Fall 2012 Message from the AATSP-Alabama Chapter President

 

Dear AATSP Members,

I trust that you had a great start of the academic year and that you continue to have a superb term. I hope that you will find the time to participate in the wonderful opportunities available from being a member of AATSP.

Allow me to start by announcing our new AATSP page, which is being hosted at the Spanish section of the Department of Modern Languages of The University of Alabama. You can check it at the following URL: https://mlc.ua.edu/spanish/aatsp.

This year the 2013 AAFLT Conference will be held at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex in conjunction with SCOLT on April 11-13. It will be a great opportunity to share and dialogue with teachers of Spanish and Portuguese not only from Alabama, but from other states throughout the South. The theme for the Conference is: “World Language Learning: Setting the Global Standard.” There will be sessions focusing on this topic, as well as o technology, teaching methods, literature, culture, and many others. Make sure you benefit of your AATSP/AAFLT membership when you register for the conference.

AATSP will be hosting our annual Desayuno Literario on Saturday, April 13 at 7:30 am. As it is our tradition, we will have a full breakfast. This has always been a well-attended session, and d1is year we will be welcoming the members of the other states’ chapters for the breakfast and keynote address, so attendance will be even more numerous. In order to have more time to better network with our colleagues, and not feel rushed, we will have only one speaker this year. We are delighted to have as our keynote speaker Dr. Reyes CollTellechea, Professor of Latin American and Iberian Studies at the University of Massachusetts-Boston. Her field of expertise is Golden Age literature, and she has published seminal works on Lazarillo de Tormes as well as on picaresca. As usual, after the keynote address we will have our Business Meeting, only open to our chapter members. You can make plans to attend this event by checking it on section 3 of the conference registration form.

The 9th Weekend Immersed in Language Development (W.I.L.D.) will take place on November 9-11 at the YMCA Hargis Retreat in Birmingham. This program allows 30 students of Spanish (among od1er languages) to be immersed in the target language for the weekend. More information can be found in www.aaflt.org/wild.

Registration for the National Spanish Examination will take place from November 1, 2012 through January 31, 2013. Further information about the NSE, as well as test materials and registration forms can be obtained by visiting www.nationalspanishexam.org.

You can find information on the National Portuguese Examination by contacting Dr. Ismênia Sales de Souza at desou001@yahoo.com, or by visiting the AATSP website: www.aatsp.org.

The 2013 Spanish Convention of the Alabama Federation of High School Spanish Clubs will be held at The University of Alabama. This time it will be earlier than usual, and twill take place on March 15. If you need information on the Spanish Convention, please send an email spanishconvention@ua.edu.

The 95th Annual AATSP Conference will take place in San Antonio, TX, in July 8-11. The theme of the 2013 Conference is “Building Bridges to the Future: Innovation, Technology, Advocacy.” The deadline for proposals has been extended through November 15, 2012. Please see www.aatsp.org for further information as well as for the proposal submission form.

Remember that it is time to renew your AATSP membership. You can do so electronically through the AATSP website (www.aatsp.org). As a member of AATSP, your students are eligible to take the National Spanish Exam and/or the National Portuguese Exam, as well as enter in the Early Language Learning Poster Contest. You can also start chapters of the Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica and/or Sociedad Hispánica de Amistad. Also, you can download classroom resources, and browse the Career Center Online Job Postings, as well as Enlace and Hispania. You can find information about all these opportunities at the AATSP website.

Please, spread the word about the benefits of belonging to the Alabama Chapter of AATSP and encourage your colleagues to join. An increase in membership means more opportunities to network, exchange ideas, and strengthen our mission to promote the teaching of foreign languages in our state, and specifically Spanish and Portuguese.

The Officers of AATSP-Alabama and I look forward to seeing you on April11-13, 2013 in Birmingham at the 2013 SCOLT/AAFLT/AATSP Conference!!

Saludos cordiales,

Ignacio Rodeño, PhD

President of AATSP-Alabama Chapter.

¡TODOS A UNA!