20, no. 3 (April 1989): 1-2
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From the Editor
Judith Ginsberg
WE ALL know that New Orleans has an unusually diverse and vigorous linguistic heritage, but that alone does not explain the intellectual camaraderie that many of us in foreign languages felt at the 1988 MLA convention. The satisfaction of seeing standing-room-only crowds at ADFL-sponsored sessions—which drew participants from universities, four-year and two-year colleges, and high schools—prompts some thoughts about attending conventions, arranging sessions, meeting old and new colleagues, and generally enriching our professional lives.
Despite the success of our convention sessions last year, there are some, I know, who find too little in the way of foreign language offerings and look enviously at the offerings in English. In response, I might note that the number of sessions available to us is in fact proportionately larger than the number open to our English-affiliated colleagues, who represent a substantial majority of MLA members. Certainly we are a minority, but nothing prevents us from being an effective and visible minority if we work efficiently together. Those of us in the foreign language field can further our cause simply by acknowledging that the responsibility for joining the MLA and organizing sessions is ours.
The vitality and breadth of the field were reflected in the quality of the ADFL-sponsored sessions in New Orleans. High attendance demonstrated the appeal of our now traditional preconvention workshop for job candidates and interviewers, held on opening day, and of sessions devoted to developing programs in less commonly taught languages, to training foreign language instructors, and to improving the lot of the foreign language professional. Our constituents' interests and needs were also well met by the session on business French, sponsored by the Office of Foreign Language Programs, and the session on retirement, sponsored jointly by the MLA Offices of Foreign Language Programs and English Programs.
If I had to single out one of these excellent programs as a model, I would choose the session focused on state-of-the-art training of foreign language teachers. By 8:30 a.m., when the meeting began, the rather small room was filled to capacity. I counted over sixty people, and a good number had to be turned away for lack of space. Organized by the chair of French at a two-year institution in California, the session brought together three colleagues from around the country—from Washington, DC, from Louisiana, and from Massachusetts—who each offered a stimulating and thoughtful approach to this topic. One discussed the culture component in the teacher-education curriculum, another suggested ways to train instructors to teach writing, and a third described techniques that prepare TAs for proficiency-oriented classrooms. Since the speakers finished on schedule, there was time for a lively exchange with members of the audience, who surrounded them as the session ended, eager to continue the discussion, to request copies of the presentations (which I urged the speakers to consider submitting to the Bulletin ), and to start planning a similar session for the 1989 convention in Washington, DC.
Of course, some of those in the audience already knew one another, and some knew one or more of the speakers either personally or through their published work. But many of those present met for the first time and found themselves participating in a surprisingly large network of colleagues interested in departmental issues, including foreign language pedagogy.
Departmental policy and pedagogy serve as the common denominators for most of us in the profession. As active members of departments, whether or not we chair them, we participate in decisions that affect the administration and teaching of elementary and intermediate language courses. Both the ADFL and the MLA provide forums for the exchange of views on these matters. As the largest of the foreign language and literature divisions in the MLA, with almost two thousand members, the Division on the Teaching of Language represents an enormous pool of talent, including many potential session leaders and speakers.
Some of us who are aware of the value of our work make a practice of communicating regularly with a sizable audience. But others are more reticent and less familiar with the mechanics of participating in a conference such as the MLA convention or of putting together a program. I gladly offer assistance to those wishing to organize sessions and to those seeking to fill out a program or find just one more speaker. The ADFL has many networks to help in the process, and inquiries are welcome. While it is too late to get started for the 1989 convention, it is not too early to begin thinking about Chicago in 1990. The Office of Foreign Language Programs can sponsor any program that I believe would be of special interest to our members. I should very much like to hear from anyone who has a suitable program to propose. Please write or phone me. My direct line is (212) 614–6320.
In brief, a special session would take the following path from conception to the 1990 convention. A proposer chooses a topic, which may be on a professional, pedagogical, curricular, or departmental issue. If the proposer does not know of three other individuals who could give presentations on the topic, then he or she may place a note in the MLA Newsletter —ideally in the Fall 1989 issue, whose deadline for submissions is around 1 August—announcing the proposed session and requesting completed papers, abstracts, or inquiries by a certain date, often 1 February. To obtain ADFL sponsorship, the proposer must have the topic and speakers set by January for the session to be considered by the executive committee in February.
Once the session participants have been selected, the organizer fills out a form, available from MLA headquarters or at the 1989 convention, indicating the rationale for the topic and emphasizing the elements that distinguish the topic from subjects covered in previous sessions. Members of the program committee will want to know why the proposer thinks the session is important and what special qualifications the panelists have. The deadline for submission of proposals is usually in early April, and in May proposers receive written notice of the decisions of the program committee, which referees special sessions. For further details on procedure, see the September issue of PMLA .
To my account of the session I described earlier, I would add another detail, one known to few of those who attended. Among the audience was a reporter who was preparing a major article on foreign language study in the United States for a widely read weekly periodical. After the session I spoke to the reporter at some length, as did the panelists. Since our efforts are certainly worthy of national attention, we should be especially pleased when we are observed doing our best, as we were in New Orleans.
In the last issue of the Bulletin , I mentioned the everpresent need to make the community at large aware of what we do and of its significance to our nation. I will be undertaking a series of projects that will focus on this goal and that I will be asking you to help carry out. I have outlined one of the most basic ways to impress the public—by valuing our own work and venturing with it into arenas beyond our campuses, into professional meetings, for example, where we can share our knowledge with colleagues and receive their suggestions, comments, encouragement, and recognition.
© 1989 by the Association of Departments of Foreign Languages. All Rights Reserved.
ADFL Bulletin 20, no. 3 (April 1989): 1-2 |
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