Baha'i Language Educators to Meet at ABS Annual Conference

An international group of Baha'i language educators have formed a Special Interest Group (SIG) of the Association for Baha'i Studies-North America and will hold their first meeting as a SIG at the Association's Annual Conference in Seattle on the opening day, Friday 31 August. All those who are professional language educators or interested in language teaching, especially teaching English as a second/foreign language (TESL/TEFL), are invited to attend.

The group will focus on developing a Baha'i-inspired English language teaching curriculum. At the meeting there will be presentations and discussion on materials developed to date and discussion of the development and delivery of curriculum materials as well as other professional information. Participants will also explore the establishment of a mentoring program to assist Baha'i pioneers earning their living as English teachers overseas as well as beginning teachers in the field of language instruction.

The program will include talks on "Assessing Your Gender-Fair Teaching Practices in the Language Classroom" by Dara Shaw, "Oneness and the Dialogic Word in Children's Multicultural Literature" by Deborah Karres, "The Baha'i Teachings on Learning Second Languages" by Nancy Joy Allchin, "A Sociocultural Model for Baha'i-Inspired Classroom Consultation: Vygotsky, Bakhtin and Learner Empowerment" by Sandy Fotos, as well as roundtable discussions on "Designing and Delivering Baha'i-Inspired Language Teaching Material and Activities" and "Mentoring the Baha'i Language Teacher."

They will also discuss the establishment of a Web site to deliver Baha'i-inspired material, curriculum designs and professional information to ESL/EFL teachers everywhere. For more information about the meeting contact: Joy Allchin or Sandy Fotos .

Other Special Interest Groups of the Association that will meet on 31 August at the Conference are Agriculture, Arts, Business and Economics, Consultation and Conflict Resolution, Education, Environment, Marriage and Family, Racial Unity/Intercultural Issues, Science and Religion, Study of Religion, and Women and Gender Issues. The Special Interest Groups welcome all interested persons to attend their sessions.

For more information about the Conference and to register, contact Parvin Rowhani, Association for Baha'i Studies, tel.: 613-233-1903; e-mail: abs-na@istar.ca or visit the ABS Web site: www.bahai-studies.ca.