Picture of the Week #37 German students from the Plano School District celebrate the Year of Languages at their annual "Night at the Dallas Mavericks with Dirk Nowitzki" Over 500 German students from 23 schools participated and were able to chat with Dirk in German after the game. German teacher Beth Smith organized the event and photo credit goes to Danny Bollinger.
	Picture of the Week #36 The third grade students at Ephesus Elementary School wrote and illustrated a story in French and had the book published by Nationwide Learning, Inc.  as part of the Year of Languages celebration.   The 3 classes, about 75 students, voted to dedicate the book to Gertrude Johnson , pictured on the right,  who had just retired last year as our school's librarian/media coordinator.   Teacher Carol Orringer is seated on the left.
	Picture of the Week #35 Student Kyle Murray of West Lafayette Community School in Indiana designed this poster for 2005: The Year of Languages to help his school Celebrate... Educate... Communicate... The Power of Language Learning! Kyle's teacher is Angelika Becker.
	Picture of the Week #34 In celebration of the Year of Languages, students of Professor Susan Petit present poems in Italian, Spanish, Punjabi, Armenian and Greek at College of San Mateo’s World Language Week, October 24-28, 2005.
	Picture of the Week #33 President Mikhail Gorbachev (pictured here with ACTFL Council member Mara Sukholutskaya) honored the Ada, Oklahoma community with his visit. He stayed here just for one day but what a full day it was! He shared his view on world politics with more than 4000 people who came to Ada not only from Oklahoma but also from neighboring states. President Gorbachov talked about globalization, ecology, and other important topics. He specifically emphasized how important it was to know and respect other cultures to preserve peace on Earth. He also encouraged students to learn Russian Language and Russian Literature.
	Picture of the Week #32 Today’s Children Need More Than English to Succeed. A picture from New Jersey: In the spirit of the Year of Languages and the month of October, when the benefits of early language learning are highlighted, NNELL in collaboration with ACTFL and FLENJ started an educational campaign for teachers, parents, and anyone interested in early language learning entitled “World Languages Prepare NJ’s Children for a Changing World.” (More information on YOL’s bulletin board). In the picture, ACTFL’s Language Learning for Children SIG co-chair and NJ Representative for NNELL, Ana Lomba  (4th from left, wearing a black shirt), is surrounded by a group of enthusiastic parents, early childhood educators and even a very committed grandma!
	Picture of the Week #31 Classicists support the Year of Languages by presenting proclamations to Marty Abbott, ACTFL's Director of Education at their annual American Classical League (ACL) Institute.  Pictured with Marty are Tom Sienkewicz, ACL Vice-President and Kenneth Kitchell, ACL President, and below Nancy McKee, Chair of the National Committee for Latin and Greek (NCLG) which also presented Marty with a proclamation.
	Picture of the Week #30 Celebrating the "Heritage Languages" theme for September are members of the Connecticut Council of Language Teachers (CT COLT) and student volunteers at the Boats, Books, and Brushes…with Taste festival held September 16-18 in New London, CT.  Pictured at the Year of Languages booth are Mary Touhy, Past President of CT COLT, Christi Moraga, Chair of the CT COLT Year of Languages committee and organizer of the event, and Barbara Lindsey, CT COLT President.  Visitors to the booth could make language buttons or Napoleon hats as well as pick up information about language learning while festival goers enjoyed the performances by children and adults in various languages.
	Picture of the Week #29 The Confederation in Oregonfor Language Teaching (COFLT) announced the grand prize winning poster of the Oregon 2005 Year of Languages Poster Contest.  Congratulations go to Molly Whitney, a 10th grade student of Spanish at CorvallisHigh School. Click here for more information.
	Picture of the Week #28 The national Year of Languages event featuring the theme of "Parents" was held in Sacramento, CA, co-sponsored by ACTFL and the California Language Teachers Association.  Nicole Naditz, CLTA Chair of the Year of Languages Committee, organized the event which featured student performers and testimonials as well as supportive statements from representatives of business, government, and education.  Pictured here are student performers from the Folklórico Aztlán de Sacramento.
	Picture of the Week #27 To highlight the month of May's advocacy theme, ACTFL members lobby Senator Richard Burr from North Carolina in his office on Capitol Hill.  Making their point with the Senator are Bret Lovejoy, ACTFL Executive Director, Carolyn Wright, Foreign Language Association of North Carolina (FLANC) Advocacy and Political Action  Chair, Cathie Hodges, Executive Director, Alliance for Language Learning, Senator Burr, and Audrey Heining-Boynton, ACTFL President.
