Bonjour mes collègues,

SUBMISSION EXTENSION!

The deadline for submitting a proposal for a session at our national convention in Austin, TX, July 3-6, 2016 has been extended to December 31, 2016.   Chapter leaders are probably the best positioned to know who might have a topic to share with colleagues. Perhaps you're aware of a teacher who has given a session at your state World Language conference.  Is there someone in your chapter who is particularly adept at using technology or authentic resources?  Asking an individual directly tends to work well.  Let me know if there is someone that you would like me to contact.   

NATIONAL FRENCH CONTEST EXTENSION!

This is an exciting time for the new National French Contest format.  The changes will bring wonderful new opportunities for many teachers but the changes may also be challenging for others.   The deadline for ordering the paper and pencil tests has been extended from December 15 to December 22.  Teachers and even your state administrators who work so hard to make this excellent promotional event possible might benefit from some extra support and reassurance.

                                                      SOCIALIZING AND SHARING

                                       

Here's a photo of Greater Kansas City members at their traditional Christmas dinner where they exchange gifts.  Each member brings a French related gift and the members pass them from one to the other around the table until the president, Katie Madigan, with a "clink" to a glass on the table gives the signal to hold onto the one that you have, open it up, and discover what you've received!

Katie is the second on the left and you may recognize former national president, 
Ann Sunderland, to her left.

Here is one of the 2015 Future Leaders, Rebecca Léal, Vice-President in charge of Programs at the  Chicago/N IL chapter's December meeting of the Executive Council that included a break to enjoy the traditional Bûche de Noël. 

In January, the AATF of Greater St Louis will gather at "La Bonne Bouchée" as they do each year to enjoy a "galette" and find out who will be the king or the queen.  We hope to have photos.  

St Louis, the site of the 2017 AATF National Convention

Here is a photo of the AATF of Minnesota's Fall Dinner on the campus of Macalester College at which they honored their Teacher of the Year and enjoyed Lebanese cuisine along with the camaraderie of their colleagues. 

Some of you will recognize, center foreground, Caroline Little who received the Ludwig Award at our convention in Saguenay and to her right Carolyn Crane-Fisk the MN Grand Concours Administrator and the 2014 winner of the Outstanding Chapter Leader Award.

                                     

                                                        TEACHER RESOURCES

Many of you may already subscribe to the online "Bulletin Educatif du Midwest" created by the Service Culturel in the French Consulate in Chicago.  The AATF of Minnesota Chapter's webmaster and media director recently sent out several announcements to their members from the December issue of the "Bulletin." 

                http://fcnl.frenchculture.org/sent/show/e4cf8833dc5d6b3c7991db3eb2d8893e

One of the items is a "Webinaire" on the teaching of culture by Anne Lair, a professor of French at the University of Utah who earlier taught at the University of Northern Iowa.  These events cost $10 each and are a great opportunity to show our members that there are many resources available to them not only in the AATF but beyond.  Many of the the resources in the December 2015 issue are designed specifically for teachers at the post-secondary level. 

Others, like the Teaching Assistant in France program, are topics that high school teachers can discuss with their students to show them opportunities that lie ahead.

TEACHER ENRICHMENT

The AATF of Greater Kansas City has chosen a date in February 2016 for their annual Teacher Immersion Day on the campus of Rockhurst University.  After lunch at André’s Confiserie Suisse, the program will include an "exposé" and discussion of "“La régionalisation en France” and an introduction to and discussion of the film “La petite Jérusalem."

STUDENT EVENTS



AATF of Iowa has decided to begin planning the return of their chapter's Concours Oral as discussed at their meeting this last Fall at the IWLA conference.

ADVOCACY / PROMOTION

Here's a promotional Infographic from Martha Behlow, president of the Chicago/N IL chapter, that goes along with the topic of their Fall program and the chapter's efforts to promote the study of French as a continuum along which students continue to have much to look forward to, e.g. acquiring 21st century skills that will them get a job, internships, study abroad, service learning, etc.     

