Sample Workshops, Webinars, Sessions, and Keynotes
Diverse Learners
Empowering Diverse Learners: Student Agency in the Language Classroom
A language classroom where learners have agency is one that includes opportunities for student voice, choice, and ownership of learning. During this interactive session, participants will gain strategies and examine classroom samples for enhancing engagement of diverse students in their classrooms through student agency.
Addressing the Needs of Our Diverse Language Learners
The workshop is focused on meeting the needs of the wide diversity of learners in language classrooms. Participants will gain strategies from the frameworks of differentiated instruction and Universal Design for Learning for engaging all learners. Focus will be placed on varying instructional approaches, strategies for providing support and challenge to all learners, and engaging learners through voice and choice. Participants will be afforded “design time” each day where they will apply their learning through creation of products and plans to enhance their instruction.
Tiering Tasks and Texts to Challenge All Learners
In this workshop, we will explore how to adapt tasks for authentic text to meet the needs of all learners across the proficiency continuum through tiering- providing scaffolding and support for struggling learners and open-ended more challenging tasks for advanced learners. We will also explore how to tier text on the same themes and how to create generic tasks that span the tiers to challenge all learners
Engaging Reluctant Learners in the Target Language Classroom
The presentation will focus on strategies and techniques for engaging reluctant learners in the language classroom and for supporting them to persevere in the target language environment through the use of scaffolds and supports. New insights provided will include ways to set up the classroom environment to support reluctant learners and strategies for lesson planning to increase student engagement.
Engaging All Language Learners
Language educators are challenged on a daily basis to meet the needs of all learners in their classrooms. The needs of students vary based on their readiness level, interests, and learning preferences. This workshop will present key strategies for engaging all learners in the language classroom.
Empowering Diverse Learners: Student Agency in the Language Classroom
A language classroom where learners have agency is one that includes opportunities for student voice, choice, and ownership of learning. During this interactive session, participants will gain strategies and examine classroom samples for enhancing engagement of diverse students in their classrooms through student agency.
Addressing the Needs of Our Diverse Language Learners
The workshop is focused on meeting the needs of the wide diversity of learners in language classrooms. Participants will gain strategies from the frameworks of differentiated instruction and Universal Design for Learning for engaging all learners. Focus will be placed on varying instructional approaches, strategies for providing support and challenge to all learners, and engaging learners through voice and choice. Participants will be afforded “design time” each day where they will apply their learning through creation of products and plans to enhance their instruction.
Tiering Tasks and Texts to Challenge All Learners
In this workshop, we will explore how to adapt tasks for authentic text to meet the needs of all learners across the proficiency continuum through tiering- providing scaffolding and support for struggling learners and open-ended more challenging tasks for advanced learners. We will also explore how to tier text on the same themes and how to create generic tasks that span the tiers to challenge all learners
Engaging Reluctant Learners in the Target Language Classroom
The presentation will focus on strategies and techniques for engaging reluctant learners in the language classroom and for supporting them to persevere in the target language environment through the use of scaffolds and supports. New insights provided will include ways to set up the classroom environment to support reluctant learners and strategies for lesson planning to increase student engagement.
Engaging All Language Learners
Language educators are challenged on a daily basis to meet the needs of all learners in their classrooms. The needs of students vary based on their readiness level, interests, and learning preferences. This workshop will present key strategies for engaging all learners in the language classroom.
Proficiency, Target Language
Guiding Learners Along the Proficiency Continuum
This workshop will provide strategies for moving students along the world language proficiency continuum. Participants will begin by deepening their knowledge about proficiency levels. They will also practice designing performance tasks to measure student growth, and give meaningful feedback on those tasks. Finally, participants will gain strategies for planning learning experiences that lead to growth in proficiency.
Teacher and Student Target Language Use
During this workshop, participants will gain strategies for creating a supportive environment to build student confidence in using the target language and for maximizing teacher and student target language use. They will gain thinking frames for planning opportunities to students to perform in all modes of communication in the target language.
Creating Confident Communicators
During this workshop, participants will examine strategies that pave the way for students to become confident communicators by planning for opportunities where students build skills in social language in the elementary world language classroom. Focus will be placed on the interpersonal mode, scaffolds and supports, and designing lesson openings that invite interpersonal exchanges.
Authentic Resources
Getting More Mileage Out of Authentic Resources
Searching for and curating authentic resources to serve as the contexts for lesson tasks can be very time-consuming. In particular, selecting a different authentic resource for every lesson task can seem insurmountable. During this interactive session, participants will explore strategies for extending an authentic resource across communicative modes, task types, and student groupings in a connected and integrated way. A variety of examples of lesson sequences and a template will be provided to get more communicative “mileage” out of a single authentic resource.
