Columbia LRC

Annual Symposium Consortium Workshop for Language Teaching and Learning Day I
2024-05-03 16:00 - 19:00 (America/New_York) | South Hall of Riverside Church, 490 Riverside Drive, New York, 10027
The Language Resource Center is pleased to announce that Columbia will be hosting the 2024 Consortium for Language Teaching and Learning Symposium, titled “Language and Climate: Making Connections for a Sustainable Future.”
The symposium, to be held on May 3-4 in the historic Riverside Church, aspires to explore the intersection between climate and language study and examine the ideological assumptions that shape the relationship between the natural world and the language used to speak about it.
This year’s symposium brings together a diverse group of scholars, activists, and educators to discuss how language shapes our understanding of and responses to climate change. It promises to be a stimulating two days of talks, workshops, and discussions aimed at fostering a deeper understanding of the role language plays in environmental discourse and action.
Attendance at the symposium is limited. We strongly urge you to register by April 5th, 2024, which is the end of the early registration period for Consortium faculty and staff. After that date, any remaining seats will be offered to faculty outside the schools that make up the Consortium.
For more information about the symposium and to register, please visit our event page: Language and Climate: Making Connections for a Sustainable Future.
Join us in exploring the critical role of language in addressing the global challenge of climate change. We look forward to welcoming you to what promises to be an inspiring and thought-provoking event.

Annual Symposium Consortium Workshop for Language Teaching and Learning Day II
2024-05-04 08:00 - 16:30 | South Hall of Riverside Church, 490 Riverside Drive, New York, 10027

Café Conversation Spring 2024
2024-05-07 16:00 - 18:00 | Buell Hall (La Maison Française), 515 W 116th Street, New York, NY, 10027, United States
Want to strengthen your French speaking skills? Join Café Conversation, a conversation practice opportunity offered by the French Department.
*Elementary level: Tuesdays from 4-5 pm at Buell Hall (2nd floor); Intermediate & Advanced levels: Tuesdays from 5-6 pm at Buell Hall (2nd floor)

Arabic Circle Spring 2024
2024-05-07 18:10 - 19:30 | 207 Knox Hall, 606 W 122nd Street, New York, NJ, 10027, United States
Want to strengthen your Arabic speaking skills? Join the Arabic Circle, a conversation practice opportunity offered by the Arabic Language Program.
Tuesdays from 6:10-7:30 pm at 207 Knox Hall (606 W 122nd St).

LAST DAY OF THE SEMESTER!
2024-05-10 08:00 - 17:00 | NY
Last Day of Spring 2024 Semester! Enjoy your summer vacations everyone!

Fall 2024 Welcome Gathering
2024-09-13 16:00 - 18:00 | Deutsches Haus, 420 W 116th Street, New York, NY, 10027, United States
We are excited to kick off another week filled with enriching discussions and connections. Don’t forget about our welcome gathering—a perfect opportunity to reunite, rekindle, and get a first look at our Save-the-Date Calendar. We look forward to seeing you on Friday!
Details of the Gathering:
Date: Friday, September 13th
Time: 4 pm to 6 pm
Venue: Deutsches Haus (420 W 116th St.)

Talking About Tech and Languages at Columbia: Getting the Big Picture
2024-09-27 15:00 - 16:00 | Hamilton 309, New York, NY, United States
Meet the LRC’s new Educational Technologist, Kim Edmunds, and have a conversation with colleagues across programs to share your thoughts, practices, and goals around key intersections of technology and language pedagogy. The resulting snapshot of our community’s insights will inform LRC offerings in the coming academic year.
RSVP Here

LRC AI Working Group
2024-10-04 15:00 - 16:00 | NY
Discussing: “Twenty-first century technologies and language education: Charting a path forward.” by Richard Kern

Padlet Showcase
2024-10-11 15:00 - 16:00 | NY
This informal, online event is an opportunity to show off some of the great work that you have done with Padlet, as well as learn from what your fellow instructors have been doing with this tool. There’s no need to prepare anything, just bring a Padlet or two to share, or come just to see what the others have been doing.