                     

The AATF of Wisconsin has started collecting info on French programs in colleges/universities in their state.  The first to be featured on their chapter website is the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  

                           

http://thefrenchhouse.cmail2.com/t/ViewEmail/r/E592FB7EF414BD492540EF23F30FEDED/F86252344D4FA2C44FB5D4CAE8F50064

The Chicago/N IL Chapter has just ordered pins with the AATF logo that will be given out to members who attend their meetings.  The goal is for teachers to put the pins on their badges when they attend World Language or other conferences as a way to promote French and make French teachers and the AATF visible.   Spotting an AATF pin can be a practical way to find and connect with colleagues at events, especially when French teachers are not the majority.

COMMUNICATION

Thank you for the support that you are offering the members of your chapter AND for your willingness to share with each other.  Some of you are including each other in your chapter email groups.  Those of you who have electronic newsletters can perhaps do the same.  The Chapter President Facebook page (AATF Chapter Presidents Network) that WI Chapter President Andrea Behn created with fellow Future Leader, Lucas Hoffman, Ohio Chapter President, is available to you and is not limited to Region VI.  

blog de novembre

Bonjour mes collègues!

Iowa President Sheila Conrad
with her certificate as a Future Leader in Saguenay

                                                  IOWA

The AATF of Iowa has a new president elected at their recent business meeting at IWLA.  Welcome to
Sheila Conrad, new president of AATF of Iowa as well as Maria
                                                     Snyder, new vice                                                                president!

 ILLINOIS

 Congratulations to Chicago/N IL Chapter President, Martha Behlow on being chosen as Teacher of the Year by the Illinois Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages this past October.  This means that Martha will be representing ICTFL at the Central States Conference next March.  If you will be there, be sure to applaud loudly when she goes up on stage!

Martha Behlow receiving her Teacher of the Year Award at the ICTFL Conference 

 Also at the ICTFL conference, Martha and Downstate IL Chapter President, Lynda Lopez, together offered a session specifically for French teachers "A French Teacher's Journey toward Professional Success."  The teachers were eager to share where they were in their careers and to offer resources and guidance to each other while Lynda and Martha also highlighted how the AATF can offer them support.  When the time allotted for the session ended, there was disappointment at having to stop the discussion!  One lucky teacher, not pictured here, won the tombola and went home with a bottle of St Hilaire sparkling white wine.  That was a concept "borrowed" from the Wisconsin chapter whose tombola at their annual meeting at WAFLT includes several bottles of French wines.  See a mention below.

Lynda is on the far left and Martha is looking out from the back row in the center.  Debbie Mann, Secretary-Treasurer of the Downstate IL Chapter is on the far right.

WISCONSIN

The AATF of Wisconsin is offering some very attractive "swag" for their members.  This is not a fundraiser but is done in cooperation with "Café Press" who does all the ordering, collecting of money, and delivery.   This address includes lanyards and magnets as well as the "ouisconsin" items: at  http://www.aatfwi.org/#!ouisconsin-swag/koanm    and http://www.cafepress.com/frenchinwisconsin.   "Café Press" even offers cellphone cases with this logo provided by the chapter!






At WAFLT, the WI chapter again used the professionally manufactured table top display, purchased last year,  that rolls up and fits into a carrying case.


At left is Jennie Bolen, NFContest Administrator and Chapter President, Andrea Behn.







At the AATF Business Meeting at WAFLT,  WI Co-President, Justin Charles, was awarded a "Prix de Reconnaissance" in recognition of the major contributions he has and continues to make to the chapter.  When, last year, the President SuAnn Schroeder, was tapped to be President-Elect of WAFLT,  Justin then Immediate Past President, generously consented to be co-president with Andrea.   Due to a cancelled flight on her way home from France with students, Andrea was not able to get to Saguenay in time for the convention to accept the Exemplary French Program Award with Distinction for her school, Parker High School, in Janesville, WI.  Here she is with her award.

