WORLD NEWS: No. 46 September 1999

FIPLV
 
 

A NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATION IN OFFICIAL RELATIONS WITH UNESCO

From the Editor

Learner’s pronunciation rights. A checklistby Francisco Gomes de Matos

Letter from the President

FIPLV News

Congress Calendar

Forum on Controversial Issues

News and Views

Books and Journals

Learner’s pronunciation rights: A checklist

by Francisco Gomes de Matos

One of my very perceptive (...) students in my Applied Linguistics to TEFL Seminar, while discussing one of my texts on the linguistic rights of English language learners in Brazil, came up with this question: "How could the rights of learners as "pronouncers" be formulated?" She phrased her question in such specific terms, rather than "as speakers". Here is the outcome of some (initial) brainstorming with the class (8 students, all of them EFL teachers).

  As pronouncers, do your students have the right to:

• pronounce English as they do, with an accent ? (as a corollary to that : do they have the right to make pronunciation errors ?)
• to be corrected in a dignified , humanizing way ?
• be helped to improve their pronunciation so they can enhance their intelligibility ?
• receive explicit phonological orientation on the Pronunciation System of English ?
• be exposed to exemplary pronunciation models in class, through recorded samples of spoken English?
• learn to make the most of transcription systems available in learners ' dictionaries ?
• be sensitized to variation in speech and its possible effects on hearers (especially native speakers ) ?
• be provided with contextually realistic pronunciation practice material?

Any comments ?
 
 

Editor's Note: Dr. Gomes de Matos teaches at the Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil, which hosted FIPLV 's XIX Congress, March 24 -26 1997. He is involved in the promotion of language learner rights and has contributed to the formulation of many of them. His e-mail is fcgm@cashnet.com.br
 
 
 
 

Note from the President

UNESCO project on the languages of the world

For this report, I am building upon the previous "Note from the President" to further the collaboration between FIPLV and UNESCO, and to seek your assistance. The context is an exciting and ambitious undertaking initiated by UNESCO and for which considerable networking, data gathering and input is required at all levels for the Project to be realised within the specified timeline.

1 The Project

The Report on the Languages of the World is an agreed priority of the partnership forged between UNESCO and the Secretariat-General for External Action and the Department of Culture of the Basque Government. It has three objectives:

• a full, documented description of the sociolinguistic situation of the languages existing across the globe;
• an analysis and provision of objective information explaining the situation and languages trends, including data on the extent to which they are known and used;
• a prospective analysis of the sociolinguistic context in various geographical areas, with a view to facilitating decisions on policy to encourage and recover languages in danger of extinction and/or minority languages.

To achieve these objectives, several strategies have been undertaken:

• the preparation of an open-ended questionnaire, which is available in Arabic, Basque, Chinese, English, French and Russian;
• the preparation of two accompanying documents to provide additional information;
• the establishment of a website to promote the project world-wide;
• the identification of potential respondents to the survey, linking in ??to a variety of public and private organisations concerned with languages;
• the establishment of an email address to facilitate electronic response to the survey;
• the creation of a global network of reliable informants prepared to answer the questionnaire; and
• under the auspices of UNESCO and the Basque Government, the formation of a Scientific Committee, a Technical Committee and secretarial support provided by UNESCO Etxea.

Through the global networking being established and the identification of potential respondents to the survey, it is intended that the data gathering phase be completed by the end of 1999. The collation and synthesis of data would take place in 2000 and, after consulting world-recognised experts on languages, the preparation for publication would follow. The Report is to be published in 2001.

2 The Personnel

The Project is to be overseen by Professor Félix Marti, President of the International Linguapax Committee, and representing UNESCO. Other key personnel involved on behalf of UNESCO include:

- Joseph Poth, Director, Languages Division

- Anna Maria Majlöf, Program Specialist, Languages Division

- Vigdis Finnbogadottir, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Languages (and former President of Iceland)

Representatives of the Basque Government include:

- Andoni Ortuzar, Secretario general de Acción Exterior

- Josu Legarreta, Secretario general de Cooperación al desarrollo

- Josune Aristondo, Viceconsejera de Politica Lingüística

- Amaia Agirre Pinedo, Técnica de Politica Lingüística

While other members are to be added, current membership of the relevant committees is:

Scientific Committee

- Denis Cunningham, Fédération Internationale des Professeurs de Langues Vivantes (FIPLV), Belgrave, Australia

- Irina Khaleeva, Moscow State Linguistic University, Moscow, Russia

- Luis Enrique Lopez, Proeib Andes, Cochabamba, Bolivia

- Mohamed Miled, Université de Tunis 1, Tunis, Tunisia

- Irmela Neu, Fachhochschule München, Munich, Germany

- Raymond Renard, Université de Mons, Mons-Hainault, Belgium

- Miquel Siquán, Universidad de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

- Jean-Jacques Van Vlasselaer, Université Carleton d'Otawa, Ottawa, Canada

Technical Committee

- Andoni Barre?a, University of Salamanca

- Maitena Etxebarria, University of Basque Country

- Itziar Idiazabal, University of Basque Country

- Patxi Juaristi, University of the Basque Country

- Carme Junyent, University of Barcelona

Secretarial support is provided by:

Secretariat : UNESCO Etxea

- Paul Ortega, Director of UNESCO Etxea

- Olalla Juaristi, UNESCO Etxea

- Belen Uranga, UNESCO Etxea

3. Appeal for Assistance

As this very ambitious project is subject to a very tight timeline, assistance is requested by:

• identifying organisations which would assist in providing data relevant to the survey aims
• providing information on monographs, journals, websites, etc, which would include documentation of (more remote) languages
• contacting (local) government agencies which may have data on (more remote) languages
• identifying individuals who would be willing to complete the survey.

