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Welcome to SWCOLT-AZLA 2025 at Gila River Resort & Casino - Wild Horse Pass. 
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Friday, January 24
 

8:00am MST

Art for Language’s Sake - Integrating Art into World Language Programs
Friday January 24, 2025 8:00am - 9:00am MST
Palo Verde C
Feedback Survey
The presenter will focus on how to connect art with language study to convey aesthetic principles and cultural values of the target language and enhance learner motivation to meet their needs of social emotional learning. Through some practical examples of the course components of Culture through Chinese Calligraphy, attendees will walk away with a universal recipe for all languages in creative ways of integrating art and culture to spice up target language instruction as well as to enrich and strengthen a world language program.
Speakers
LL

Lin Li Hall

Program Director, University of Nevada, Reno
Friday January 24, 2025 8:00am - 9:00am MST
Palo Verde C
  15-minute presentation

8:00am MST

Back to the Future, an Adventure into the AP Unit of Science and Technology
Friday January 24, 2025 8:00am - 9:00am MST
Palo Verde C
Feedback Survey
Grab your DeLorean and join us as we talk about science and technology in the AP Classroom. Where we’re going, there aren’t any roads, but there are some clear paths, and we’ll explore them together, keeping an eye out for lightning storms as we go. This session will share the parts and pieces that one group of teachers have put together to explore this theme and to teach this unit. All resources and activities will be shared with participants, and the session will be held like a classroom-lots of talking, doing, brainstorming, and expanding. Come and join us as we go back to the future!
Speakers
avatar for Jennifer Newman-Cornell

Jennifer Newman-Cornell

Educator, Northwest Career and Technical Academy
I teach Spanish II, Spanish III, AP Spanish Language, AP Spanish Literature and Spanish V.  I love to collaborate and work in PLCs with other teachers.  I am the Professional Development Chairperson for the Professional Language Association of Nevada (PLAN-the Nevada state world... Read More →
U4 Ciencia y Tecnología Back to the Future SWCOLT 2025 Resources pdf
Friday January 24, 2025 8:00am - 9:00am MST
Palo Verde C
  15-minute presentation

8:00am MST

Keeping It Collaborative - Building Communication at Every Level
Friday January 24, 2025 8:00am - 9:00am MST
Palo Verde C
Feedback Survey
In this session, we will experience and discuss a variety of ways to incorporate collaborative strategies focused on language building and language acquisition. Each of the activities is specifically designed to create opportunities for student collaboration, engagement, and motivation with minimal prep. Participants will walk away with a bank of reading, speaking, writing, and listening strategies that can be easily scaffolded for any level and incorporated into any unit.
Speakers
avatar for Sally Barnes

Sally Barnes

Hi all! My name is Sally Barnes and I am a consultant for Seidlitz Education and co-author of 7 Steps to a Language-Rich, Interactive World Language Classroom (2nd Edition). I am a former Spanish teacher and world language district coordinator with 12 years experience in the field... Read More →
Friday January 24, 2025 8:00am - 9:00am MST
Palo Verde C
  15-minute presentation

8:00am MST

Reignite Your Teaching Passion through Deep Dives into Cultural Practices and Products
Friday January 24, 2025 8:00am - 9:00am MST
Palo Verde C
Feedback Survey
Over the course of a teaching career our own personal passion can ebb and flow. Sometimes we just need something to reignite it. One of the best ways to catch on fire is to visit a country of the language we teach. This isn’t always possible. Even if an in-land experience isn’t possible this year, you can still take a deep dive into a cultural practice or learn about a cultural product that you don’t know very much about. In this Roadrunner Session, I will share several cultural deep dives I have taken. I will demonstrate how these experiences have renewed my excitement to teach and kept my teaching fresh and authentic. I will demonstrate how I have used my new cultural competence to create curriculum and build momentum with my students.
Speakers
avatar for Stephen Van Orden

Stephen Van Orden

German Teacher, UFLA Rep to SWCOLT, Timpview High School
SWCOLT 2025 Poster pdf
Friday January 24, 2025 8:00am - 9:00am MST
Palo Verde C
  15-minute presentation

8:00am MST

AI As a Tool in the Language Classroom
Friday January 24, 2025 8:00am - 9:00am MST
Yucca
Feedback Survey
Learn about ChatGPT and other AI platforms. This session will review how AI can assist language teachers with lesson planning, assessment, and provide better feedback to students. We will learn what this tool is, its capabilities, and how it can make our teaching tasks more efficient. Bring a device. Session will be in Spanish.
Speakers
avatar for Elizabeth Cisneros
SWCOLT 2025 AI in the language classroom English pdf
La inteligencia artificial en el salón de lenguas pdf
Friday January 24, 2025 8:00am - 9:00am MST
Yucca
  60-minute presentation

8:00am MST

Best of Hawai‘i: Fostering Engagement: Fun Classroom Routines for Novice & Intermediate Learners
Friday January 24, 2025 8:00am - 9:00am MST
Agave
Feedback Survey
Elevate language instruction through dynamic classroom routines! Join us for this presentation that delves into the pivotal role of classroom routines in fostering student engagement. This session explores the integration of enjoyable and purposeful routines across novice and intermediate levels that promote student agency while enhancing students’ interpersonal, interpretive, presentational, and intercultural communication skills. Discover how these routines not only create a conducive, disruption-free environment but also streamline planning for educators, leaving students enthused and prepared. By the end of this session, you'll be equipped with the tools and confidence to kickstart these enriching routines in your own classroom, ensuring a promising start "on Monday."