	Picture of the Week #26 KWMU listeners call in to St. Louis on the Air to discuss the importance of learning a foreign language with host Steve Potter; Laura Terrill, Coordinator of Foreign Languages and English as a Second Language at Parkway School District; Martha G. Abbott, Director of Education for ACTFL; and Deborah Baldini, UM-St. Louis Associate Dean of Arts & Sciences Continuing Education and faculty member in the Dept. of Foreign Languages.
	Picture of the Week #25 High school students in Henrico County, VA proudly display the signs that they posted on their mailboxes outside their houses as part of the Year of Languages celebration showing the public how many language learners reside in their county!!
	Picture of the Week #24 Richard Kalfus, ACTFL Executive Council member and professor at St. Louis Community College, displays a proclamation in support of the Year of Languages signed by the Mayor of St. Louis.
	Picture of the Week #23 This little Texas tyke proves that you're never too young to celebrate the Year of Languages!!
	Picture of the Week #22 Connecticut teachers, parents and students promoted world languages at the “Taste of Greater Hartford” on June 11. Top left: Christy Brown and Christi Moraga join multilingual fathers, from Belgium and Benin, in a rendition of “Sur le pont d’Avignon.” Top right: Famous storyteller, Raouf Mama, tells a story from Benin in French and English. Center: Students from Storrs cheer for UCONN in Spanish. Bottom right: Chinese alphabet is recited by mother-daughter team. Bottom left: Children from The German School of Connecticut perform their rhyme, “Ich flieg mit meinem Flugzeug” (I fly in my Airplane) from the COLT Rhyme Celebration.
	Picture of the Week #21 Evidence that the Year of Languages is being celebrated across the country, here is Miss Liberty in a small town parade in Michigan on July 4 celebrating languages!  In the spirit of YOL, Miss Liberty was driven by Dutch American Brian Veneklasen and accompanied by Czech American Tom Vituj.
	Picture of the Week #20 The University of South Florida proudly sponsored a Year of Languages proclamation.  At the signing ceremony were Jeffra Flaitz, Associate Professor of Linguistics; Renu Khator, USF Provost; Carine Feyten, Assoc. Dean of Education; Judy Genshaft, USF President; and Victor Peppard, Chair of World Language Education.
Click here for a larger version.	Picture of the Week #19 Independence Charter School (K-8) located in Center City Philadelphia draws children from virtually every Philadelphia neighborhood.  The charter's emphasis on second language acquisition (Spanish) and developing citizens of the world is especially evident in their yearly International Festival in celebration of the Year of Languages.  This year, 8 countries were presented at the festival:  China, Mexico, India, Kenya, Ireland, Greece, Japan, the Dominican Republic.  This picture was submitted by Marcela Summerville.
	Picture of the Week #18 Esther Chon and Julia Jang of Franklin High School (Elk Grove, CA) read "The Story of Hung Bu and Nolbu" in Korean to their audience at the Arcade Community Library in Sacramento, CA.  This event was part of the Read Around the World storytimes that took place at branches of the libraries of the Sacramento Public Library System. Organized by Nicole Naditz, Chair of the California Year of Languages Committee, this will become an annual event in the Sacramento area.
	Picture of the Week #17 Olivia W., 4th grader at Emerson Elementary in Westerville Ohio dances to "Chiapanecas" at the school's "2005: The Year of Languages" celebration.
	Picture of the Week #16 As part of World Language Days and the Year of Languages celebration at the College of San Mateo, Professor Beth Harrison leads a session at which students presented favorite poems in their native languages and in English.
	Picture of the Week #15 Yuki, an ESL student from Japan, poses by "The Language Tree," a project of the after-school club "Taste of Languages," part of the West Woods Upper Elementary School's celebration of 2005: The Year of Languages.  The tree represents common words used in English that are borrowed from other languages.  The club's activities have included parents representing other languages as guest speakers and a snack from cultures around the world.  The school is located in Farmington, CT and the club advisor is Christi Moraga.
	Picture of the Week #14 Graduates from Chapel Hill High School (Chapel Hill, NC) return for a panel discussion on advocacy at a recent Year of Languges celebration. The alumni shared with the 500-member student audience how they have used their languages in work or academic study.
	Picture of the Week #13 In celebration of the Year of Languages, the Jones Library in Amherst, MA, under the direction of Kathleen Wang, has sponsored lunchtime language classes to provide community members with a "linguasnack" and familiarize them with a new language.  Pictured here is instructor Katarina Hallonblad conducting the Finnish Linguasnack with 38 people in attendance!