Copies of the survey can be obtained by contacting Dr Paul Ortega.

For further information, you could also contact me at the address below.

Denis Cunningham, President - FIPLV

Assistant Principal - Victorian School of Languages

PO Box 216, Belgrave 3160, AUSTRALIA

tel : Int code + 61 3 9754 4714

fax : Int code + 61 3 9754 6419
 
 

FIPLV News

From the Regions

FIPLV Nordic Baltic Region (NBR)

For the present four member organisations of FIPLV, national multilingual associations from Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland form FIPLV Nordic Baltic Region. In 1998 a special effort was made to encourage the Baltic countries to join the Region. For this purpose, a meeting was arranged on February 28^th in Riga in Latvia. The meeting was attended by two NBR officers, President Terttu Valojärvi from Finland and Treasurer Anita Öhlander from Sweden. The local hostess of this meeting was Silvija Andernovics from Riga and some ten teachers from Latvia and Lithuania were present. It was agreed by the participants that the meeting was a good beginning for future Nordic-Baltic Cupertino. It was generally regretted that no one had been able to come to the meeting from Estonia.

Regional Executive Committee and Regional Assembly Meetings of FIPLV NBR were held in Leksand, Sweden on June 24, 1998 during a seminar for language teachers (Från Bayex till Multimedia, June 22-26). The co-ordinator of this project was LMS (Sweden) and the funding was granted by the European Union. Representatives from all member associations were present. Denmark and the three Baltic countries were represented in the Regional Assembly Meeting as invited observers. In the meeting it was confirmed that from June 24^th, 1998 until the year 2000 the three officers of the Executive Committee of NBR would be Terttu Valojärvi, President (Finland), Jórunn Tómasdóttir, Secretary (Iceland) and Jörgen Tholin or Monica Andersson, Treasurer (Sweden).

NBR President participated in FIPLV World Council Meeting in Manchester, UK on April 12-13 and Language Teaching and Peace Workshop in Graz, Austria on September 29^th-October 4^th, 1998.

In 1999 the Executive Committee and Regional Assembly of the FIPLV NBR had their meetings in Helsinki, Finland on March 6th. In these meetings, a seminar was discussed to be held either in one of the Baltic countries or in Norway in 2002. Also the next election of NBR officers in 2000 was on the Agenda as well as the next NBR Conference that will be held in Reykjavik, Iceland June 21-25, 2000. It was also notified that Denmark’s application for the membership of FIPLV would be on the Agenda of the FIPLV Executive Meeting in Paris in April 1999.

For more information contact: President Terttu Valojärvi, Tel.: + 358-9-589 32 090 Fax: +358-9-566 31 03
 
 

Congress Calendar

1999

25-27 November Language TEA. Theme: Language TEA for Thinking Schools. Venue: Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Information: Dr Khong Chooi Peng, Fax: (65) 792 6559, or Mrs Rahda Raviadran, Fax: (65) 789 4080
 
 

2000

February Deutsch-Französicher Kongreß. Venue: Gießen, Germany. Information: ADEAF, 18 rue du Champ de Cheval, F-70 000 Frotey les vesoul, France.

11-14 March AAAL Conference. Venue: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Information: Richard Young, Department of English, University of Wisconsin-Madison;

14-18 March TESOL 2000. Theme: Navigating the New Millennium. Venue: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Information: TESOL 2000, Conventions Department, 1600 Cameron Street, Suite 300, Alexandria, VA 22314-2751 USA.

27-29 April FMF-Bundeskongress. Venue: Berlin. Information: StD Helmut P. Hagge M.A., Lichtensteinweg 23, 22301 Hamburg. Germany Tel.: 0 40/5 36 01 38. Fax: 040/6 00 36 81.

13-14 May IATEFL East. Venue: Bulgaria. Information: IATEFL Head Office, 3 Kingsdown Chambers, Whitestable, CT5 2FL, UK; Tel: +44 (0) 1227 276528; E-mail IATEFL@Compuserve.com

28 May –3 June Conseil International d’Etudes Francophones (CIEF). Venue: Sousse, Tunisie. Information: Prof. Eloise Biere, Présidente CIEF, LLC/HU 237. Suny Albany, NY 12222; Phone: 518-442-4103; eab13@cnsvax.albany.edu,

21-25 June FIPLV - Nordic-Baltic Region Conference. Theme: Multilingualism is magic. Venue: Reykjavik. Information: Jórunn Tómasdóttir, Email: jorunnto@fss.is

26-29 June ALA 2000. Theme: The role of Language Awareness and Knowledge about Language in the teaching and learning of mother tongue and second languages. Venue: Leicester, UK. Information: Richard Aplin, University of Leicester School of Education, 21 University Road, Leicester LE1 7RF, UK. Fax: +44 (0) 116 252 3653, Email: LA2000@btinternet.com

30 June - 4 July 7^th International Conference on Language and Social Psychology. Venue: Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK. Information: Fax: ICLASP (+44) 1222 874242; e-mail: ICLASP@Cardiff.ac.uk

2-5 July NZALT’s Biennial Conference. Theme: New Millennium – New Beginnings. Venue: Rotorua, New Zealand. Information: Laytee George, 178 Otonga Rd., Rotorua, New Zealand; Fax: +64 7 346 8701; email: georgel@waiariki.ac.nz

17-22 July Xe Congrès mondial de la FIPF. Venue: La Sorbonne, Paris. Information: Secrétariat Général de la FIPF, 1, Av. Léon Journault, F-923311 Sèvres Cedex.

