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ALTA Annual Conference 2024

ALTA Conference 2024

27th Annual Conference of the

AFRICAN LANGUAGE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION [ALTA]

African Languages Within and Beyond the Classroom: Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Multidisciplinary Collaborations.

Thursday 11th - Saturday 13th, April 2024

Proudly Hosted by

The National African Language Resource Center (NALRC),

Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies

Indiana University, Bloomington.

The African Language Teachers Association (ALTA) is a professional organization that works to promote the teaching of, and research in, African languages and cultures. ALTA’s annual conferences provide an avenue for teachers, researchers, students, and other stakeholders in the field to meet and share their research, experiences, and best practices.

The 2024 ALTA conference will take place at Indiana University in Bloomington from Thursday 11 to Saturday 13, April 2024, under the theme, African Languages Within and Beyond the Classroom: Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Multidisciplinary Collaborations.

This year’s conference aims to inspire innovative and creative ways to enhance African language programs, instruction, research, and best practices. It seeks contributions that will leverage the affordance of interdisciplinary viewpoints and collaborative initiatives to raise the profile of African language instruction and support the professionalism of African language educators.

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TIME & LOCATION

April 11, 2024, 3:00 PM ET – April 13, 2024, 6:00 PM EST

355 N Eagleson Ave, Bloomington, IN 47405

Banquet at 7 PM EST | Saturday, April 13, 2024.

Georgian Room, Indiana Memorial Union

Date, Time, and Location: Please consult the conference program schedule to find your final presentation time, date, and room.

Presentation rooms are located on the first floor of the Global & International Studies Building (GISB), Indiana University Bloomington. This new state-of-the-art building is home to the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies and several internationally-focused departments and programs in the College of Arts and Sciences.

All rooms are right across from you once you enter the GISB building. They are easy to locate. However, ensure to locate your room in advance to give yourself enough time to arrive in your room 5-10 minutes before your presentation.

Session time length: Each presentation is 20 minutes long, followed by 10 minutes for questions. Presenters within a session are responsible for helping each other keep time during the sessions. Signs are provided in each room reading “5 minutes,” “2 minutes,” and “STOP” to keep time.

Audio/Visuals: All classrooms in GISB are equipped with LCD Projector, Screen, HDMI Cables, as well as sound to run audio in each room. Microphones will not be provided in the rooms. You are responsible for bringing your laptop and the necessary adaptor to connect your laptop to the projector.

WIFI Connection: You can access the internet via Eduroam on all the IU campus buildings. You can also sign up to access Guest WIFI at the conference venue for personal internet surfing and email.

PRESENTER'S RESPONSIBILITIES

All presenters, including session chairs, must register for the conference and be members of ALTA.

Presenters whose proposals are selected for presentation MUST be available to present any day during the conference.
Presenters are responsible for keeping all information sent from the ALTA conference host and complying with the instructions and deadlines provided.
Each presenter is responsible for printing or uploading any handouts for the session
All presenters are responsible for expenses incurred as the result of being accepted to make a presentation during the convention. This includes all travel expenses and registration fees.

We look forward to seeing you in Bloomington!

ALTA 2024 Conference Team

Contact: 8126068530

Please click below to view the Finalized Program Schedule. Contact us if you have any questions or comments.

The Registration Rates are below.

Members Rate

Non-Member Rate (NM)

Regular members in diaspora - $175

Regular members in Africa - $100

Student in diaspora - $75

Student in Africa - $50

NM in diaspora - $200

NM members in Africa - $175

NM Student in diaspora - $125

NM Student in Africa - $95

_{*Please note the conference registration fee is non-refundable.}

_{Questions about the conference: conferencealta@gmail.com | 8128553141}

Sponsorship and Exhibition

ALTA seeks collaborations through sponsorship and exhibition at the conference from 11-13, April 2024.

Sponsors will be listed on all publications for the conference.

Exhibitors will host a booth in our Exhibition Space, where they get the opportunity to interact with the conference attendees and will also be listed on all publications for the conference. Exhibition Cost: $300 for a table.

Questions about the conference: conferencealta@gmail.com | 8128553141

The ALTA conference coincides with other exciting events in Bloomington. So, hotel rooms have been in high demand. Rooms are selling really fast.

So we advise ALTA conference participants to reserve their rooms immediately. Please do not delay.

Hotel Options

ROOMS with DOUBLE BED TO SHARE

Available Rooms and Price

Cutoff Date

Courtyard Marriott II

249 USD per night

Book Here

Find A Roommate

See All Requests

Monday, March 18

More Rooms

Available Rooms and Price

Cutoff Date

Courtyard Marriott

310 S College Avenue

Bloomington In 47401

1-888-236-2427

(812) 335-8000

$199 plus tax.

Book here

March 21

Limited Rooms

Selling Fast

Holiday Inn

710 N. Kinser Pike, Bloomington, IN, 47404, US

(812) 334-3252

1 855 680 3239

Double Queens

$129 plus tax

Select your room (ihg.com)

March 21

Limited Rooms

Selling Fast

Hotels Without Block Rooms

Comfort Inn Bloomington Near University

1700 North Kinser Pike, Bloomington, IN, 47404, US

(812) 650-0010

Kings and Queen/Queen

From $144 Per Night plus tax

Rooms are Selling Fast

Travelodge by Wyndham Bloomington

2615 East Third Street, Bloomington, Indiana 47401

+1-812-727-6959

Kings and Queen/Queen

From $136-$152 plus tax

Rooms are Selling Fast

Other Resources for Accommodation in Bloomington

https://www.visitbloomington.com/hotels/

www.airbnb.com

The Annual Conference of the African Language Teachers Association (ALTA) will begin with a Pedagogy Workshop at 3 pm on Thursday, April 11, 2024, and end with a banquet on Saturday 13, 2024.