Presenters: Ngan Ha Ta & Jennifer Stevens
Speakers
avatar for Jennifer Stevens

Jennifer Stevens

Iolani School
Here is the link to our presentation: bit.ly/SWCOLT25JenNgan
Engaging Classroom Routines SWCOLT 2025 pdf
Friday January 24, 2025 8:00am - 9:00am MST
Agave
  60-minute presentation

8:00am MST

Enhancing Foreign Language Speaking Skills by Using Interagency Language Roundtable
Friday January 24, 2025 8:00am - 9:00am MST
Willow
Feedback Survey
This presentation explores effective strategies based on the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) descriptions to enhance speaking skills in foreign language education. It focuses on two primary objectives: language practice and speaking fluency. The language practice goal reinforces vocabulary and grammar, while the fluency goal targets interactive and confident communication. The presenters will discuss critical elements like linguistic complexity, communicative stress, and cognitive demands. Additionally, they will share practical guidelines for designing speaking activities to ensure student engagement and fluency development. The social domain's importance in language learning will be highlighted, emphasizing the role of interpersonal and cultural interactions in building communicative competence.

Presenters: Bozo Dzakula & Maida Dzakula
Speakers
BD

Bozo Dzakula

Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center
building speaking abilities with ILR (1) pdf
Friday January 24, 2025 8:00am - 9:00am MST
Willow
  60-minute presentation

8:00am MST

Reflecting, Innovating, and Designing Action Research
Friday January 24, 2025 8:00am - 9:00am MST
Cholla
Feedback Survey
Engaging and motivating student learning requires creative and meaningful activities. There often comes a moment in teaching practice when it is important to verify whether the implementation of certain activities has the desired outcome on student learning. This presentation will highlight the benefits of undertaking classroom-based action research as a valuable tool to aid reflection on teacher/learning instructional practices when implementing changes, while also providing professional learning opportunities that can impact teacher development. Participants will take away practical examples and relevant resources to develop classroom research with the aim of making language teaching more effective.
Speakers
avatar for Pompeya Gettler

Pompeya Gettler

I've been teaching English as a 2nd language and Spanish for many years. My interest in the pedagogy of teaching and professional growth have encouraged me to participate in Conferences both as an attendee and a presenter. My focus lies on developing creative ways for a successful... Read More →
SWCOLTJan2025 pdf
Friday January 24, 2025 8:00am - 9:00am MST
Cholla
  60-minute presentation

8:00am MST

The Looming "Enrollment Cliff" and Language Learning
Friday January 24, 2025 8:00am - 9:00am MST
Ocotillo A
Feedback Survey
In higher education, one of the most recent threats has been labeled "the enrollment cliff". This demographic phenomenon will touch not only post-secondary institutions, but secondary ones as well. After reviewing the general data behind the trend, the presenter suggests challenges and potential opportunities for world-language instruction. Participants brainstorm to 1) assess their institutions' sensitivity and degree of planning for these changes; 2) discuss the implications of this looming threat to their disciplines and to their pedagogy; and 3) strategize what their unit can do to mitigate shrinking numbers (possibly and reduced staff) to reconfigure effectiveness in teaching world languages.
Speakers
GF

Glenn Fetzer

Department Head, New Mexico State University
I teach French at the undergraduate level.
Friday January 24, 2025 8:00am - 9:00am MST
Ocotillo A
  60-minute presentation

1:00pm MST

Conversation Connections: Micro-Immersion through Conversation Groups
Friday January 24, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MST
Palo Verde C
Feedback Survey
Providing students with opportunities to practice conversation in their target language in an immersive setting can be a challenge, especially with less commonly spoken languages. While encouraging students to explore language and culture outside of the classroom by pursuing their own interests and forming relationships in their target languages does work for some students, the vast majority find themselves simply too busy or intimidated to even make a single step in that direction on their own. One solution we have found to be particularly effective is to bring micro-immersive opportunities directly to the students, especially by bringing in student peers fluent in the target language (especially international students from target-language speaking countries) to lead students in a micro-immersion conversation-group experience that focuses on relaxed, friendly chatting with the goal of comfortable, fluent communication and cultural exchange in the target language, providing students with practice, inspiration, and motivation for improved conversational skills and cultural exchange. Presenter Jessica Wood is an Associate Teaching Professor of German at Northern Arizona University with over 20 years’ experience in the language classroom.
Speakers
JW