22-26 July 20^th Congress of FIPLV. Venue: Paris. Information: Michel Candelier, phone/fax: + 33 1 40 18 39 51; e-mail: mc.fiplv@imaginet.fr

7-10 September EUROSLA 10. Venue: Kraków, Poland. Information: Anna Ni?egorodcew, Jagielonian University, The Centre for Scientific Research and Academic Conference ‘EUROSLA 10’, Collegium Novum, ul. Go??bia 24, 31-007 Kraków, Poland; tel/fax: +48 12 421 26 62; e-mail: cbin@adm.uj.edu.pl
 
 

2001

24-27 February AAAL Conference. Venue: St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A. Information: Richard Young, Department of English, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Email: rfyoung@facstaff.wisc.edu

7-9 July AFMLTA National Conference. Theme: Languages Our Common Wealth. Venue: Canberra Convention Centre, Australia. Information: MLTA of ACT Inc, PO Box 989 Canberra City 2601 ACT; e-mail: willett@dynamite.com.au; ; Fax: (02) 6205 6969

30 July - 4 August XII. Internationale Tagung der Deutschlehrerinnen und Deutschlehrer (IDT). Thema: Mehr Sprache - mehrsprachig - mit Deutsch. Didaktische und politische Perspektiven. Venue: Luzern, Schweiz. Information: IVLOS Institut für Unterrichtswissenschaft - IDV, Heidelberglaan 8, NL-3584 TC Utrecht, Niederlande.

  Forum on Controversial Issues

Autonomy of the language learner in the foreign language classroom:

a myth or reality?

by Teresa Siek-Piskozub

In the recent twenty years there is much advocacy on behalf of the learner autonomy. Support for this stand comes from various directions. Nativistic and interactive theories of language learning view the learner as an active participant of the learning process seeking meaning of the linguistic data s/he is encountering during the process of communication. Developmental (Piaget) and social (Vygotsky) psychology give further support assuring that every individual has a natural tendency towards development if only s/he is granted a stimulating environment. Humanistic psychology speaks in favour of asserting various rights to the learner – the right to be silent, to learn in a friendly environment, to work on her/his own pace, etc. Cognitive Psychology emphasises the need of catering for cognitive and learning differences of individual learners. Faced with such challenging demands many teachers think learner autonomy is the best solution to the problem.

Many have already introduced autonomy to their class, even more would like to do so, if we could judge by the popularity of the issue at language teachers’ conferences. Some teachers associations have even formed special interest groups for the issue (e.g. IATEFL).

Has learner autonomy, thus, achieved its right status and popularity? Teachers in many countries would answer ‘Yes’ in others ‘No’. Many have introduced autonomy to their school and have satisfying results. Some have tried and failed experiencing resistance from various sources – school authorities who were afraid their students might fail final exams, students who were not eager to assume responsibility for their learning not to mention the ones who were not motivated to learn at all, other teachers who criticised them for lack of involvement in the students learning process and lack of ‘authority’, the teachers themselves because of the greater demands that supervising autonomous learners puts on their shoulders.

We would like to address language associations in various countries as well as individual teachers with the question from the title "In the view of your experience is autonomy a myth or reality?" We would like to get all kind of first hand accounts of introducing autonomy to school language learning, whether successful or not. To systematise the reports we would suggest answering the following questions:

• Is autonomy of the learner already a fact in your country?
• Have you taught (and for how long) an autonomous foreign language class?
• What was your initial rationale for this approach?
• Have you experienced some initial problems (If ‘Yes’ specify. Did you manage to overcome the difficulties? How?)
• What are your present arguments for/against this approach?
• Have you experienced some resistance to the idea from other people (specify who and their arguments)?
• In view of your experience, can every age group and every class be granted autonomy? Why?/Why not?
• What advise would you give to those who plan to start running an autonomous class?

If we get responses to our questions from teachers from different countries we will prepare a report on language learner autonomy in the year 2000. Some interesting accounts will be published in our Forum on controversial issues.

If you have answers to some of these questions and would like to respond, please write to FIPLV editorial office: Teresa Siek-Piskozub, School of English, Adam Mickiewicz University, al. Niepodleglosci 4, PL-61-874 Poznan, Poland
 
 
 

News and Views

DO YOU KNOW YOUR RIGHTS IN YOUR INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE?

Can you assist us in making the Universal Declaration of Human Rights available in your language?

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has about 280 versions of the Universal Declaration on its website , we would welcome your help in making this Declaration more and more universal, by translating it into as many languages as possible.

These are some of the languages we have:

• Africa: Akuapem Twi, Béti, Guen (Mina), Tamazight
• Asia and the Pacific: Bikol (Bicolano), Maori, Tibetan
• Central and South America: Aguarana, Mapuche, Wayu
• Europe: Romani/Roma, Sami

In case you would like to help, please contact: Elena Ippoliti, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations – Palais Wilson, 1211 Geneva 10. Phone: +41 22 917 9161, Fax: +41 22 9179014,

FMF

Der FMF hat Ende 1998 3952 Mitglieder. Die Mitgliederzahlen sind leicht rückläufig. Dies ist die Folge der ungünstigen Einstellungssituation für junge Lehrkräfte. Durch Erhöhung der Klassenfrequenzen und der Erhöhung der Unterrichtsstundenzahl für Lehrkräfte sparen die Länder der Bundesrepublik Deutschland Lehrerstellen ein. Lehrer müssen mehr arbeiten, junge Lehrkräfte finden dagegen zum Teil keine Arbeit in der Schule.

Mit dem FMF sind assoziiert:

• Deutscher Spanischlehrerverband (DSV)
• Fachvereinigung Niederländisch
• Fachgruppe DEUTSCH ALS FREMDSPRACHE (DaF)
• Fachverband Chinesisch
• Verein der Japanischlehkrkräfte.

