Call for proposals (poster session): Heritage Languages in America Second National Conference -- DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACTS 3 APRIL

[Scott McGinnis]

Heritage Languages in America: Building on our National Resources Second
National Conference Washington, D.C. October 18-20, 2002

CALL FOR POSTER SESSION PROPOSALS

The Second National Conference on Heritage Languages in America will be
held at the Sheraton Premiere at Tysons Corner, Virginia (in the greater
Washington, D.C. area) October 18-20, 2002. The conference is being
organized by the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) and the National
Foreign Language Center (NFLC), with support from the University of
Maryland, College Park.

Building from the foundation of the First National Conference, convened
in October 1999, in Long Beach, California, the Second National
Conference will seek to further the aims of the Heritage Languages
Initiative, a national effort to develop the non-English language
resources that exist in our communities. It will bring together heritage
language community and school leaders, representatives from pre-K-12
schools and colleges and universities, world-renowned researchers, and
federal and state policymakers. The goals of the Heritage Languages
Initiative and this conference are to continue to make manifest the
personal, economic, and social benefits to our nation of preserving and
developing the languages spoken by those living in this country; to
build a national dialogue on this topic; and to develop an action agenda
for the next several years. 

Poster sessions will take place on Saturday, October 19. We encourage
submissions on all topics related to heritage language education, and we
suggest the following topics:

*  Instruction (programs, materials and curricula, strategies, and
assessment)
*  Community-based initiatives
*  Career opportunities for heritage language speakers
*  Teacher preparation programs and materials
*  Professional needs and opportunities (development and recruitment)
*  Research
*  Language and education policy

Poster sessions may focus on completed work or work in progress. They
will include a display of work and a brief oral presentation. Tables and
display boards will be provided.  Presenters are responsible for all
other audiovisual equipment. They may bring their own equipment or make
arrangements with the audiovisual supplier for the conference. For
information on how to construct a poster presentation see
<http://www.lcsc.edu/ss150/poster.htm>

Proposals should include a title (not to exceed ten words), an abstract
of no more than 250 words, and a 50-75 word abstract suitable for
inclusion in the conference program. The primary language(s) involved
should be included as well as the presenter's contact information
(including institutional affiliation and e-mail address). All proposals
may be submitted by e-mail attachment (the preferred method) in
WordPerfect or Word, or postal mail to the following address:

Ana María Schwartz  
Email   aschwart at umbc.edu
Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
1000 Hilltop Circle
Baltimore, MD 21250
Phone   410-455-2109

The deadline for receipt of proposals is April 3, 2002. The conference
program committee will notify those who submitted proposals of their
status no later than May 15, 2002. Abstracts received after the deadline
will be considered only if space is available.

		"Competence in languages other than English is
desperately needed in the United States. Our huge and varied heritage
language resources have a definite role to play in arriving at such
competence."     
		Joshua Fishman, Yeshiva and Stanford Universities