SCOLTalk The newsletter of the Southern Conference on Language Teaching May, 2022
Greetings from the SCOLT President Hello everyone! I am so honored to be serving as your SCOLT president. As a long-time patron of SCOLT, I know what a wonderful organization it is and how much it has done to serve language educators with webinars, resources, scholarships and of course of annual conference. This year we were blessed to be able to host our conference inperson in Norfolk, Virginia, while still providing a virtual option for those who preferred not to travel. We had over 500 attendees with approximately 250 first-time attendees! It was great to see so many new faces who brought an incredible energy to the conference. I would like to thank the SCOLT board for their tremendous effort in planning this year’s conference. Under the leadership of now PastPresident Bobby Hobgood and Executive Director Leslie Baldwin, we were able to provide a conference in which everyone felt welcomed, inspired and included. While I cannot begin to name the contributions everyone on the board made to create such a successful conference, I would like to thank the program committee for their countless hours preparing a schedule of amazing sessions and workshops including “It’s Game Time! Low Prep, Low Tech, High Engagement Games to Promote Proficiency” by Bethanie Drew which was named the Best of SCOLT session this year. As the winner, Bethanie will present her session at the 2022 ACTFL conference in Boston this November. As we prepare for SCOLT 2023 in Mobile, Alabama, I cannot express how excited I am to welcome everyone to my home state! The conference will be held March 23-25, 2023 in collaboration with The Alabama World Languages Association (AWLA) and SEALLT.
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We will be staying at the Renaissance Mobile Riverview Hotel and attending fabulous workshops and sessions at the Mobile Conference Center. Our theme is “MOBILize for Language Learning” and I sincerely hope you will consider submitted a proposal. The Call for Proposals is open through Oct. 1, 2022, via the SCOLT homepage. I hope to see you in Sweet Home Alabama next year! -Dr. Krista Chambless SCOLT President
INDEX
President’s Greeting……………………………...…..…..1 2022 Sessions Available...…………………………...…..2 2022 Call for Proposals…………………………………..2 New Board Members…………………………………….3 Scholarships for Future Language Educators………….5-7 SCOLT Award Recipients………………..……………...8 SCOLT Teacher of the Year Candidates…….…………..9 SCOLT Teacher of the Year Interview……………...10-11 Faces of SCOLT……………..………………………15-17 Dimension Call for Papers………………………………19 2021 Dimension Update….………………………….20-21 2021 JNCL Report…………………………………..22-24 ACTFL Update...………………………………………..26 SCOLT Board of Directors……………………………..28 Around the Region………………………………..…….29
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SCOLT 2022 CALL FOR PROPOSALS Proposal window: April 15 – October 1, 2022 Submit your session proposal at www.scolt.org Conference Dates: March 23-25, 2023 Mobile Convention Center and Renaissance Mobile Riverview Theme: MOBILize for Language Learning
Submit your proposal for SCOLT/AWLA/ SEALLT 2023 now!
Thank you to all who made the SCOLT 2022 conference a success! The FLAVA and SEALLT Board members were extremely helpful in all aspects of planning and running the conference. Our sponsors and exhibitors were a vital component of the event! And of course, we couldn’t have a conference without our presenters and attendees! Everyone worked together to have a great event and it was great to connect with everyone in-person!
SCOLT/FLAVA/ SEALLT 2022 ATTENDEES: Remember, you have access to recorded conference sessions on the through June 30, 2022! Catch sessions you missed by visiting the SCHED conference platform and log in with your email and password. All recorded sessions can be found on Thursday in the schedule and are marked with “OD” for “on demand.” 2
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Introducing….New SCOLT Board Members!
Bertha Delgadillo is a Spanish teacher at Woodville Tompkins High School in Savannah, GA. She is an active member of SCOLT, ACTFL, and AATSP. She was named “Young Hispanic Leader of the Year” in 2019 by the Savannah Metropolitan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and is a National Board Certified Teacher. Bertha serves the profession as a frequent presenter at conferences, as well as through her blog and Facebook community, “Transformation Through Acquisition Driven Instruction. Bertha will serve as Program Co-Director on the SCOLT Board of Directors.
