New Visions in Action is a national initiative designed to make things happen in foreign languages…to make the goals we all share a reality, not just an ideal.  New Visions focuses on ensuring that ALL students have an excellent foreign language experience that is provided by excellent teachers, is informed by research and theory, and is supported by high quality curriculum, instruction, and assessments. This discussion forum—with thanks to FLTEACH—provides an opportunity for all foreign language professionals to participate in the New Visions in Action initiative.

Perhaps you already know about New Visions in Action because you’ve read about it in a newsletter or journal. Perhaps you’ve attended sessions at a local, state, regional, national conference. Perhaps you’re even involved in a New Visions initiative in your state or region. If you aren’t yet aware of New Visions, we hope you will become informed and involved.

The New Visions in Action Web site not only gives more information about the initiative and its history, it also gives you specific action plans in our four major work areas:

§ Teacher Recruitment
§ Professional Development
§ Curriculum, Instruction, Articulation, and Assessment
§ Research

Please visit the New Visions Web site, www.educ.iastate.edu/newvisions, to find out what’s happening and where you might want to get involved.

Use this discussion forum to indicate your interest in participating, to reflect with others, and share your ideas for the four work areas. If nothing else, please read the messages posted here to keep up on what your colleagues are working on and thinking about.

We look forward to having you be a part of New Visions in Action.
 

Mimi Met and Ann Tollefson, Co-chairs, New Visions in Action
 

FLTEACH has recently added a third topic: NEW-VISIONS (for New Visions in Foreign Language Education [http://www.educ.iastate.edu/newvisions/]).  People wishing to use only the topic NEW-VISIONS must first subscribe to FLTEACH.  Then they must send a topic setting command (as the text of the email) as follows:

SET FLTEACH TOPICS= NEW-VISIONS

to this address:

LISTSERV@listserv.buffalo.edu

Once subscribed and set to the NEW-VISIONS topic, people will need to add the particular strand (ciaa for Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment, and Articulation; research for Research; recruit for Teacher Recruitment and Retention; and pd for Professional Development) in their subject line.  For example, a person wishing to post to the new-visions topic and discuss curricular issues MUST put the following in the subject line: new-visions: ciaa

NEW-VISIONS subject lines will consequently be one of the following:

new-visions: ciaa
new-visions: research
new-visions: recruit
new-visions: pd

Please note that these subject line titles are NOT case sensitive.  Messages sent without the proper subject line will be rejected. Messages for posting should be sent to:

FLTEACH@listserv.buffalo.edu

FLTEACH continues to maintain two other topics: FLES (for EARLY LANGUAGE LEARNING) and NADSFL (for NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF DISTRICT SUPERVISORS OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES).

The default setting for subscribers is OTHER. This setting does not include messages directed specifically to these topics. If you wish to change your setting, please use the instructions below.

If you wish to participate in the topic XXX on FLTEACH, send one of the following commands to

     LISTSERV@listserv.buffalo.edu:

     SET FLTEACH TOPICS= XXX (you will receive only messages whose subject line begins with XXX:)

     SET FLTEACH TOPICS= ALL (you will receive all FLTEACH messages, including XXX topics)

     SET FLTEACH TOPICS= OTHER (you will receive all FLTEACH messages except XXX: topics) This is the default setting.

PLEASE NOTE that subscribers to the DIGEST or INDEX options of FLTEACH receive all messages, regardless.