DUE WEST, SC - Dr. Carlos Mentley, Associate Professor of Modern Languages at Erskine College, reports that he and colleagues Christie Boulez, Lola Hidalgo, Chris Horne and Rachel Reed attended the annual conference of the South Carolina Foreign Languages Teachers' Association (SCFLTA) as well as the Southern Conference on Language Teaching (SCOLT) March 6-8 at Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Erskine faculty members were joined by Erskine alumna Kristen Urquhart and Abbeville High School teachers Susan Berry and Janice Boyles for the three days of workshops, presentations and discussions aimed at improving the quality of language instuction at the middle school, high school and college levels.

Topics at the conference included developing student portfolios; utilizing internet resources; integrating dance, song and art into the language classroom; reevaluating the contemporary literary canon; and connecting to other disciplines through content-based instruction.

"We came away from the experience with renewed enthusiasm for teaching, a better understanding of what our colleagues are doing throughout the South, and a strong desire to participate more fully in next year's conference," said Mentley.