2025 New FLTA & New Language Instructor Orientation
This year's orientation will be held August 18-22, 2025.
CeLT's annual orientation program is designed specifically for new FLTAs, AIs, and other language instructors, though any language program affiliates are welcome to attend our orientation events.
Individuals currently in Bloomingtonare requiredto attend in person. A Zoom link is provided in the PDF schedule for those who have not yet arrived to campus, for virtual attendance of sessions. A few events will be held via Zoom for all participants, with different Zoom links provided for the individual session.
For orientation registration, please contact Rebecca Ramsey.
Orientation Schedule
Monday, August 18, 2025
9:00 AM – 9:30 AMCheck in. Getting ready. Location: BH 115 Coffee and snack provided.
9:30 AM – 9:35 AM Welcome by Dr. Xiaojing Kou, Director of the Center for Language Technology (CeLT) Location: BH 115
Location: BH 115
Presenter: Rebecca Ramsey, Center for Language Technology (CeLT)
This session showcases the many multimedia creation facilities, equipment, and software available to language instructors at IU. Audio and video recording, editing, and file sharing will be discussed. We will also cover several additional resources for enriching your teaching materials through images and graphics.
Location: BH 115
Presenters:Scott Murray, IT Specialist, UITS/CeLT; and Dr. Xiaojing Kou, Director of the Center for Language Technology (CeLT)
After this workshop, you will be able to:
Access Office 365 (Word, PPT, Excel, etc.) through its cloud version,
Collaborate using the Office Suite tools,
Store and share files for work and individual study with OneDrive and SharePoint, and
Use Microsoft Teams to communicate and collaborate (phone call, chat, video call, etc.)
Identifypossible integrationinto instruction
Location: BH 115
Pizza and drinks will be provided.
Location: BH 114
Discover resources and services made available by CeLT to language instructors.
Location: BH 115
Presenter:Dr. Xiaojing Kou
This hands-on workshop provides an overview of the basic features and tools of the Canvas learning management system, which is used in all courses at IU. Specifically, you will learn to set up a new course manually, customize course navigation, create and upload critical components such as syllabus, content pages, assignments, quizzes, modules, course email, and discussion forums.
Location: BH 115
Presenter:Dr. Franziska Krueger, Language Workshop; and Dr. Xiaojing Kou
This session with provide an overview of generative AI tools available at Indiana University, as well as examples of their application in language instruction.
Tuesday, August 19, 2025
Location: Online (separate Zoom link)
Presenters: Assistant deans Dr. Justin Grossman & Dr. Terri Greenslade, the College of Arts and Sciences Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs
This mandatory session covers:
specific policies that apply and actions that graduate instructors and FLTAs should take when faced with common classroom situations;
academic integrity procedures that all instructors at IU must follow; these will be especially important given the increase in the use of ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence technology.
There will also be time for Q&A from participants.
Location: GA 1060
Introduction: Dr. Xiaojing Kou Session Leaders: Dr.Piibi-Kai Kivik, Central Eurasian Studies, andDr.Franziska Kruger
Participant introductions. Overview of the orientation schedule. Pre-session for best practices.
Coffee and light snacks will be served.
Location: GA 1060
Presenters: Dr. Franziska Krueger and TBA
This workshop provides an overview of best practices in foreign language instruction, including the use of authentic materials, promoting a student-centered classroom, and ACTFL World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages: Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, and Community.
These sessions are for Hamilton Lugar School FLTAs only.
3:00 - 4:00 PM FLTAs meet with supervisors
Please communicate with your supervisor as to the location of meeting.
4:00 - 5:00 PM Talk by Daniel Whitmer, Senior Associate Director, Sponsored Student Services, OIS
Location: GA 1060
Wednesday, August 20, 2025
Location: BH 603
Check in and getting ready.
Coffee and snacks provided.
Location: BH 603
Session Leader: Dr. Franziska Krueger
By the end of this session, participants will be able to write effective performance objectives of their lessons.
