Search

"Dimension" is the annual volume containing the selected, refereed, edited Proceedings of each year's conference. The theme chosen for the joint conference of the Southern Conference on Language Teaching (SCOLT) and the Florida Foreign Language Association (FFLA) in Orlando, Florida, February 16-18, 2006, was "Languages for Today's World," and the articles included in this volume address the topic in a variety of ways. Readers may observe that the majority of the selections connect the theme either to various manifestations of culture or to electronic resources, and in several cases both elements are central to a particular article. It would perhaps be naive of the editor or readers to make too much of the predominance of these features. On the other hand, an interest in culture and technology may indeed reflect some of the current concerns of language professionals as we move from the national "Year of Languages" campaign of 2005 to a lengthier, decade-long (2005-2015) initiative labeled "Discover Languages." Following an introduction by editor C. Maurice Cherry, the articles selected for inclusion in this volume are: (1) Engaging Students in the L2 Reading Process (Marcia L. Wilbur); (2) FLTEACH Project: Online Database of Model Lessons with Cultural Content (Jean LeLoup and Robert Ponterio); (3) Use of Blogs in L2 Instruction (Zachary Jones and Bernice Nuhfer-Halten); (4) Developing a Contemporary French Civilization Course: An Annotated Review of Internet Resources (Kenneth A. Gordon); (5) The Roads to Compostela: An Immersion Experience in Germany, France, and Spain (Steven M. Gardner, Carlos Mentley, and Lisa F. Signori); (6) Talking About Music: Ethnographic Interviews on Traditional Hispanic Songs (Paula Heusinkveld); and (7) Teaching and Learning American Sign Language in U. S. Schools (Rebecca Burns-Hoffman, Jennifer Jones, and Christie Cohn). (Individual articles contain references and appendices.)