Journal of Southeast Asian Language Teaching
Volume 12, No. 2, Fall 2006

Language Reports

The Southeast Asian language teaching community in the United States has organized itself into a number of organizations to support this work.  In each issue of JSEALT, we present reports and information from some of these groups.  In this issue, we feature information on the Advanced Study of Thai (AST) program. This issue also includes a short report on the 2006 Conference on Southeast Asian Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics which was held at the University of Wisconsin in July, as well as the Call for Papers for the 2007 COTSEAL Conference.

The 2006 Advanced Study of Thai (AST) Program 

With support from the U.S. Department of Education and key U.S. universities, the Advanced  Study of Thai (AST) program took place June 26th through August 18th, 2006, on the campus of Chiang Mai University (CMU).  The program was hosted by the CMU Faculty of Humanities and was staffed by instructional personnel from a range of departments at the University, under the leadership of Dr. Supaporn Apavatcharut and Aj. Chusri Srikaew.  The field directors for AST '06 were Dr. Thomas W. Gething and Dr. Patcharin Peyasantiwong.

Participants in AST '06 came from Cornell University; the University of California, Berkeley; the University of Hawaii; the University of Michigan; the University of Minnesota, the University of Wisconsin; and Yale University.  The total enrollment was eleven, made up of one undergraduate, eight graduate students, one faculty member, and one U.S. Foreign Service officer.  There were seven men and four women, whose academic emphases ranged from history to culture studies, political science, language and literature, and Southeast Asian studies.

This eight-week intensive program is designed for students who have completed at least two or, preferably, three years of study of Thai or the equivalent.  The materials used consist of authentic texts, and communicative competence is the focus of the program, with balanced attention to spoken and written language.  A highlight of the AST curriculum is the final project for students, consisting of a period of research that culminates in a presentation of results to an audience of students and instructional personnel at CMU.  Topics covered in these presentations in 2006 included the Thai media, the national lottery, Lanna culture, tattooing, cell phone and internet usage, and royal projects benefiting tribal peoples.

AST is supported as a Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad program and also receives assistance from Arizona State University; the University of California, Berkeley; the University of California, Los Angeles; Cornell University; the University of Hawaii; the University of  Michigan; Northern Illinois University; Ohio University; the University of Washington; the University of Wisconsin, and Yale University.  The planning and organizing of the program takes place in the Southeast Asia Center of the University of Washington in Seattle.  More information is available at http://jsis.washington.edu/seac/ast.shtml or by contacting the Southeast Asia Center (SEAC) by phone at 206-543-9606 or by email at seac@u.washington.edu  

Some information on the 2007 AST program can be found in the Events Calendar in this issue of JSEALT.

2006 COTSEAL Conference Report

The theme for the Council of Teachers of Southeast Asian Languages (COTSEAL) 2006 Conference on Southeast Asian Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics was “Making Southeast Asian Language Learning Enjoyable Through the Use of Technology and Literature.”

The 16^th annual COTSEAL conference was held on July 21^st and 22^nd  at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Pyle Center.  Presenters came from across North America and Southeast Asia;  there were a total of ten presentations, followed by a poetry reading on Saturday evening by students and faculty from the Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute (SEASSI).  On Friday evening, the 21^st, participants enjoyed a delicious Southeast Asian dinner and a wonderful dance presentation by two Hmong dancers from the Madison area.  Conference organizer Lopao Vang's careful preparations made this a particularly congenial conference for COTSEAL members and visitors.  

The COTSEAL conference topics and presenters for 2006 were:

1.                  Appreciating the Tricksters of Southeast Asian Literature:  Examples of Student-Inspired Lao Language and Culture Activities Based on Xieng Mieng
Carol J. Compton, Madison, Wisconsin

2.                  Songs as a Form of Literature:  A Vietnamese and Hmong Panel
Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute (SEASSI) faculty

3.                  Teaching the Modern Novel in the Intermediate Language Classroom:  Integrating History, Language Skills and Cultural Values via an Annotated Text
Frank Smith, SEASSI, University of Wisconsin-Madison

4.                  "The Pleasures of the Text:" Teaching Thai to the Net/M Generation:  Adapting a Child's Narrative for Adult FL Acquisition
John Hartmann, Northern Illinois University

5.                  Online Dictionaries, Text Corpora, and Tools for Southeast Asian Languages
Doug Cooper, The Southeast Asian Languages Library

6.                  Thai Pop Lyrics:  Corpus-based Genre Analysis with L2 Pedagogical Implications
Teddy Bofman and Paul Prez, Northeastern Illinois University

7.                  Teaching Vietnamese American Literature
Isabelle Thuy Pelaud, San Francisco State University

8.                  A Holistic Approach to the Thai Basic Course
Nanna Jonsson, The Defense Language Institute

9.                  The Filipino Language Heritage Learner Curriculum
Irma Gonsalvez Pena, the University of California, Berkeley; Nenita Domingo, the University of California, Los Angeles; and Leo Paz, City College of San Francisco

10.              Online Internet Language Cafes:  Using Technology to Facilitate Enjoyable and
Authentic Language Use
David Hiple, University of Hawaii-Manoa

2007 Call for Papers for the COTSEAL Conference

The Council of Teachers of Southeast Asian Languages announces that the 17^th annual COTSEAL Conference on Southeast Asian Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics will be held at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on July 20^th and 21^st,  2007.   The theme of the conference is "Methodologies and Learning Strategies for Students of Southeast Asian Languages."  Send abstracts of 50 to 100 words describing your proposed paper  to both Lopao Vang at lvang@madison.k12.wi.us and  Bac Haoi Tran at bact@calmail.berkeley.edu  Deadline for receipt of abstracts is April 30, 2007.

Additional information on the 2007 conference is available from Lopao Vang, COTSEAL Conference Chair, at  lvang@madison.k12.wi.us  Some conference information is also listed in the Events Calendar of this issue of JSEALT under July 2007.

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