Jessica Wood

Senior Lecturer of German, Northern Arizona University
Friday January 24, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MST
Palo Verde C
  15-minute presentation

1:00pm MST

Extensive or Pleasure Reading and How to Build an Extensive Reading Collection
Friday January 24, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MST
Palo Verde C
Feedback Survey
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.
Speakers
DJ

Dr. Jeff Peterson

Brigham Young University
Friday January 24, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MST
Palo Verde C
  15-minute presentation

1:00pm MST

How Valuable is Grice's Cooperative Principle to All Languages?
Friday January 24, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MST
Palo Verde C
Feedback Survey
The cooperative principle is a concept introduced by Grice in the field of pragmatics. It is viewed that speakers and listeners are assumed to be cooperating. The idea of this principle is participants in a conversation communicate in an informative, truthful, relevant, and clear manner. This concept is explained through four maxims - quantity, quality, relevance, and manner (Farinde & Oyedokun-Alli, 2020). More so, this principle attempts to have a successful conversation as well as how a person uses language in a social context. However, some research indicates that this principle may not be applicable to all languages or cultures. This presentation will discuss the relevance and significance of the cooperative principle in language learning and teaching and its cultural aspect in particular languages. As language educators, how can we integrate this principle to enhance our teaching methods and to appreciate the cultural aspects of language?
Speakers
DC

Dr. C. Quijano

Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center
SWCOLT 2025 Presentation Grice's Cooperative Principle pdf
Friday January 24, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MST
Palo Verde C
  15-minute presentation

1:00pm MST

Play as a Language Learning Oasis: 12 Activities to Sharpen Students’ Speaking, Listening, and Writing Skills
Friday January 24, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MST
Palo Verde C
Feedback Survey
Play is essential for brain development and building community (Yenigun, 2014). Attendees can choose from a menu of a dozen speaking activities created by the presenter. From Utah to Tajikistan, the presenter has used these activities to get students and teachers asking questions, describing, analyzing, narrating, and comparing what they see. Attendees will experience firsthand how using already made cards with objects can promote conversation and build students’ confidence in a low stakes setting. Attendees will rediscover how play can often serve as the best language learning oasis as well as gain new ideas for classroom speaking, writing, and listening tasks.
Speakers
avatar for Sharon Lyman

Sharon Lyman

Southern Utah University
Play as Language Learning SWCOLT 2025 Lyman pptx
Play as Language Learning SWCOLT 2025 Lyman pdf
Friday January 24, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MST
Palo Verde C
  15-minute presentation

1:00pm MST

7 Steps to a Language-Rich, Interactive World Language Classroom
Friday January 24, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MST
Ocotillo C
Feedback Survey
In this session, participants will learn 7 simple, efficient strategies to create a language-rich, interactive classroom. By participating in a short mini-lesson, we will experience all 7 steps and how they support students as they move along their proficiency journey in a communication-based classroom. The 7 Steps include procedural ideas and lesson planning components, and participants will walk away with a bank of resources and ideas for implementation in their own classroom, including a mini-lesson ready to use in a variety of languages.
Speakers
avatar for Sally Barnes

Sally Barnes

Hi all! My name is Sally Barnes and I am a consultant for Seidlitz Education and co-author of 7 Steps to a Language-Rich, Interactive World Language Classroom (2nd Edition). I am a former Spanish teacher and world language district coordinator with 12 years experience in the field... Read More →
Friday January 24, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MST
Ocotillo C
  60-minute presentation

1:00pm MST

Best of Nevada: Conectando con confianza: Fortaleciendo la identidad y la cultura en hispanohablantes a través de la literatura
Friday January 24, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MST
Agave
Feedback Survey
While increasing in both need for and number of programs, heritage language classes remain challenging to teach because of the diversity of heritage learners, the lack of teacher training, and the lack of available resources for many educators. "Conectando con confianza" will offer teachers specific texts and activities that can be implemented right away to help heritage learners of varying abilities build both skills and a sense of efficacy, as well as generalized strategies that can be used with a variety of texts all year long.

Presenters: Melissa Bullard & Paulina Rios
Speakers
PR
MB

Melissa Bullard

McQueen High School
Friday January 24, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MST
Agave
  60-minute presentation

1:00pm MST

How to Adapt Classroom Conversations into Accessible Texts
Friday January 24, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MST
Cholla
Feedback Survey
How can teachers involve all students simultaneously in responding and understanding classroom discussions? Discover how to structure scaffolded student talk where all students participate and have a response. Then, take these dialogues and learn how to enhance them into cohesive narratives that students will appreciate and understand.
Speakers
MC

Mira Canion

Author, Teacher, Canion Creations
Friday January 24, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MST
Cholla
  60-minute presentation