Der FMF hat 17 Landesverbände. Mit diesen Verbänden zusammengerechnet vertritt der FMF mehr als 7.000 Fremdsprachenlehrer. Für Lehrkräfte Englisch, Französisch, Italienisch, Russisch gibt es im Bundesvorstand Referenten. Dänischlehrkräfte werden durch den Landesverband Schleswig-Holstein im FMF vertreten, Lehrkräfte des Schwedischen durch den Landesverband Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lehrkräfte des Polnischen durch den Landesverband Brandenburg (u.a), Lehrkräfte des Czechischen durch den Landesverband Bayern, Lehrkräfte des Sorbischen durch den Landesverband Sachsen. Alle 17 Landesverbände veranstalten Fortbildungstagungen (Teilnehmerzahlen zwischen 80 und 1.200, sie geben alle ein oder zwei Mitteilungshefte pro Jahr heraus (durchschnittlicher Umfang: 48 Seiten)

Entwicklungen 1998/1999

• Der Verband hat sich eine neue Satzung gegeben - Büro: Prof. Dr. Ulrich Bliesener (BLIE@t-online.de).
• Einige Arbeitsgrupen bearbeiten spezielle Themen wie z.B.: Autonome Schule, Geschäftsordnung.
• Fachgruppen zu ‘Englisch’, ‘slavische Sprachen’ sind gegründet worden und haben bereits Aktivitäten entwickelt; eine themenspezifische Fachgruppe ‘Fremdsprachen in der Grundschule/ Hauptschule/ Realschule’ soll demnächst gegründet werden.
• Verhandlungen mit monolingualen Verbänden sind fortgesetzt worden. Leider wurde ein Zusammenschluß irgendwelcher Art nicht erreicht.
• Ein internationaler Fremdsprachenkongreß fand vom 16. - 18. April 1998 in Luxemburg in Zusammenarbeit mit den Fremdsprachenverbänden Luxemburgs und dem Ministere de l Éducation Nationale et de la Formation Professionelle du Luxembourg statt. Er wurde von rund 800 Teilnehmern aus mehreren Ländern besucht.
• Der FMF war in mehreren bildungspolitischen Gremien vertreten, er war an der EXPOLINGUA in Berlin erneut vertreten.
• Der Bundesvorsitzende hat mehrfach an Länderministerien geschrieben und den Standpunkt des FMF zu vorgesehenen Entwicklungen begründet.
• Es erschien die (neue) 1. FMF-Schrift in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Langenscheidt-Verlag: Fremdsprachenlernen und Verbandsarbeit. Beiträge zur fremdsprachlichen Bewußtseinsbildung, München 1998. Weitere Schriften befinden sich in der Planung.
• Die Vorbereitungen für den FMF-Kongress 2000 in Berlin haben begonnen (27.-29. April 2000).

Internationale Verbindungen

• Vertreter des FMF im FIPLV: Vorsitzender Prof. Dr. Konrad Schröder (Konrad.Schröder@uni-Augsburg.de),
• Vertreter des FMF in WER / REO: Eynar Leupold, Konrad Schröder - Teilnahme an der Sitzung in Grenoble, Dezember 1998 und Paris, März 1999
• Mitarbeit im Vorstand der WER / REO: Eynar Leupold, bis Dezember 1998 als Herausgeber, ab Dezember 1998 als Sekretär
• Mitarbeit im Vorstand von FIPLV: Dieter Herold als Schatzmeister
• Der FMF kooperiert mit IATEFL und ist mit TESOL affiliiert - Verantwortlich: Ulrich Bliesener.

For more information contact Dieter Herold, Schatzmeister im FMF: Kulenkampstrasse 15 H, D-23566 Lübeck, Germany. Telephone: + 49 451 3 27 91. Fax+ 49 451 3 55 43. Email: DieterHerold@t-online.de

TESOL '99: Avenues to Success

New York, March 9 - 13, 1999

In March about 10 000 teachers of English from all around the world gathered in New York to explore exciting professional pathways. The convention provided opportunities for learning and networking - from plenary speakers, educational visits, poster sessions, publishers' and software exposition and breakfast seminars to more than 1000 sessions presented by ESOL professionals world-wide. The convention was given an excellent start by David Crystal, who spoke about 'The Future of English: A Welsh Perspective'. He pointed out that English is spoken all around the world and it is done so in the context of other languages. It is inevitable that there will be drastic changes in English but also in other languages. The opening session was followed by five Broadway actors, who performed a medley of New York theatre classics.

As always in a congress of this size it is difficult to know which sessions to choose. Being representative of FIPLV I tried to do as much networking as possible, but I still managed to attend quite a few interesting sessions. I would especially like to mention a panel Creating a culture of peace: United Nations projects and programs. As we all know communication and education are significant forces in creating culture and peace and we as educators have an important role in this task. Cora Weiss from the Hague Appeal for Peace Foundation said that the 20th century has been the most violent and during this century more people have been killed than during the previous 18 centuries all together. She asked how we will be able to resolve problems constructively and she worried about the 21st century and what kind of a baggage we are carrying across the border to the next millennium. Susan Fountain from UNICEF told what was being done in peace education world-wide, e.g. in Sri Lanka peace education is integrated in every subject in the curriculum.

TESOL has devoted much time and energy in developing professional standards in teaching and learning of English in North America. TESOL is widening the range beyond North America.

Donna Fujimoto, from International University of Japan is doing a survey on development of standards. She, together with Dr Elizabeth Hanson-Smith, invited representatives from TESOL affiliates to a meeting, in which the standards of EFL and teacher education were discussed. The participants told about the situation in their country and how they could contribute to this project. FIPLV's contribution will be the report on 'The role of associations in inservice training', a survey which is being done by FIPLV.

TESOL has five Caucuses and in this convention there was proposed a sixth caucus: Social Responsibilities. I was happy to join the lunch meeting presided by Kip Cates, where they discussed the new caucus.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all those who made this convention a great success.

