[EDLING:324] K-12 resources at UCLA

[Francis M. Hult]

Via ILR...

Language Materials Project now citing K-12 resources

LMP releases the first phase of a three-year enhancement to its authoritative 
resource for foreign language materials 

The recent increase of federal interest in foreign languages has kindled a 
language renaissance in K-12 schools across the nation. The number of classes 
for less-commonly taught languages such as Arabic, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, 
and Russian, even in the primary grades, has increased substantially.    

Since receiving Department of Education funding last summer, the UCLA Language 
Materials Project (LMP) has augmented its offerings for K-12 teachers. The 
first new tool, the Audience pull-down menu, allows website visitors to search 
for materials based on their target audience (e.g., elementary, secondary, post-
secondary or heritage learners.)

The Audience pull-down menu joins three other menus on the Project's search 
panel:

-          Language (over 150 to choose from) 

-          Material (textbook, dictionary, audio, maps, etc., 26 categories in 
all), and

-          Level (beginning, intermediate, advanced, and beyond) 

The LMP has also added detailed citations of several hundred items for younger 
audiences. For example, visitors seeking materials in Arabic for elementary 
school pupils will find sixty-one references to bilingual readers, a picture 
dictionary, vocabulary games, and authentic materials from Arabic-speaking 
countries. Due to the lack of published U.S. textbooks on Arabic for this age 
group, the materials identified on the Project's website are of particular 
value to teachers at that level. 

We invite you to try out the new Audience menu at www.lmp.ucla.edu . Watch for 
other new K-12 features in the coming year.