Andrea and Justin

Andrea with Eileen and her
Exemplary French Program Award with Distinction

The traditional "Tombola Terrible" at the WAFLT conference as mentioned above took place as usual and included multiple copy sets of several Tintin "albums" as prizes as well as bottles of French wine!

Le 15 décembre
Deadline to submit a session proposal

1) How about doing a session at the AATF national convention in Austin this summer? 

2) Who do you know in your chapter who has done a session at a state conference?

3) Who in your chapter might have a topic/activity to share?

CONVENTION IN AUSTIN, JULY 3-6

KANSAS CITY

Members in Kansas City gathered this past October at the Louisiana Jazz Kitchen where members who had attended the 2015 AATF Convention brought the "spirit of Saguenay" back to KC.

ACTFL in San Diego

Linda Quinn-Allen, member of the AATF of Iowa and professor at Iowa State University, received the ACTFL Papalia Award for excellence in teacher preparation.











Pam Wesely, professor at the University of Iowa did a workshop on teaching social justice.

Brian Wopat, Secretary-Treasurer-Webmaster for the AATF of WI gave a presentation on "Authentically Cultural Bellringers".








NATIONAL FRENCH WEEK

Here's a short video showing what
Chicago/N IL chapter president Martha Behlow's
students did for National French Week:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IHtqzJhEFk







AATF of WI created a "scavenger hunt" using Instagram or Twitter.   Students take photos related to the word for the day and post them on Instagram or Twitter.

Lionel Cuillé, professor at Webster University in St. Louis was the presenter at a recent program for the AATF of Greater St Louis on the Theater of the Absurd that focused on Ionesco and contributed to preparing the members and by extension their students for their attendance at an AATF sponsored performance of "La Leçon" for area students and teachers.

Lionel is a post-secondary teacher who has embraced the concepts that his friend and colleague Alain-Philippe Durand at the University of Arizona.  You may remember Alain-Philippe when he discussed at the Opening Session of our 2013 Rhode Island convention their success at recruiting students at the University of Rhode Island.  In an article in the May 2013 French Review, and more recently in a webinar sponsored by the Service Culturel last Spring he encouraged French teachers to "sell" the 21st century skills that French students will acquire and that will ensure that they will be employable once they graduate and to offer them internships and opportunities to pair French with other disciplines.

In light of the multiple attacks in and near Paris, the AATF of Greater St Louis is particularly proud to be offering a double workshop on the French poet Andrée Chedid (mother of singer Louis Chedid
and grandmother of singer Matthieu Chedid, known as"M" ) and also "Le défi de l'intégration culturel" by Pascale Perraudin, professor at St Louis University in February.

Having France thrust into the spotlight in such a horrifying way has, no doubt, been stressful for you and for the members of your chapter.  Though perhaps difficult, the discussions that you have been having with your students will no doubt show them the value of understanding the history, language, and culture of other countries as we try to work together for world peace and progress on our planet.                                           THANK YOU FOR DOING WHAT YOU DO!

PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON IN YOUR CHAPTERS SO THAT YOUR IDEAS AND ACTIVITIES CAN BE SHARED!

  

MILLE FOIS MERCI!

September 2015

Bonjour mes collègues!                                                                


Very soon it will be October, a month that includes World Language conferences in llinois, Iowa, Kansas, and Minnesota!  The IL presidents, Lynda Lopez and Martha Behlow, will be teaming up to give a presentation at the ICTFL conference, Oct 16-17 that, I too, plan to attend.  Iowa President Kristine Sieren is getting ready for the upcoming IWLA conference in Des Moines and her chapter's annual meeting that will include unveiling the new National French Contest and holding elections of officers.   If it's not a common practice already, an AATF table can be requested in the exhibitors area or near the registration.  Chicago/N IL has a tri-fold display board and Wisconsin purchased not too long ago a professionally designed display that rolls up and fits into a carrying case.  Feel free to contact the AATF National Office, aatf@frenchteachers.org, to request a supply of a variety of brochures to hand out at your state conference, FREE of charge.   The French Consulate is also happy to provide materials to hand out at our state conferences and they too are free of charge.  Laurence Geannopulos, laurence.geannopulos@diplomatie.gouv.fr, will be very happy to send them directly to you at your home or care of you at the conference hotel.