Liz Lawrence-Baez is a Dual Immersion Lead Teacher in Richland City School District Two in South Carolina. She has taught German and Spanish at multiple levels. Liz is an active member of SCFLTA and SCOLT. She is a frequent presenter at conferences and is a past president of SCFLTA. She attended her first SCOLT conference in 2001. In 2019 she and a colleague received the Carolina Family Engagement Center Teacher Grant. Liz will serve as Awards Co-Director on the SCOLT Board of Directors.
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Scholarship Opportunities for Students The SCOLT Board is excited to announce new scholarship opportunities for high school and college students! The Ken Stewart Future Language Educator Scholarship has been available for high school seniors since 2019. This is a $1000 scholarship awarded to a high school senior in the SCOLT region who wants to become a language teacher. The funds can be used as needed for tuition, books, or other college expenses. Four very deserving students have received the scholarship to date! See a updates from a few of them in this newsletter. The Board is excited to announce a second scholarship for a high school senior! Vista Higher Learning will be sponsoring a $1000 scholarship in each of the five regions, beginning in 2023. How exciting to be able to provide two scholarships for aspiring language educators! And to add to the good news, Vista Higher Learning will be sponsoring a $1000 scholarship for a current college student in the region who demonstrates passion, leadership, and promise as a future language teacher. With the current teacher shortage and a critical need to encourage students to become educators, the SCOLT Board is extremely appreciative of the ability to provide these opportunities for high school and college students! Applications and detailed information will be available in the Fall. Watch the SCOLT website, Facebook, and Twitter feeds for more information.
Ken Stewart Future Language Educator Scholarship Recipient Update Cody Smith, who is studying multiple languages at Western Kentucky University, is teaching Arabic and ESL this summer. He is involved in many ways at his university and is already contributing to the profession! Virginia Jackson, who received the scholarship in 2020, is doing well in her college studies in Georgia. She says, “I love UGA!! This summer I will actually be studying in Granada, Spain, for a month!” We look forward to hearing more about her studies later this year.
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Ken Stewart Future Language Educator Scholarship Recipient Update Miriam Smith received the Ken Stewart Future Language Educator scholarship in 2021. She is attending Davidson College in North Carolina. See below an update regarding her first year in college and her current adventures! Hello SCOLT Board and Members: I hope you are well. I just wanted to reach out and update you on my experience at Davidson College. I really enjoyed my first semester. I took General Psychology, Spanish, Arabic, and a math class. My professors were great and very encouraging, and the classes were wonderful. Arabic turned out to be one of my favorite classes. It was fun to sort of start over with a language, and Arabic is very different from anything I've studied before. Out of class, I had the opportunity to volunteer at a local elementary school. I taught Spanish to 2nd grade students once a week. Recently, I was hired as an Assistant Teacher in the Hispanic Studies Department, and I'm looking forward to working in the position this semester. I'll be continuing to study Arabic and psychology, and I'm taking a Spanish literature class. Also, my trip to El Salvador last summer was awesome. My host was an English teacher at a local school, and I went to school with her every day and helped out. I learned so much about being a teacher and how to teach a second language. She even let me make lesson plans and teach a couple of classes. Overall, It was probably one of the coolest experiences of my life. Below are photos of me teaching the 2nd-graders in El Salvador and one of me writing in my Arabic classroom at Davidson. Thank you again for your support. I really appreciate it. Best, Miriam Smith
May Update I am still enjoying Davidson College in NC, and I'm excited for next semester. Right now, I'm in Spain, and I'll be here until the end of June. I have an internship. I'm working in a bilingual school and living with a host family. Here’s a photo of me and my host mom, Ana, at El Palacio de Magdalena in Santander, Spain. 7
SCOLT 2022 Award Recipients