Location: 355 N Eagleson Ave, Bloomington, IN 47405.

Getting to Bloomington

Indianapolis International Airport

The nearest major airport serving Bloomington is the Indianapolis International Airport. Named one of the top ten airports in the U.S., the facility is attractive and easy to use.

_{Airport Symbol: IND}

_{Address: 7800 Col. H. Weir Cook Memorial Dr, Indianapolis, IN 46241}

_{Location: 50 miles north of Bloomington}

Ground Transportation from Indianapolis International Airport to Bloomington and return.

Go Express Travel (Shuttle Service)

_{Service 9 times daily between the airport and Bloomington campus}

_{Advance Reservations: Highly recommended}

_{Rate: currently $29.00 one way}

_{Reservations online: goexpresstravel.com}

_{Telephone: (800) 589-6004 or (812) 332.6004}

_{Airport pick-up location: Ground Transportation Center; lower level, outside of airport Baggage Claim}

_{Go Express will stop at the Graduate Hotel.}
_{If you will stay at the Courtyard Marriot, the closest stop is the Graduate Hotel. (~ 0.4 miles to your hotel. You can either walk, use UBER, or call us ahead to arrange pick up to your hotel)}
_{If you will stay at the Holiday Inn, the closest stop is Home2 Suites. (~ 0.7 miles to your hotel. You can either walk, use UBER, or call us ahead to arrange pick up to your hotel)}
_{If you will stay in other hotels and need assistance with reaching your hotel, please reach us ahead of your trip.}

Other transportation options can be found here: https://www.ind.com/transportation-car-rental/scheduled-bus-service

Contact NALRC Staff at 8126068530.

The Conference Organizing Committee invites researchers, educators, practitioners, and program and curriculum developers to submit abstracts for individual papers and panel discussions on topics relevant to the conference theme and the following sub-themes:

Pedagogical Innovations that Address Learner Needs
The Role of Technology and Artificial Intelligence in Instruction
Multimodality and Resource Development
Building cross-disciplinary Alliances and Leadership
Curriculum Design and Student-Centered Instruction
The Role and place of African languages in African Studies
African Languages and Indigenous Knowledge
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Teaching
Learner Assessment Techniques
Promoting African Languages on Campuses
Role of Study Abroad Programs in Advancing African Languages
Language and Culture
Translation and Interpretation
African Linguistics
African Literature

Submit an abstract for one of the following presentation formats. Your abstract may be in English or an African language.

Individual paper: Individual Papers are research-based presentations discussing one paper. Papers constitute original research or practical experience and may have up to two co-presenters present on the same paper. [Time: 30 minutes; 20 minutes for presentation and 10 minutes for questions and discussion.]

Panel Presentations: Panel Presentations are research-based presentations in which multiple papers examine a single topic extensively and involve the audience in the discussion. Panelists must address an issue related to the conference's theme and/or subthemes. Typically, a panel includes 3-4 panelists, and members share time equally. Panel time will be determined depending on the number of panelists, up to 90 minutes.

Submission of Abstracts

Submission deadline has passed and the portal is now closed.

Questions about the conference: conferencealta@gmail.com

Plenary Speaker

Katrina Daly Thompson, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Becoming a Lifelong Learner of African Languages: Lessons from Within and Beyond the Classroom

According to the ACTFL Standards, under the area of “Communities,” learners should be able to “use the language both within and beyond the classroom to interact and collaborate in their community and the globalized world” and engage in “lifelong learning,” by “using languages for enjoyment, enrichment, and advancement.” Yet little research in African language teaching has examined how our students engage with these goals. In this presentation, I will reflect on my own experience as a lifelong learner of African languages (Shona, Swahili, and Arabic) and share some preliminary findings from research with students engaged in lifelong learning as part of UW-Madison’s Multilanguage Seminar.

Katrina Daly Thompson, a.k.a. Mwalimu Zuhura, is Evjue-Bascom Professor in the Humanities at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Thompson’s research concerns language use in Muslim communities on the Swahili Coast and in North America. Thompson is the author of Swahili Learners’ Reference Grammar, Popobawa: Tanzanian Talk, Global Misreadings, and numerous articles about Swahili culture and language use in Tanzania. They have taught Swahili at UW-Madison, Middlebury College, and UCLA and directed the African language programs at both UCLA and UW-Madison.

Pre-Conference Workshop

Generative AI for Teachers of African Languages: Building AI Literacy and Navigating Limitations.

Workshop Lead: Nicholas Swinehart, University of Chicago.

Thursday 11th, April 2024 | 4 - 6 pm

This workshop will explore what it means for language teachers to have AI literacy: the components that go into it, how it can be acquired, and a crash course on getting started. It will then look at how generative AI tools perform in African languages, potential strategies instructors can utilize to overcome limited options within their language, and what instructors can expect in the future. The goal is for all instructors to become more informed about and prepared for generative AI in language teaching, even if AI tools have limited capacity in their language at present.

_{^{The Pre-conference pedagogy workshop presents hands-on training on a vital pedagogical topic for instructors of African Languages.}}

_{^{This pre-conference pedagogy workshop is open the instructors of all world languages at IU.}}

Nicholas Swinehart is the Managing Director of Instructional Technology at the University of Chicago Language Center, where he supports instructors of over fifty languages with technology use and professional development. He is co-editor of the February 2024 CALICO Journal special issue on social media for language learning and is co-author of Teaching Languages in Blended Synchronous Classrooms: A Practical Guide (2020).