On a personal note, his past month my husband and I and our younger son Piet spent a wonderful ten days in France that included four days in Paris and a five day cruise on the Seine to Honfleur.   Thank you Anna Amelung, AATF of St Louis Chapter President, for your many tips and suggestions that added so much to both our anticipation as well as our time in France.  The Musée Carnavalet and the Musée Jacquemart-André were, for me, wonderful discoveries.  An Airb&b apartment in the Marais, another new experience, made us feel at home.  A 6:30 pm reservation for dinner in the "58 Eiffel Tower" resto meant that we didn't need to wait in line to go up and had an amazingly fine dinner.  But the best part was seeing the city by day as we went up and then by night after dinner, all in the same visit.  Une coupe de champagne at the summit is now a nice way to "top off" the evening. Walking on a transparent section of the flooring at the first level is a little unnerving at first but added to the drama of being so high above the ground!

Wanted to pass on to you all a sample of a recent message that AATF of WI president, Andrea Behn sent to the Wisconsin membership.   Martha Behlow, chapter president of the Chicago/N IL chapter has been sending out this type of message on a weekly basis beginning last school year to keep up with the various announcements that she was receiving and to help the members feel supported by their professional organization.

Bonjour à toutes et tous!      

I hope everyone has had a bonne rentrée! I’m slowly getting organized for the year and I’m sure we are all in the same boat. 

I was recently invited to participate in the AATF-Ohio Immersion Weekend at Mohican State Park. I took a personal day, drove out for the weekend, and had a blast! We spoke French, ate French food, played French games, ate some more, drank French wine, made jokes, and ate. I’m going to look into doing something like this for AATF-WI. I think it’s really important for us to gather with like-minded individuals and recharge our batteries. Let me know if you have ideas, or just want me to know you’d like to participate. 

Martha Behlow, the AATF-Chicago/Northern Illinois President asked me to extend an invitation to their event, Cultivons le français: Une langue pour la vie. This event will be October 3 at Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, Illinois. I have attached the information for this event below.

Looking for something Frenchie? Don’t forget about the Alliance Française de Milwaukee! They have some terrific offerings for francophiles and this year they are partnering with the Milwaukee Film Festival. Check out their website!

WAFLT registration is open! Register early and get those hotel rooms reserved! This year AATF-WI will be offering many opportunities for you to network and learn from others, beginning with the AATF Idea Share. Come to this session at WAFLT with a lesson, activity, or idea and be prepared to share it with others in less than a minute. You can share it with AATF-WI electronically and we will make it available to everyone in the state!

I will be presenting on the AATF Exemplary French Program Award. This is a great way to show off your program and promote French, as well as a way to document what you have done and see where it can grow (data!). It’s not difficult and I’ll show you how to organize everything you need.

AATF-WI Trivia Night will be held Friday night. More information about times and locations will follow (it’s not on the WAFLT site).

Of course, this leads me to the AATF-WI Annual Business Meeting. Our meeting will be from 11-noon on Saturday. Join us! We will present awards and go over announcements. Most notably, we will be voting for a new President-Elect. If you are interested, please send me an email along with a statement about what you’d like to do as President. I think our exec board is phenomenal, so please consider it!