Founders Award—Yohanna Jiménez Spanish Teacher, Bayside Academy Daphne, AL
Educator of Excellence—Dr. Kristen Davin Professor, University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC
Leadership Award—Grisell Santiago Spanish Teacher Gainesville, FL
Bostick Award Doris Feliciano Vega Godley Station Elementary School Savannah, GA
Holly Fitterer Riverbend High School Fredericksburg, VA
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2022 SCOLT Teacher of the Year Candidates
Hannah Rae Joseph Spanish Teacher Hoover City Schools Hoover, Alabama
Myriam Grandjean German Teacher Pleasant Hill Middle School Lexington, South Carolina
Claudia Elliott Spanish Teacher Paxon School for Advanced Studies Jacksonville, FL
Julie Golden Spanish Teacher Oak Ridge High School Knoxville, Tennessee
Tracy Rucker French Teacher Louisville Collegiate School Louisville, Kentucky
Dali Tan Chinese Teacher Northern Virginia Community College Virginia
Monica Lamelas Spanish Teacher Booneville High School Booneville, Mississippi
Jennifer La Casella Spanish Teacher West Virginia Virtual School West Virginia
Christen Campbell French Teacher Chapel Hill High School Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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An Interview with Claudia Elliott, 2022 SCOLT Teacher of the Year Q.
Tell us a little bit about your background as a world language (WL) teacher.
with the language and the culture. I love to hear them singing in Spanish, eating arepas, and talking about doing Spanish as either a major or a minor in college. This year I have at least 10 students who are going to continue with their Spanish in college. That part is by far the most rewarding one. I believe the work we do is hard but is also very important.
Q.
What advice would you give to new people coming into the WL teaching profession?
A.
I would give two pieces of advice. The first one is to connect with other World Language teachers. I didn’t do that at the beginning, and I regret it. I believe we grow the most when we engage in conversations with other teachers. We reflect on our practice, learn different strategies, and share our challenges. When you feel supported by a like minded group of teachers, your job is a little bit easier. The second is to connect with your students. That’s something that I did since day one and it served me very well. Our classes are very different and the unknown factor is huge. Students be more willing to take risks in your class if Q. In your opinion, what is the most challenging will they feel safe. There is also a big trust factor. When aspect of being a WL teacher today? we ask students to say something they aren’t sure how to pronounce or answer a question they don’t A. There are so many and so big. For instance, totally understand, they need to be able to trust us. I there is a lack of understanding and support to World spend at least 5 to 10 minutes of every class building Language programs in a lot of States, counties, and connections and a safe and caring culture in my schools. We have incredibly big classes with little class. That has allowed me to try so many different resources and little time. Often, our resources are activities, to fail, to try again, and to grow. selected by people that don’t understand language acquisition. Most World Language teachers have to pay out of pocket for training and resources for their classes. Also, there are communities that don’t value multiculturalism and multilingual education, and therefore a lot of our learners don’t come to class with the motivation. World Language teachers have to cultivate that motivation while trying to stay in the target language to support language proficiency and cultural competence. It’s a very hard task.
A.
I started teaching Spanish in 2004. I have taught mostly all the levels but right now I’m teaching Spanish 1, Spanish 3 IB and AP Spanish Language and Culture. I didn’t go to college to be a teacher. I went to Law School in Colombia, and I got my Master’s Degree in International Business Law at American University. I practiced law in Colombia until I moved to the United States. Then, destiny put me in a classroom and there my teaching career began.
Q.
What is the most rewarding part of your job as a WL teacher?
A. For me it’s the transformation I see in my
students. I usually meet my students in 9th grade, and then I have them again as juniors. They come to me mostly with no Spanish and no cultural competence in 9th grade. By the time they finish junior year, some of them have totally fallen in love 10
Q.
How do you motivate students to learn language?
A.