Tuula Penttila
FIPLV Vice-President

Neues vom IDV

Seit dem FIPLV-WC im April-98 hat der IDV-Vorstand zweimal getagt: im Oktober in Luzern und Ende Januar in Paris. Wichtige Tagungen waren z.B.

• im Juli der dritte Deutschlehrerkongress, sowie ein IDV-Delegiertenseminar, in Cordoba, Argentinien, mit dem Thema: "DAF im Mercosur".
• im August ein Deutschlehrertreffen in der Slowakei mit dem Thema "Wer fremde Sprachen nicht kennt, weiss nichts von seiner eigenen" (Goethe).
• im September ein Lehrbuchautorensymposium in Reichenau, Österreich.
• im November die 3. Zagreber Konferenz, die als Hauptthema die für Mai dieses Jahres geplante Deutscholympiade in Kroatien hatte. Inzwischen hat sich aber, leider, herausgestellt, dass diese für junge Deutschlernende in vielen Ländern sehr nützliche Veranstaltung verschoben werden musste.
• im Sommer 1999 das 4.Arbeitstreffen und die Vertreterversammlung in Frankfurt an der Oder.

Für die XII.IDT, 30.Juli-4.August 2001 in Luzern, liegt schon ein detaillierter Zeitplan vor und es gibt Vorschläge für mehr als zwanzig Sektionsthemen.

Zum Schluss sei noch erwähnt, dass die "Sprachrechte", die vom IDV-Vorstand genehmigte deutschsprachige Fassung der "Declaration of Linguistic Rights", jetzt vorliegt.
 Torvald Perman
Beisitzer im IDV-Vorstand

AFMLTA-AATE-ALEA

ADELAIDE - AUSTRALIA

JULY 6 - 9 1999

The first attempt to unite national conferences of the associations for teachers of languages (AFMLTA), English (AATE) and literacy (ALEA), this was an ambitious undertaking, breaking new ground. In line with the collaborative approach which reflects FIPLV philosophy, I was supportive of, if tentative about, the experiment of a united approach at the national level.

1. The Program

The Conference opened with the predictable and valued cocktail party (July 6) with Phillip Adams being the guest speaker. Drawing connections between the gladiatorial games of the Roman Empire and the multimedia delights of current times was an imaginative leitmotif of the presentation.

The official opening (July 7) led into the plenary address by Hilary Janks who, in addressing the Conference theme - Global Citizenship – focussed more on developments in South Africa, of more relevance to teachers of English than those of others. Joseph Lo Bianco and Peter Freebody followed. While Joe has been a major protagonist of languages - being the author of the National Policy on Languages (1987) - the content of the presentation addressed the topic of "Australian Literacies".

As the plenary addresses gave way to the different strands, I followed that of languages. Lyle Backman was the key presenter that afternoon, providing an impressive coverage of "Designing and Developing Useful Language Tasks". Assessment was clearly on the agenda, with the following plenary pursuing this topic further.

The next two days saw a divergence of the two strands : (1) English and Literacy; and (2) languages. Each strand provided a wealth of choice - criticised unjustly, I believe - of more than 120 different sessions. The focus for me was on the languages strand.

Continuing the established trend of SIG breakfasts, I found myself presenting over eggs-benedict on the morning after the Conference Dinner! The predictable presentation addressed the networking topic of "AFMLTA, FIPLV and the International Promotion of Languages". From there, it was on to the program proper, rich in plenaries, panels, workshops and lecture or seminar-type sessions. The range of topics was vast. Some of these topics included: policy and practice; curriculum design and assessment; culture and cross-cultural attitudes; literacy and learning; multimedia; CD-ROMs; web pages and other technology related areas; educational rationalism; bilingual programs and vocational perspectives; visual and print media; materials and resources; literature; languages and the Olympics, and assessment. Tony Liddicoat closed proceedings with his conference summary.

Despite the wealth of the languages strand, however, one left feeling that the overall agenda had been overtaken by literacy on the first day, the day when participants are challenged in their thinking on theory and its links to practice.

2. Socio-cultural Activities

 

 
 
 

The opening cocktail party (July 6) was a rich forum for networking, followed the next day by the Conference Dinner. While the 'entertainment' was perplexing, many had a good time. A cocktail party hosted by MLTASA and AFMLTA on the Thursday (July 8) feted the work of a former AFMLTA Executive member. The breakfasts - replete with speakers addressing topics under the banner of Special Interest Groups - were an excellent initiative, as were the multicultural 'breakout dinners' on the final evening (July 8). Pre- and post-conference visits and tours were also attractive.

3. Networking : FIPLV, AFMLTA, NZALT and CASLT

Having been invited by NZALT (New Zealand) to their 1998 National Languages Conference, I was in the happy position of knowing all NZALT delegates who came to Adelaide: President Simon Curnow, President-elect Gail Spence, Treasurer Jan Robertson, as well as Lesley Paris and Adele Pilley. This facilitated networking on behalf of FIPLV, but also enabled me to forge relationships between these key NZALT officers and members of the AFMLTA (Australia) Executive. Dinners were organised, with lunch meetings and more informal encounters over drinks also taking place.

An unexpected bonus was the participation of Nancy Pynch-Worthylake of CASLT (Canada). She and her husband also joined in networking activities which united FIPLV and three of its member associations : AFMLTA, NZALT and CASLT.

Through a collaborative effort - also involving AFMLTA Vice-Presidents, Marcel Noest and Peter Voss - links have been forged between NZALT and AFMLTA, auguring well for a reciprocally healthy Australian participation in the next NZALT National Languages Conference in Rotorua next year.

