2024 Annual Conference

2024 Northeast Conference 

February 22-24, 2024

New York Hilton Midtown

1335 Sixth Avenue New York.

James Wildman, Conference Chair

Thanks for your support of the 2024 Annual Conference!      

Your spirited enthusiasm and energetic participation made this conference a tremendous success.

Thanks and look for new initiatives and opportunities coming soon via social media and to your in-box!

 

General Information

February 22-24, 2024 New York Hilton Midtown, 1335 Sixth Avenue New York.

The conference is open to anyone interested in professional growth for language teacher. Registration is required, can be completed through the web portal and is ongoing until the conference start.

The 2024 conference theme is Our Butterfly Effect: Creating a Lasting Impact. It is time to consider what we have learned over the past 70 years of the Northeast Conference.  How has our conference had an impact on the field? What have students learned as a result of teachers coming to the annual conference? Our story is an important one for the field.  How do professional conferences make us stronger teachers? How can we help promote teaching for proficiency?  This conference theme is designed to bring us all back to the essence of why we teach: the learners and how we can best support them and their learning.

ALL UPDATES ARE NOW ON THE APP = SCHED
Please check there for the latest conference information.

Conference Registration

Conference registration is open to anyone interested in professional growth for language educators. All participants must register and must wear their credentials during all conference events. We provide badges and badge holders.

2024 Registration Rates

Regular
Aug 1 – Oct 31
Late Registration
Nov 1 – Dec 31
Last Call
Jan 1 – Conference Start
Friday AND Saturday
(Full Conference)
$185 $200 $275
Friday OR Saturday
(Single Day)
$175 $190 $250
Thursday ONLY
(Pre-Conference Workshops)
$175 $190 $250
Full time student $75 $100 $100
Retired educator $125 $150 $150


Registration is paperless: register online and you have the choice to pay via credit card while registering, or to upload a purchase order from your school with an active purchase order number. If you are registering a group, please contact us at info@nectfl.org.


See the Thursday Pre-Conference Workshops tab for information on our Thursday workshops. If you register for the full conference (Friday and Saturday), you can add a morning or afternoon workshop on Thursday for $50 or the full day for $100.

REFUND POLICY

If you need to cancel your registration, you may do so in writing to info@nectfl.org prior to February 14, 2024. A $25 administrative fee will be deducted from your refund. All refunds are made through the original method of payment and will take until March 1, 2024 to complete. Refunds cannot be offered to registrants who cancel after 11:59PM February 14, 2024.

Thursday Pre-Conference Workshops

FULL DAY Thursday Pre-Conference Workshops
Thursday February 22, 2024 8,30 AM – 3,30 PM
1, Sustainable Art and Activism Workshop: Creating a Lasting Impact SOLD OUT

This workshop intends to explore different artistic expressions primarily from the Latin American world that can be used as a model across all languages to raise environmental awareness. Presenters showcase a variety of thought-provoking Latin American contemporary artists to help investigate, explain and reflect on cultural products, practices, and perspectives. During the morning part, participants take a tour of the MoMA visiting relevant sections of the museum to engage with the art and gather ideas that they can later elaborate during the afternoon session. In the afternoon, presenters guide participants in the creation of class materials around sustainable art that attendees can use in their classes to increase environmental awareness and to have a lasting impact. Workshop leaders= Viktoria Hackbarth, & Azlin Perdomo

2, Get Two for the Price of One: Language and Content SOLD OUT!

Students learn their new language and global studies content at the same time – two for the price of one! Lively demonstration lessons in beginning Swedish show how to teach topics such as geography, history, biography, and current events in the target language. Get ideas for building background knowledge starting in Level 1 so students can better understand the more complex cultural concepts taught at the upper levels. Learn how to prepare well-informed, world-savvy global citizens in your language programs. Workshop leader: Janice Kittok

Thursday MORNING three-hour workshops:
8,30-11,30 AM

1, Identity Beyond the Selfie: speaking Spanish to reflect and connect

How do we get students to understand themselves, their classmates and their world beyond the App driven “moment in time” images? How do we move students beyond intermediate low when they communicate with tweets, memes and texts? Inspired by the Museo del Barrio “Estamos Bien” art exhibit, this workshop shares techniques and processes that challenge students to go beyond the superficial when communicating about themselves and their communities. Using authentic texts, popular music and art, the “Beyond the Selfie” activities provide students with models, contexts and structures to represent themselves and learn about others. The project integrates interpersonal and presentational activities which build Spanish language skills as students reflect on identity and community. After the presentation, participants experience first hand the activities including a gallery walk, as well create their own class materials. Workshop leader= Abigail Cleary

2, ¡AI, CARAMBA!

¡AI, caramba! There is always so much to do as a language educator, and so little time to accomplish it on the clock. The hour has arrived for you to maximize your planning time. While AI technologies cannot replace the essential role of educators in language instruction, they are revolutionizing the teaching and learning experiences, empowering both educators and students in their language learning endeavors! This workshop turns AI into a collaborative partner, teaching assistant, and personal language coach. Participants use AI to plan, create tasks, assess student work, and provide individualized feedback – enabling teachers to rededicate their time to informed instruction, meaningful interaction, and classroom culture. Workshop leaders: Aubrey Swisher & Caroline Schlegel

3, ‘Keeping it real’: Using authentic materials in World Language classrooms

Language instructors are often encouraged to use authentic materials, or rather materials designed for native speakers as opposed to language learners, to teach the target language. This recommendation stems from the belief that authentic materials such as news clips, broadcasts, videos, etc., better prepare language learners to communicate in the real world than materials that have been altered for teaching purposes. While arguments for and against using authentic materials exist, the purpose of this workshop is to explore the many ways that World Language educators can successfully integrate authentic materials in their lessons while adhering to the World Readiness Standards. Workshop leaders: Rhashida Hilliard & April Broussard