Andrea Behn, Toni Theisen, Brian Wopat

I’d like to thank everyone who made the Toni Theisen workshop a success. She is wonderful, isn’t she?  I appreciated the feedback and we have ideas for making the next one better. For those of you who were not able to join us, there is information out there that we will link to our new AATF-WI website once we get it going. (We are working on updating it!)





Here’s a reminder that the Grand Concours can be taken electronically this year, in case you missed the announcement. I don’t have any other information right now, but I’m sure Jennie and I will get that to you when we know. Also remember that the information for the Concours Oral will be up around the beginning of November. If you haven’t done either of these events in the past and are curious about getting started, please contact me. Additionally, I know of at least one school who is starting la Société Honoraire de Français this year. I can help out with this too!

Sorry for the lengthy message! We have a lot of things coming up. Please don’t hesitate to contact me, even if it’s to say bonjour or share an announcement that may benefit the group. At the same time, don’t forget about our French in Wisconsin group on Facebook for sharing information. 

Merci mille fois pour tous que vous faites!

Andrea

Andrea Behn, French Teacher, French Club/SHF Advisor, Parker High School-Janesville, WI

(608) 743-5745    abehn@janesville.k12.wi.us    http://teacherbehn.weebly.com

AATF-Wisconsin Co-President, WAFLT Executive Board member, National Board Candidate

The AATF of Minnesota is planning their annual dinner at which they will be honoring their 2015Teacher of the Year.   This year their dinner will feature Lebanese cuisine!

This past Tuesday, Sept 22 at noon a "Cérémonie des Palmes Académiques" took place in St Paul where AATF Chapter President Joëlle Vitiello, "Reflets du Nord" AATF Chapter newsletter editor, Françoise Denis, and Alliance Française de Minneapolis Director, Christina Selander Bouzouina, were decorated with the Academic Palms by Vincent Floreani, Consul General of France.   Looking forward to getting some photos.

We are thrilled to announce that a Region VI professor at Iowa State and a member of the AATF will be receiving the ACTFL Papalia Award for excellence in the preparation of World Langages student teachers, Linda Quinn-Allen.  She will receive this prestigious award at the ACTFL conference in San Diego.  Be sure to congratulate her if you will be attending the conference.

A very positive exchange of information that is only possible because we are all connected by the AATF came about just recently when a professor at Elmhurst College near Chicago working with chapter president Martha Behlow on the October program, was discussing the need to interest more college French students in becoming teachers.  We know that there is an increasing worry about having a shortage of French teachers due to some colleges having dropped the French major.   So I mentioned that the AATF of Greater Kansas City has a tradition of organizing an event including lunch at a local French restaurant for high school and college teachers who invite some of their students to hear about the advantages of a career teaching French.  The panel of teachers who address the students usually includes a teacher new-to-the-profession, a seasoned teacher, and a retiree.  The information that Greater Kansas City president, Katie Madigan, and chapter member and former national president Ann Sunderland, offered about this event was very well received and could be the spark that will ignite a similar event in the Chicago chapter.   I hope that you agree that this kind of synergy is the AATF at its best!

Voici un message de Guy Paradis, un de nos hôtes à Saguenay.  C'était dans son école que nous avons dîné un soir et vu le film "Louis Cyr."  Il propose l'idée d'un séjour au Centre Linguistique pour les professeurs, les élèves, et les étudiants.

Bonjour,

Toute l’équipe du Centre linguistique du Collège de Jonquière se joint à moi pour vous souhaiter une excellente rentrée 2015.  C’est aussi le bon moment de songer à un séjour linguistique pour vos élèves.  Pourquoi ne pas le faire au Québec!

Étudier le français au Québec n’a jamais été si accessible

Avec la force du dollar américain versus le dollar canadien, vous économisez grandement.  Un programme à 1900 CAD vous coûtera au taux de change actuel (1 CAD = 0,76 USD)  1444 USD. 

