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In this issue:

Ø New Publications

Ø ASA Conference

Ø ACTFL Conference

Ø FLTA Workshop

2006: most productive year yet for materials development
2006 was been a very productive year for the NALRC in terms of Materials Development. Since last January, we published four new textbooks and two learners’ reference grammars. The first new title of the year was Bezza Tesfaw Ayalew’s Amharic Learners’ Reference Grammar – the follow up to his 2005 Let’s Speak Amharic. The Amharic Learners’ Reference Grammar is a concise introduction to the grammar of Amharic that builds upon the reader’s basic understanding of English grammar. This fall, Ma Yenka Akan-Twi, Ngatitaure Shona, and Bua Sesotho also hit the shelves. Like the other NALRC Let’s Speak textbooks, these new ones are communiticatively oriented in nature and strive to present the elements of their respective languages and cultures in a manner that engages the learner and invites		her/him to use the language for real communication. Also this fall, the NALRC published the first of a new series of intermediate level textbooks we are calling our “Let’s Read Series.” Tusome Kiswahili, Let’s Read Swahili, by Leonard Muaka and Angaluki Muaka, is modeled after Antonia Folarin Schleicher’s Je K’A Ka Yoruba, Let’s Read Yoruba. The Let’s Read Series addresses listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in the target language with greater complexity and sophistication than the elementary level series. These texts are designed to allow students to understand, speak, read, and write the language with increased fluency and confidence.		Finally, just before the end of the year, the Second Edition of the popular Swahili Learner’s Reference Grammar, by Katrina Daly Thompson, came out. The Second Edition includes revisions of previous material and expansion on previous concepts, making it an even more useful resource to students of Kiswahili. Many more textbooks are in the works at the NALRC. In the next year, we hope to release Let’s Speak textbooks for Somali, Kikongo, and Wolof. We are also developing intermediate level Let’s Read materials for Shona and a Wolof Dictionary. For more information about our publications and for purchasing information, visit the NALRC website



NALRC reaches hundreds at ASA
Matthew H. Brown and Andrew Gurstelle represented the National African Language Resource Center at the 49th African Studies Association annual conference, held in beautiful downtown San Francisco at the Westin St. Francis hotel from November 16-19. This year’s conference theme of “(Re) Thinking Africa and the World: Internal Reflections, External Responses” struck a chord with the NALRC’s commitment to connecting the world to	Africa through language, and we were pleased to again attend this wonderful event. Matthew and Andrew arrived in San Francisco late Wednesday, and set up the NALRC display booth early Thursday morning, the first day of the conference. The popular language brochures were back, much to the delight of conference goers. The entire “Let’s Speak” textbook series was on display too, including the new titles: A Re Beung Setswana, Ngatitaure Shona, and Ma Yenka Akan (Twi). The “Learners’ Reference Grammar” series was also on hand, including the new Amharic Learners’ Reference Grammar. Each day, Matthew and Andrew had the opportunity to speak with the hundreds of professors, researchers, and		scholars that filtered through the exhibition hall. Comments ranged from astonishment at the number of language materials produced, to excitement over producing new materials for the NALRC andwelcomed critiques on how the NALRC might improve the quality of publications. Many conference goers interested in the recent activities of the NALRC took a copy of the ULIMI (the NALRC bulletin) with them. Both Matthew and Andrew had the opportunity to attend a few panels throughout the conference and to enjoy ASA’s “Video Marketplace.” The conference was a huge success, and the NALRC looks forward to attending the upcoming 50^th African Studies Association annual conference in New York!
Matthew and Andrew at ASA in San Francisco.

Ongoing NALRC Projects

Please follow the links below to learn more about NALRC publications

Hint: Click on any picture for the full-size version.

NALRC brings recognition of African languages to ACTFL
Adedoyin Adenuga and Brittany VandeBerg represented the NALRC at the 40^th annual meeting and exhibition of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), held at the Renaissance Hotel and Nashville Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee, from November 16-19, 2006. The theme of this year’s ACTFL conference was “Discover Languages, Discover the World” which the presence of the NALRC augmented by opening up the conference to the many languages on the African continent. Our booth was shared with the National Middle East Language Resource Center (NMELRC) in the area reserved	especially for Language Resource Centers. Our booth generated a large amount of interest and excitement among conference attendees due to the fact that the NALRC was the only booth on the conference floor dealing specifically with African languages. Many visitors to the NALRC’s booth were teachers interested in beginning African language programs in their schools at the K-12 levels or finding teaching materials for current African language programs. The ever-popular language brochures were especially influential in illustrating the vast number of languages spoken on the African continent.	The entire “Let’s Speak” textbook series was on display too, including the new titles: A Re Beung Setswana, Ngatitaure Shona, and Ma Yenka Akan (Twi). The “Learners’ Reference Grammar” series was also on hand, including the new Amharic Learners’ Reference Grammar. Adedoyin and Brittany spoke with a variety of language teachers and administrators who were interested in bringing knowledge of African languages to their schools. Brittany also gave a presentation about the goals, achievements, and future projects of the NALRC at a session introducing and explaining the benefits of Language Resource Centers.	Having NALRC representation at the conference was helpful both for educators and for the center. The NALRC looks forward to attending the upcoming 40^th American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages annual conference in San Antonio, Texas.
			The NALRC booth at ACTFL

NALRC meets teachers of LCTLs on their turf
NALRC Director, Professor Antonia Schleicher, was invited to present workshops at this year’s Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) orientation in Cairo, Egypt, July 16-20, 2006. The purpose of the FLTA orientation in Cairo is to bring together and prepare teachers of Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTLs), from Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia, who are bound for U.S institutions where they will teach their native languages and cultures to American students. At this year’s orientation, Professor Schleicher shared with these	Professor Schleicher with a group of FLTAs in Cairo, Egypt	Language Teacher, African Language Teaching that Brings Desirable Outcomes, and the Status of Standards Development for African Language Teaching. Each year, nearly one hundred students and young teachers from Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia participate in the FLTA program. According to the Institute of International Education, “The FLTA program provides an opportunity for young, international teachers of English to refine their teaching skills, increase their English language proficiency and extend their knowledge of the cultures and customs of the United States while	engaging in non-degree studies. FLTAs add an energetic and up-to-date cultural component to foreign language classes as well as to student life on U.S. campuses. This interaction makes studying and learning languages much more meaningful and real.” The NALRC hopes that this summer’s workshops help us to realize our commitment to strengthening the quality of African language pedagogy in the United States. We also hope that we ca realize our commitment to bringing our work to scholars and other language professionals around the world.
	new teachers her years of experience, training, and research in teaching African languages to American students. She delivered a series of lectures on topics such as: Classroom and Administrative Expectations of the African

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