YouTuber Xiaomanyc came to OSU on May 1st to showcase his multilingual skills as he conversed with OSU students in 12 different languages… at the same time! The event was sponsored by FLRT, the Multilingual Language Education program, and the Buckeye Language Education Resource Center (BuckLER). Check out the video posted by Xiaomanyc about his visit.
second language acquisition
FLRT workshop on IRB Huron
Today I gave a workshop on OSU’s new IRB application system Huron for members of FLRT. To begin, I went over some Huron basics, shared a few useful links, and pointed out some benefits of the new system. After that, we focused on 10 key issues in creating a successful application to the Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSS) IRB. My workshop is one of 4 organized by FLRT leadership this semester. The other 3 were on grant writing, leveraging technology in research, and building connections at conferences.
Bahar Balaban wins 3MT competition
Bahar Balaban recently participated in the Three Minute Thesis competition at OSU, a prestigious event that challenges graduate students to present their research in just three minutes. She won 1st place in the College of Education and Human Ecology with her presentation on multilingual identity development of international students at OSU. The 3MT competition provides a valuable opportunity for graduate students to refine their presentation skills, gain confidence, and share their work with a broader audience.
AOEL project webpages are live!
The Advancing Ohio’s English Learners (AOEL) project webpages are now live! Start at the AOEL landing page, from which you can explore the 3 resources created by our team:
- Family Roadmap
- Instructional Roadmap
- Administrator’s Toolkit
Please note that ODEW is still making some last-minute adjustments to the English Learners with Suspected Disabilities webpage in the Instructional Roadmap. All other pages are published.
New IJB article with Artanti Sari
Artanti Sari and I have a new article in the International Journal of Bilingualism. ‘Learning Qur’anic Arabic in a virtual village: Family religious language policy in transnational Indonesian Muslim families‘ examines how two Indonesian Muslim families in the United States used digital technology to support their children in learning Qur’anic Arabic in translocal and transnational contexts in which to connect with family, friends, Qur’anic Arabic educators, and voluntary kin. Our article is part of a special issue on sacred language learning, guest edited by Bene Bassetti.
ICEM talk with Dr. Zulfa Sakhiyya
Dr. Zulfa Sakhiyya and I are invited speakers at the 9th International Conference on Education in Muslim Society, August 14-15. This year’s theme is ‘Integrating Multiculturalism and Literacy in the Educational Landscape’. My department had the honor of hosting Zulfa as a Fulbright Scholar last year. Our ICEM talk, ‘Faith literacies in multilingual context’, grows out of our collaborative exploration of Qur’anic schooling in diverse settings.
AOEL sessions at Ohio TESOL
The Advancing Ohio’s English Learners (AOEL) project team has multiple sessions at the 2023 Ohio TESOL Conference. The Activity 3 Instructional Guide session is Thursday, November 9, at 11 am. We will give an update on the project and elicit input from the audience on supplementary resources, videos and lesson plans they would like to see and/or share.
FLRT picnic 2023
FLRT, aka the Graduate Student Working Group for Foreign Language Research and Teaching, held the annual start of the academic year picnic this past Sunday at Goodale Park. Much food and fun were had by all!
BAAL 2023 symposium
Artanti Sari and I are presenting today at the 56th Annual Conference of the British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL) at the University of York. We are part of the symposium ‘The Learning of Sacred Languages’, which features papers from a forthcoming special issue of the International Journal of Bilingualism, edited by Bene Bassetti. Our paper examines the use of digital spaces by transnational Indonesian-Muslim families to support their children’s Qur’anic Arabic language and literacy development.
U Cambridge workshop
End of this month I will be a panelist and participant in a workshop focused on Language Learning in/as Religious Education. Dr. Artanti Sari and I will present together on Qur’anic Arabic learning in digital spaces. The workshop is the 3rd part of a series of events hosted by the Cambridge Interfaith Programme at the University of Cambridge. We will reflect on approaches, methods, and next steps in the research and teaching of religious languages. We will discuss the core questions: (1) What have we learned about how and why people teach and learn religious languages? (2) What do we do with that learning? (3) How does interdisciplinary discussion about such research impact our own work as teachers and/or researchers? This workshop will be of interest to educators, researchers, and practitioners of religious languages and literacies. We welcome participation and insights from attendees drawing from their own experiences with religious languages and literacies. This hybrid workshop takes place, Monday, 27 March, 2023, 13:15 to 16:45 GMT. For more information and registrations, click on the link above.