Des programmes pour tous les âges et toute l’année

Du 14 décembre au 2 janvier – immersion pour étudiants universitaires @ 1900 CAD

Du 4 au 22 janvier – immersion pour adultes cours de groupe @ 2375 CAD

Du 16 mai au 17 juin – immersion pour étudiants universitaires @ 2800 CAD

Du 4 au 22 juillet – immersion pour adultes cours de groupe @ 2375 CAD

Du 4 juillet au 5 août – immersion pour jeunes de 16 et 17 ans @ 2800 CAD

Tous les programmes ci-dessus comprennent les cours, les activités socioculturelles, l’hébergement en famille hôte et trois repas par jour. 

Des avantages intéressants pour les groupes

Un accompagnateur pour chaque tranche de 15 étudiants

Transport aller-retour entre l’aéroport de Québec et Saguenay

Possibilité d’ajouter des activités (ex. visite de Québec, baleines à Tadoussac, ski et planche à neige…)

Ville de Saguenay, 150 000 habitants, accueillante, sécuritaire et surtout 100 % francophone

Présentation web possible afin de répondre aux questions des étudiants et des parents

Le Centre linguistique du Collège de Jonquière, 45 ans d’excellence!

Planifiez votre prochain voyage au Saguenay!

Contactez-nous pour tous les détails.

Guy Paradis,

Directeur / Director

Centre Linguistique du Collège de Jonquière, 2505 rue St-Hubert, Jonquière, (Québec) G7X 7W2

(418) 547-2191, poste 360  (418) 542-0352    (418) 540-7189 cell.     (418) 542-3536 téléc.

centling@cjonquiere.qc.ca

Most of you have, no doubt, received a message from Denis Quénelle, the Attaché Culturel Adjoint for our region with an announcement of a workshop that teachers or organizations can host.  He describes it as "un atelier de six heures intitulé « Réaliser une Webradio sur le thème du climat » ... qui  a pour objectif de fournir aux enseignants les compétences nécessaires pour produire avec leurs élèves de courts reportages audio sur le thème du changement climatique." These workshops will be scheduled for from the 14th to the 25th of November.   While the planning time frame is short, feel free to share this with your members.  Andrea and Kristine, I didn't see your names among the "destinataires," so I let Denis know to add you to his list of AATF presidents.   So now we can expect that you will be getting his messages.  I wonder if a college or university in one of your chapters might find that this kind of event aligns with their departmental goals and would have some funds to welcome this French "formateur."




The AATF of Greater St Louis has, no doubt, already held their member program on Ionesco and will soon sponsor a performance for students by the the dramatic company "Caravague" of La leçon on October 25.  As always, the rest of us would love some photos of these events and any reaction from the teachers or students.   This chapter has a long tradition of this kind of literary offering first for teachers and then a dramatic staging of a French "oeuvre" for students.






The Chicago/N IL October 3 chapter program mentioned in Andrea's message above will focus on the need for middle and high school teachers to be aware of how advantageous it will be for their students to study French in college and to encourage them to continue.  They will look at some of the rationales that Alain-Philippe Durand presented at our 2013 national convention in Rhode Island and more recently during a Webinar sponsored by the Service Culturel last spring and respond to their fear that French will not lead to a job.  Focusing on the 21st skills that studying French will offer them as well as study abroad, internships, and service learning, whether their future job involves French or not, will be part of the discussion as well as role plays so that teachers can practice explaining how French will enhance their lives and their careers.

This chapter's Social Media Committee has embarked on a plan to send out brief messages on Facebook promoting AATF membership.
They plan to then expand this type of message to other themes and topics.  Here's a sample with a message and another with a testimonial.  This is based on the power of social media and also on the value of personal connections and the positive influence we teachers have on each other!

That's all from here. Please send short messages of what you and your members are doing and, of course, photos!  Soon it will be time to submit (Nov 1st) a report from our Region VI when your activities can be shared with French teachers nationwide!


A+
Eileen
eileenwalvoord@gmail.com