Baylor Modern Foreign Language professors will be honored at 2012 Fall Texas Foreign Language Association Conference

September 27, 2012
Yuko Prefume

Yuko Prefume, photo courtesy of Baylor Photography

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Contact: Terry Goodrich, Assistant Director of Media Communications, (254) 710-3321
WACO, Texas (Sept. 28, 2012) - Yuko Prefume, senior lecturer in the division of Asian and African languages in the department of modern foreign languages in the College of Arts & Sciences, has been selected as the 2012 Texas Foreign Language Association Teacher of the Year in Japanese at the higher education level.

"Words cannot express how honored and humbled I am," Prefume said.

Billie Hulke, senior lecturer in the division of Spanish and Portuguese languages in the department of modern foreign languages was nominated and selected to receive the 2012 Honorary Member Award.

The Texas Foreign Language Association (TFLA) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is advancing modern and classical languages and their literatures and cultures at all levels of instruction. Their main duties are recognizing and publicizing excellence in second language study and teaching, promoting the work and interest of state foreign language organizations and encouraging the development of outstanding foreign language programs.
Prefume and Hulke will be presented with their awards at the Fall 2012 TFLA Conference Oct. 11 to 13 at the Austin Renaissance Hotel in Austin. The theme for the conference is "Lighting the Way: Effective Teaching, Exceptional Learning."

"Baylor will be well represented with many colleagues presenting at this conference (in addition to the award recipients)" Hulke said.

Heidi Bostic, Ph.D., chair of the department of modern foreign languages, said the department is "so proud and humbled to have two such masterful teachers in our midst. Yuko Prefume has been instrumental in establishing a minor in Japanese at Baylor, coordinates many extra-curricular activities dealing with Japanese language and culture, and has recently created the Baylor in Japan faculty-led study abroad program, which was successfully launched in summer 2012."
In addition, "Billie Hulke has enjoyed a long and distinguished career, first as a high school teacher and now at the University level," Bostic said. "She is known statewide and nationwide for her work with Advanced Placement (AP) Spanish courses and exam. In fact, Billie has now trained and mentored generations of Spanish teachers who themselves have gone on to successful careers."

by Rebecca Malzahn , student newswriter, (254) 710-6805
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