1:00pm MST

Meaning-Based Strategies to Refine Accuracy in Middle School DLI Courses
Friday January 24, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MST
Willow
Feedback Survey
Most teachers view grammar as descriptions of the structure of a language, rules for its use, and models of accurate or effective sentences or style. But that’s not all there is to it, especially for students in DLI programs. This session explores how to treat grammar as part of communication and to discover meaning-based strategies that result in increased accuracy, including protocols such as CAPA and PACE and designing evidence-based student centered tasks and effective classroom discourse practices.
Speakers
avatar for Greta Lundgaard

Greta Lundgaard

Consultant, Consultant
Still enjoying sharing new ideas, strategies, and learning with language educators!
Friday January 24, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MST
Willow
  60-minute presentation

1:00pm MST

Where Language Learning Meets Neuroscience (Exhibitor Session)
Friday January 24, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MST
Ocotillo B
Feedback Survey
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
Exhibitors
avatar for JJ Morgan - Voces Digital

JJ Morgan - Voces Digital

Conference Coordinator, Voces Digital
Voces is a collection of World Language titles housed in an easily accessible, web-based platform. Each title in the Voces library contains vast online resources meant to help both teachers and students get inspired and get ahead in the modern, ever-changing World Language classroom... Read More →
Friday January 24, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MST
Ocotillo B
  60-minute presentation

2:15pm MST

Cultivating Creativity and Confidence: Enhancing Impromptu Writing Skills in Japanese through Timed Exercises in the Classroom
Friday January 24, 2025 2:15pm - 3:15pm MST
Palo Verde C
Feedback Survey
Language learners often hesitate to write impromptu, even when they possess creativity and imagination. A lack of confidence is a common obstacle in language acquisition. This presentation will explore a practical example from a Japanese junior writing course at the post-secondary level, where students gradually developed their impromptu writing skills through photo description exercises depicting everyday scenes in Japan. In this session, student comments and feedback collected by the institution at the end of the semester will also be shared. Additionally, the session will showcase a collaborative classroom activity where students co-created imaginative stories, fostering a playful and supportive learning environment.
Speakers
RA

Reiko Akiyama

Lecturer, Northern Arizona University
Friday January 24, 2025 2:15pm - 3:15pm MST
Palo Verde C
  15-minute presentation

2:15pm MST

Vocabulary Acquisition in the L2 Classroom: Strategies for Building and Retention
Friday January 24, 2025 2:15pm - 3:15pm MST
Palo Verde C
Feedback Survey
Effective vocabulary acquisition is essential for our students to continue advancing with the target language. This presentation explores several pedagogical approaches to encourage and improve vocabulary development and retention at all levels. By integrating task-based learning and properly scaffolded engaging activities, while keeping it communicative, language instructors can create engaging and meaningful language experiences that will help students learn and retain new vocabulary. Several useful and usable activities and ideas will be shared with attendees who can start using them directly with their students.
Speakers
avatar for Tim Cannon

Tim Cannon

Spanish Language Coordinator, University of Utah
Learning Abroad, Language Pedagogy, Technology enhanced education, Spain, Latin America, Travel, Don Quixote, Good books.
Friday January 24, 2025 2:15pm - 3:15pm MST
Palo Verde C
  15-minute presentation

2:15pm MST

Where Language Skills Meet Student Leadership: Unlocking the Power of Language Clubs
Friday January 24, 2025 2:15pm - 3:15pm MST
Palo Verde C
Feedback Survey
Leadership development is a vital part of college life, offering students the chance to cultivate civic awareness and essential community engagement skills. However, obstacles like inexperience, time constraints, and misinformation can limit student involvement. Through a partnership with the Brazilian Club, third-year Portuguese students are introduced to student leadership by shadowing officers of a recognized student organization, assisting with major events, and managing smaller ones. This experience not only improves their language skills in real-world contexts but also fosters abilities like teamwork, intercultural communication, and budgeting. Many former participants have gone on to become club officers or take on leadership roles across campus, continuing their involvement throughout and beyond their college years.

Presenters: Anna Hodgson & Amanda Hoffman
Speakers
AO

Amanda Oliveira Hoffmann

University of Utah
Friday January 24, 2025 2:15pm - 3:15pm MST
Palo Verde C
  15-minute presentation

2:15pm MST

Best of New Mexico: Gamifying Teaching, Learning, and Speaking
Friday January 24, 2025 2:15pm - 3:15pm MST
Agave
Feedback Survey
In this session teachers will take their routine lessons from drab to FAB! You don't need to alter your instruction, you just need a pair of scissors and a playful mindset to gamify your instruction. This session shows you how gamification leads to engagement and engagement leads to learning. You will walk away with useful, editable templates for instruction, learning, and getting kids SPEAKING in the target language.
Speakers
avatar for Kayla Scheer