CLTL Workshop at Yale
2024-10-18 15:00 - 2024-10-19 16:00 | NY

Workshop: Digital Social Annotation for Online Community-Building
2024-10-25 15:00 - 16:00 | NY
Digital social annotation (DSA) affords language learners and teachers the opportunity to foster community while engaging critically with authentic multimedia. In this workshop, you will design a DSA task for language learning using the free web app Perusall, and share your ideas with colleagues.
RVSP Here: https://forms.gle/ptck1KkoVvFhFzu99

Shared Course Initiative Workshop
2024-11-01 13:00 - 15:00 | NY

LRC AI Working Group
2024-11-08 15:00 - 16:00 | NY

Climate Can-Dos in the Language Classroom
2024-11-15 15:00 - 16:15 | Language Resource Center, 353 IAB, 420 W 118th Street, New York, NY, 10027, United States

Technology Workshop: Canvas "New Quizzes" for Language Learning
2024-11-22 13:30 - 14:30 | NY
Compared to classic quizzes, Canvas “New Quizzes” offers additional features and an updated dashboard. In this workshop, learn to navigate the interface and create new types of questions to maximize your students’ learning.

Last Day of Classes
2024-12-09 08:00 - 17:00 | NY

Holiday Party
2024-12-11 08:00 - 17:00 | NY

Tech-Faciliated Needs Analysis
2025-01-31 15:00 - 16:00 | NY
The first few weeks of a language class are a crucial period for nurturing classroom community by eliciting and discussing learners’ needs, goals, and perceptions of language study. Join this workshop to discuss the value of even simple needs analyses, and train in helpful tools for designing, disseminating, and interpreting them. You’ll also receive ready-made, customizable templates.

Designing Climate Tasks in the Language Classroom
2025-02-07 15:00 - 16:00 | NY
Join us for a workshop on designing classroom activities centered around climate issues and sustainability. This session builds on last semester’s Climate Can-Dos workshop. During the workshop, you’ll collaborate with a colleague to refine an activity idea for your classroom. Repository of activities available (click on event title).

Language Classroom Tech Showcase
2025-02-14 13:30 - 14:30 | NY
Columbia language lecturers Zhongqi Shi, Chikako Takahashi, Joowon Suh, and Alessandra Saggin share their classroom technology tips for creating community and engagement using Padlet, Discord, Perusall, and Instagram, respectively. Recording available (click on event title).

LRC AI Working Group: Exploring AI and Self-Efficacy in Language Learning
2025-02-21 13:30 - 14:30 | NY
We’re excited to invite you to the first LRC AI Working Group meeting of the semester on Friday, February 21st, from 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm (new time). Our discussion will focus on self-efficacy and the impact of AI tools on language learning. With 86% of college students now using AI in their studies, it’s critical to consider how these tools can support (or hinder) a learner’s confidence and persistence in language acquisition.
“Self-efficacy” refers to a learner’s belief in their capacity to complete specific academic tasks. When appropriately framed by instructors, AI can play a key role in supporting this belief. This is especially true in language learning, where persistence and confidence are essential.
In this conversation, we will consider the following questions:

Does AI strengthen or undermine a learner’s beliefs about their ability to complete a set of academic tasks related to language acquisition? How?
What role can the instructor play in shaping how students approach AI tools to help them become more successful language learners? (A judge? An example? A friend? A mentor? A helper? A shaper of beliefs?)
Which uses of AI can help a learner persist through some of the affective challenges of language learning?

We look forward to an engaging, thought-provoking discussion and hope you will share your perspectives and ideas!
PS you can get a reading list for some articles on self-efficacy and language learning here.

February 28: Formative Assessment with ChatGPT
2025-02-28 15:00 - 16:00 | Zoom
This workshop offers a framework for ChatGPT-driven assignments for formative assessment across all language skills, as well as self-evaluation and AI literacy-building opportunities for students.
Click here to watch the recording.

