The below is taken from the September 1, 2022 newsletter.
Welcome back! We’re very excited that we’ll be seeing everyone again soon, and meeting those of you who are new to Princeton’s language teaching community. Right in time for the start of the semester, and right before the long weekend, we are sending you what is probably our most lengthy newsletter to date. We’ve been very busy this summer here at the Center!
Chapman Sklar Named PCLS University Administrative Fellow
We’re proud to introduce to everyone our first ever UAF (University Administrative Fellow), in partnership with the GradFUTURES team, for the fall of 2022. Chapman Sklar, a graduate student in the Department of Religion, was chosen for this position from a competitive process over the summer. Chapman will be working with the entire PCLS team to design and produce video-based interviews to expand our media portfolio, and will be shadowing Vandana to learn practical job skills.
New PCLS Website Live
If you haven’t noticed yet, just yesterday we launched a brand new website. This is thanks to several months of effort by Raymond and the Web Development Services team, who together painstakingly have manually moved over all the content from the old site to the new one. This site has many accessibility improvements over the previous, and you’ll notice it has a more familiar Princeton look and feel. Check it out!
PCLS Makes SCAD Hire Permanent
Some of you, but likely not all of you, have already worked with and interacted with Raymond Samaroo, who was a SCAD hired to support PCLS in 2019 for a three-year period. We’re very happy to say that Raymond’s appointment has recently been made permanent for our unit! Raymond has been incredibly helpful in all kinds of technical needs for the department, including, but not limited to, becoming the main subject-matter expert of the unique AV technology installed in 012 East Pyne, our Zoom-ready classroom.
Professional Development Portfolio Newly Created for the Language Teaching Credential
Are you a grad student in the Language Teaching Credential? Or perhaps you’re thinking of joining? As of a couple weeks ago, graduate students that are in active status with their program can now log into TigerHub to access their records related to the Credential, through the Professional Development Portfolio (PDP). Click on the TigerHub tab on the upper-left, select “Professional Development” from the pulldown, and then click on the new tile with the PCLS icon. If you’re already enrolled in the program, you’ll see your PDP, which is a checklist of completed activites. If you’re not enrolled, you’ll be able to click on a link to enroll yourself in the program.
Fall Opening Reception on September 8
After a couple years with no in-person receptions, we are proud to have something akin to a grand re-opening. Please come by our space on Thursday, September 8th, at 4:30pm, to mingle with other language instructors and hear from us about all the interesting things we have planned for the year to come. Appetizers and wine will be served!
PCLS Presents at Future Faculty Bootcamp in August
The Center has embarked on a new collaboration with the GradFUTURES team and the MLA Academic Program Services to help graduate students in the Language Teaching Credential prepare for academic jobs. At the conclusion of the first phase of this project, Vandana and James Van Wyck spoke to graduate students in attendance at this year’s Future Faculty Bootcamp about some tips and tricks for crafting teaching statements when applying to language department positions. This occurred on Monday, August 15th, as part of a session for the students in the Humanities and Social Sciences called Preparing Future Faculty: A Data-Informed Vision of the Faculty Life in the US and Beyond.
New Video Library on Media Central for PCLS
Media Central, which has been the storehouse for our various Zoom recordings in the past, now has a whole category of videos for our department. Just hover over the “Academics” tab, and click on “PCLS.” You’ll see all the talk recordings we have had so far, available for viewing at your leisure! There is also a separate ‘channel’ you’ll see for all the videos from the CLTL Symposium in 2021 that we hosted, Owning the L2 Curriculum.
SLA Reading Group Meetings Commence on September 28
The SLA Reading Group, led by Jamie, will have its first meeting for the year on September 28th at 3pm. Mark your calendars! The reading for this meeting will be announced a couple weeks from now. All language instructors are welcome; instructors of all different levels of familiarity with L2 acquisition theory are encouraged to join.
New Faculty Language Tables Forming
The Center will be hosting new language tables specifically for faculty. We are beginning this initiative for German, Spanish, and French. We hope that if you’re a faculty member, from any discipline, that has always wanted to practice speaking skills, that this might be something you come by for. Language tables will meet once a month for each language, with free lunch served, here at 011 East Pyne. Check our website for details and the schedule!
Meeting for Lecturers with Oliver Avens
Oliver Avens will be at PCLS on September 13th to present to Lecturers some information related to the process of promotion. Check our event posting for more information. Registration for this event will likely be required, closer to the date.