Embedding Authentic Resources into Lesson Plans
Understanding that it is ideal to use authentic resources as much as possible in our lesson plans, how do we achieve that goal? In this workshop, participants will become familiar with a variety of approaches for making choices about how best to embed authentic resources in their lesson plans. We will analyze scenarios and practice using a formula and game board designed to assist with the thinking process.
Using Social Media as Authentic Text
Authentic resources are not just for practice in the interpretive mode. During this interactive session, participants will explore ways to design learning experiences using authentic resources as the context for meaningful interpersonal exchanges. A variety of interpersonal routines and examples of multiple authentic resource types will be shared.
Student Engagement
Mixing It Up: Varying Our Approaches to Engage All Language Learners
Engaging all learners in our language classrooms can be challenging. How can we vary our approaches to teaching and learning to flip the engagement switch? During this interactive webinar, we will explore ways to mix up our lesson tasks to increase student engagement through using visuals, flexible grouping, and student choice.
Creating A Learner-Centered Language Classroom
During this workshop, participants will explore the benefits and examine models and examples of strategies for creating a learner-centered classroom for language learners. Participants will reflect on and evaluate their classroom environment, level of student engagement, and learner- centered practices and set goals for future instruction.
Context
Using Authentic Resources to Teach Grammar as a Concept in Context
The “Core Practices for Language Learning” by the American Council on Teaching Foreign Languages (ACTFL) includes “teach grammar as a concept and use in context.” In this workshop, we will explore routines and strategies for finding examples of authentic resources for grammar in context, processes and protocols that lead students to inductively analyze how language structures function, and ways to embed grammar in context into learning experiences in the target language.
Context, Comprehensible Input and the Communicative Modes
During this session, participants will gain strategies for providing comprehensible input in the world language classroom. Participants will also reflect on the importance of including all three communicative modes in lesson planning, focusing on student growth in language proficiency.
It’s All About Context
Lesson tasks that provide relevance and connections to real life are highly engaging to our Generation Z learners. During this workshop, participants will practice designing learning experiences that provide context for students based on real-world scenarios and authentic resources for a variety of lesson tasks.
Beginning with Relevance in Mind
How do we make language learning relevant to our Generation Z students? In this session, we will explore who our learners are and how we can plan unit and lesson tasks with personal and life relevance in mind. Participants will gain strategies for developing real world connections for students in and outside of the language classroom.
Assessment
Responding to Language Learner Data
Participants will examine their current practices for collecting formative and summative student language performance data and set goals for enhancing those practices. Participants will receive a menu of strategies for responding to student data through lesson planning of learning experiences and will apply them to classroom scenarios. Rubrics, scoring calibration and meaningful feedback will also be addressed.
Maximizing Student Performance on Proficiency-Based Assessments
During this workshop, participants will analyze student writing samples and refine strategies for using backward design to plan authentic learning experiences that will lead to student achievement on performance assessments. Participants will engage in a rubric calibration activity, in order to encourage providing meaningful feedback that promotes student growth in proficiency, and reflect on ways to strengthen the assessment prompts.
Designing Real World Performance Tasks
During this session, participants will hone their skill set around designing real world performance tasks that measure student growth in language proficiency. Resources such as proficiency-based rubrics, sample performance tasks, and feedback tools will be explored.
Assessing Student Performance in the Proficiency-Focused Classroom
How do we gauge student growth in proficiency in the language classroom? In this workshop, participants will gain strategies for designing proficiency- based performance assessments, calibrating scoring, and providing students with meaningful feedback to grow in their proficiency level. We will examine proficiency-based rubrics, Can-Do statements, and templates and processes for designing real world and developmentally-appropriate assessments for language students.
Intercultural Communication
Leading with Culture Through Authentic Resources
During this interactive workshop, participants will 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 will 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 will be allotted for “design time” during which participants will design and plan for embedding cultural explorations into their lesson plans.
Unit, Lesson, and Task Design
Designing Communicative Tasks
During this interactive webinar, participants will explore ways to design lesson tasks with a focus on communication that lead to student growth in proficiency. They will use a template for task design in alignment with the unit performance targets where communicative purpose is at the center along with considerations for structuring and scaffolding tasks with success for all students in mind. Participants will apply their learning by building out communicative tasks for a variety of purposes for their lessons.
