Second Language Educators Confer Sept. 29

09/21/2012 

Robert Ponterio, a SUNY Cortland French professor and co-founder of FLTEACH, an award-winning, international listserv for teachers of foreign languages, will discuss diversity in language teaching on Saturday, Sept. 29, at the College.

Ponterio will give the keynote address during the 22nd annual Second Language Educator’s Conference from 8:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Old Main. This year’s theme is “Many Cultures, One World: A Celebration of Diversity.”

Hosted by the College’s Modern Languages Department, International Programs and the SUNY Cortland Auxiliary Services Corporation, the conference offers a half day of workshops for area foreign-language teachers and teachers-in-training, and a forum for discussing issues and exchanging ideas.

Robert Ponterio Professor of French

The conference is free of charge, and open to area teachers, college students and college faculty. Registration is required, and can be done at the Modern Languages Department website at www2.cortland.edu/departments/modern-languages. For more information, contact Patricia Martínez de la Vega Mansilla, Paulo Quaglio or Cheryl Rosati in the Modern Languages Department at (607) 753-4303.

Ponterio, who joined the SUNY Cortland faculty in 1989, is a frequent author and workshop presenter on the topic of foreign language instruction, particularly in the use of media and online technology in the classroom and national standards in foreign language learning.

In 1994, Ponterio and Jean LeLoup, a SUNY Cortland professor emerita of Spanish, created the Foreign Language Teaching Forum (FLTEACH), an award-winning, international listserv for teachers of foreign languages. The listserv, which they continue to maintain, provides a venue for thousands of participants to discuss topics in foreign language teaching.

Ponterio and LeLoup were awarded grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities for FLTEACH. They also co-authored a regular column, “On the Net,” for the highly respected online journal Language and Technology.

In 2006 and 2011, the New York State Association of Foreign Language Teachers (NYSAFLT) recognized Ponterio and LeLoup with the Anthony Papalia Award for Outstanding Article on Foreign Language Education. NYSAFLT also honored Ponterio with its Dorothy Ludwig memorial Award for Outstanding Service.

Ponterio earned a doctorate in French at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. He has a Master of Arts in French and a Bachelor of Arts in French Comparative Literature from Binghamton University.

The workshops scheduled for the 2012 Second Language Educators Conference include:

• “Jack and Jill Went Up the Hill to Fetch Some Common Core”

• “Tesoro Literario: Cuentos Infantiles”

• “Saving Your French Program and Making French Fun ... and Easy”

• “Addressing the Common Core State Standards in Reading Instruction for Ells: Strategies for Close Reading”

• “Promoting Reading In Beginning And Intermediate Spanish Classrooms”

• “Helping Language Learners Make Connections with Online Mind Mapping”

• “A Practical Workshop in Bridging Gaps for ESL Students”

• “American Sign Language in Today’s Classroom"

• “‘You Are Actually Allowing Us to Use Our Smartphone in Class?!’: Defining Best Practices in Technology Integration in the Second Language Classroom”