Dr. Arlene White Presents at Foreign Language Conferences

SALISBURY, MD--- Dr. Arlene White of Salisbury University’s Department of Modern Languages has participated in several conferences this fall. In October, White represented the Maryland Foreign Language Association at the Greater Washington Area Foreign Language Associations fall conference in Arlington, VA presenting a workshop entitled “Are Your Students Reading Up to PAR?” Also in October, White presented a session regarding using time wisely in the foreign language classroom at the Maryland Foreign Language Association’s fall conference at Prince George’s Community College. In addition she was re-elected to the Association’s board of directors. Recently, White and Dr. Brian Stiegler also of Salisbury University’s Department of Modern Languages, participated in the conference of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages in Chicago and presented a session on using departmental foreign language assessments to meet National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) standards. White submitted a program review of French and Spanish to NCATE as part of the Education Department’s review of the Secondary Education Program. White is a member of the Maryland State Department of Education’s Foreign Language Liaison Committee made up of foreign language supervisors from county public school systems and higher education institutions which train teachers.  The most recent meeting took place in Columbia, MD, where participants reviewed the new state standards for foreign language instruction K-12 and met with MSDE representatives to discuss possible modifications in the process of state certification for teachers of foreign languages.   Along with attending conferences, White also participated in many on-campus activities. During the first week in November for National French Week, White organized a panel discussion by students who studied abroad in France, Dining Services hosted the annual National French Week dinner in The Bistro and Bandits, a French film was shown on campus. Students in White’s fourth semester (French 202) and conversation (French 312) classes selected as a semester project spending the day at the Philosophy House speaking French.  Throughout the day there were a variety of activities which allowed the students to utilize French and apply what they had learned in the classroom. White has taught at SU since 1975, six years after beginning her career with Wicomico County Public Schools. She consults, conducts workshops and writes curriculum for local school systems.