Our students are more than just learners; they are carriers of diverse worlds, experiences, and cultures. In this keynote, we'll explore how to recognize and celebrate the rich tapestry of diverse perspectives that students bring into our classrooms daily. We'll discuss strategies to create meaningful connections between the broader world and the vibrant worlds already present in our students. Discover how to unlock the potential within your classroom by embracing the cultural mosaic that each student contributes to our collective community and language learning journey!
You are the director of a star-studded cast of students with leading roles in integrated performance assessments (IPAs). Come join us to see how the IPA plot unfolds as students take center stage to showcase their language proficiency.
This session will break down the IPA process into three acts: 1) the context; 2) the tasks; and 3) the rubrics. We will explore how to assess your students in ways that allow them to display their learning and communicative abilities.
Did you know that according to 2020 data, the US Department of Education found that students other than white collectively made up more than 50% of the K-12 Public School population? – This marks a historic demographic shift in US public school education. How can the growing diversity of the world, country, and student body be reflected naturally and authentically in the world language classroom? Using Spanish as an example, we can examine various cultural intersections and practical strategies for classroom implementation. This will not only increase the visibility of marginalized groups in the classroom and create a more inclusive space, but also create global and empathetic citizens, helping them to interact with cultural competency and understanding.
-Participants will have a workbook and a customized password protected webpage with resources related to the conference -We will walk through how to build a warm up activity that reflects cultural intersectionality in the classroom & each teacher should walk out the session with a warm up they can use in class
Allison Perryman has been teaching Spanish for approximately a decade and adores her career. While an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania, Allison traveled to and lived in Sevilla, Spain. Allison completed her Masters degree in Spanish Linguistics at Middlebury College... Read More →
Saturday November 2, 2024 10:05am - 10:55am EDT
Room 215
"Growing Proficiency Through Character Adoption" shows how adopting characters can enhance language learning by making it more engaging. Educators will gain practical strategies to bring this approach into their classrooms, helping students use the target language more creatively and confidently.
OBJECTIVES: The participants will be engaged in the "Character Creation by Developmental Stage". They will participate in the following:
1. Group Formation and Stage Assignment Activity: Participants form groups and receive a Piaget developmental stage. Outcome: Understanding of their assigned developmental stage. 2. Character Creation Activity: Groups create a character that fits their developmental stage. Outcome: Detailed character profiles, including age and cognitive traits. 3. Designing Language Activities Activity: Groups design language activities suited to their character’s stage. Outcome: Set of targeted language activities and games. 4. Presentation and Discussion Activity: Groups present their character and activities, and discuss with peers. Outcome: Refined activities based on feedback and shared insights.
Product: - Character profiles - List of games and activities tailored to developmental stages
Carmen Reyes is a dynamic K-6 FLES Spanish teacher at Daniels Run ES in Fairfax, Virginia. She is a former Peruvian lawyer who earned a Master's degree in the Teaching and Learning of the Spanish Language and its Culture from the University of Granada, Spain. Current member of NNELL... Read More →
Saturday November 2, 2024 10:05am - 10:55am EDT
Room 222
Join us for an engaging session where we explore the use of a weekly routine in building a strong classroom community. This session will introduce you to a set of five fun and interactive activities, each tailored to a different day of the week, that will get your students ready for class all while forming stronger relationships. These low-prep ideas are sure to get your creative juices flowing and give you new ideas to try next week. These activities are used in a novice middle school French class, but could be adapted to any level/languages.
OBJECTIVES: Participants will leave having tried 5 different activities that they can use in their classroom-one for each day of the week -to include: lottery Monday, Meme Tuesday, Higher/Lower Wednesday, Who am I Thursday and Tongue Twister Friday. In addition, they will get the digital materials necessary to easily try this in their own classrooms and learn variations to make it applicable to all learning communities.
In this workshop, you'll discover innovative strategies to incorporate dopamine-releasing activities that support acquisition-driven instruction and help maintain target language usage. Learn how to cultivate a vibrant classroom community where students are eager to participate, fostering a joyful learning environment!