It depends on the student. There are going to be students who are motivated intrinsically. You don’t need to do much. However, there are other students that before they come into your class they already decided that they are bad at the language and that learning a language is not worth it. First, I remind myself that it’s not personal. It’s not about me. Then, I focus on creating experiences in the class where students feel competent. Once they realize they can understand a class in Spanish, and they can even start saying things in Spanish in the first or second week of class, their motivations increase. Once they feel competent, I’m very intentional about providing content that is culturally rich and that connects with them. I believe you cannot love what you don’t know. Our classes are more than teaching words. The heart of our classes is on the people who speak that language. When students learn about them, their products, practices and perspectives, motivation will rise. Also, when they see themselves in our curriculum, they connect and they engage so much more. Our students bring a lot to our classes. We just need to tap on those interests and experiences to make them part of our classes. I’ve found that when I intentionally do that, my students want to be in my class. They feel that the class belongs to them.
Q.
Is there anything else that you would like to
add?
A.
I just want to say that we should try to celebrate our work more often even when we think we’re not doing a great job. I believe that even in our bad days, we’re still impacting students because we truly care about them. A few years ago one of my former students knocked on my door. He was not a fan of my class and we just had so many instances where he would tell me he didn’t care about Spanish or the class. It wasn’t great, and I wasn’t the best. When I opened the door, he said how much he appreciated that I never gave up on him. He was wearing a military uniform. He was proud. He gave me a big hug and said thank you. What we do matters even in our worst days.
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Faces of SCOLT
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Faces of SCOLT
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Faces of SCOLT
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DIMENSION 2023 CALL FOR PAPERS Dimension is the official peer-refereed journal of SCOLT. The journal seeks to serve the professional interests of language instructors and researchers across a range of contexts and is dedicated to the advancement of the teaching and learning of world languages, particularly languages other than English. The journal welcomes manuscripts that document the effectiveness of teaching strategies or address a wide variety of emerging issues of interest within the profession. Submissions that report empirical research and that have clear and significant implications for language teaching and learning will be prioritized, as will submissions received by July 1st, 2022. Submissions guidelines can be found at: http://www.scolt.org/index.php/publications/dimension For additional information on manuscript submission or the publication process, please contact the Editor, Paula Garrett-Rucks at prucks@gsu.edu or SCOLT.Dimension@gmail.com.
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2022 Editorial Board for SCOLT Dimension
Melisa (Misha) Cahnmann-Taylor University of Georgia Athens, GA
Gillian Lord University of Florida Gainesville, FL
Kelly Davidson Valdosta State University Valdosta, GA
Linwood J. Randolph Jr. University of North Carolina Wilmington, NC
Stacey M. Johnson Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN
Victoria Russell Valdosta State University Valdosta, GA
Jason Kemp University of Wisconsin Madison, WI
Sheri Spaine Long Independent Scholar and Editor of Hispania Birmingham, AL
Shuai Li Georgia State University Atlanta, Ga
Paul D. Toth Temple University Philadelphia, PA
Lara Lomicka-Anderson University of South Carolina Columbia, SC
Manuela Wagner University of Connecticut Mansfield, CT
With gratitude to the additional reviewers and proofreaders: Mathias Guerreiro Aires, Bobby Hobgood, Kaishan Kong, Raul Llorente, Jennifer Paruso, and Michael Vo
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Dimension 2022 Articles 1.