Kayla Scheer

Spanish Teacher, Rio Rancho Public Schools
I am on my 13th year of teaching. I have served as a Language and Culture Coordinator at Shining Stars Preschool and a Spanish teacher at V. Sue Cleveland High School teaching levels 1-AP Lit including Heritage classes. Though I once gave a TED Talk "On Demand Learning in the 21st... Read More →
NMOLE Gamifying Teaching, Learning, & Speaking pdf
Friday January 24, 2025 2:15pm - 3:15pm MST
Agave
  60-minute presentation

2:15pm MST

Character & Communication: Enhancing Language Learning via Character Growth (Exhibitor Session)
Friday January 24, 2025 2:15pm - 3:15pm MST
Ocotillo C
Feedback Survey
During this session, participants will gain a clear understanding of how to integrate character development into their world language classrooms. They will acquire practical strategies, lesson plan ideas, and a renewed sense of purpose in fostering both linguistic and personal growth in their students.
Speakers
avatar for Brooke Campbell

Brooke Campbell

World Language Sales Consultant, Klett World Languages
At Klett World Languages, we strive to foster a love for learning world languages by creating meaningful content that not only sparks students’ curiosity but also transitions into real-life practice. Through our inclusive, communicative, and collaborative Spanish, French, German... Read More →
Friday January 24, 2025 2:15pm - 3:15pm MST
Ocotillo C
  60-minute presentation

2:15pm MST

Empowering Diverse Learners: Student Agency in the Language Classroom
Friday January 24, 2025 2:15pm - 3:15pm MST
Cholla
Feedback Survey
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.
Speakers
avatar for Leslie Grahn

Leslie Grahn

Independent Consultant
Empowering Diverse Learners Through Student Agency pdf
Friday January 24, 2025 2:15pm - 3:15pm MST
Cholla
  60-minute presentation

2:15pm MST

Now I See! Fostering L2 Digital Multimodal Literacies through Infographics
Friday January 24, 2025 2:15pm - 3:15pm MST
Palo Verde B
Feedback Survey
This study investigates how beginning L2 learners of French engage with multimodal texts to design their own infographics, a critical 21st-century skill. Despite the growing importance of multimodal communication, L2 classrooms remain largely focused on traditional, text-based approaches. Grounded in socio-cultural and social semiotic theories, this research explores how learners apply their understanding of multimodality in creating infographics on sustainable development issues. The study draws on infographics, reflective essays, and interviews to analyze learners' use of semiotic resources and intersemiotic relationships. Findings indicate that tasks designed to encourage deep engagement with multimodal texts can significantly enhance L2 learners' communicative competence, preparing them for full participation in contemporary communication practices. This research contributes to the ongoing discussion on multimodality in L2 education and offers practical insights for educators aiming to integrate multimodal literacy into their classrooms.

Presenters: Tara Hashemi & Beatrice Dupuy


Speakers
BD

Beatrice Dupuy

University of Arizona, CERCLL
avatar for Tara Hashemi

Tara Hashemi

Assistant Professor of French, California State University, Fresno
Friday January 24, 2025 2:15pm - 3:15pm MST
Palo Verde B
  60-minute presentation

2:15pm MST

Promoting Higher Levels of Proficiency Using Current Event Panels - SESSION CANCELLED BY PRESENTER
Friday January 24, 2025 2:15pm - 3:15pm MST
Ocotillo A
Feedback Survey
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.
Speakers
avatar for Laura Catharine Smith

Laura Catharine Smith

Associate Professor, German Linguistics, Brigham Young University
I began my professional life earning licensure as a French and History/Social Sciences teacher in Ontario, Canada (at Queen's University at Kingston) before heading to graduate school to become a professor of Germanic Linguistics. My research is two-pronged reflecting my intertwined... Read More →
Friday January 24, 2025 2:15pm - 3:15pm MST
Ocotillo A
  60-minute presentation

2:15pm MST

Reading: Why, What, and How (Exhibitor Session)
Friday January 24, 2025 2:15pm - 3:15pm MST
Palo Verde A
Feedback Survey
Reading is fundamental to supporting language acquisition. In this session, you will learn why reading is so important, what types of texts learners should be reading (even beginners!), and simple low or no-prep strategies for reading together.
Speakers
avatar for Elicia Cárdenas - The Comprehensible Classroom

Elicia Cárdenas - The Comprehensible Classroom

Director of Training, The Comprehensible Classroom
Driven by the core belief that all students are capable of acquiring language, The Comprehensible Classroom has been at the forefront of the movement toward teaching for acquisition since 2010. TCC publishes curriculum and instructional tools grounded in a solid understanding of language... Read More →
Friday January 24, 2025 2:15pm - 3:15pm MST
Palo Verde A
  60-minute presentation

4:00pm MST

Level Up Your Language Teaching: Free Resources and Opportunities from the NFLRC
Friday January 24, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm MST
Palo Verde C
Feedback Survey
Discover a wealth of free resources, professional development opportunities, and scholarly journals tailored for language educators, all offered by the National Foreign Language Resource Center, funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Whether you're interested in podcasts, Project-Based Language Learning, online language pedagogy, or the latest publications, this session invites you to explore a diverse array of tools and learning experiences designed to enrich your teaching practice. Don't miss this opportunity to enhance your professional growth!
Speakers
avatar for Rachel Mamiya Hernandez

