March 4, 2008

 

Contacts:

Brent Roberts, MSU Billings Library, 657-1655
Dan Carter, University Relations, 657-2269

 

MSU BILLINGS NEWS SERVICES — A Fulbright Scholar’s learning experience while teaching in South America will be the focus of the next Library Lecture at Montana State University Billings.

 

Dr. Susan Barfield, an associate professor in the Department of Educational Theory and Practice, will talk on “The Chilean Ministry of Education English Opens Doors Program: A Fulbright Experience” on Thursday, March 13 from 12:30-1:30 p.m. in LA 205 at MSU Billings. The lecture is free and open to the public.

 

Dr. Sue BarfieldBarfield worked four months as a Fulbright Scholar in 2007 with the Ministry of Education English Opens Doors Program in Chile.  She visited over 20 schools throughout Chile, including Easter Island, talking and working with students from kindergarten through college and their teachers of English as a Foreign Language. 

 

During her stay in South America, she made presentations in Chile, Peru and Argentina on cooperative education, integrating content and/or culture into English language learning, using classroom centers to teach, and tri-lingual education models.  Results of a teacher survey regarding Chilean English teaching conditions will also be presented during her talk.

 

Barfield received her Ph.D. in Education with an emphasis on multicultural, bilingual and English as a Second Language programs from George Mason University.  She has 33 years of success in every facet of teaching, counseling and school/community relations at the K-12 and college levels.

 

She has conducted program evaluations since 1990 for dual language/immersion programs in Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Arabic, and Chinese, including the Chinese American Immersion School in San Francisco and Becker Elementary School (Arabic) in Dearborn, Mich.  She co-authored the U.S. Department of Education “Foreign Language Assistance Program Evaluation Guide.”  

 

In addition, Barfield has been a researcher, project director and /or Faculty Advisor for several programs including MSU Billings’ U.S. Department of Education Office of English Language Acquisition Big Horn Teacher and Personnel and Big Horn Career Ladder, Office of Indian Education Teacher Education for All in Montana (TEAM) and Indian Education Implementation for All (IEDIA) projects.

 

The MSU Billings Library Lecture series highlights the outstanding work of faculty. For more information on the series or this lecture, contact Brent Roberts at 657-1655.