4, Love It or List It- Finding Vocabulary’s Home In Your Curriculum

Vocabulary is the backbone of language and is a crucial component to language acquisition. At the same time, however, many teachers still grapple with how to teach it in context. We explore the role of vocabulary in all three modes of communication and how to organize instruction to help students process vocabulary as input and eventually produce it as output. We examine specific strategies to introduce vocabulary in context, design tasks to reinforce and recycle vocabulary, and create assessments that promote communication and allow for meaningful feedback. Workshop leaders: Mike Travers & Evan Greenwald

Thursday AFTERNOON three-hour workshops
12,30 – 3,30 PM

1, Building Intercultural Communication Skills Using Authentic Resources

Participants explore strategies for selecting authentic resources for both cultural and communicative value and design tasks around those resources with a focus on growth in interpretive, interpersonal, presentational and intercultural communication skills. Participants create lesson sequences that integrate the modes of communication where students investigate cultural products, practices, and perspectives and interact through authentic scenarios in a culturally appropriate way. Time is allotted for “design time” during which participants design and plan for embedding cultural explorations into their lesson plans. Workshop leader: Leslie Grahn

2, From Awareness to Action: Introducing Neuroinclusive Practices in Language Education

Looking for a deeper dive on how to support all learners in the world language classroom? In this beginning-level workshop, you can explore the concept of neurodiversity while trying out a variety of suggested activities and best practices for yourself. In addition to a hands-on introduction, this workshop features critical roundtable discussions to get specific advice as well as action plan development time to better create neuroinclusive classrooms and programs. Workshop leaders: Stephanie Krause & Wesley Wood

3, From Novice to Superior: A Hands-On Refresher to ACTFL and Proficiency-Based Teaching

This workshop is designed for language educators who are new to the profession or who would like a refresher on the basics. Participants learn about key ACTFL concepts such as proficiency and performance, the NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do statements, the World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages, and the Core Practices, which are essential for promoting student-centered, proficiency-based language instruction. The workshop is highly interactive, with opportunities for participants to apply what they’ve learned through small-group discussions, reflection activities, and collaborative lesson planning. Participants leave with a deep understanding of how ACTFL can help them meet the needs of their diverse learners (e.g., heritage language learners) through strategies such as differentiated instruction and create more engaging, authentic, and meaningful language learning experiences by leveraging technology and other resources. This workshop is ideal for language teachers who want to enhance their pedagogical knowledge and skills, improve their assessment practices, and align their instruction with national standards. Workshop leader: Celia Zamora

4, Culture + CI Strategies

This workshop highlights how to use the target language to teach authentic cultural content in your classroom through a variety of activities. Using art, music, games, legends, geography, film and current events to connect with the target culture but also ensure that it is comprehensible for your novice learners. Come learn techniques & strategies to communicate with your learners and dive deep into a target culture! Workshop leader: Noemi Rodriguez

5, Small Changes, Big Transformation: Strategies for Cultivating an Inclusive Chinese Classroom

This workshop aims to provide Chinese language teachers with practical strategies and approaches to foster an inclusive learning environment that celebrates diversity and ensures student success and is divided into three segments, each focusing on essential aspects of creating an impactful classroom experience. Workshop leaders: Carol Chen-Lin & Lucy Lee & Lan Lin

Conference Schedule

Open downloadable PDF of complete Conference Schedule.

Conference Online App

Sched (X @sched) is the conference online app for the Northeast Conference. All registrants will receive an email inviting them to join the app about two weeks ahead of the conference start.

Hotel Reservations

We have secured a special conference rate for sleeping rooms at the conference site: the NY Hilton Midtown, 1335 Sixth Avenue, New York. Please use this portal to reserve a sleeping room:


Choose ATTENDEE from the drop-down menu. Once the special conference rate room block is filled, we cannot guarantee availability and urge you to book early.

Know Before You Go

Pre-Travel Checklist (plus other helpful suggestions)

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING SESSION INFO
PLEASE VISIT SCHED APP

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Documents and ID Numbers:

NECTFL W-9 (PDF)
NJ Business Registration Certificate
NYS CTLE Sponsor ID: 23206
NYCDOE Vendor ID# 131972962
Sole Vendor Letter (PDF)

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Future Conferences

 

  • February 27–March 1, 2025, NY Hilton Midtown
  • February 26–28, 2026, NY Hilton Midtown

Past Conferences

2023: Reimagining the World Language Classroom: The Future Starts Today, Margarita Dempsey, Chairperson

2022: Classroom Roots, Global Reach, Christopher Gwin, Conference Chairperson

2021: Finding Our Voice: World Languages for Social Justice, Michael Bogdan, Chairperson

2020: Languages for All: Envisioning Language Learning Opportunities for Every Learner, Nathan Lutz, Chairperson

2019: Authentic Language, Authentic Learning, Rosanne Zeppieri, Chairperson

2018: Unleashing the POWer of Proficiency, Bill Heller, Chairperson

2017: Strengthening World Language Education: Standards for Success, Carole Smart, Chairperson

2016: Developing Intercultural Competence through World Languages, Rebecca K. Fox, Ph.D., Chairperson

2014: Sustaining Communities with World Languages, Janel Lafond-Paquin, Chairperson

2013: Developing Leaders for Tomorrow’s Learners, Arlene F. White, Chairperson

2012: Global Identities, Jennifer L. Steeley, Chairperson