AFMLTA President, Angela Scarino, and others were also extremely supportive of a strong antipodean contingent attending FIPLV 2000 in Paris next year. The notion of AFMLTA members participating in the NZALT Conference in Rotorua, en route to FIPLV 2000, was promoted widely.

The success of this conference is without question - thanks to Jennifer Harris and other members of the Organising Committee. In closing, I would like to express my congratulations to all involved for their organisation, friendship and ready response to networking potential.
Denis Cunningham
President : FIPLV
tel : Int code + 61 3 9754 4714
fax : Int code + 61 3 9754 6419
 

AAAL

The American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL) invites language teachers and researchers for its annual conference in Vancouver which will take place in March 11-14, 2000. The AAAL conference is known for its in-depth symposia and focused workshops on key issues in applied linguistics; sessions on a wide range of research studies, in progress or completed; its stimulating and often provocative plenaries; and access to the latest publications via the book exhibit.

Further information and a Call for Papers for the Vancouver conference can be found on the AAAL web site

For more information you can also contact Richard Young, Department of English, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Email: rfyoung@facstaff.wisc.edu
 

IATEFL

IATEFL invites to its annual 34^th International conference which will take place in Dublin (Ireland) on 27-31 March 200. IATEFL 2000 will be held at the Burlington Hotel located just 15 minutes’ walk from the city centre and seven miles from Dublin International Airport. The conference programme offers multiple opportunities for professional contact and development. International presenters will give workshops, talks, panel discussions and poster sessions for over 1300 delegates to enjoy. The ELT Resource Exhibition showing the latest published materials, videos, computer software and services will be open to all delegates for the length of the conference and the Job Shop will provide a forum for job seekers and prospective employers to advertise.

Delegates must register before they attend any sessions – admission is strictly by badge. Registration is open to any member of the public. We strongly recommend that delegates register early and take advantage of the early registration rate. There is also a member rate.

A social programme will be arranged for delegates, beginning with a Reception on Monday 27 March for all registered participants. There will be an Irish Evening music, dancing and more on Tuesday 28^th. This will be in place of a conference dinner so that all delegates are able to participate. Please keep an eye on future IATEFL Newsletter and the Web-site  for further details as more events and tours are arranged.

As always some Pre-Conference Events will be held for delegates who wish to concentrate on a particular topic. This year, the Special Interest Groups organising Pre-Conference Events are Computers (COMP), Media & Literature & Culture Studies (MED. & LCS), Research (RES) and Testing, Evaluation & Assessment & Teacher Trainers (TEA & TT). A fifth PCE will be organised by The Society for Effective Affective Learning (SEAL).

For more information contact: IATEFL, 3 Kingsdown Chambers, Whitstable, CT5 2FL, UK. Tel: + 44 (0) 1227276528 Fax: + 44 (0)1227274415 Email: iatefl@compuserve.com
 

EUROSLA 2000

7 to 10 September – Kraków, Poland

The 10^th annual conference of the European Second Language Association will take place in Kraków Przegorza?y University Conference Centre. The Conference is organised by Jagielonian University (Kraków) and University of Silesia (Sosnowiec).

The plenary speakers include: Vivian Cook (University of Essex), Jan Hulstijn (Free University of Amsterdam), Patsy Lightbown (Concordia University, Montreal), Magdalena Smoczy?ska (Jagiellonian University).

Apart from plenary sessions there will be 20 minutes presentations on second language acquisition and a doctoral workshop. Abstracts of the presentations should be sent to Prof. Janusz Arabski by 31^st January 2000. They should be sent in an electronic version in text or RTF format (on a disk in Word 6.0 or as an e-mail) and in 4 hardcopies (3 without and 1 with the presenter’s name and affiliation to the addresses below. Abstracts should have the length of 300 - 400 words. Short (up to two A-4 pages) summaries of the problems for the discussion during the Doctoral Workshop should be sent to the same address.

Other key dates: pre-registration – 15^th October, 1999; notification of acceptance – 31^st March, 2000; registration deadline/payment – 30^th April, 2000.

Pre-registration and abstracts should be sent to Janusz Arabski, University of Silesia, Institute of English, ul. ?ytnia 10, 41-205 Sosnowiec, Poland; tel/fax: + 48 32 291 74 17; e-mail: eurosla@ares.fils.us.edu.pl .

For registration and enquiaries contact The Centre for Scientific Research and Academic Conference ‘EUROSLA 10’, Jagiellonian University, Collegium Novum, ul. Go??bia 24, 31-007 Kraków, Poland; tel/fax: +48 12 421 26 62; e-mail: cbin@adm.uj.edu.pl
 

NZALT 2000

2-5 July, Rotorua – New Zealand

New Zealand Association of Language Teachers is announcing their biennial conference New Millenium – New Beginnings. The conference aims to provide delegates a rewarding experience and a time to catch up with Technology for language delivery.

Plenary sessions and language and technology workshops are planned. Many opportunities for social interaction as well as time for rest, recreation and tours & sights at very special NZALT rates are anticipated. Registration forms should be sent to Laytee George at the address below.

The key dates are: deadline for abstracts of papers – 19th November 1999, and early registration – before 30 April 2000.

Information: Laytee George, 178 Otonga Rd., Rotorua, New Zealand. Fax: +64 7 346 8701; E-mail: georgel@waiariki.ac.nz

Editor’s Note: Call for Papers form can be found on the back cover.
 
 

ALA 2000

26 to 29 June – Leicester UK

Association for Language Awareness invites for their 5^th International Conference to be held at the University of Leicester, UK. Leading speakers include Professor Ronald Carter, University of Nottingham and Peter Downes, Nuffield Languages Inquiry

The theme of the conference is The role of Language Awareness and Knowledge about Language in the teaching and learning of mother tongue and second languages. The conference format will be a combination of plenary and smaller presentations, with the opportunity for workshops. Proposals for contributions are now invited. A selection of papers will be published later in a Conference issue of the journal, Language Awareness.

