Many languages other than English (LOTE) departments and programs face declining enrollments (MLA, 2023)—with most learners stopping their language education after one or two courses, often at the elementary level—and an ongoing need to justify the value of language learning amid shifting institutional priorities, the new AI landscape, and shrinking budgets.
If you have been considering a revamp of your LOTE program at the course, sequence, or program level, we invite you to apply to the CILC Summer Institute on Literacies-Oriented Language Education, a synchronous online professional development seminar designed for language program directors and all ranks of language faculty (tenured, instructional, part-time, graduate students). Literacies-oriented approaches aim to develop learners’ abilities beyond communicative competence and into “literacies,” defined as meaning-making abilities in which learners interact with texts in all modalities, in a way that is cognitively demanding and socio-culturally informed (for more details, see Paesani, 2018). Such approaches include genre-based, text-based, and multiliteracies-based, all of which focus on incorporating texts that were created for language users, not language learners.
In summer 2025, during three sessions lasting three hours each, participants will engage in reading and discussion activities with peers and experts to learn what literacies-oriented approaches are and how they can boost language development, improve the transition from lower- to upper-division courses, facilitate program growth, and foster alignment between language-program objectives and university-level objectives. Then, participants will explore two possible models to transform a program:
- Fully redesign an existing program from a traditional, two-tiered curriculum—composed of lower-level language development courses and upper-division content courses—to a literacies-based curriculum where development and content are intertwined throughout.
Or…
- Make changes within a traditional language development sequence (typically, lower-level language courses) without redesigning the entire program, with the goal of increasing the number of learners who progress to upper-level courses by introducing textual study early on.
Finally, participants will be guided through drafting a tentative action plan for either redesigning or enhancing their existing program, curriculum, or course(s) with a literacies-oriented approach.
Participants who complete all of the Institute’s requirements will receive a stipend (more information below). We encourage several members of the same department/program to apply together.
Why apply?
- Practical Curricular Strategies | Learn how integrating a literacies-based approach into a program can improve the transition from lower- to upper- division courses and can boost student development and engagement.
- Impactful Professional Development | Apply as an individual or with up to three team members from your institution. Connect with others, engage in hands-on workshops, and develop strategies to advocate for program sustainability.
- Exclusive Resources & Recognition | Receive a certificate of completion, and free registration to one ILETC workshop during the 2025–2026 academic year.
- Financial Support | Earn a $500 stipend per person for individual participation, or a $700 stipend per person for a maximum of three participants from the same institution.
Institute Details
Webinar Dates and Time: July 15, July 22, July 29, 2025; from 1:00 PM EDT to 4:00 PM EDT.
Modality: Synchronous online with tailored activities and assignments
Eligibility: Open to LOTE faculty and instructors (part- and full-time, including graduate students), program directors, department heads, and/or coordinators. Teams from the same department/program are welcomed and encouraged to apply and receive a higher stipend per person. Applications (both individual and team) from community colleges and minority serving institutions will be given priority.
Requirements: In order to receive the certificate and stipend, participants must:
- Attend all three sessions from start to finish.
- Complete all assignments prior to and after each session. Assignments will include readings, online discussion, collection and sharing of information about the participant’s program and related tasks.
- Submit a draft of an action plan no later than August 5th, 2025, 11:30 PM EDT.
Deadline: May 30, 2025, 11:30 PM EDT. Space is limited!
Apply now using this Google form.
Questions? Use this contact form.
We look forward to receiving your application!
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