Rachel Mamiya Hernandez

Language Technology Specialist, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
Friday January 24, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm MST
Palo Verde C
  15-minute presentation

4:00pm MST

On Making the Online Asynchronous Language Class Communicative and Interactive
Friday January 24, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm MST
Palo Verde C
Feedback Survey
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.
Speakers
CG
Friday January 24, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm MST
Palo Verde C
  15-minute presentation

4:00pm MST

Best of California: Effective Strategies and Activities for Interpersonal Communication
Friday January 24, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm MST
Agave
Feedback Survey
Interpersonal communication affects the hearts, minds, and actions of individuals as they function in the everyday social world (Braithwaite, Schrodt 2015). This workshop focuses on interpersonal communication strategies and activities that enhance instructional practices. Participants will discover and practice applications and techniques that will increase their students' engagement in developing their interpersonal speaking skills.
Speakers
avatar for Dr. Cecile Nedellec

Dr. Cecile Nedellec

Patrick Henry HS/CLTA
Google slides forced copy of the presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1s39UhWzkI2L0FC818eJSDuiKBGM2B83YD8Yr--SWaQQ/copy
Friday January 24, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm MST
Agave
  60-minute presentation

4:00pm MST

Developing Global Citizenship through School Exchanges (Exhibitor Session)
Friday January 24, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm MST
Ocotillo A
Feedback Survey
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
Speakers
PR

Patricia Roque

Forum by Prometour
Exhibitors
avatar for Prometour USA Inc

Prometour USA Inc

FORUM BY PROMÉTOUR
Forum by Prométour offers immersive language and cultural experiences for students through customized study-abroad programs and language immersion trips. We combine language classes with cultural activities, allowing students to learn and experience new languages while connecting... Read More →
Friday January 24, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm MST
Ocotillo A
  60-minute presentation

4:00pm MST

Envisioning and Realizing Improved Teaching: Action Research Fundamentals with Examples
Friday January 24, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm MST
Ocotillo B
Feedback Survey
Want to improve your classroom practice? Most teachers do! Teachers routinely re-design their practice to meet perceived needs and then evaluate how changes impact student learning. These are fundamental inquiry practices of research as well. Action research is a well-established, valuable form of practitioner-led research, which engages teachers in examination of current practice, design of a new approach, followed by systematic analysis of how a shift in practice influences student experience and/or outcomes. In this workshop, we present action research fundamentals and concrete examples from two French teachers’ current studies-in-progress, so that language teachers new to the practice can leave the session with concrete ideas and tools for getting started in their own contexts.

Presenters: Julie Monty & Fernando Trejo Rios
Speakers
WF

Walter Fernando Trejo Rios

Elkins High School
avatar for Julie Monty

Julie Monty

Cesar Chavez High School
Films that always make me cry : The Notebook, The Sound of Music, The TitanicLast interesting movie I saw : The LobsterI have read every novel ever written by these authors : Margaret Atwood, Isabelle Allende, Haruki Murakami, Kurt Vonnegut, Wally LambSitcoms that make me laugh out... Read More →
Friday January 24, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm MST
Ocotillo B
  60-minute presentation

4:00pm MST

It’s Show Time: Putting Proficiency Center Stage When Assessing (Exhibitor Session)
Friday January 24, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm MST
Palo Verde A
Feedback Survey
You are the director, and your students have the lead roles in integrated performance assessments (IPAs). IPAs shine a light on your students and their communicative abilities. This session will break down the IPA process into three acts: 1) the context, 2) the tasks, and 3) the rubrics. You will learn how to assess your students in a way that allows them to show off what they can do with what they have learned.
Speakers
avatar for Cristin Bleess - Wayside Publishing

Cristin Bleess - Wayside Publishing

Instructional Strategist, Wayside Publishing
Wayside takes language learning beyond traditional drills and flashcards. Through immersive, real-world scenarios, culturally rich lessons, scaffolded, proficiency-driven activities, and gamified practice, students develop meaningful communication skills that prepare them for authentic... Read More →
Friday January 24, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm MST
Palo Verde A
  60-minute presentation

4:00pm MST

K-16 Pathways to the Future!
Friday January 24, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm MST
Cholla
Feedback Survey
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.
Speakers
avatar for Jill Landes-Lee

Jill Landes-Lee

Bridge Program Director, University of Utah
- Dual Language Immersion and pathways for secondary continuation. - University collaboration with K-12 DLI. - Counterbalance Instruction for teaching grammar in context- Coaching- Research-based models for professional development
Friday January 24, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm MST
Cholla
  60-minute presentation

4:00pm MST

Mining for Proficiency: Creating a Proficiency-Based Classroom
Friday January 24, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm MST
Ocotillo C
Feedback Survey
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
Speakers
TB