CALL FOR PAPERS

Abstracts of proposed papers (up to 300 words) for consideration should be sent to arrive by 30 November to the address below.

CONFERENCE BOOKINGS

Current members of ALA will have priority in booking, being able to make their bookings at the time of subscription renewal for 2000. If you are a member, you will automatically be sent further information about this at the appropriate time. The conference fee is likely to be ?20 sterling for members. Non-members will be able to book from January 2000, and their conference fee will be ?30 sterling.

If you are not a member, and wish to be sent further information about the conference then, please send a message to the address below.

Membership costs ?18 sterling for one year, and includes four issues of Language Awareness. Membership applications should be sent to the address below. Unless you specify otherwise, a membership application received before December will be for 1999.

For more information contact: Richard Aplin, University of Leicester School of Education, 21 University Road, Leicester LE1 7RF, UK. Fax: +44 (0) 116 252 3653, Email: ALA2000@btinternet.com
 
 

Books and Journals

Publications received

By Teachers For Teachers. TESOL Publications.

English Teaching Forum. A journal for the teacher of English outside the United States. Vol. 37 No. 1, January-March, No.2 April-June1999.

Fachverband Moderne Fremdsprachen. Landesverband Schleswig-Holstein, Mitteilungsblatt August 1999.

FIT FLASH. Federation Internationale des Traducteurs/International Federation of Translators. Vol. II no. 12, Avril 1999.

Global Issues in Language Education Newsletter. National Special Interest Group of the Japan Association of Language Teachers (JALT), Issue35, June 1999

IATEFL Issues. No. 149, June-July 1999.

Les langues modernes. Bulletin de l’Association des professeurs de Langues Vivantes (a.p.l.v.), nu. 1 & 2 février – avril, mai – juillet, 1999.

LE POLYGLOTTE. No.36. Supplément au Les langues modernes. Bulletin de l’Association des professeurs de Langues Vivantes (a.p.l.v.), nu. 4, novembre- janvier - février 1999,.

LINCOM EUROPA’s project line. No. 08, December 98/January 99.

Lingua. Boletín del Centro de Información y Documentación sobre Traducción y Terminología en Lengua Española, Victoria Ocampo, Biblioteca Nacional, No. 01

LMS Lingua. Riksföreningen fór Lärarna i Moderna Språk. Nr 3, 1999.

Neusprachliche Mitteilungen aus Wissenschaft und Praxis, Herausgegeben vom Fachverband Moderne Fremdsprachen im Pädagogischen Zeitschriftenverlag (FMF), Heft 2, 1999.

NZALT Newsletter. New Zealand Association of Language Teachers. No.17, Autumn, 1999

Rassegna Italiana di Linguistica Applicata (RILA). Bulzoni Editore Anno XXXI – N. 1, Gennaio-Aprile 1999

Tempus, Newsletter of the Federation of Foreign Language Teachers in Finland SUKOL, No. 4 - 5, 1999.

TESOL Greece. No. 61, January- March, No. 62, April-June 1999.

TESOL Matters. Vol. 9 No. 2 April/May, Vol. 9 No. 3 June/July 1999.

The News. TESOL-France, No.20 October 1998, No.22 May 1999.
 
 
 

LINGUAPAX V

Linguapax V is the 170pp production of all papers delivered at the international workshop, Linguapax V, held in Melbourne (Australia) in mid-1995, on the theme of languages and peace.

Funded by UNESCO and supported by the Australian National Commission for UNESCO, it was organised by the Australian Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations Inc (AFMLTA Inc) on behalf of the Fédération Internationale des Professeurs de Langues Vivantes (FIPLV), the International Linguapax Committee (ILC) and UNESCO.

Invited participants from Australia, Catalonia, Croatia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Japan, New Zealand, Poland and Sri Lanka presented excellent papers on their experiences at national and international levels on the topic of languages and peace.

We commend to you this excellent publication on one of the cornerstones of teaching and learning languages : languages for tolerance and peace.

These are available for CHF 20. If you would like to order a copy or copies please complete the order form and forward it to Dieter Herold

Herrn Dieter Herold

Kulenkampstraße 15 H

D-23566 Lübeck

GERMANY

Please find enclosed my cheque / money order for CHF __________ made payable to ‘FIPLV’ which covers the purchase of ________________copy / copies of Linguapax V including postage and packing.

Name: __________________________________________________________

Address: __________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________
 
 
 

F₂I₀P₀L₀VF₂I₀P₀L₀VF₂I₀P₀L₀V F₂I₀P₀L₀V

FÉDÉRATION INTERNATIONALE DES PROFESSEURS DE LANGUES VIVANTES

XXth WORLD CONGRESS - PARIS

22-26 July 2000

Language Teaching at the dawn of the 21st Century :
The Challenges of Plurality

The global theme of the XXth FIPLV Congress for which papers are being solicited, is that of plurality : plurality being seen both as an aim to be achieved (the promotion and development of multilingualism in which language teaching has an essential role to play) and as a state of affairs which requires to be taken seriously into account in education.

This recurring theme runs across each separate analytical domain :

• with regard to the languages concerned, the number of which is on the increase, as a greater variety become recognised as "subjects to be taught" ;
• with regard to the public, characterised not only by linguistic but also by cultural and social heterogeneity;
• with regard to pedagogical contexts of ever-increasing diversity;
• with regard to the materials and auxiliary media at the teacher's disposal.

Such plurality leads inevitably to diversified choices and decisions in terms of content, strategies and curriculum and, consequently, influences the conceptions motivating teacher education.

