The Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA) at the University of Minnesota has provided high-quality professional development for language teachers for over 20 years. Launched in 1996, this internationally known program reflects CARLA's commitment to link research and theory with practical applications for the classroom. Each institute is highly interactive and includes discussion, theory-building, hands-on activities, and plenty of networking opportunities.

CARLA summer institute participants—more than 5,000 to date—have come from all over the world. They have included foreign language and ESL teachers at all levels of instruction, as well as program administrators, curriculum specialists, and language teacher educators. 

Summer Institutes for Language Teachers

CARLA offers a range of institutes targeted at foreign language and ESL teachers from a variety of teaching levels and contexts:

Using the Web for Communicative Language Learning and Professional Development-online course 
July 11-August 14, 2016
Presenters: Marlene Johnshoy and Alyssa R. Bonnac
In this online course, participants will work together to create a foundation for gathering, sharing, evaluating, and incorporating technology into the second language curriculum. 

Using Technology in Second Language Teaching
July 11-15, 2016
Presenters: Marlene Johnshoy and Dan Soneson
Participants in this institute will learn how to use technology to facilitate student use of the target language and get hands-on practice in using computers to promote students' communication skills.

Creativity in the Classroom: Fostering Student Learning Through Creative Language Experiences
July 11-15, 2016
Presenters: Amy Young and Anne Cummings Hlas
This fun institute has been designed for foreign language and ESL teachers who want to promote creativity in their classroom while simultaneously improving learners' target language proficiency.

Teaching Language Through the Lens of Social Justice—NEW!
July 11-15, 2016
Presenters: Pamela Wesely, Cassandra Glynn, and Beth Wassell
Participants in this new institute will learn how teach for and about social justice in the foreign language classroom.

Developing Assessments for the Second Language Classroom?
July 18-22, 2016
Presenters: Donna Clementi with Ursula Lentz
Focusing on the alignment of standards-based curriculum and assessment, this institute includes an overview of the wide range of purposes in assessment, and step-by-step guidance in creating standards-based performance assessments for classroom use.

Improving Language Learning: Styles- and Strategies-Based Instruction?
July 18-22, 2016
Presenter: Martha Nyikos 
This summer institute is designed to help language teachers maximize students' ability to learn a foreign/second language through styles- and strategies-based instruction.

Focusing on Learner Language: Second Language Acquisition Basics for Teachers?
July 18-22, 2016
Presenters: Elaine Tarone and Maggie Broner
This summer institute will show language teachers how to use second language acquisition research tools in analyzing learner language development in their own classrooms, and use what they learn to fine-tune their support for language acquisition in their classrooms.

Culture as the Core in the Second Language Classroom?
July 25-29, 2016
Presenters: Wendy Allen and Francine Klein
Weaving together theory and practice, this interactive institute will help teachers develop instructional strategies and practical tools for integrating language learning with a systematic culture curriculum.

Content-Based Language Instruction and Curriculum Development ?
July 25-29, 2016
Presenter: Laurent Cammarata
During this institute, foreign language teachers will learn how to create content-based instruction materials and tasks to enhance students' language proficiency and content learning. 

Developing Materials for Language Teaching
July 25-29, 2016
Presenter: Bill Johnston 
This summer institute will provide teachers with practical tools and hands-on experience in designing a wide range of materials that will improve their students' abilities to use the language for communicative purposes. 

Teaching Heritage Languages and Learners—NEW!
July 25-29, 2016
Presenter: Jenna Cushing-Leubner
Participants in this new institute will learn how to create powerful learning environments to support the unique needs of heritage language learners in the classroom.

Summer Institutes for Immersion Teachers

CARLA also offers these popular institutes that are designed specifically for immersion educators (K–12) and immersion program leaders:

Character Literacy Development in Mandarin Immersion—NEW!
June 20-24, 2016
Presenters: Tara Fortune, Luyi Lien, Haomin Zhang
Participants in this new institute will learn research-based methods of moving their Mandarin immersion learners towards more fluent character processing and text comprehension.

Immersion 101: An Introduction to Immersion Teaching ?
July 11-15, 2016
Presenters: Tara Fortune and a team of veteran immersion teachers
This institute provides novice immersion teachers with the tools and information they need to survive and thrive in the immersion classroom. The institute offers two teacher sessions simultaneously and an expanded 3-day session for administrators of immersion education programs.

Meeting the Challenges of Immersion Education: Teacher Collaboration for Integrating Language and Content in Grades 5–12—NEW! ?
July 18-22, 2016
Presenter: Roy Lyster
At this new institute, pairs of middle and high school immersion teachers who work with the same students will explore ways to collaborate on integrating language and content in their immersion programs.

Information
More information is available on the CARLA website at: www.carla.umn.edu/institutes/.

Registration will open on January 8, 2016.
To request a copy of a print brochure you can email the CARLA office at: carla@umn.edu.

The institutes have been developed and are offered with the support, in part, of the U.S. Department of Education's Title VI Language Resource Center program. The summer institutes are co-sponsored by the University of Minnesota's College of Education and Human Development and College of Liberal Arts.