World language study requires students to access executive functions and working memory in ways they haven’t had to in other disciplines. For this reason, many talented, capable, high achieving, neurodivergent students struggle to successfully complete world language classes. Supporting executive function and working memory in the world language classroom equips all students with what they need to succeed without compromising content and curriculum. It also promotes ACTFL’s goal of giving all students exposure to world cultures and access to foreign language education. This session will provide the knowledge needed to implement executive functioning supports while also implementing best practices for teaching world languages. The presenter will outline difficulties neurodivergent students face in the world language classroom and provide attendees with a tool kit to modify existing lessons and materials so that they are executive function friendly and accessible to all students.
In this session you will learn ways to use student photos as prompts for personal interviews narrated in the present, past and future tenses, in order to spark discussions that encourage students to share stories, compare experiences, and connect with their peers. This interactive workshop will demonstrate how to increase student engagement. In this personalized activity using the past and present tenses even the most reluctant language learner will come to life.
OBJECTIVES: Participants will become the “students” in a classroom setting. They will view their peers' baby pictures, ask questions about what they observe, and describe what they have learned using the past and present tenses of a world language. After experiencing the activity firsthand, participants will switch to the teacher perspective, debriefing the lesson and exploring strategies to extend it in their own classrooms. Participants in this workshop will leave with a ready to go lesson plan of practical tools to unveil the world within their classroom.
CHESS Homeschool Support and Covenant Christian Academy
I love to talk about homeschooling, teaching with Acquisition Driven Instruction aka Comprehensible Input, Total Physical Response and stories. I would love to hear about what your teaching and travel experiences.
Saturday November 2, 2024 11:05am - 11:55am EDT
Room 216
The session will demonstrate digital tools, for the purpose of differentiating instruction by interactive guided reading, embedded learning tasks, and provide for the gradual release of responsibility. Techniques will include creating digital books, collaborative slideshows, techniques for engagement, infographics, LMS design, and adapted multimedia to provide students with choice, voice, and personalization.
OBJECTIVES: The participants will have a chance to create an original work artifact using digital tools to teach specific learning objectives aligned with both content and language learning. They will leave with a list of strategies aligned with current best practices that promote effective assessment and embedded learning.
Understanding how the brain works in relation to teaching and learning can help educators and their students maximize success both in and out of the classroom. But how can we leverage this knowledge specifically in the Language classroom? This session will provide an introduction to Mind, Brain, Education (MBE) Science and an exploration of how key elements of the brain’s architecture relate to Second Language Acquisition (SLA) and memory. Leave with research-informed teaching strategies that you can use in your classroom on Monday…and beyond!
OBJECTIVES: Participants will hear an engaging overview and explanation of Mind, Brain Education Science and how it intersects with Second Language Acquisition. The structure of the session itself will introduce the participants to research-informed strategies for learning and teaching such as teaching in multiple modalities, engaging in retrieval practice regularly, limiting working memory and cognitive load, and building metacognition. They will leave the session able to identify ways in which MBE and SLA intersect and as well as ideas of how they can structure their class time and pedagogy to promote long-term memory consolidation and language acquisition.
Anna Gilcher is co-director (with Rachelle Adams) of Elevate Education Consulting and a French teacher for students of all ages and brains. In addition to her language teaching and teacher training work at Elevate, she teaches Upper School French at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School... Read More →
Spanish Teacher. PS-12 Language Department Head, St. Andrew's Episcopal School
Daphne Clyburn is a Spanish teacher and the PS-12 Language Department Head at St. Andrew's Episcopal School. She is currently a CTTL/Omidyar Teaching Fellow with the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning (CTTL) and has presented her work as a Teacher-Researcher at ACTFL... Read More →
Saturday November 2, 2024 1:00pm - 1:50pm EDT
Room 221
The teachers will be receiving information about the Fullbright-Hayz scholarship and the speaker travel to Colombia during summer 2024. The session will include how to apply, what to include in the application and the general requirements for the Fullbright-Hayz. The participants will be exposed to the Colombia culture and speaker experience during the Summer of 2024. The teachers will be watching pictures, videos and students work about Colombia as part of the Fullbright Hayz requirements.
OBJECTIVES: Explain the Fullbright-Hayz scholarship available for teachers to travel outside the USA for cultural studies. Point out the benefits of the Fullbrigh-Hayz scholarship. Create a curricular sketch to start working the Fullbright-Hayz proposal.
