held 27 March 2008. In September, chapter members met at Saint Crispin’s conference center in Seminole for our fall immersion workshop. The presenter, Hank Schwab, conducted an extremely well received workshop on TPRS. Using Japanese as his language of demonstration, Hank put us German instructors in the novel position of novice language learners. Reports from attendees indicate that many have since used the techniques Hank taught us successfully in their own classrooms. Participants included not only AATG members from Oklahoma but members from Texas as well. During our time at St. Crispin’s, we also conducted our Fall meeting. Also in September, OKAATG members met in Tulsa in for the Fall OFLTA conference. Here we enjoyed a presentation by member Nancy Boudreau from the Classen School of Advanced Studies in Oklahoma City. Among the highlights of Nancy’s presentation included tips on how to include German-language commercials and on-line video websites in the classroom. Submitted by: Joe Sullivan, Chapter Vice-President. Email: jsullivan@ou.edu 007 Southern California - 2007 2007 begann mit mit einem sehr gut besuchten Frühjahrstreffen. Gastgeber war das Pomona College in Claremont, welches auch das leckere Mittagessen stellte. Es wurden viele interessante Punkte angesprochen unter anderem "Technologie im Deutschunterricht" und "Das Internet im Deutschunterricht." Der März brachte wieder viele aktive Deutschlehrer und Schüler beim alljährlichen Deutschlager in Big Bear zusammen. Das Thema war "Märchen" und die wurden dann an zwei Abenden von Schülern und Lehrern vorgeführt. Die Vorführungen waren sehr unterhaltend und alle hatten sehr viel Spaß. Weiter ging's mit der AATG-Preisverleihungsfeier im Phoenix Club in Anaheim. Etwa 300 Schüler, ihre Angehörigen und Gäste, erlebten einen festlichen Nachmittag während die besten Deutschschüler aus 13 High Schools geehrt wurden und Preise bekamen. Am 27. Oktober trafen sich ca. 40 Mitglieder unseres Chapters zu einem Workshop, dem Herbsttreffen an der Esperanza High School in Anaheim. Das Thema war " Mit TPRS Deutsch lernen - Vom Anfangsunterricht bis zur AP-Prüfung." Robert Harrell, Vize-Präsident von AATG-SC, und erfolgreicher High School Lehrer, führte die Teilnehmer durch einen sehr aktuellen und lehrreichen Workshop. 2008 wird sicher auch wieder sehr interessant für unser Chapter werden. Die California Language Teachers Association - CLTA - wird die diesjährige Konferenz in unserer Gegend im März abhalten und viele aktive DeutschlehrerInnen werden Workshops präsentieren. Eingereicht von: Elisabeth Strauss, Chapter Secretary/Treasurer. Email: lizstra@adelphia.net Der März brachte das San Diego Chapter zum traditionellen Frühlingstreffen zusammen, diesmal in den sehr schönen Räumlichkeiten des San Diego City College. Konsul Lars Leyman, von Deutschen Konsulat Los Angeles präsentierte "Europa gelingt gemeinsam – Die Europäische Union und Deutschlands EU-Ratspräsidentschaft 2007’ mit vielen interessanten Informationen über den Stand der Europäischen Union und die Rolle der deutschen Kanzlerin Merkel während der deutschen sechsmonatigen Ratspräsidentschaft. Anschließend sorgte ein ‘Interaktives Ideen-Buffet’ für intensive Gruppenaktivität, Mini- Einheiten wurden geplant und der Gesamtgruppe vorgestellt. Für Details und Themen: www.aatgsandiego.org/meetings Doris Herwig, San Diego Chapter Testing Chair, versammelte alle Schüler und deren Eltern, die beim National German Exam gut abgeschnitten hatten, in urdeutscher Umgebung, zu einer Feier mit Informationen, Preisen, Kaffee und Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte. Photo Gallery: www.aatgsandiego.org/events Am 19. Mai lancierte das San Diego Chapter sein erstes Theaterfest mit vielen enthusiastischen Schauspielern verschiedenster Altersgruppen. 5 Theaterstücke und 3 Videos machten einer beachtlichen Zuschauermenge viel Spaß. Für Details und Fotos: www.aatgsandiego.org/events/theaterfest Das Herbsttreffen mußte wegen unserer Waldbrände verschoben werden, und es erreichte uns die traurige Nachricht, daß zwei unserer Mitglieder ihre Häuser verloren hatten. Am 3. November, diesmal mit Mittagessen und Kaffeeklatsch, lernten wir von Kerstin Helbing, aus Palo Alto, CA, in einer anregenden Demonstration, wie und was man alles machen kann mit dem Einsatz von Podcasts im Unterricht. Anschließend wurde die immer wieder erstaunliche Expertise unseres eigenen Kreises erneut deutlich: fünf Lehrer berichteten über Austauschprogramme, die Benutzung von online audio files wurde demonstriert, Jim Livingston wurde geehrt für den Erhalt seiner ‘merit award’ vom AATG Headquarters als ‘outstanding teacher’, und Adam Saba und Melanie Paliotti für ihr ausgezeichnetes ‘German IB Middle School Program’. Flavia Mormann, Fulbright Exchange Teacher für Judy Stout, berichtete von ihren ersten Eindrücken in einer amerikanischen High School. Details: www.aatgsandiego.org/meetings Submitted by: Angela A. Shaw, Treasurer/Membership Chair angela.shaw@gcccd.edu WINTERFEST Deutscher Samstag AATG National German Exam Awards Ceremony Maifest AATG Annual Business Meeting Dirk