SWCOLT 2025

This session will introduce participants to the 10 principles of extensive or pleasure reading—an approach to teaching reading that allows learners to read copious amounts of easy material of their choice for pleasure in a relaxed environment. Drawing on his own experience, the presenter will discuss the successful implementation of extensive reading (ER) and the importance of collaborating with colleagues in other departments to build an ER collection. Participants will work together to create a plan to: (a) search for ER materials in their target language, (b) collaborate with colleagues to start building their own ER collection, and (c) begin incorporating pleasure reading into their courses. This session will cover topics such as instructional resources and personalized learning.

Join Erica Peplinski-Burge and JJ Morgan to explore the fascinating intersection of language learning and neuroscience. Gain a deeper understanding of how neuroscience principles can revolutionize language learning, making it a more effective and enriching experience for students. Learn practical strategies to create supportive, low-stress learning environments that foster greater language proficiency and overall well-being.

Presenters: Erica Peplinski-Burge & JJ Morgan

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.

This session outlines steps to promote Advanced and Superior levels of proficiency using weekly proficiency activities to prepare students to present a panel on current events, e.g., climate change. Each student presents one aspect of the topic, building their presentation around the three superior-level functions, namely in depth discussion, supporting an opinion, and hypothesising an outcome, and making use of transition and connector words to organise their prepared content. This project serves as a capstone activity for advanced level students to push their language skills to the next level. This presentation will guide educators through the preparation process and will introduce them to transition words which can facilitate organisation of student presentations and highlight where students can elaborate their individual presentations.

In this session, participants will explore effective strategies for planning and implementing a dynamic and culturally-immersive Mandarin summer camp. The presenter will share curriculum development, activity design, and language acquisition techniques that cater to different age groups and proficiency levels. Emphasizing hands-on experiences, attendees will learn how to create a vibrant environment that fosters language learning through cultural exploration, interactive games, and creative projects. This session also covers logistical aspects, such as scheduling, resource allocation, and community engagement, ensuring a well-rounded program that resonates with both students and parents. Attendees will leave with actionable insights and resources to design and implement a successful Mandarin summer camp that inspires and empowers young learners.

As the shift to online learning accelerates in world/foreign language education, instructors face significant challenges in maintaining effective communication and interaction. Since 2020, the growth of online language classes, especially asynchronous ones, has been remarkable. Some institutions are experiencing enrollments in these online language courses that far surpass those in traditional in-person settings. However, concerns persist regarding course delivery, the communicative nature of the curricula, and the lack of quality interaction between students and instructors. This presentation will explore practical strategies for improving asynchronous online language classes, focusing on assignment types, assessments, and interactive activities. By implementing these strategies, instructors can enhance student engagement, foster communicative competence, and simulate the dynamics of traditional in-person classrooms. Additionally, the session will introduce tools and platforms that support these goals, providing participants with actionable insights and resources to create a more interactive and communicative online learning environment.

Learn how to develop a virtual or in-person exchange with a sister school abroad and empower your students to develop their language skills and cultural proficiency while transforming your school into a truly global campus. You will receive a step-by-step planning guide, identify best practices in establishing an exchange partnership, and walk away inspired to start a group exchange at your school.

Presenters: Patricia Roque & Zachary Richardson

Several LEAs and SEAs have created K-16 pathways that make it easier for Dual Language, Heritage, and Newcomer students to matriculate into postsecondary institutions. This session will look at those K-16 Pathways and how some higher education institutions are already working with Dual Language, Heritage, and Newcomer programs. We will discuss the Utah and Delaware Bridge Programs, which connect high school students with upper division university coursework and their multiple entrance points, as well as other proficiency-based programs for college credit around the nation. We will also discuss the need for higher education institutions to articulate pathways for historically underrepresented populations, which will lead to greater equity, increased enrollment, and the creation of new language for specific purpose programs.

Creating a proficiency-based classroom is like mining for silver. Come join us for an adventure into a Nevada mine, where we need to prepare for our adventure, check in as we go and mine the gems as we find them; all to help our students increase their proficiency. This session will feature activities and resources that 3 teachers from a variety of educational situations (rural, magnet, comprehensive high schools) use to design a classroom environment that encourages students to embrace their proficiency journey. Come strike it rich with us!

Presenters: Jennifer Newman-Cornell, Tzeitel Borbon & Jana Arnold

Student engagement, under siege from post-pandemic mental health issues, virtual distractions, and economic necessities, is of concern to administrators, teachers, and parents at all educational levels. To adress this concern, the interest session will suggest a framework for language teaching centered around student engagement by approaching instructional design based on three intersecting parameters: task, mode, and time. Attendees will become familiar with relevant theories, see the various parameters in action during instructional design, consider examples of tasks, instruments, and activities that represent those parameters, and explore the proposed approach as it applies to their own teaching context.

Attendees will learn about Open Educational Resources (OER) and how to use them in planning and preparing engaging real-world, relevant, and meaningful pedagogical products for a wide array of student populations in second-language (L2) classrooms. The presentation will emphasize techniques for adapting and remixing OER to meet specific educational contexts and learner needs. In addition to offering participants a comprehensive definition of OER and an exploration of proven pragmatic advantages of these resources, the session will provide two distinct demonstrations of how and why OER have been used in instructional design for beginning and intermediate level language learners. The first of these demonstrations discusses using authentic popular culture products to develop lessons that enhance students' communicative language skills, with an emphasis on interpretive and presentational skills, whilst the second demonstrates how existing technologies can be used to create engaging and interactive grammar tutorials.