The Emma Marie Birkmaier Award honors ACTFL’s first president, a person who worked tirelessly in the creation of the association and its new programs, including the ACTFL Annual Bibliography of Books and Articles on Pedagogy in Foreign Languages and the ACTFL Review of Foreign Language Education (now known as the ACTFL Foreign Language Education Series). She was an outstanding teacher educator at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis-St. Paul, and her career influenced countless students of world language education at that institution and practicing teachers across the nation. Through publications, professional service, and the organization of summer institutes for world language professionals, her legacy and impact continue unabated.
The Emma Marie Birkmaier Award was established in 1980 to recognize an author of doctoral dissertation research in world language education that contributes significantly to the advancement of the profession.
We are currently seeking volunteers to serve on the Awards Committee. Committee members review the dossiers of those nominated and rate them on a provided evaluation rubric.
Requirements:
Volunteers should have a background in conducting research.
Number of hours committed varies depending on the number of nominations received, generally 2-3 hours.
Approximately 2-5 volunteer committee members are selected by the ACTFL Past President to serve for the awards cycle each year. They are notified in May; work begins in early June and is completed online. Nomination materials are posted on the Awards Community for committee members to access, along with a rubric. Deadlines will be set by the committee chair and passed along to the committee.
Volunteers currently serving on another ACTFL Committee (SIG Officers, Board Committee, etc.) are not eligible to apply. Volunteers are limited to service on one committee at a time.