Participants will explore innovative techniques to keep students actively involved and enthusiastic about learning a new language. Participants will explore practical strategies for incorporating interactive activities, leveraging technology, and creating culturally rich lessons that capture students' interest. Through hands-on activities and collaborative discussions, educators will learn how to tailor their approach to meet diverse student needs and sustain motivation throughout the course. Join to transform your classroom dynamics and foster a vibrant language learning environment.
OBJECTIVES: Participants will explore innovative techniques to keep students actively involved and enthusiastic about learning a new language. Participants will explore practical strategies for incorporating interactive activities, leveraging technology, and creating culturally rich lessons that capture students' interest. Through hands-on activities and collaborative discussions, educators will learn how to tailor their approach to meet diverse student needs and sustain motivation throughout the course. Join to transform your classroom dynamics and foster a vibrant language learning environment.
We know educators have a lot of cynicism about "wellness." Too often, they've heard people tell them to practice yoga or get a massage when they are deeply burned out while understanding that you can't self-care yourself out of structural and systemic issues that undermine wellness. Educators want decision makers to understand the importance of a whole-school approach to educator wellness, one that also encompasses the need strong staff culture, and creating aligned policies and practices that sustain rather than undermine their wellness.
In this highly-interactive workshop, we’ll directly address the cynicism educators hold, and offer new frameworks that can truly create educator wellness. Using a whole-school tiered framework, we’ll practice self-care on three levels: 1) individual; 2) interpersonal; and 3) organizational. On the individual level, we’ll discover the ways that perfectionism can impede our self-care, and the common way many of us confuse numbing behavior (binge watching, social media scrolling, shopping, etc) with authentic self-care. On the interpersonal level, we’ll explore the importance of personal and professional boundaries, and how strong boundaries and authentic appreciation helps build essential relational trust with colleagues. On the organizational level, we’ll learn a new model for better understanding the root causes of staff stress, and understand the importance of incorporating staff voice into any educator wellness plan.
Are you ready to unlock the potential of AI to transform language teaching and learning? In this session, participants will delve into the innovative integration of AI across the communicative modes. Discover a variety of AI tools that can help educators to create meaningful interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational tasks for all learners. Why work harder when you can work smarter? Come and see how these tools can be a game changer in the language classroom!
Participants will be engaged in hands on activities demonstrating the use of AI across the modes. Participants will have the chance to play and use the various tools to create lessons, activities, games, and more.
FLAVA Immediate Past President, Loudoun Valley High School
Heidi Trude is a French teacher at Loudoun Valley High School in Purcellville, Virginia. She has 17 years of experience teaching every level of French from French 1 through AP French Language and Culture. She created an international partnership between her school and Lycée-Bazin... Read More →
Saturday November 2, 2024 2:00pm - 2:50pm EDT
Room 221
In this session, participants will learn about a dynamic and engaging elementary school Francophone country project, as well as ways to adapt it to any age or level of students. The very nature of the project puts students' voices and interests at the forefront, leading to increased engagement and excitement, while providing a more diverse lens into Francophone culture. Recent examples and connections to the presenter's recent trip to Senegal will be provided, as well as resources for beginning your own school-wide project this coming spring!
The objectives of the session are to: -introduce the format of a school-wide, year-long Francophone country exploration -share guidelines for selecting and promoting the 3 P's of a target country: perspectives, practices and products while adhering to regular curricular goals -give examples of experiences and lessons created following a recent teacher trip to Senegal through Vive l'Experience, LLC
In this session, participants will explore how Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles can transform the way world language educators approach listening activities. Listening is a critical component of language acquisition, yet traditional audio materials often exclude neurodiverse and disabled learners who face challenges in processing and understanding spoken language. Participants will learn to identify common barriers in audio comprehension and discover practical strategies to make listening accessible to all students. Through examples, collaborative discussions, and hands-on activities, attendees will explore strategies and tools to adapt and create audio content in both coursework and assessments.
OBJECTIVES: Participants will engage in a barrier identification activity, followed by an audio design mini-workshop. Participants will leave with a checklist of inclusive listening strategies, a resource list of audio tools and technologies, and one adapted audio activity (if completed in the session).
