Projects: Overview

The principal purpose of TLTC is to develop instructional technology – especially multimedia course materials – to be used in language instruction on the UT campus and shared with other institutions and the public at large.

TLTC staff has deep experience in creation and management of technology projects at the University level and seeks to use that experience to help refine methods of teaching and learning through technology.  Projects include

• Radio Arlecchino
  Radio Arlecchino is a selection of aural Italian grammar lessons (podcasts) in development.  Grammar examples and dialogs are built upon the escapades of Arlecchino, Pulcinella, and other masks of the Italian Commedia dell'arte.  Lessons feature topical grammar discussions, dramatic readings, pdf grammar notes ... and general audio zaniness.  Faculty developers: Eric Edwards and Antonella Olson.
• Deutsch im Blick
  Deutsch im Blick (Focus on German) is a multimedia 1st-year German language program in development, based on videos of native speakers and the UT Summer Program in Würzburg, Germany.  The online textbook will include recorded vocabulary, phonetics lessons, online comparative polls, and Internet writing activities.  The grammar component, Grimm Grammar, will feature zany post-modern versions of Grimm fairy tale characters.  Faculty developer: Zsuzsanna Abrams.
• Grimm Grammar
  Grimm Grammar is an online German grammar reference, featuring zany post-modern Grimm's fairy tale characters, authoritative grammar explanations, self-correcting exercises, online audio, and illustrations of the residents of Schloßallee 18 – the modern day fairy tale castle home.  Faculty developer: Zsuzsanna Abrams.
• Tá Falado
  Tá Falado, as part of the Brazilpod project, provides learners of Brazilian Portuguese with podcast lessons showing pronunciation differences between Spanish and Portuguese.  Podcasts are built around dialogs that illustrate specific sound differences.  Users can download PDF transcripts and participate in weblog discussions for clarification of questions.  Additionally, all dialogs present cultural scenarios designed to show some of the differences between the U.S. and Brazil.  Faculty developer: Orlando Kelm.
• Français Interactif
  Français Interactif is a unique, award-winning 1st-year French curriculum designed to complement University of Texas 'smart' classrooms.  With digital video technology, students explore French language and culture by following the lives of real UT students who have participated in the UT Summer Program in Lyon, France.  Online curriculum includes over 320 videos, vocabulary and phonetics audio, online grammar reference with self-correcting exercises and audio dialogues, verb conjugation and practice tools, diagnostic grammar quizzes (testez-vous), a workbook of classroom activities and homework assignments, online polls, and Internet writing activities.  Français Interactif was awarded 1st place in the University's 2004 IITAP competition and was given the National Endowment for the Humanities EDSITEment Best of Humanities on the Web award (2005).  Faculty developers: Carl Blyth, Karen Kelton, Nancy Guilloteau.
• Chansons Françaises
  Chansons Françaises is the integrated music component of Français Interactif.  Chansons features a French or Francophone song, related to a chapter's cultural or pedagogical focus, presented via audio or video.  Accompanying pdfs provide additional information, as well as comprehension exercises.   Songs act as a portal to various Francophone cultures and musical genres.  Aural comprehension and study of lyrics afford students practice with culturally authentic text and expression.   Students discover yet another reason to be passionate about studying French!  Developers: Kelle Keating, Karen Kelton, s.palomino.
• Tex's French Grammar
  Tex's French Grammar (la grammaire de l'absurde) is a globally popular pedagogical reference grammar that combines explanations with surreal dialogues and cartoon images.  Originally built for students at the University of Texas at Austin as a user-friendly guide to French grammar, Tex's French Grammar may be profitably used by any learner of French, provided he or she possess a sense of humor.  The website's authoritative grammar content and humorous dialogs have been used (and appreciated) by thousands of students throughout the world; the project has succeeded beyond wildest expectations.  Faculty developers: Carl Blyth, Karen Kelton.
• Spanish Proficiency Exercises
  Spanish Proficiency Exercises is a compilation of video clips in which native speakers of Spanish from various locations throughout Latin America and Spain demonstrate various language tasks.  The objective of the exercises is to provide students of Spanish with the necessary tools to be able to talk about the same topics in Spanish.  Videos are organized by language proficiency level and are accompanied by related vocabulary, phrases, and grammar.  Faculty developer: Orlando Kelm.
• Cantar de mio Cid
  The Cantar de mio Cid (Cid) web project is conceived as an educational tool that will allow students of the Spanish epic to understand and appreciate the oral essence of the genre and to recognize the enormous conceptual distance between an oral narrative poem and the modern textual editions used in the classroom.  The website presents the Spanish epic poem in various multimedia formats, in order to facilitiate alternate learning styles.  The Cid project won first place in the University's IITAP competition in 2002 and has been lauded by Medievalists and Hispanophiles across the globe.  Faculty developer: Matthew Bailey.