Tzeitel Borbon

Fernley High School
JA

Jana Arnold

McQueen High School
avatar for Jennifer Newman-Cornell

Jennifer Newman-Cornell

Educator, Northwest Career and Technical Academy
I teach Spanish II, Spanish III, AP Spanish Language, AP Spanish Literature and Spanish V.  I love to collaborate and work in PLCs with other teachers.  I am the Professional Development Chairperson for the Professional Language Association of Nevada (PLAN-the Nevada state world... Read More →
SWCOLT Mining for Proficiency Presentation pdf
Friday January 24, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm MST
Ocotillo C
  60-minute presentation

4:00pm MST

Student Engagement across Tasks, Modes, and Time
Friday January 24, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm MST
Palo Verde B
Feedback Survey
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.
Speakers
CK

Claudia Kunschak

Professor, Ritsumeikan University
Claudia Kunschak is a Professor of English Education at College of International Relations, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan. She has a PhD in Education from the University of Arizona and an MA in Interpreting from the University of Vienna. Her research interests include English... Read More →
Friday January 24, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm MST
Palo Verde B
  60-minute presentation

5:15pm MST

Fun Input for Fruitful Output: Useful Ways to Use Short Clips in the Language Classroom
Friday January 24, 2025 5:15pm - 6:15pm MST
Palo Verde C
Feedback Survey
In a time of competing priorities and constant stimulation, student motivation frequently becomes a challenge within the language classroom. Textbook activities don't always impassion students to produce in the L2 to the best of their ability. This Roadrunner session will demonstrate how to effectively incorporate short clips into the classroom to promote student engagement and language production. Shorts can hook students with their often amusing, colorful, and emotionally moving stories. These shorts can also be used with any level (and language) by simply adapting the difficulty of the task. For language students, shorts are engaging, offer a respite from book and paper activities, are motivational, and can provide context for cultural comparison and insight, all of which promote original language production.
Speakers
JS

Juliana Suby

Northern Arizona University
Friday January 24, 2025 5:15pm - 6:15pm MST
Palo Verde C
  15-minute presentation

5:15pm MST

Quick Assessments for Today's Teachers: What Can I Do in 90 Seconds?
Friday January 24, 2025 5:15pm - 6:15pm MST
Palo Verde C
Feedback Survey
It could be argued that assessment is one of the most important aspects of language teaching and learning. Assessment usually has two main purposes: to make summative evaluations and to provide instructional feedback to help learners progress. However, assessment practices should be authentic or students should perceive them as related to their lives and goals in form, topic, process, content, or any element they consider related. At the same time, authentic assessment should serve as a representative picture of student’s competencies while providing a learning tool. Some examples of quick assessments discussed during this presentation will include: quick quizzes that can be given at the end of class after a warm-up period, and simple and quick ways to gauge and check student understanding.

Presenters: Diego Batista & Melany Batista
Speakers
MB

Melany Batista

North Davis Prep Academy
avatar for Diego Batista

Diego Batista

Associate Professor of Spanish, Weber State University
Friday January 24, 2025 5:15pm - 6:15pm MST
Palo Verde C
  15-minute presentation

5:15pm MST

What is the Role of Elementary Schools in World Language Education?
Friday January 24, 2025 5:15pm - 6:15pm MST
Palo Verde C
Feedback Survey
Elementary school world language programs have been declining in the U.S. despite the many documented benefits of becoming bilingual, and the economic and national security needs of the U.S. By some accounts, only about one in four elementary schools offer a second language, mostly Spanish. In nearly half of these schools, instructional time is below the minimum recommended for proficiency. Exploratory programs have traditionally been the answer to this issue, offering language awareness and motivation development as an alternative to proficiency. However, this typology remains largely under-articulated and absent from many toolboxes in world language education. The presenter will discuss how he has addressed the problem of teaching over 900 (K-5) students each year on a six-school-day rotation, and how the updated exploratory model aligns with the Facilitated Interdependent Language Learning model presented by the Center for Applied Linguistics in recent years.
Speakers
RR

Ronald Ramirez

Pinecrest Academy Horizon
Friday January 24, 2025 5:15pm - 6:15pm MST
Palo Verde C
  15-minute presentation

5:15pm MST

A Simple and Powerful Daily Writing Practice to Improve Language Skills Learning
Friday January 24, 2025 5:15pm - 6:15pm MST
Yucca
Feedback Survey
This presentation showcases a simple and powerful routine writing practice that facilitates to reinforce grammar, vocabulary, spelling, and phonics through daily writing. This writing approach enables teachers to get immediate output from students. The audience will have the opportunity to learn and see how students get engaged to write, speak, and share what they are able to produce daily, in a short period of time. It will show how to build students’ confidence and autonomy in writing, especially when teaching a second language in a dual immersion classroom where it is necessary to counterbalance academic content and language skills.
Speakers
avatar for Leine Moratelli