Wesley Wood is a middle and high school Latin teacher at Bullis School, a private K-12 school in Potomac, Maryland. He is in his sixth year of teaching, with Master's degrees from the University of Colorado Boulder and Miami University in Ohio. Last year, Wesley was honored to be... Read More →
Saturday November 2, 2024 2:00pm - 2:50pm EDT
Room 222
This session would focus on strategies for creating a cohesive and supportive community in a world language classroom. Participants will acquire ideas for fostering inclusivity, collaboration, and student-centered learning in an environment that values diversity and promotes language learning as a collective experience.
OBJECTIVES: - To explore effective methods for fostering a sense of belonging, inclusivity, and connection among students in a world language learning environment. - Identify the benefits of building a strong sense of community in a world language classroom - Develop a plan to implement community-building strategies in a world language classroom
Need ideas for strategies to work with cultural comparisons? Based on the ACTFL Cultural Standards of products, practices and perspectives, we will explore and discuss actionable classroom tasks that support and enhance student voices by focusing on comprehensible input and critical thinking. Get involved in a roundtable of creative activities, centered around how best to hone student voices through cultural comparisons. Participants will receive a handout that provides resources for implementation and group discussion.
Using Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory (1978), the researchers collected data via videoconferencing from an Arabic foreign language classroom in a mid-south US university. This qualitative research study aimed to investigate how informal online social interactions, implemented in conjunction with face-to-face classes, could be used to enhance language learning. The study addressed the question: What are students' experiences when participating in informal videoconferencing and cultural discussions in a language learning classroom? The participants included seven Arabic language students who met online for 60 minutes every other week. The videoconference sessions included a general theme/topic in an open, informal setting, with the primary researcher asking questions and eliciting student responses. During the sessions, the students were allowed to express themselves freely, ask questions about the Arabic culture, and listen to their instructor and their classmates' perspectives. The data included student-created introduction videos, eight videoconferencing transcripts, reflection notes, and student interviews. Using a grounded theory approach, open coding methods were used to analyze the data. The findings from the students' feedback expressed positive responses, with many stating an appreciation for this empowering learning opportunity. Students enhanced their understanding of the course topics by participating in the sessions. They learned critical aspects of the Arabic language and culture entertainingly, avoiding what is commonly known as “culture shock.” Additionally, the videoconferencing sessions provided an inclusive setting accessible to students at a mutually convenient time, using informal cultural discussions outside of class, and increased students' understanding of the target language while providing a fun and relaxed atmosphere where students could ask questions without judgment and share their cultures, diverse perspectives, and ideas with their peers. The videoconferencing sessions allowed students to challenge their assumptions, clear up misconceptions, and engage in critical thinking while learning more about the target language and culture. This online social experience enabled students to immerse themselves in Arabic culture without sacrificing in-class time and built their self-confidence in language learning. In addition, students felt comfortable providing feedback for the course, which assisted the instructor in modifying and adjusting the course’s structure. The findings suggest that by hosting cultural sessions online and outside of class, language students can have the opportunity to learn the language in an accessible and fun approach, encouraging them to continue attending language classes and further pursuing language studies. I will share my experience and what I learned from my students from this research project.
Learn how to lead advocacy efforts for world language programs right from your classroom. The session will provide practical strategies for world language teachers to inspire change, support colleagues, and engage school leaders - whether they are department chairs or curriculum coordinators. Discover how to leverage your classroom successes to advocate for program growth, build collaborative partnerships, and drive a shared vision for language learning. Leave with actionable steps to become a leader and advocate for world language education at your school.
Stephanie Krause is a middle school Latin teacher and department chair at McLean School, a private K-12 school in Potomac, Maryland. Stephanie is in her seventh year of teaching, with a Master’s degree from the University of Colorado Boulder. Currently, she serves on ACTFL’s Diversity... Read More →
Saturday November 2, 2024 3:00pm - 4:15pm EDT
Dance Studio
I will share what I have found as an EFL teacher journeying with my students using action research approach.
OBJECTIVE: -To provide an understanding of Willingness to Communicate (WTC), its importance in language learning -To demonstrate how action research can be a practical tool for world language teachers to explore and enhance WTC in their classrooms -To showcase factors and effective strategies to enhance WTC
In this 20-minute session, the facilitator will showcase tips for keeping early foreign language learners engaged and motivated. Bringing fun, non-competitive games to the classroom will help students acquire vocabulary and useful phrases naturally. During the session, teachers will also explore materials (songs, props, flashcards) they can use when bringing movement-based and Total Physical Response (TPR) games to their classes.
