October 5, 2009

A Letter from the Chapter President:

Liebe Kollegen und Kolleginnen,

Greetings! I hope that your fall term has gotten off to a great and productive start. 

In this fall edition of Der Austausch you will find updates and reminders about the annual AATG Ohio Chapter conference to be held in Columbus on October 23-24. In addition to the guest speaker, film screening, and memos from across the state, we will be introducing a new event at this year’s conference – a lesson plan contest for members at any level.  Read below for more details.

Additionally, there is a call for nominations for the position of Second Vice President. If you would like to be considered for this position or if you know someone who would, please submit your information for a vote at the fall conference.

I hope you enjoy this edition and look forward to meeting you at one of our upcoming chapter events.

Thank you for all that you do to help maintain the teaching of German at all levels in Ohio!

Servus und herzliche Grüße,

Nikhil Sathe

President, Ohio AATG

Ohio University

 

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Seeking nominations for the Second Vice President Position

The position of Second Vice President of the Ohio AATG remains open.  If you would like to nominate yourself or someone else, please e-mail your nomination along with a short bio to Nikhil Sathe at sathe@ohio.edu  After compiling all nominations, the election will be held at the Fall Conference.

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Fall Ohio AATG conference information

2009 ANNUAL FALL Ohio-AATG CONFERENCE IN COLUMBUS

 

I would like to invite all members to attend our Annual Fall Conference in Columbus this year. The meeting will be held October 23-24 at a new facility - the Holiday Inn- Columbus Worthington at 7007 N. High Street, Worthington, OH  43085 (Phone:  614-436-0700). If booked no later than October 9, the room rate is $89.00 plus tax. Rooms at our discounted rate are limited. Please tell them that you are attending the Ohio AATG meeting to get this rate.

 The final program of this year’s conference is still in the planning stage, but a few highlights can already be announced.  Our guest speaker, Margaret Hampton of Earlham College, will give a workshop on strategies for teaching about ethnic diversity in Germany, in particular the population of Germans of African descent. 

 A new event at this year’s conference promises to be very interactive – a contest for the best lesson using a German pop song! This contest invites everyone to devise a lesson structured around a specific song (“Alles Gute” by Silbermond) and then make a short presentation (3-5 minutes) at the conference in which they describe their lesson. The members will vote on the best ideas.  The winners will receive prizes, and everyone will profit from the range of ideas that our members have shared. (See below for more details).

 Following the enthusiastic response for last year’s film screening, we will again have a number of films available, from which the members will choose the film to be screened.

 As is our norm, teachers attending our conference for the first time will have their registration fees waived.

 I look forward to meeting you in Columbus and wish you a successful and productive new school year!

 Best wishes,

Nikhil Sathe

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 Tentative Schedule

Friday, October 23, 2009

4:00 –   4:30                Registration, Welcome, and Refreshments 

4:30 –   4:45              Introduction and Announcements  

4:45 –   6:00                Lesson plan contest: member presentations (see below for details).  And (time permitting) “Zeit für Helden: Teaching with Wir sind Helden” by Nikhil Sathe, Ohio University. 

6:15 –   8:00                Film Screening: (Membership’s choice) There will be a number of recent films from the German-speaking countries from which the members will choose the film to be shown.   

8:00                             Dinner (Reservations at a local restaurant)* We are currently planning dinner reservations for 20. In order to get a more accurate count so we can adjust our reservation accordingly, we ask that you indicate on your registration form if you think you will be joining us for dinner.

 Saturday, October 23, 2009

9:00 –   9:15                Welcome/Announcements/Introductions

 9:15 – 10:00               Speakers to be announced

 10:00 – 12:00              Keynote Speaker: Margaret Hampton (Earlham College). Topic: “Presenting a More Diverse Germany to a More Diverse Audience of German Learners.”

 12:00 -   1:30               Lunch (in-house)

 1:30 -   2:00                 Speakers to be announced

 2:00  -  2:30                 Announcements and Updates from the membership

                                   Conclusion of the Conference

                                   Awarding of Door Prize and Membership Contest Prize

 2:30  -  3:00                 Executive Board Business Meeting (open to all members)

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Membership Lesson Contest: How can we use it in class?

Pop music in German is an effective tool for enhancing your classes and motivating your students. With this contest, we want to get everyone thinking about and sharing ideas for using music productively for teaching language and culture. This contest seeks to achieve that by having members devise a lesson centering on a current pop song (Silbermond’s “Alles Gute”), which they will present at the conference.  Fellow members will then vote on the best lesson. The winners of the contest will receive valuable prizes, but everyone will win, because we will leave the conference with concrete lessons and lots of creative ideas that we can apply to other music. 