Planning Backward, Growing Forward
Lesson planning is a complex task. The purpose of this session is to demonstrate to language educators how to plan learning experiences and real-world communicative tasks for their students that lead them to success on summative performance assessments and to growth along the proficiency continuum. The presenter will provide a menu of multiple examples and thinking processes to participants.
Designing and Implementing Communicative Pair and Small Group Tasks
During this interactive session, participants will examine resources for designing communicative pair and small group tasks based on real world scenarios and/or authentic resources. Participants will use the framework of task-process-product-support to guide the design and implementation of the tasks.
Beginning with the End in Mind: Planning with the Backward Design Model
In this workshop, participants will deepen their knowledge of McTighe and Wiggins’ Understanding by Design approach aligned with the ACTFL Core Practice of “Planning with Backward Design Model” to enhance their planning of instruction for language learners. Participants will identify desired learning results through learning targets and can-do statements and determine the acceptable evidence through exploration of proficiency-based rubrics and performance tasks. Participants will examine examples of resources for student self- assessment, meaningful feedback, and scoring calibration.
Moving from Exercises to Activities to Tasks
Using the framework of Gradual Release of Responsibility, this workshop will explore strategies for making student learning experiences more engaging, interactive, communicative and real world throughout the input, guided, and independent phases of a lesson. Participants will also examine ways to support student success with real world tasks through scaffolds, supports and routines.
Classroom Environment, Relationships, and Management
Setting the Stage for Success
During this workshop, participants will make plans to enhance aspects of their learning environment to ensure success for all students. Participants will consider ways they will build relationships with students, set expectations for students target language use, and provide supports and scaffolds to students to build their confidence for persevering through tasks in the target language.
Creating a Communication-Rich Language Learning Environment
In this workshop, participants will explore strategies for creating a communication- rich language learning environment through target language use by the teacher and students and providing scaffolds and supports for language learners.
Social and Emotional Learning for Language Educators and Language Learners
During this session, we will explore what social and emotional learning is and strategies for self-care and wellbeing to support language educators in navigating the ever-changing landscape of meeting the needs of language learners. Participants will also add strategies to their toolboxes for addressing student social and emotional learning in the language classroom, deepening relationships with students and cultivating a caring, language classroom environment.
Communicative Modes, Skill Building
Building Interpersonal Skills Using Authentic Resources
Authentic resources are not just for practice in the interpretive mode. They can serve as the real-world context for building skills in the interpersonal mode as well. During this interactive session, participants will explore ways to design learning experiences using authentic resources as the context for meaningful interpersonal exchanges. A variety of interpersonal routines and examples of multiple authentic resource types will be shared.
Building Students’ Writing Skills in the Target Language
Participants will be given the opportunity to dive deeply into the presentational mode and what students can do at each proficiency level. Participants will also practice designing writing prompts for their students and explore ways to intentionally build students’ writing skills in the target language. The workshop will culminate with scoring calibration of student writing products and will be allotted time to begin the task design process
Guided Instruction and Skill Building in the World Language Classroom
How do you know when your students are ready to use new content independently? How much guidance and support do language learners need? Guided instruction is the bridge or the “gap” between the input and output phases of a lesson. During this session, participants will explore ways language educators can make intentional instructional decisions to ensure that all students are ready to use target language to communicate independently by responding to student learning needs through formative assessment. Teacher moves during guided instruction such as questioning, modeling, and think-alouds will be discussed.
Building Students’ Literacy Skills Through Authentic Text
During this session, participants will deepen their understanding of the ACTFL Core Practice of “guiding learners through interpreting authentic resources” and how to apply it in their classrooms. Authentic texts increase students’ interpretive communication skills and add a real world, cultural context to interactive listening and reading activities. Participants will also explore resources for building students’ literacy skills in the target language.
Building Students’ Listening and Viewing Skills
When reviewing student data from proficiency-based assessments, many teachers find that students’ areas of growth are in the interpretive mode. During this session, participants will gain strategies for increasing student confidence and skill set around listening to and viewing authentic text.
That’s Discussing!: Promoting Communication Through Classroom Discussion
This interactive session will highlight strategies and approaches for building student confidence and comfort with participating in classroom discussions in the target language, beginning at the novice level. The presenter will engage participants in the design of real-world discussion prompts and will direct participants to relevant, curated resources for progressing from teacher-led to student-led discussions. Time will be allotted for analysis of examples, collaboration, and sharing of ideas.
