NECTFL: Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages

The Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages

Janet Glass, 2008 ACTFL Teacher of the Year

Janet Glass, a teacher of Spanish at Dwight-Englewood School, Englewood, NJ, has been named the recipient of the 2008 ACTFL National Language Teacher of the Year Award by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). The presentation was made at the association’s 41st Annual Conference and Exposition on November 16, 2007 in San Antonio, TX.

Ms. Glass’s career has spanned almost 40 years and included teaching at the middle and high school levels before beginning her current position teaching elementary school in 1985. In addition, she teaches courses in second language acquisition, foreign language teaching methods and Children’s Literature at Fairleigh Dickinson University and New Jersey City University. She was one of five regional winners from around the U.S. who were finalists for the national award. The other finalists were Kathryn Beppler, teacher of French at Evanston High School, Evanston, WY; Betty Lotterman, a Spanish teacher at Mounds View High School in Arden Hills, MN; Jamin Lynch, teacher of German at Independence High School in San Jose, CA; and Juan Carlos Morales, a German and Japanese teacher at Miami Palmetto Senior High School in Miami, FL.

ACTFL 2007 President Rita Oleksak and Dave Pieklo, Vice President of Marketing for McDougal Littell, sponsors of the award, pictured with 2008 ACTFL National Teacher of the Year Award winner Janet Glass.

The award, which is sponsored by ACTFL and publisher McDougal Littell, was created to recognize a foreign language teacher who exhibits excellence in language teaching. The selection process includes the submission of a portfolio and a teaching video. Nominees are first evaluated by their state language organization, after which each state submits its top candidate to one of five regional committees for additional review. Regional winners are evaluated and interviewed by ACTFL’s awards committee. In serving as a spokesperson for language education over the coming year, Glass will make appearances and give presentations at foreign language conferences as well as at events that promote language education through the Discover Languages … Discover the World public awareness campaign.