After this busy spring semester, many of the staff here at the Language Center will be engaging in some important life transitions! We want to highlight some of these milestones and accomplishments by congratulating the following staff members:

Jennifer Boe, Classroom Support and Assistant Main Office Coordinator is graduating at the end of the summer with a Master's in Teaching ESL (English as a Second Language). Jenny's research topic is on sense of belonging in first generations students at the University of Minnesota.

Kowsar Khuriye, Multimedia Lab Attendant, will be graduating at the end of this summer with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Public Health.

Meghan McFadden, Classroom Support Coordinator, is currently in the Second Languages and Cultures Masters of Education department and will be obtaining a Minnesota Teaching License for K-12 French and K-12 ESL in June.

Saoirse McMahon, Main Office Assistant and Elsie Speaks Editor, recently became a U.S. citizen. Her naturalization ceremony took place on March 25.

Francisco Salinas Vega, World Languages Day Assistant, is graduating this semester with a Bachelor of Science in Applied Economics, along with a minor in Spanish. He also recently became a U.S. citizen. His naturalization ceremony was on April 19.

Jessica Troyan, Classroom Support staff, will be studying abroad this summer for two months in Toledo, Spain. She is currently a sophomore.

Caroline Vang, Classroom Support Coordinator, will be graduating with a Master's from the Second Language Studies Department in teaching ESL. Her current paper is about the function of Japanese bilingualism for Japanese-American heritage speakers and how it relates to Japanese-American identity.

Congratulations, everyone!

The Multimedia Lab in 135 Jones Hall offers many amenities to users, such as Mac and Windows desktop computers, a laser printer, flatbed scanner, and helpful attendants available to answer questions. These services and products are available at most computer labs on campus. However, the Lab in Jones Hall also offers the following niceties which make it ideal for language-related learning.

1. A reservable small room for individual or group work with Mac and Windows desktop computers, a large-screen TV with DVD player, and a collapsible table.
2. International satellite TV in a variety of languages. (See schedule)
3. Headsets and microphones on all computers, to assist with language learning (and homework completion).
4. Laptop conveniences including a "bar" where users can work on and charge their own laptop computers, and also wireless printing from laptops to the Lab's laser printer.
5. A sectional couch and many soft chairs for studying, working on a laptop, reading the Lab's multilingual periodicals, or relaxing.

As an added bonus, the spacious Lab also offers lots of natural light and a great view of the East Bank Knoll area. It is open from 7:45 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 7:45 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Friday.

This Spring, five different student employees work in the Multimedia Lab. They are available from 7:45 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 7:45 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Friday to help you with all your technology and language learning needs.

Maryan Abdi

Hi, my name is Maryan (but I used to be known as Fardowsa). I am from Somalia and know three languages (Somali, English, and Arabic). I am an Undergrad Senior this year doing a double major in Psychology and Statistics, and I will be back next year to finish up my Statistics major. After that I am planning to go to graduate school for a Biostatistics major in the School of Public Health. I don't have any big favorites but in my free time I like watching TV shows, cleaning my house, and spending time with family.

Wasim Bachani

Hello! I am currently a Senior majoring in Computer Science.  Other than English I speak a sub dialect of Hindi called Cutchi.  I also have taken four semesters of Hindi and Urdu at the U of M.  I grew up in Minneapolis but my parents are from Kenya.  I enjoy playing sports, especially basketball and soccer.

Kayla Collier

Hi, my name is Kayla and I am currently finishing up my Freshman year here at the University of Minnesota. I plan to major in Asian Languages and Literatures with an emphasis in Japanese, as well as to minor in several other areas as well. I speak English fluently, am proficient in French, and have about a year or so of Mandarin Chinese & Japanese under my belt. I was born and raised in Saint Louis, Missouri and chose to continue onto my post-secondary education at the University of Minnesota! I hope to take on a career as a translator and interpreter and to even teach English abroad in Japan one day.

Kowsar Khuriye

Hi, my name is Kowsar, but my nickname is Kowsarina. I am currently studying psychology and minor in public health. I was born and raised in Kenya, but my family and relatives are from Somalia. I am fluent in three different languages, Somali, Swahili, and English. I also read and write in Arabic. I am planning on doing public health outreach program after graduation for about year. Afterwards I'm anticipating studying Community Health Promotion (CHP) at the U of M School of Public Health.

Jenny Li

Hi!  I am currently a freshman originally from Apple Valley, MN.  I am minoring in Spanish, but undecided for my major.  Other than English, I am fluent in Chinese, particularly Cantonese and also in Spanish.  My favorite color is pink and I enjoy eating sushi.  One day, I wish to own a Siberian Samoyed dog.  In the summer time I enjoy going to the beach and in the winter season I prefer staying warm and cozy listening to some Taylor Swift.

The Multimedia Lab in Jones 135 now offers a wider variety of languages on our multilingual international TV. Students can watch TV on the wall-mounted large-screen monitor and listen through wireless headphones while relaxing on the Lab's spacious and comfortable couch or lounge chairs.

Please inform your students of this fun, authentic and relaxing language learning opportunity. The schedule is available online.

