Cummins’ articles from 2009 and 2010:

“Language Portfolios for Professional Education Programs,” in Michel Gueldry, ed.  Walk the Talk: Integrating Languages and Cultures for the Professions, Monterey Institute of International Studies / Middlebury College (Mellen Press), forthcoming October 2010)

“L’Enseignement supérieur aux Etats-Unis et le processus de Bologne,” Le Français dans le monde : Recherches et applications 47 (2010), 66-72.  (This is the journal of the International Federation of Teachers of French / Fédération internationale des professeurs de français.)

“Using Electronic Portfolios for Second Language Assessment,” The Modern Language Journal 93 (2009), 848-67.  (with C. Davesne)

“European Language Policy and Quality Assurance Tools for Management Education,” International Journal of Management in Education 3 (2009), 388-401. (with C. Davesne)

“Reform of Higher Education in France,” in Marie-Christine Weidmann Koop and Rosalie Vermette, eds. France in the Twenty-First Century: New Perspectives/La France au XXIe siècle: nouvelles perspectives. Birmingham, AL: Summa Publications (American Association of Teachers of French), 2009, pp. 247-66.

Cummins’ professional talks from 2009 and 2010:

“Advocating for French and the Five Cs at the University Level” (American Association of Teachers of French) – July 2010

KEYNOTE ADDRESS: “Prospects and Challenges of Export Marketing” at the 2009 Export
and Globalization Conference in Tehran, Iran -- November, 2009

“European Language Portfolio and Global Language Portfolio: Research Questions” at the CercleS Seminar on the European Language Portfolio (U. of Padua) – September, 2009

“Teacher Education Language E-Portfolios in Canada and the United States” (American Association of Teachers of French) – July 2009

“Update on the Standards of Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century” (American Association of Teachers of French) – July 2009

External funding 2008-11:

2008-11           U.S. Department of Education Business and International Education Grant
(Co-PI with Van Wood)  $179,000

Cummins’ Awards 2008-10:

2010    Promotion for Knight to Officer in the French Order of Academic Palms (lifetime achievement award)
2009    Finalist in Northeast Conference Teacher of the Year Competition (13 states in Northeast)
2008    Marshall Brannon Award for Postsecondary Language Teaching (Virginia statewide award)

Student Achievements:

All five students who took the Paris Chamber of Commerce French language exams passed with flying colors.  [PHOTOS FORTHCOMING]
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Four current and students took the exams at the B 2 level on the European rating scale.  This is equivalent to Advanced standing on the American rating scale and exceeds our requirement of Advanced Low proficiency that is expected for graduating seniors at VCU.  Three of the four students (undergraduates Alex IMPORT and Carter TUTTLE + recent graduate Buhendra YAZONGIA), received special recognition for above average performance with the "mention" of BIEN on their diplomas.  The fourth did even better, as undergraduate Latifa LAGHRANI received a "mention" of TRES BIEN on her diploma. 
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The fifth student, May 2010 graduate Kimberly WHATLEY, took a higher level exam given at the C 1 level of the European rating scale.  This is equivalent to something between Advanced High and Superior on the American scale.  She also received special recognition for above average performance with the "mention" of BIEN on her diploma.
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These exams test for READING, WRITING, SPEAKING, and LISTENING and for knowledge of business practices.  The C 1 exam also requires knowledge of economic geography.  The Reading, Writing, and Listening Comprehension tests and the economic geography were graded in Paris.  The Speaking portion of all exams was administered and graded by French faculty Angelina Overvold and Salwa Sheibany.  These faculty colleagues joined me in providing an outstanding opportunity for our students.`

Students in Egypt:

Photos and story forthcoming – related to the Business and International Education grant mentioned above

Her publications cover French civilization, language pedagogy, and medieval literature. Her textbook Commercial French, designed for international exams of the Paris Chamber of Commerce, was identified as a classic in reviews of later books. One of her articles in French Review won a Gilbert Chinard prize awarded by the Institut Français de Washington. She won the 1974 Holmes prize for her dissertation in medieval studies, and she was selected to talk before the Medieval Academy of America as a winner in the Academy's 1977 Competition for Young Scholars. The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs designated her a knight in the Order of Academic Palms for her lifetime contributions. More detail on these and other contributions appear under her web cv.