OVERVIEW OF PROGRAM

Saturday 22 July

• from 0900 : welcome/registration
• afternoon : Opening Ceremony at the Sorbonne ; commencement of program, public event with the participants of the FIPF World Congress, welcoming cocktail party

Sunday 23 July

• 0900 : continuation of program
• 1200 : cultural program (Paris visit)

Monday 24, Tuesday 25, Wednesday 26

• continuation of program

Wednesday 26 at 1200 :Closing Ceremony

President of the Scientific Council Louise Dabène (Université Stendhal -Grenoble III), President of the Organising Committee Michel Candelier (Université René Descartes - Paris V).

Themes :

• Cultural diversity of learners : What methodological options allow for an adequate response to the diversity of learners' cultures, including their traditional learning cultures ?
• Social implications : how can the teaching of foreign languages respond to social needs ? How can it, in harmony with the principles of UNESCO's Linguapax programme, prepare the future adult for citizenship in societies where values are constantly being challenged ?
• Fulfilment of the individual and language rights : How can language teaching offer each individual the enrichment essential for personal fulfilment and thus ensure the respect of language rights whether it be the right to use the language of identity or the right to access the languages of others ?
• Educational language policies : Do educational language policies implemented at different levels (and which underpin didactic choices) guarantee such rights and create suitable conditions for genuine linguistic and cultural pluralism ?
• Curricula : What objectives and what contents should be retained for learning as a life-long experience ? What kinds of curricula could be envisaged ? How could they be made operational ?
• Languages for specialists of other disciplines : In particular, at University level, what objectives and what means can be devised for teaching languages to specialists of other disciplines ?
• New technologies : How should we deal with the inevitable development of new technologies in language teaching and learning ? To what extent do they influence the meaning and sequencing of pedagogical activities ?
• Writing : Can there be and should there be different means of access to writing taking into account the different relationships societies have with the mode of writing ?
• Speaking : Where are we today with the attempt to give oral skills a status which addresses individual and social needs ?
• Class techniques : How can the range of classroom techniques be expanded to include diversified forms of language practice from game-based activities, to content-based language teaching ?
• Teacher education : Taking the above into account, how can teachers for the 21st century be educated to take responsibility for this plurality and transform it into an asset for society as well as for the individuals comprising it?

Further information and registration forms can be obtained from Centre Technique de Langues - FIPLV - 2000, Université René Descartes - Paris V 45, rue des Saints-Pères F-75270 Paris Cedex 06 fiplv2000@citi2.fr
 
 
 
 
 
 

FIPLV WORLD NEWS

The Latest on Language and Languages

A news service provided and edited by the Fédération Internationale des Professeurs de Langues Vivantes (FIPLV).

FIPLV contact address: PO Box 216, Belgrave, 3160, Australia.

FIPLV website

FIPLV President: Denis Cunningham. PO Box 216, Belgrave, 3160, Australia. Telephone: Int. Code + 61 39 754 47 14. Fax: Int. Code: +61 39 754 64 19. Email: vsl.dcunningham@c031.aone.net.au

FIPLV Vice-President: Tuula Penttilä, Viherlaaksonie 24, SF-02710 Espoo, Finland. Telephone: Int. Code: +358 059 45 07. Fax: Int. Code: + 358 0 5023 460. Email: tspentti@cc.helsinki.fi

FIPLV Secretary-General: Judith Hamilton, Flat 64, 3 Whitehall Court, London SW1A 2EL. Telephone/fax 0171 839 5530;. Email: jcochr7029@AOL.com

FIPLV Editor: Teresa Siek-Piskozub. Editorial Office: School of English, Adam Mickiewicz University, al. Niepodleg³oœci 4, PL-61-874 Poznañ, Poland. Telephone: Int. Code + 48 61 852 88 20. Fax: Int. Code+ 48 61 852 31 03. Email: piskozub@main.amu.edu.pl

FIPLV Treasurer: Dieter Herold, Kulenkampstrasse 15 H, D-23566 Lübeck, Germany. Telephone: International Code+ 49 451 3 27 91. Fax: International Code + 49 451 3 55 43. Email: DieterHerold@t-online.de

Subscription at the price of CHF 45 a year available from Dieter Herold.

Advertisements inside the issue - CHF 100 full page, back cover - CHF 150. Orders sent to Dieter Herold.

Any item may be quoted, reproduced or translated provided acknowledgement is given to FIPLV WORLD NEWS.
 
 
 
 

From the Editor

In this issue Francisco Gomes de Matos and his students propose learner’s pronunciation rights. Denis Cunningham informs about the UNESCO project on the languages of the world (Note from the President). An update on the actions in the FIPLV Nordic-Baltic Region is provided (FIPLV News). Our Congress Calendar informs about conferences and congresses planned between the years 1999 - 2001. The Member Associations, as well as the institutions cooperating with us, discuss about their recent and future activities (News and Views). In Forum on Controversial Issues, we challenge educators involved in learner autonomy programmes to share their experience with us. A growing list of journals issued by and for language teachers, sent to the Editor’s address, is published in Books and Journals: Publications Received. 
Teresa Siek-Piskozub
Editor of Publications-FIPLV

Notes for Contributors

Contributions, announcements and letters should be sent to the Editor’s address, by post or e-mail. Advertisements should be sent to Dieter Harold (see back cover). Short contributions (up to 250 words), such as letters and announcements, can be type-written. Longer contributions should be accompanied by a PC-readable disc, with the article both in the original WP format (e.g. WordPerfect, AmiPro, Word for Windows) and in ASCII form (i.e. a .TXT file). Please provide a brief bio-statement with the office address. Contributions and discs are non-returnable. The Editor reserves the right to make editorial changes in any manuscript. The author will be consulted if substantial changes are envisaged.
 
 

 

 

 
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