Leine Moratelli

DLI Portuguese Teacher, Majestic Fields Elementary
I'm currently a 5th grade Dual Immersion Portuguese teacher in the Utah State Immersion program and I'm passionate about it. I have experience in the area of Education, working mainly in the following areas: English, Portuguese for foreigners, and teaching methodologies. My main goal... Read More →
Resources Word of the Day pdf
SWCOLT Presentation 2025 A Simple and Powerful Daily Writing Practice to Improve Language Skills Learning pdf
Friday January 24, 2025 5:15pm - 6:15pm MST
Yucca
  60-minute presentation

5:15pm MST

ACTFL Teacher of the Year: Marigolds and Mindsets: Choosing Sustainable Optimism
Friday January 24, 2025 5:15pm - 6:15pm MST
Agave
Feedback Survey
Teachers’ mental health and well-being are just as important as our students’, and a network of positive peers is one key to longevity and success as a teacher. Join this session to learn how to be a “marigold”, prioritize positivity in your life, and implement strategies for finding your own “marigold moments”: those key moments of uplifting joy. Outcomes: Attendees will be able to 1) define the concepts of “marigolds” and “walnut trees” from the Cult of Pedagogy blog article, 2) identify characteristics and actions of “marigolds” that support others, and 3) explore methods of mindfulness to sustain their own optimism and well-being.
Speakers
avatar for Kei Tsukamaki - ACTFL

Kei Tsukamaki - ACTFL

ACTFL
We are a membership community of language education professionals passionate about expanding cultural richness and diversity at all levels of education. Together we provide resources to address challenges to meet the changing needs of language educators and their learners.
Friday January 24, 2025 5:15pm - 6:15pm MST
Agave
  60-minute presentation

5:15pm MST

Innovative Vocabulary Acquisition through Project-Based Learning in Professional Language Courses
Friday January 24, 2025 5:15pm - 6:15pm MST
Palo Verde B
Feedback Survey
Vocabulary is a crucial component of language acquisition and significantly influences learners' proficiency levels. In language courses for professional purposes, focusing on expanding technical vocabulary can help develop the linguistic skills necessary for professional success. This presentation explores how modern learning tools, such as AI applications and metacognitive strategies that involve learners reflecting on their learning processes and tracking their progress, can offer innovative approaches to enhancing vocabulary acquisition and overall language proficiency.
Speakers
avatar for Isabel Asensio

Isabel Asensio

Professor of Spanish and Translation, Weber State University
My research interests are translation and interpreting, literature and culture, and bilingual education and language policy.
Friday January 24, 2025 5:15pm - 6:15pm MST
Palo Verde B
  60-minute presentation

5:15pm MST

Leveraging ACTFL Assessments for College and Career Readiness (Exhibitor Session)
Friday January 24, 2025 5:15pm - 6:15pm MST
Palo Verde A
Feedback Survey
The US Deptartment of Education has an increasing focus on college and career readiness (CCR). We have indicators in K-12 and higher ed that are designed to help educational programs position learners for career success. But how do world language programs fit in the mix? This session considers three ways you can leverage language testing with the AAPPL and other ACTFL assessments to meet CCR standards, increase value of language programming to students, and preserve your program!
Exhibitors
avatar for Jennifer Quinlan - Associate Director of Product Management - Language Testing International

Jennifer Quinlan - Associate Director of Product Management - Language Testing International

Assoc. Director, Language Testing International
Since 1992, Language Testing International (LTI), a Samsung company, has led in global language proficiency testing for over 120 languages. As the exclusive ACTFL licensee, LTI ensures quality through certified testers, offering trusted language credentials recognized by corporations... Read More →
Friday January 24, 2025 5:15pm - 6:15pm MST
Palo Verde A
  60-minute presentation

5:15pm MST

Promoting Student Engagement with Constructive Feedback in Formative Assessment
Friday January 24, 2025 5:15pm - 6:15pm MST
Ocotillo B
Feedback Survey
This presentation will share best practices and highlight the significance of formative assessment with constructive feedback in foreign language learning. The presenters will discuss how formative assessment, through ongoing influential feedback to learners, bridges the gap between current understanding and learning goals, thereby enhancing student achievement and teacher content knowledge. By incorporating targeted, specific, timely, balanced, differentiated, and supportive feedback, this approach tailors teaching strategies to meet individual learner needs. The presenters will also explore practical strategies for implementing formative assessment and designing learning activities that foster cooperative and collaborative learning, ultimately promoting student engagement and self-regulation in language learning.

Presenters: Bozo Dzakula & Maida Dzakula
Speakers
DM

Dr. Maida Dzakula

Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center
BD

Bozo Dzakula

Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center
dzakula b m swcolt 2025 promoting studets engagement with constructive feedback in formative assessment pdf
Friday January 24, 2025 5:15pm - 6:15pm MST
Ocotillo B
  60-minute presentation
 
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