Location: BH 603
Presenters:Dr. Piibi-Kai Kivikand Dr. Yingling Bao, East Asian Languages and Cultures
This session will provide background for lesson planning and sample lesson plans focusing on the three modes of communication: Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational.
Location: BH 307
Session Leader: Dr. Jeff Holdeman, Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures
*It is especially important that you arrive on time (be seated before 11:00 AM) for this session.
This session showcases a sample first-day foreign language lesson. Participants will be exposed to best teaching practices and strategies for using the target language from the first day of class. A guided discussion and analysis will follow.
Location: BH 115
Presenter: Dr. Piibi-Kai Kivik
Following this session on teaching grammar in context, there will be time to individually develop your lesson plan with active support from the instructors.
Thursday, August 21, 2025
Location: BH 403
Check in and getting ready.
Coffee and snacks provided.
Location: BH 403
Session Leaders: Dr. Rashmi Sharma (Presentational),Dr. Piibi-Kai Kivik (Interpersonal), andDr. Yingling Bao (Interpretive)
Instructors will present lessons on best practices in language instruction. Lessons in two different languages will be modeled in the demos. Participants who do not speak the relevant demo language will take the role of students.
Locations: BH 403 and BH 803 (participants will be divided into two groups)
Session Leaders: Dr. Franziska Krueger, Dr. Piibi-Kai Kivik andDr. Yingling Bao
Each participant will present a lesson plan that clearly reflects best FL instruction practices and (a minimum of) one mode of communication, followed by discussion and feedback from instructors.
FLTAs from the Hamilton Lugar School will be provided lunch by HLS.
FLTA lunch location: GA 2067
Location: GA building atrium
Please talk with your direct supervisor as to your responsibilities for the Language Fest.
Location: Dunn Meadow(southeast corner of Indiana Ave. & E. 7th St.)
Please talk with your direct supervisor as to your responsibilities for the College Expo.
Location: Zoom
Session Leader: Dr. Piibi-Kai Kivik
If you have any questions about your microteaching, you can drop in any time during the Zoom office hours to ask questions.
Each participant will prepare their own microteaching based on their lesson plans, to be presented on Friday, August 22, 2025.
Friday, August 22, 2025
Location: BH 503
Check in and getting ready.
Coffee and snacks provided.
Locations: BH 403 and BH 503
Session leaders: Dr. Franziska Krueger, Dr.Piibi-Kai KivikandDr. Yingling Bao
Participants will do their microteaching, followed by discussion and analysis. We will also finalize the date and time for the mandatory CAPS session based on your schedules.
Locations: BH 503
Pizza and drinks will be provided at noon.
After the Semester Starts
Time: TBA
Location: TBA
In this mandatory session, attendees will learn about IU's Counseling and Psychological Services, adjusting to graduate school, signs of distress, and how Associate Instructors/FLTAs should refer students to CAPS.
Time: TBA
Location: TBA
Session leader: Dr. Gwen Kirk, South Asian and South East Asian Librarian
Attendees will learn how area studies librarians collaborate with language instructors to provide research, reference, and instructional assistance; learn about physical and digital resources available through IU Libraries; and have hands-on experience in finding resources.
Time: TBA
Location: TBA
Session leaders: Dr. Xiaojing Kou and TBA
Reflect on your teaching practices, learning, and challenges. Ask questions. Learn from each other’s experiences.
Refreshments will be provided.
A brief survey will be sent via email. Please let us know which of the sessions were most useful in your teaching and any suggestions you may have for improving orientation in the future.
Optional
Associate Instructor Orientation by CITL (August 20, 2025)
The Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL) orientation is designed for all new associate instructors (as opposed to CeLT’s Orientation for only FLTAs and Language associate instructors).
If there are any workshops you wish to attend that have a time conflict with the CeLT Orientation, please discuss with your department language coordinator to decide. It is strongly recommended that you participate in all of the CeLT orientation, since each day is designed based on teaching from previous days and many of the sessions are preparing you for microteaching.
CITL in-person orientation will run 8:45 - 11:45 AM. Asynchronous online learning modules are also available on Canvas. The event schedule can be found here.
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