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Teacher Leadership
Teachers Taking the Lead: Leading from the Language Classroom
This full day workshop will address the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that teacher leaders need to maximize their impact on teacher practice and student learning as they lead from the classroom. We will examine what teacher leadership is, the influence teacher leaders can exert, and how to build trust with others. Participants will extend their repertoire of instructional leadership skills by exploring areas of interest such as team building, leading through change, and facilitating professional learning for adult learners.
Instructional Coaching Skills for Teacher Growth
Research shows that beginning teachers who receive mentoring are far more likely to remain in the profession. Through this workshop, participants will deepen their skillset for supporting teachers through instructional mentoring and coaching. Topics to be addressed are: the communication continuum, active listening skills, trust building, and learning-focused conversations. Participants will receive resources and tools for instructional coaching and will be given opportunities to put their newly-gained skills to work through practice coaching sessions.
Teacher Leadership
Teachers Taking the Lead: Leading from the Language Classroom
This full day workshop will address the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that teacher leaders need to maximize their impact on teacher practice and student learning as they lead from the classroom. We will examine what teacher leadership is, the influence teacher leaders can exert, and how to build trust with others. Participants will extend their repertoire of instructional leadership skills by exploring areas of interest such as team building, leading through change, and facilitating professional learning for adult learners.
Instructional Coaching Skills for Teacher Growth
Research shows that beginning teachers who receive mentoring are far more likely to remain in the profession. Through this workshop, participants will deepen their skillset for supporting teachers through instructional mentoring and coaching. Topics to be addressed are: the communication continuum, active listening skills, trust building, and learning-focused conversations. Participants will receive resources and tools for instructional coaching and will be given opportunities to put their newly-gained skills to work through practice coaching sessions.
Keynotes
Making It Real! (GWATFL- November 2018, KSWLA- November 2019, Charlotte Mecklenburg, NC- August 2022, DC Public Schools, Wicomico Co PS, MD, and Jordan School District, UT- August 2023)
How are we engaging the iGeneration in our classrooms? What does language instruction look like in the 21st century? This keynote will explore ways for us to make our instruction real, relevant, and rigorous through real world resources, contexts, tasks, and assessments. (50 minutes)
Strengthening Your Core (DECTFL- October 2018)
In this keynote address, participants will increase their familiarity with the Core Practices and reflect on their “core strength.” (30 min)
Proficiency Possible (MCTLC- November 2020)
Fully embracing proficiency-based instruction is a “Mission Possible.” Your mission during this keynote, should you decide to accept it, is to acquire strategies for deepening your understanding of how the proficiency-based approach impacts teaching and learning and how to communicate about it to students, other educators, administrators, and parents. The old paradigm for teaching language may self-destruct by the end of this keynote. (30 min)
Rooted, Strong, and Growing (NYSAFLT- October 2021)
During this keynote address, participants will reflect on the ways they are rooted in proficiency-based practices, strong through building relationships and our professional networks and growing in our understanding of our Generation Z learners and the importance of professional growth. (30 min)
Celebrating Our Diverse Language Learners (Virginia Department of Education, July 2022)
During this keynote, participants will be challenged to increase their awareness around the diversity in their language classrooms. The speaker will suggest ways to celebrate students' identities, strengths and talents and strategies for building relationships and classroom community. Topics include understanding Generation Z, including diverse voices in the curriculum, and providing real world contexts to lesson tasks.
Proficiency 4 All (Baltimore County PS, August 2022)
Participants will reflect on how learning a language is an opportunity all students should have access to- proficiency for all.
Blazing New Trails to 21st Century Language Teaching and Learning (45 min)
(Keynote for the AFLA Fall Conference, September 2022).
During the AFLA Fall Conference keynote, we will be considering multiple ways we are blazing new trails in language teaching and learning:
• Blazing new trails to celebrate the diversity of our students- celebrating both commonalities and differences
• Blazing new trails to student engagement- understanding our Generations Z and Alpha learners, who they are, and what motivates them
• Blazing new trails to proficiency- maintaining our focus on communication, what students can do with the language they are learning
• Blazing new trails to authenticity- making it real for our students with real world language and real-world situations and finally,
• Blazing new trails to interculturality- guiding our students to become global citizens.
Setting the Stage for Success (Cobb County PS, GA, July 2024)
This keynote addresses a variety of aspects that World Language educators consider at the beginning of the school year to set the stage for success such as: building relationships, establishing a target language classroom, creating a supportive learning environment, and empowering students to own their growth in proficiency.
But, What Can They Do? (New York City PS, January 2025)
This keynote addresses the shift in language teaching and learning from what students know to what students can do through input and grammar in context and the design of tasks with a focus on communication, relevance, and real world connections.
