It is time again to start thinking about the "Second Language Teachers' Symposium. Southern Arizona K-16 educators are invited to attend the 21st annual Symposium that will kick off the 2004-2005 proclaimed years of languages. Please keep checking this site for updates and forthcoming web-page where you may find details about the sessions being offered this year.

The Symposium Committee is asking all interested educators if they might be willing to participate as a session presenter. If you would like to make a presentation please click here to access the "Proposal Form". Fill out the form and either return by US mail to the address listed on the form or return by e-mail (prefered) to jturban@email.arizona.edu .

Keynote speaker Antonia Folarin Schleicher earned her Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Kansas, Lawrence. Within the UW-Madison Department of African Languages and Literature she has taught African linguistics, Yoruba language and culture at all levels, as well as Yoruba life and civilization. Her major linguistics research areas have been in the interface between phonology and morphology, and in experimental phonetics. In addition, her interests in foreign language learning and teaching led her into doing research in second language acquisition (SLA) and as a result she developed a new course for graduate students titled "African Language Teaching Methods: Research and Practice." Her main area of research in second language acquisition is in the role of culture in foreign language learning. Using examples from different aspects of Yoruba culture, she seeks to show how cultural contexts are very crucial in foreign language acquisition. To use a language out of its appropriate cultural contexts can lead to a lot of miscommunication

I am delighted to announce that Joyce Story, President of AZLA, will be present during the symposium and attending the AAT meetings. She will have information regarding the October 8th and 9th AZLA conference in Flagstaff.

As in the past, parking will be available in the parking garage at 2nd Street and Mountain. Certificates will also be available for verification of professional re-certification hours. Language-specific networking sessions will allow AZ language associations to disseminate important information of ongoing and future activities as well as a chance for teachers to re-connect with each other after a long summer. Concurrent sessions will offer professional development in a wide range of topics that affect the teaching and learning of second languages in Arizona. A tentative schedule is outlined below.