The Multimedia Lab has expanded its International TV programming this semester. We now offer programming in Finnish and Korean, in addition to French, Spanish, German, Chinese, and many other languages. Check the schedule below to see when your favorite languages will be broadcast on the Lab's large-screen TV. Each channel is also available any time on the desktop computers in the Lab if you'd like to watch on the small screen; ask the Lab attendants how to do this.

You can view the schedule online at our website.

In the interests of being a good network citizen, keeping Language Center computers safe and secure and safekeeping the data of our users, Java will be turned off in web browsers by default in Language Center classrooms and the Multimedia Lab starting this Fall. Java has proven to be a leading source of security exploits allowing malware to be installed and run in the background. This can occur even without a user clicking on anything and when visiting what might be assumed to be a trusted site like CNN.

We recognize that this will add some extra steps for classes using Wimba activities which need Java to run. Students will need to change a setting in the browser preferences and re-open the browser. The Classroom Support and Multimedia Lab teams are committed to providing excellent customer service and will do everything possible to make this new policy easy for instructors and students; providing training and assistance as needed. Please email elsie@umn.edu if you have questions or feel that your classes will need additional support.

The Multimedia Lab in Jones 135 has been streaming multilingual international TV since the beginning of Spring semester. Students can watch TV on the wall-mounted large-screen monitor and listen through wireless headphones while relaxing on the Lab's spacious and comfortable couch or lounge chairs.

Please inform your students of this fun, authentic and relaxing language learning opportunity. The schedule is http://languagecenter.cla.umn.edu/lab_tv.php.

Although we are not streaming French TV through the internet, we continue to receive the French satellite TV station TV5 every day.

The Multimedia Lab in Jones 135 now offers multilingual TV programming. Every day, Lab patrons can watch a variety of live streaming channels from around the globe on the Lab's big-screen television and listen through wireless headphones. Instructors: Be sure to tell your language students about this venue for real-time, authentic language learning.

Our TV schedule is available online.

In addition, the French TV station TV5 is available for viewing every day.

Lead Multimedia Lab Attendant and Art History major Paul Fosaaen donated a painting to the newly renovated multimedia lab, Jones 135, and it was recently hung. Here is an explanation of the piece from Paul:

Mi Casta Su Casta for me stands as a testament to the power of inclusiveness over bigotry and xenophobia. Painted initially as an assignment for class, the painting itself developed into a response against a tradition in Spanish painting that arose in the 17th and 18th centuries. Casta paintings served as an attempt for the Spanish aristocracy to retain 'purity' of Spanish blood during a time of expanded colonization of Mexico. These paintings documented potential racial and cultural mixtures, essentially to prove to the Spanish that they had retained racial and cultural supremacy over the indigenous people in their colonies. My use of abstraction in Mi Casta Su Casta is not merely to deny visible reality, but also it asserts a sense of unity to further reject the intensive pigeonholing that occurred in Spanish Casta paintings. When abstraction allows for the disappearance of racial divisiveness, it also permits us as viewers to dream of participating in this vision. Mi Casta Su Casta becomes more than just a rejection of historical misdeeds, but it is a family portrait in which we all belong. The title itself, a pun on the ubiquitous mi casa su casa, declares that 'your caste is my caste' and that 'my family is your family.' Instead of imposing segregation and highlighting pejorative differences, Mi Casta Su Casta extends an invitation to all families and all people so that we may all feel at home.

Mi Casta Su Casta 2011
Van Gauguin (Paul Fosaaen)
Acrylic on canvas

The Fall semester has gotten off to a great start for TandemPlus -- this is by far our biggest semester yet. There are 639 people registered, and 427 people have been matched for exchanges in 17 languages!

We hold many events for all Tandem participants, both matched and unmatched. So far we have hosted a kick-off party, and are currently planning a bowling night for all Tandem registrants at Goldy's Gameroom in Coffman Union on November 11.

Our Skype matches are growing and an interest in Tandem is spreading through our international partners in countries such as France, Japan, and Russia.

Our class exchanges are also growing. This semester we have collaborated with 12 universities overseas to bring language classes and students together through technology. Students are assigned partners from a class overseas and spend half the time speaking in both of their native languages, allowing them to practice their second language and gain cultural insight.

We are enthusiastic about the future of the TandemPlus Program and so excited to keep moving forward as the program expands!

The redesigned Multimedia Lab in Jones Hall is also having a great semester. Students are flocking to the new design, which features hexagonal computer tables which allow more collaboration between lab patrons while better utilizing the lab's available space. Students are loving the "laptop bar" where they can work and charge their laptop and portable devices, or even print wirelessly to the lab's laser printer from their laptops, while they enjoy lots of natural light from the west-facing windows overlooking Pleasant Street. Students are also using the lab's new sectional couch and tablet-arm chairs to study and relax. Lab use has increased greatly this semester, but don't worry -- we still have space for you.

We still are looking for a new name for this awesome study space, so if you have a suggestion, post it in the comments section of this blog post!

Upcoming plans for the Multimedia Lab include live international programming on the lab's two flat-screen TVs. We will have a full list of programming, including news, game shows, and movies, from around the globe, in a variety of languages. Look for this Spring semester!