 The rules are simple:

 How to access the contest song and the lyrics?

There are a number of ways that you can get access to the recording “Alles Gute.”

1. If you use iTunes, the song is available at the iTunes store.

2. There are two fan sites on Youtube.com that feature the music. You can use these links to play the song from your computer:

(The first link shows the lyrics along with the song, the second only has the music)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVQVDismY-8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaFg0sFGWOQ&feature=related

For additional information, visit the band’s official website: (http://www.silbermond.de/)

 Lyrics:            Silbermond: “Alles Gute”

 Irgendetwas fehlt und lässt dich taumeln

Tag für Tag

Du willst weitergehen

Doch weißt nicht

wie lange, du das noch schaffst

 

Und du sehnst dich so

nach diesem einen Atemzug

Der dich am Leben lässt

Und dir sagt, dass alles hier vergessen ist

 

Und alles bis hierher

Zählt ab heut nichts mehr

Denn alles Gute liegt vor dir

Alles Gute liegt vor dir

 

Alles wird anders sein

und deine Wunden heilen auch

Gib dir ein bisschen Zeit

sie legt Zuversicht darauf

 

Lass Wind in deine Segel

und lauf auf zu neuen Wegen

Gestern war noch nichts und niemand hier

Und jetzt eine ganze Legion hinter dir

 

Und alles bis hierher

Zählt ab heut nichts mehr

Denn alles Gute liegt vor dir

Alles Gute liegt vor dir

 

Alles Gute liegt vor dir

Alles Gute liegt vor dir

Alles wird gut ab hier

Alles wird gut ab hier

Denn alles Gute liegt vor dir

 

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OFLA Awards: Nominate your colleagues!

We already know that German has the best language teachers in the state, but we need to make sure that they get the recognition they deserve, and the Ohio Foreign Language Association is an ideal venue for this.  OFLA has several award categories.  Nominate one of your colleagues today! The process is fairly easy and you certainly know about deserving candidates! You can find all the needed information here: http://www.ofla-online.org/index.php?module=webpage&id=6   Keep in mind that the deadline for submissions is December 1, 2009.

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AATG PAD TEST

By Stephanie E. Libbon (Kent State University)

As I reported in the last issue of Austausch, the downturn in the economy had a negative effect on the AATG travel awards. In the past, the national AATG had been able to offer 60 awards thus guaranteeing every State at least one award and in some cases two. This year, with only 36 travel awards available for allocation, not every Chapter was able to receive an award. The Ohio chapter was very fortunate in that we were one of the recipients. 

 Congratulations

 Please join me in congratulating Emilie Watson of Tinora High School and her teacher Pam Reid.

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AATG and non-AATG affiliated professional development programs

For German instructors at all levels there are numerous programs, both AATG affiliated and otherwise, for professional development, especially summer programs abroad.  These programs are an excellent opportunity to refresh your German and to update yourself on contemporary Europe and to gain new knowledge and skills.  There is a broad array of programs and for many there is funding available, but the application process starts very soon. Please have a look at the AATG and consider applying for one of these programs.  The list is available here: http://www.aatg.org/prof-development

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Chapter Directory

President: Nikhil Sathe, Ohio University, Dept. of Modern Languages, Athens, OH 45701. (740) 597-2723. sathe@ohio.edu

First Vice President: Richard Kiovsky, Hudson High School, 2500 Hudson-Aurora Rd. Hudson, OH 44236. (330) 653-1416.  kiovskyr@hudson.edu

Second Vice President: position open

Treasurer: Cynthia Trocchio, Kent State University, Dept. of MCLS, Kent, OH 44242. (330) 672-1810. ctrocchi@kent.edu

PAD Testing Chair: Stephanie E. Libbon, Kent State University, Dept. of MCLS, Kent, OH 44242. (330) 672-1811. slibbon@kent.edu

Editor, Der Austausch: Nikhil Sathe, Ohio University, Dept. of Modern Languages, Athens, OH 45701.(740) 597-2723. sathe@ohio.edu

Webmaster: Mark Himmelein, Mount Union College, Dept. of Foreign Languages, Alliance, OH 44601. (330) 829-8704.

Listserve Master: Stephanie E. Libbon, Kent State University, Dept. of MCLS, Kent, OH 44242. (330) 672-1811. slibbon@kent.edu