2024 Annual Conference

Click here to view the conference schedule!

Opportunities will posted here as soon as they are available.

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

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

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, Recipe for Program Retention = Relevant Units + Realistic Expectations

Are you looking to create lifelong learners in your world language program? Designing units with the 3 Rs will increase student interest in your program. Teaching for proficiency allows for REALISTIC expectations that will ensure students continue on their path to biliteracy in your classroom and beyond. With RELEVANT units students can easily make connections across curriculum and to society. Research reveals that students appreciate the relevance of content to life after language instruction, therefore increasing program RETENTION. Come learn how teaching with the 3 R’s will increase your student motivation and program enrollment. As we examine the steps to developing the kinds of units that have helped two programs in NJ increase student retention. Sample Spanish units targeting intermediate mid to high. Workshop leaders = Arianne Dowd & Kristine Keede-Hassan

3, ¡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

4, ‘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

5, 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

6, Yes, And in the Classroom: Improv for Language Teachers

Teaching well calls for careful listening, collaboration, open-mindedness, creativity, and flexibility. Improv for Language Teachers will help you hone these skills to improve your practice, but will also provide you with practical ways to engage your students in language-rich activities. Laugh your way into a new understanding of pedagogy and exciting new games to bring back to your students. Workshop leaders: Ashley Davis & Justin Slocum Bailey