The UMass Boston SLA and Classics Seminar seeks to build community among classical language instructors at all levels, foster connections between the field of Classics and the field of SLA research, and advance innovative approaches to classical language instruction. The SLA and Classics Seminar meets periodically on Zoom . Each session is centered around a presentation, which may be a work in progress, a research paper, a lesson plan, etc. The scope of the seminar and the format of presentations is intentionally expansive. Examples of presentations that would be appropriate for the seminar might include:
- New SLA or language pedagogy research.
- New research on the application of SLA theory to classical language teaching.
- Case study of a particular lesson/curriculum/program.
- Presentation of new pedagogical materials (new textbooks, supplementary materials, websites, learning tools, etc.).
- Demonstration of a new SLA-informed pedagogical method.
The seminar’s approach to SLA-informed instruction is meant to be inclusive and eclectic. We invite presentations from any theoretical or pedagogical perspective, and from people at all kinds of academic institutions, and from academic disciplines beyond Classics. Secondary school faculty, university faculty, grad students, undergrad students, high school students, all are welcome!
Note: The seminar is not a for-credit course and there is no cost to join and participate.
Upcoming Events
May 20, 2024 – 3:00 PM (EST) – Rebecca Boyd, George Washington University
Instructional factors that contribute to Latin reading comprehension: Results from the 2023 National Latin Exam.
Past Events
April 20, 2022 – Jacqueline Carlon, UMass Boston
What the Research Suggests: Teaching Reading Skills to Classical Language Students
August 2, 2022 – Liz Szylejko, Curriculum Specialist for World Languages, School District of Philadelphia
New World Language Frameworks for Acquisition Focused Instruction
October 11, 2022 – Peter Barrios-Lech, UMass Boston
Incorporating Latin Communication in Class: A Guide for the Wary/Weary
November 29, 2022 – María Luisa Aguilar García, University of Valencia and Collegium Latinitatis
Learning vocabulary in a second language: what it is, how it works, which strategies can lead to a rich and stable vocabulary knowledge.
February 9, 2023 – Sherry (Chiayi) Lee, Princeton University
Using tiered texts for reading proficiency in the intermediate/advanced Latin classroom.
April 3, 2023 – Kimberly Urbanski, UMass Boston
Developing second language literacy through Concept-Based Language Instruction and a Division of Labor Pedagogy
June 14, 2023 – Rebecca Deitsch, Harvard University
Predicting the Future: Teaching Students to Read Latin in its Natural Word Order
October 16, 2023 – River Emrys, Princeton University
Using Targeted Looping to Progress Through Bloom’s Taxonomy
Sign Up for Emails and Zoom Links
Please use this Google Form to sign up to receive emails about seminar events and Zoom links: https://tinyurl.com/SLAClassics
Propose a Presentation
We welcome proposals for seminar presentations! If you have some work that you’d like to share with the SLA and Classics seminar, please email the seminar organizers Chris Cochran (Christopher.Cochran [at] umb.edu) and Jorge Tarrega (Jorge.TarregaGarrido [at] umb.edu)