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Victoria Russell Valdosta State University Peter Swanson United States Air Force Academy Sabrina Wengier Middle Georgia State University
Dieter A. Waldvogel
Communicative Online Language Teaching in Disruptive Times: A Redesign of the Introductory Spanish Curriculum The Start Here Module: Creating a First Day Impression in an Online Language Class
Teaching Languages Online During and After a Global Pandemic: Perspectives from Language Samford University Educators in Higher Education. Tiffany Robayna Samford University
Jarom Hickenlooper Teachers’ Perceived Advantages and DisadBrigham Young University vantages of Emergency Remote Language Teresa R. Bell Teaching Brigham Young University Nadia Jaramillo Cherrez Instructors as Designers of Learning ExperiencOregon State University es: A Case Study of a Flipped Intermediate Spanish Course It Took a Village: A Demonstrated Need of Institutional Support for Successful Online TeachSouthern Methodist University ing Aria Zan Cabot Southern Methodist University Daniele Forlino Southern Methodist University Susana Solera Adoboe Southern Methodist University
Gwendoline Aaron
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JNCL Language Advocacy Day 2022 February 2-4, 2022 Virtual/Washington D.C. The Language Advocacy Day is organized by the Joint National Committee for Languages (JNCL). Language Advocacy Day (or LAD for short) is part advocacy and part full-day policy forum that brings together national representatives of the Language Enterprise concerned about the state of language learning in this country. JNCL schedules the meetings on Capitol Hill with attendee’s representatives and provides the information and essential talking points to let their representatives know that “multilingualism is not the future; it is right now” and that languages are critical for job growth, national security and social justice. The LAD 2022 was a virtual event and we were all impressed at how organized the whole event was and impactful the virtual visits went. There were 244 advocates from all 50 states and the District of Columbia! NC LAD22 Delegation - Familiar SCOLT Faces!
As the event was virtual, the expense to send a representative to LAD was much lower than in other years. This allowed SCOLT to support multiple representatives. Dr. Leslie Baldwin, Executive Director, Dr. Bobby Hobgood, Past President, Dr. Krista Chambless, President, Bonnie Wang, Program Co-Director, and Mark Linsky, past Co-Director represented the organization well! Wednesday February 3 started with an overview of the 2 days, hints and tips from Capitol Hill staff on meetings and the review of the asks for our delegations. The keynote speaker was the US Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona. It was heartening to hear him express the need for a multilingual workforce and for high quality language programs.
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2022 Language Advocacy Day Requests
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Thursday February 4 Capitol Hill Visits Each state team had virtual meetings with their US Senate and House of Representative offices. The teams discussed the JNCL priorities and requests with staff and members of Congress. Additionally, they connected the requests for legislation and funding to local situations, helping the staff understand the potential impact for their states and districts.
NC Delegation meeting with staff from Senator Burr’s office
The evening concluded with Advocacy awards and a keynote speaker, Juliana Urtubey, the 2021 National Teacher of the Year. Friday, February 5 continued with The Delegate Assembly. JNCL has created a new strategic plan, revamped the organization’s Bylaws, and announced the new Board members. Leslie Baldwin, SCOLT Executive Director, is one of the new at-large Board members, finishing an uncompleted term. The Financial Report for 2021 continues to show that JNCL is on sound financial footing. There were no items requiring delegation approval. We then revisited some of the State Delegation Highlights, heard from Featured Speaker Roxanna Norouzi with OneAmerica, engaged in some additional conversation with different language intersection experts and learned some additional tips in advocating beyond the LAD. The closing event was with a special message from NC Representative David Price and Alaska Representative Don Young, co-chairs of the America’s Languages Caucus.
