On Saturday, March 5, 2016, the National Language Service Corps (NLSC) Washington D.C. Regional Chapter met for its first event of 2016: a keynote luncheon highlighting the Arabic Flagship Program of the University of Maryland College Park (UMD).
The Language Flagship programs, like the NLSC, are part of the Defense Language and National Security Education (DLNSEO) program, which aims to advance proficiency in languages critical to national security. The Flagship program is offered in Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Urdu, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Swahili, and Turkish at 27 Flagship programs at 22 institutions of higher education, and 10 Overseas Flagship Centers.
Dr. Valerie Anishchenkova, Professor and Program Director of UMD’s Arabic Flagship Program presented to NLSC Members. Though the presentation was originally intended for Dr. Anishchenkova to provide a general overview on The Language Flagship programs and particularly, UMD’s Arabic Language Flagship program curriculum, and then delve into her personal research, Members were so intensely engaged and interested in Language Flagship Programs that it turned into the main discussion. Her presentation incited a spirited debate on how best to learn Arabic; be it Modern Arabic first, then regional dialects, or other methods. Dr. Anishchenkova managed to carve out a bit of time to speak about her personal research, Selves that Matter: New Modes of Cultural Identity in the Arab World before Members enjoyed Middle Eastern cuisine and networking.
This event is one of many opportunities offered to the NLSC membership in one of its five Regional Chapters in Honolulu, HI; Los Angeles, CA; New York, NY; Washington, D.C; and Germany. To learn more about the NLSC, visit our Frequently Asked Questions: http://www.nlscorps.org/Forms_Kernel/FAQCS.aspx.
No comments:
Post a Comment