AATF
Advocacy Workshop
Loyola College, Baltimore, MD
November 17, 2005 (9:00 am - 4:00 pm)
TENTATIVE AGENDA:
Participants and leaders introductions -
Sharing personal French advocacy anecdotes:
General negative attitudes and conditions which thwart foreign-language
learning in the US
General negative attitudes toward French, and how they contribute to
need for advocacy
Foreign Language: An Essential Core Experience
Any of your students give you a personal reason for taking French?
Your "French-is-useful" stories:
Can any of you think of a local reason why French should be important
to your community?
French-bashing chez vous.
What is the activity you associate with advocacy, because you have seen
it, done it, or have heard of it being done?
Have any of you participated in promotional activity (National French
Week, etc.)?
Year of Languages (ACTFL) examine YOL packet from ACTFL
http://www.yearoflanguages.org/
Promoting A Language-Proficient Society - What Can You Do?
http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/0001promoting.html
Commission on the Promotion of French
http://www.frenchteachers.org/hq/commiss.html#promo
National French Week
http://www.frenchteachers.org/nfw/Default.htm
What are the differences between promotion and advocacy? How are
they alike?
What are the obvious ties between promotion and advocacy, and how can
we best use them?
The logic behind the AATF's plan:
Ideas for French Language & Culture Advocacy in
the UShttp://www.utm.edu/~globeg/advofr.shtml
A nose for relevant information
Geographic levels of advocacy (district, state,
region, nation)
Advocacy and the nature of US public education
Gathering information about a specific crisis
(Local, State)
Getting contacts and "dog-in-the-fight" allies from
information
state DOE (foreign language
supervisor, etc.)
state foreign language teachers
organization
regional foreign language
teachers organization
district foreign language
supervisor
state and local business
connections
Foreign-owned
business
Exporting
business
Importers
Assembly-chain
business
International
service business
State-based
firms with subsidiaries
Regional Consulates of French and
Francophone Countries
Regional French Chamber of
Commerce
State and regional French
language and cultural organizations
French moments in state history
French-speaking celebs from each state
HANDS-ON PORTION
Ways of making web pages.
Explanation of work-stations and individual work packets
Microsoft-Word application on desktop as notepad
Windows notepad
Microsoft-Word application on desktop as site sketch
Microsoft-Word->HTML copy of site sketch on
desktop
Desktop as collection point for illustrations )drag
and drop)
Microsoft-Word->HTML with illustrations +
accompanying folder
Discussion about hosting, directories, server-side includes, etc.
Trial-runs at basic functions, including multi-tasking
Techniques for using Google, Alltheweb etc.
Starting a web page.
Bringing the page up to check it.
Burn a CD-R