Nowitzki SPORTFEST WEIHNACHTSFEST GAPP Texas Foreign Language Association We continue to operate our mailing list to keep everyone informed of opportunities for teachers and students. Every job opening in our area was apparently filled for this year once again. The support and cooperation between the chapters in Texas has been wonderful. Our chat forum is continuing for a second year. Sandra Dieckman, past president, is hosting this site. Teachers in our area post their questions or information here: http://www.aatg-northtexas.org/ Submitted by: Vera Sweet, Chapter President. Email: VERA.SWEET@tccd.edu In the spring we again held our Stammtisch meetings and met with German teachers across the Houston area at a Café in the River Oaks area. It has been enjoyable to the teachers, as it is always nice to get together with colleagues and share ideas and concerns (especially since most of us are the only German teacher on the campus). We held our annual Awards Ceremony for the German National Exam results on April 27, 2007. It was held at Cypress Creek High School. Turnout was pretty good, although we decided next year it would be best to hold the event at 7:30pm instead of 7pm to help make sure as many people can get there on time. We were honored to have Markus Laque, the Vice Consul for the German Consulate of Houston, to be a guest and say a few words. The Deutscher Samstag (Immersion Day) was hosted on the 27th of October by Clements High School in Fort Bend ISD. The event started promptly at 9am and was finished by 3:30 pm. We had a very successful turnout; Rustin Buck, the coordinator for Deutscher Samstag reported that over 300 students participated in this event. The motto was Ich bin cool – Ich spreche Deutsch in honor of the world famous Uwe Kind who was the featured star of Deutscher Samstag. In December, we had our Nikolausabend meeting at the house of our President Yvonne Thomas. After good food and Gemütlichkeit, we discussed the calendar for future events. Submitted by Yvonne Thomas, Chapter President. Email: yvonne.thomas@cfisd.net 2007 was a very active year for our chapter. On February 3, Sprachfest Regional German Contest was held in San Antonio for South Texas middle and high school students. Students competed in such diverse events as declamation, academic tests, arts and crafts, music, and folk-dancing. Those who ranked among the top five in each event from each of the three regional contests advanced to the Texas State German Contest, held on February 24 at the University of Texas. Nearly 1000 students participated in this event. On March 23 – 24, 2007, South Texas AATG members attended the spring TFLA conference, held in Plano. Several members presented sessions or workshops. Presidents Rita Abercrombie from South Texas and Sandie Dieckman from North Texas conducted the joint AATG business meeting. Susan Sisler of the Houston AATG chapter was named German teacher of the Year at TFLA. On April 29, our chapter hosted a recognition banquet at Tres Amigos Restaurant in Austin to recognize the students in South Texas who had achieved excellent scores on the National German Exam, along with their teachers and parents. 42 students were honored. Our annual fall meeting was held on September 15 at the University of Texas. Kit Belgum of UT spoke about the university’s Kinder Lernen Deutsch outreach program, intended to provide middle and elementary schools with information about Germany and the German language. Meagan Tripp and Nella Spurlin presented a session on using TPRS in the classroom. In the afternoon, Sylvia Zietzke gave a workshop on using commedia masks in the classroom. She presented the history of this dramatic tradition, and provided applications for the classroom, followed by a simple mask-making session. During the business meeting, new officers were elected. The 2008-09 officers include Nella Spurlin as President, Kerstin Sommerhalter as Vice-President, Mary Helen Jahnke as Secretary, and Sandi Mays as Treasurer. Mary El-Beheri will continue as webmaster; Meagan Tripp will serve as Membership Chair. In October, our chapter hosted a film workshop at St. Edward’s University for area students, featuring classic and modern feature films. Students had a choice between 5 film selections for each of two viewings, with a pizza lunch served between viewings. Approximately 100 students attended, and we are considering making this an annual event. The national ACTFL convention was held in San Antonio Nov. 16-18, 2007, in conjunction with TFLA. Our chapter was very pleased to be able to host the AATG booth in the convention hall, and to have an opportunity to meet AATG members from throughout the country. Several South Texas AATG members again presented at the convention; others served as volunteer hosts and greeters. To network with other German teachers in the area, a listserv is maintained for local AATG members. We can be contacted at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TeachSoTxAATG/ Submitted by Nella Spurlin, Chapter President. Email: nspurlin@hot.rr.com |
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