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ACTFL Update 1. ACTFL’s President, Victoria Russell, is planning a series of Critical Conversation Webinars which will be panel discussions including experts and student voices, planned by ACTFL’s committees. https:// www.actfl.org/learn/critical-conversations-world-language-education Committee Teacher Recruitment & Retention
Date/Time Thursday, April 28, 7PM ET
Register
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
Wednesday, May 11, 7PM ET
Research & Development
Wednesday, June 8, 8PM ET
Advocacy & Outreach
Thursday, August 11, 7PM ET
Professional Development
Thursday, September 22, 8PM ET
Topic Diversifying the World Language Teacher Pipeline: Removing Barriers to Certification & Retaining In-Service Teachers Antiracism in Languages: Navigating the Current Climate Research-Based Strategies for Supporting Heritage Learners in Mixed Classrooms Advocating for Change: How to Be Heard Addressing Identity: Inclusive Language in the World Language Classrooms
Panelists Paula Garrett-Rucks, Hilaria Taft (student), Francis Troyan Krishauna HinesGaither, Cécile Accilién, Françoise Thenoux, & Mariam Sheriff (student) Maria Carreira, Ana Fernández Dobao, & Alana Kubeczka TBA TBA
2. ACTFL is actively recruiting for the Mentoring Program. Find out more here: https://www.actfl.org/ learn/mentoring-program Apply to be a mentor or to receive mentoring. 3. Registration & Housing is already open for ACTFL 2022 in Boston. The Opening Keynote Speaker will be chef José Andrés. The Saturday Keynote will be from Dr. Keisha Blain. Info about the speakers: https://www.actfl.org/convention-and-expo/keynote-speakers Registration early bird deadline is July 13, 2022. Advance registration ends October 26, 2022 and late registration begins October 26, 2022 and extends till the end of the conference. The Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport is the Headquarters Hotel. There are several other designated ACTFL hotels: https://www.actfl.org/ sites/default/files/convention/ACTFL2022/ACTFL_Map.pdf 4. Stipends are offered to first time attendees, BIPOC attendees, and New Teachers (first 3 years of career). Application deadline, Friday, September 14, 2022. https://www.actfl.org/convention-andexpo/stipend-award-program 5. ACTFL issued a Statement Condemning Russian Invasion of Ukraine on March 1, 2022: https:// www.actfl.org/resources/press-releases/actfl-statement-russian-invasion-ukraine 6. Exciting new updates to ACTFL’s training programs will be launched this summer and fall! Watch for more information! Submitted by Pam Benton, Representative to the ACTFL Board of Directors
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Faces of SCOLT: Board of Directors
Dr. Leslie Baldwin, Executive Director Dr. Krista Chambless, President Dr. Bobby Hobgood, Immediate Past President
Pam Benton, President Elect, Recording Secretary; Representative to ACTFL Albert Fernandez, Scholarships Director Lisa Worthington-Groce, Co-Registrar, SCOLTalk Co-Editor
Bonnie Wang, Program Co-Director Michelle Olah, Co-Registrar, SCOLTalk Co-Editor Bertha Delgadillo, Program Co-Director
Amanda Hajji, Awards Co-Director Heidi Trude, Program Co-Director Liz Lawrence-Baez, Awards Co-Director
Dr. Paula Garrett Rucks, Dimension Editor
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Stay Connected Around the SCOLT Region SCOLT: The next conference will be in Mobile, AL March 23-25, 2023. Web ·Facebook ·Twitter AWLA: The Alabama World Languages Association updates can be found here : Web · Facebook · Twitter AFLTA: The Arkansas Foreign Language Teachers Association updates can be found here: Web · Facebook FFLA: Florida’s conference will be held in Kissimmee, FL September 29-October 1, 2023. Web · Facebook · Twitter
FLAG: The Foreign Language Association of Georgia conference will be held March 10-11, 2023 in Atlanta, GA. Facebook · Twitter KWLA: Kentucky’s 2022 conference will be held in Lexington, KY September 23-24, 2022. Web · Facebook · Twitter
LFLTA: Louisiana’s conference information will be available on their website. Facebook · Twitter MFLA: Mississippi Foreign Language Association’s conference information will be available on their website. Web · Facebook · Twitter FLANC: North Carolina will hold their annual conference in Durham October 8-9, 2022 . Web · Facebook · Twitter
SCFLTA: South Carolina’s Foreign Language Teachers’ Association Web · Facebook · Twitter TWLTA: Tennessee World Language Teaching Association annual conference will be held November 4-5, 2022 in Franklin, TN. Web · Facebook · Twitter TFLA: Texas will hold its annual conference in Allen, TX October 21-22, 2022 : Web · Facebook · Twitter FLAVA: Virginia will hold their fall conference at the Williamsburg Doubletree October 6-8, 2022. Web · Facebook · Twitter
WVFLTA: West Virginia Foreign Language Teachers Association Web · Facebook · Twitter
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