	Picture of the Week #12 John DeMado, luncheon speaker at the Southwest Conference on Language Teaching (SWCOLT), gives Audrey Cournia, SWCOLT Executive Director, a hug in front of the Year of Languages table placards, designed by Carrie Harrington, Language Supervisor in Fort Worth, TX, and member of the Year of Languages Working Committee.
	Picture of the Week #11 Celebrating the Year of Languages at the Colorado Congress of Foreign Language Teachers are students Ashley Lanham and Kellie Geha accompanied by President-elect Yumiko Guajardo, U.S. Air Force Academy!
	Picture of the Week #10 This week's picture is one of the winning student entries for the Year of Languages calendar contest organized by James D. Hock from Del City High School in Del City, OK.  This was James' Senior Project  for which he conducted a contest of student entries and produced a Year of Languages calendar.  This was the entry of Lisa Phan, student at Mustang High School.  James' teacher is Desa Dawson.
	Picture of the Week #9 ACTFL Executive Director Bret Lovejoy celebrates the Year of Languages with third grade students at Waynewood Elementary School in Alexandria, VA by reading them a story about the United Nations.  Their teacher is Mia Landrum.
	Picture of the Week #8 Peach of a Celebration for Year of Languages!  The Foreign Language Association of Georgia (FLAG) held its annual Spoken Language Contest at Peachtree Ridge High School in Gwinnett County and Darton College in Albany on Saturday, March 4, 2005.  Pictured here is Marsha Friedman, French teacher at Gainesville High School, showing off the FLAG Year of Languages t-shirt.  The event attracted nearly 600 students as well as parents and teachers! Students interviewed in French, German, Japanese, Latin, and Spanish. New this year was a college fair so students could visit with professors from around the state. Participating students all received Year of Languages stickers in addition to their certificates of participation and awards ribbons based on their performance. In addition, the 70 volunteer judges received Year of Languages materials to take back with them to their schools. It was a great day for languages in Georgia!
	Picture of the Week #7 Featured on the NPR radio station in Charlotte, NC are Sheri Spaine Long, ACTFL Executive Council member, Audrey Heining-Boynton, ACTFL President, and Caroline Switzer Kelly, President of the Foreign Language Association of North Carolina (FLANC).  The radio show, hosted by Chris Clackum, was conducted in conjunction with the SCOLT Conference and a "language ambush" that was held in the city of Charlotte.
	Picture of the Week #6 Kathy Olson and her students from St. Paul Academy and Summit School participate in a rally at the State Capitol in celebration of the Year of Languages on February 21, President's Day in St. Paul, Minnesota.  This effort, coordinated by Betty Lotterman and Anita Ratwik, representing Minnesota New Visions, brought attention to the state legislature about the importance of "starting early and staying long" in language education programs.
	Picture of the Week #5 Mami is a student at Crestridge Global Studies Magnet in Omaha holding her winning Year of Language's Poster.  Crestridge, a K-6 elemntary, has language instruction in German, Japanese and Spanish.
	Picture of the Week #4 South Carolinians are getting full exposure to the Year of Languages via this bill board sponsored by the South Carolina Foreign Languages Teachers' Association (SCFLTA).  Seen by over 50,000 people a day as they drive through Columbia, we thank SCFLTA for getting the message out!
	Picture of the Week #3 Students from the National Spanish Honor Society of Carter Riverside High School in Fort Worth, TX show their Year of Languages colors for the Fort Worth Livestock Exposition and Rodeo.  Also pictured is Carrie Harrington, Foreign Language Supervisor for Fort Worth Schools and member of the Year of Languages Working Committee.  Honor Society sponsors are Elena West and Carlos Díaz.
	Picture of the Week #2 Monmouth College president Richard Giese (second from right) presents a proclamation to Capron Professor of Classics Tom Sienkewicz, which declares 2005 as “The Year of Languages.” Also participating in the presentation are Donald Professor of Modern Foreign Languages Sue Holm and vice president for academic affairs Rajkumar Ambrose.   More Information...
	Picture of the Week #1 With assistance from Lamar Advertising, the Foreign Language Association of Virginia (FLAVA) designed this billboard which graces West Broad Street in Richmond, Virginia.  This is the first of several billboards that FLAVA has planned around the state according to Val Gooss, President, and Nora Newell, Past President.

 

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