New Focus on K-12 and New Senior Associate
Friday, September 8, 2000
Responding to the important role that foreign language learning plays in precollegiate education, the National Foreign Language Center has invited Dr. Myriam Met, formerly of Montgomery County Public Schools, to head new initiatives related to K-12 foreign language policy, effective July 1, 2000.
Met will lead the NFLC's activities in researching and formulating policies regarding language education in K-12 public and non-public schools. Since its inception in 1986, the NFLC has been concerned with meeting the language needs of the nation. Formerly the NFLC had focused primarily on language education policies in postsecondary education, the U.S. government, and proprietary language schools. Now recognizing that language study by older learners is shaped by what takes place in K-12 settings, the NFLC will place increased efforts on examining the policies that shape language learning in elementary and secondary schools.
NFLC director, Richard D. Brecht, has called for a K-12 policy agenda that will be wide-ranging. In welcoming Met to the NFLC, Brecht observed, " We will examine the implications of national and state foreign language standards for policies and practices in the schools, identify factors that affect foreign language policy implementation in schools, consider issues in teacher professional development, and collect data related to the status of student foreign language performance in precollegiate programs."
Met comes to the NFLC with considerable experience in foreign language education. She was foreign language coordinator for Montgomery County Public Schools (Md.) for 15 years where she was responsible for foreign language programs in the elementary schools (primarily immersion programs), middle, and high schools. Prior to joining Montgomery County, Met was a coordinating teacher and supervisor of foreign languages, ESL, and bilingual education for Cincinnati (Ohio) Public Schools. She began her teaching career in the New York City Public Schools.
An experienced developer of instructional programs and curricula, Met has also been involved with teacher training at the K-12 and postsecondary levels, has published in journals and professional books in the area of K-12 curriculum, instruction, and teacher development for foreign language, bilingual education, and ESL programs, and has authored textbooks for elementary, middle and high school. She has provided services to over 50 school districts, state departments of education, universities, professional associations and private agencies in 22 states, Europe, Asia, and Canada. She is a past president of the National Association of District Supervisors of Foreign Languages and currently is president of the National Network for Early Language Learning. The American Council on theTeaching of Foreign Languages awarded her the Florence Steiner Award for Leadership in Foreign Language Education, K-12, in 1983 and the Papalia Award for Excellence in Teacher Education in 1999. She has also received a Pioneer in Bilingual Education Award from the National Association for Bilingual Education and the Palmes Academiques from the French government.
