Foreign Language Association of the Red River Meeting

The Languages and Cultures Department at MSUM hosted the 40th Annual Meeting of the Foreign Language Association of the Red River (FLARR) on Saturday, Oct. 12. Meeting organizers were Benjamin Smith from MSUM and Windy Roberts and James Wojtaszek from UofM Morris. The meeting brought together foreign language educators from 7 different universities in the region to talk about the future of the profession and current research in the field. The association held their first meeting in September of 1973 at NDSU and has seen changes in technology from early audio language labs to the advent of the internet and social media in helping students connect with native speakers all over the world. The keynote speaker, Tom Turner, has been with the organization since its inception editing the biannual publication “FLARR Pages” which will now move to an online journal hosted at the U of M, Morris. FLARR serves the foreign language teachers at all educational levels as a central communication nerve promoting research, educational and cultural activities, and expanding and upgrading foreign language programs.