Tuesday, September 27
1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
Jones 110

SPY on your students' on-line, in-class work!
GATHER up to 30 students in one high-tech classroom!
SPRAWL OUT on our brand-new comfy lounge furniture!

Come see the newly renovated walk-in Multimedia Lab and digital language labs, and learn more about Language Center services and facilities. Beverages and desserts will be served. Optional tech training and tours will be available.

While you enjoy coffee, cider and cookies, learn more about the following:

• Our completely renovated walk-in Multimedia Lab, Jones 135
  
• Our renovated classrooms, Jones 10 and 30
  
• New LPEs for critical and popular less commonly taught languages
  
• And more!
  

The Multimedia Lab in 135 Jones Hall was closed over the summer for some major renovation.

The updated Lab is now open and offers the following new amenities:

• Two lounge areas in which to relax, work, study, read, or watch multilingual TV
• A "bar" where laptop and tablet users can work, charge their computers, and print directly to the laser printer
• Six-sided worktables with 19 PCs and 14 Macintosh computers
• Multiple areas for language-related DVD/internet viewing
• A small room for collaborating, video viewing, using the flatbed scanner, and more

As before, the Lab offers high-quality, low-cost laser printing; computer use for 30 seconds or 3 hours; and of course, friendly and helpful assistance from Lab attendants.

The Lab is open Monday-Thursday 7:45 a.m. - 7:30 p.m., and Friday 7:30 am - 4:30 p.m. We look forward to seeing you soon.

The walk-in multimedia lab, Jones 135, is closed for renovation this summer, but we hope the disruption to students will be minimal.

In addition, please email elsie@umn.edu if you have concerns about students accessing software or equipment that is not available in central labs this summer, so we can find a different way of meeting their needs.

It's late. Your language class starts in 10 minutes. Your essay is saved on your laptop, and you need to bring a printed copy to class. You forgot to bring a USB drive, and you don't have time to upload it to Google docs. Fortunately, you use the Jones 135 Multimedia Lab, and you know you can print wirelessly directly from your laptop. You cruise in, print your essay, and make it to class with moments to spare.

That's right -- the Multimedia Lab offers wireless laptop printing. Users first need to download the correct driver for their laptop from the Lab web page and carefully read the installation instructions. Laptop printing is available for most PCs and Macs with Intel processors and OS10.5 and above. Once the driver is installed, users print directly from their laptops to one of the Lab's two black-and-white laser printers, and pay for printing using value stored on their student ID.

Printing in Jones 135 is always a bargain -- 10 cents per page, single or double sided, from your laptop or from one of our PCs or Macs.

Do you sometimes wonder why students and teachers use the computers in Jones rather than their home computers? What software and tools do these computers have that yours might not? Beyond obvious answers such as "big headphones and an external microphone for recording my voice," the classrooms (Rooms 10, 15, 30 and 35) and Multimedia Lab (Room 135) in the Language Center offer software programs for both novice and expert users that can be used for practicing particular language skills or developing multi-media class projects. These programs are updated and maintained by Language Center staff, so you always know you are working with current, (nearly) bug-free versions of the latest or tried-and-true software! If your students start a project in a Jones classroom, but don't have time to finish it during the class period, they can go upstairs to the Multimedia Lab and find the same software and tools needed to complete their projects.

Here's a sampling of what you'll find on our computers:

• Sound editors such as Audacity or Garageband -- record your voice, and/or analyze and edit a voice or music clip. (Great for creating soundtracks, too!)


• Video editors and converters such as Mpeg Streamclip, Handbrake, Windows MovieMaker and iMovie -- create, edit, and convert a movie to different formats.


• Vocabulary and pronunciation trainers like ProVoc and Praat -- for more in-depth second-language vocabulary and pronunciation analysis.


• Screen capture through Camtasia Relay -- record what you're doing on-screen, as you're doing it -- great for creating an instructional video.

For a complete list of installed software, see our new page on the LC website.

If you want to request additional software to be installed on Language Center classroom or lab computers, please fill out a Software Installation Request and bring the form, software and licensing information to our main office, 110 Jones Hall.

Beginning Spring 2011, beverages with lids or other covers will be permitted in all LC spaces, including classrooms, small rooms and the Multimedia Lab. Open beverages and food are still prohibited. Keep a lid on your coffee and water, and bring it with you.

The Multimedia Lab staff in Jones 135 are pleased to announce that they now offer a discount on double-sided printing. The cost of printing is $0.10 per page -- either single or double-sided. This means students who print double-sided documents save 50% over the cost of single-sided documents! Go green, save some green!

Interested in having students view a rare film in your language of study, but don't have the class time? Reserve the movie from the Language Center main office, and recommend students watch it with small groups in Jones 135B, where they can enjoy privacy and high definition viewing on our large flat-screen TV.

Remind your students that Jones Room 135B is great for group work. Students can view movies at the same time, work on their projects together rather than individually at different computers, and talk freely. This room is also equipped with a Mac and PC, and a digital Marantz recorder.