March 7: Teaching Languages in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Rethinking Goals and Practices
2025-03-07 15:00 - 16:00 | NY
Generative AI has shifted the ground upon which we have based much of our language teaching for centuries. The vitality (even existence) of our language programs may depend on our ability to re-examine and re-articulate our goals for language teaching—some of which can be facilitated by technological tools, others not. In this articulation, teachers must provide the guiding voices, not the technologists, not the politicians. This talk will present some of the limitations as well as potential benefits of AI for fostering various aspects of language development, stressing attention to the educational values underlying our pedagogical decisions
Invited Guest Lecture: Richard Kern
Professor Richard Kern of the University of California, Berkeley teaches courses in French linguistics, applied linguistics and foreign language pedagogy. He served from 2006-2022 as Director of the Berkeley Language Center, and his research interests include second language acquisition, psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, reading, writing, and technology. He is currently beginning work on a book dealing with UC students’ experiences during study abroad.

Russian Language Program Presentation with Dr. Marina Tsylina and Dr. Marina Grineva
2025-03-28 15:00 - 16:00 | NY
Join us this Friday, March 28, from 3-4pm for an informal presentation and conversation with Dr. Marina Tsylina and Dr. Marina Grineva of the Russian Language Program.
As part of our ongoing Language Program exchange series, Dr. Tsylina and Dr. Grineva will share insights and practices from their program, including curricular and pedagogical approaches, successes and challenges, and future directions. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A to facilitate interdepartmental learning and exchange.
We hope to see you there.

Consolidate! Tips for making Canvas into a hub for your class
2025-04-03 13:30 - 14:30 | NY
LRC Educational Technologist Kim Edmunds describes some tips and tricks for integrating common external tools into a Canvas course interface.
Click here to watch the recording. Click here to view the handout.

Instructional Innovation Projects Showcase
2025-04-18 15:00 - 16:00 | NY
Please join us in supporting the work of your colleagues Ling Yan, Yike Li, Reem Faraj, Guadalupe Ruiz Fajardo, and Francisca Aguilo Mora, the ’24-’25 Instructional Innovation Grant awardees.
Each recipient will give a brief overview of their project, followed by Q&A.

Reviewing Climate Tasks for the Language Classroom with Sandra Goldmark
2025-04-25 13:30 - 14:30 | Language Resource Center, 353 IAB, 420 W 118th Street, New York, NY, 10027, United States
In this workshop, we continue to explore the interface of language learning and climate literacy by workshopping classroom tasks. This is an opportunity to support your colleagues by helping to provide feedback on their ideas.

Whether you attended previous sessions in this series or not, we hope to see you there!
View the event Padlet here.

LRC: Spring Potluck
2025-05-07 16:00 - 18:00 | NY
You are cordially invited to the LRC’s Spring Potluck on Wednesday, May 7 at 4pm! Let’s gather over drinks and snacks to wrap up the semester and celebrate our work and community.
Guests are asked to bring a light bite to share! The LRC will provide beverages and some snacks.

RSVP Here

Welcome Gathering (Fall 2025)
2025-09-12 16:00 - 18:00 | Deutsches Haus, 420 W 116th Street, New York, NY, 10027, United States
Please join us for our annual Welcome Back Gathering, held Friday, September 12, 4-6pm in Deutsches Haus (420 W116th St.).
See friendly faces, meet new colleagues, and enjoy refreshments as we kick off the new academic year!
RSVP at this link.

Intro to AI Prompting for Language Teachers - HYBRID
2025-09-19 13:30 - 14:30 | NY
In the hands of an experienced teacher, generative AI can be a powerful tool to streamline the instructional process. AI tools can simplify administrative load by helping modify simple texts, draft answer keys, and more, allowing us to spend our limited time and resources on developing innovative, rigorous, and pedagogically rich instruction.
In this workshop, learn how to initiate an interaction with ChatGPT, write clear, effective prompts, and critically evaluate output.
RSVP Here
Materials:

ACTSET Diagram
Examples Handout
Menti Slides
Zoom Recording (Final Discussion Only)
