New leadership named in language-specific professional organizations

By Alfonso De Torres Núñez
alfonso.detorresnunez@education.ky.gov

During the Kentucky World Language Association’s annual conference in Louisville, new leadership was elected in five of the six different language-specific state professional organizations.

Kentucky chapter of the American Association of Teachers of French (KY-AATF)

Lydia Kohler

Lydia Kohler is the new president of the KY-AATF. A National Board certified teacher, Kohler prides herself on making daily strides to improve her instruction and the instruction of other French teachers across the state.

Kohler has led her school, George Rogers Clark High School (Clark County), to a partnership with the Lycée Sivard de Beaulieu in Carentan, Normandy.  Students from both schools have visited one another on exchanges.  Kohler also has traveled to Normandy with WWII Veteran Charles Wilson. She worked as translator as he shared his story of the war with students and adults in the community.  The next student exchange is planned for the 2017-18 school year.

Read more about KY-AATF in the Kentucky Teacher article, “Vive le Français!”

Kentucky chapter of the American Association of Teachers of German (KY-AATG)

John Krueger

John Krueger is the new president of the KY-AATG. He is a teacher of German I, II and III through KET Distance Learning. He has a bachelor’s in German from Eastern Kentucky University and a master’s in German from the University of Massachusetts, as well as a master’s in education from the University of Kentucky.

Krueger taught German from 1995-2006 at Lafayette High School (Fayette County). He also has taught at Fairfax High School and Lee High School in Fairfax, Va. He has organized many German American Partnership Program exchanges and led many student trips to Germany. He was named Teacher of the Year in 2014 by the Kentucky chapter of the American Association of Teachers of German.

Read more about KY-AATG in the Kentucky Teacher article, “Es lebe Deutsch!”

Kentucky Association of Japanese Language Teachers (KAJLT)

Atsushi Hasegawa

Atsushi Hasegawa is the new president of KAJLT. He is an assistant professor of Japan Studies at the University of Kentucky. He coordinates and teaches all levels of Japanese. He also teaches courses on sociolinguistics and second language acquisition.

Hasegawa holds a doctorate in second language acquisition from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He conducts research on language pedagogy, with a particular focus on classroom interaction. Hasegawa is currently involved in a project on study abroad socialization and language development.

Read more about KAJLT in the Kentucky Teacher article, “Japanese language association seeks to connect programs across Kentucky.”

Kentucky chapter of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (KY-AATSP)

Gloria Newsome

Gloria “Gina” Newsome is the new president of the KY-AATSP. She is a native Spanish speaker   and earned an associate and bachelor’s degree in Spanish education from Morehead State University. She also holds a master’s in secondary education with an endorsement to teach technology from Morehead.  

Newsome has taught Spanish for 11 years in Floyd County Schools, 10 of which were at Prestonsburg High School, and she is now in her second year at South Floyd School. She has led several student tours abroad to Europe and chartered Spanish National Honor Society groups at both of her schools.

Newsome served as Region 6 regional representative for six years and is currently a board member of Kentucky World Language Association, an organization in which she has been a member since 2004. In addition, she has served as curriculum lead for world language in her district and is a member of the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative World Language Cohort.

Read more about KY-AATSP in the Kentucky Teacher article, “Speaking Spanish and Portuguese in Kentucky! ¡Hola! Olá!”

Kentucky Association of Chinese Language Teachers (KACLT)

Xiaoyan Xie

Xiaoyan Xie is the new president of the KACLT. She received her doctorate in linguistics and applied linguistics from Beijing Language and Culture University in 2010. She specializes in computational linguistics; but her research interests also include the pedagogy of teaching Chinese as a second language, instructional technology in education and language proficiency.

Before Xie came to United States, she taught all levels of modern Chinese courses at Tsinghua University and Beijing Language and Culture University. She currently teaches Chinese at Meadowthorpe Elementary (Fayette County). She has served on KACLT board since 2014.

Read more about KACLT in the Kentucky Teacher article, “Kentucky’s K-16 Chinese language programs.”

Kentucky Classical Association

Cynthia Shiroma continues her role as president of KCA. She has a bachelor’s in animal science and a master’s in classics, both from the University of Kentucky.  She received her alternative certification in teaching from Asbury College.  

Shiroma has taught at Millersburg Military Institute, Jefferson County Traditional Middle School and Louisville Male High School. She is currently teaching Latin at DuPont Manual High School (Jefferson County).

Read more about KCA in the Kentucky Teacher article, “Stay classical Kentucky!”