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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

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

Talking Pictures
Friday January 24, 2025 8:00am - 9:00am MST
Palo Verde B
Feedback Survey
This activity takes ACTFL’s Communication Standard and puts it into a context that will get your students speaking the target language. It helps to break down those performance fears, creates speaker confidence, plus it can easily be morphed into a writing activity and leveled up or down as you need. This activity can be easily manipulated to support grammar practice as well! Easy, fun and…..free!
Speakers
AM

Al Martino

Paradise Valley Community College
Teacher of World Languages and ESL and classroom methodologies: implementing the four skills, speaking activities, engagement with reading, classroom management, working with students with disabilities.....
Friday January 24, 2025 8:00am - 9:00am MST
Palo Verde B
  60-minute presentation

2:15pm MST

Timed Repeated Readings in French DLI
Friday January 24, 2025 2:15pm - 3:15pm MST
Palo Verde C
Feedback Survey
Reading fluency is a strong indicator of academic success. Dual Language Immersion programs aim to nurture learners in two languages in all areas of learning. Timed Repeated Readings have been found to increase fluency, and thus to improve academic performance. Adopt this easily adaptable method into your classroom today!
Speakers
RB

Rosie Baldwin

Brigham Young University
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

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

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

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
 
Saturday, January 25
 

9:00am MST

Best of Utah: Oral Assessment - Providing a Powerful Data-Based Assessment for Successful Interventions in DLI Classrooms
Saturday January 25, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am MST
Agave
Feedback Survey
In this presentation participants will be introduced to a simple, yet highly effective tool named “Oral assessment”. Its goal is to provide teachers with meaningful, relevant data regarding their students’ vocabulary and speaking abilities early on and throughout the school year. Oftentimes, parents don’t have clarity in their child’s ability in the second language or find themselves unsure of their children’s progress, and that’s where the Oral Assessment comes in: Teachers can benefit from this tool as it provides consistent, visual data that will improve students’ awareness, parents’ perception and teacher interventions. With it, teachers can pre-test (and post-test) their students individually, collect data, plan shared goals with the students, and present such data to parents and the school community effectively.
Speakers
avatar for Lina Figueiredo

Lina Figueiredo

8th/5th grade teacher, Crimson Cliffs Middle school
I’m a passionate teacher who’s always looking for smarter, more-effective (and easier, why not?) ways to help my students improve their language goals and dreams. I’ve been teaching elementary and secondary education for almost 20 years, mostly English for Brazilian students... Read More →
OralAssessment ByLinaFIgueiredo pdf
Saturday January 25, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am MST
Agave
  60-minute presentation

9:00am MST

Student Test Scores in DLI and Non-DLI Programs: Telling the Story and What We Can Learn
Saturday January 25, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am MST
Willow
Feedback Survey
How can assessment help preserve a program? For Dual Language Immersion (DLI) programs in New York and Utah, assessment data has been critical. This session addresses some common questions about potential learning delays for students or drawbacks of participating in DLI programs. Learn how two administrators are using standardized test scores to tell a compelling story as they advocate for and build the strength of their language programs.

Presenters: Karl Bowman & Jennifer Dobberfuhl Quinlan
Speakers
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 →
avatar for Karl H. Bowman

Karl H. Bowman

World Languages and Dual Language Immersion Specialist, Utah State Board of Education
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 →
Saturday January 25, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am MST
Willow
  60-minute presentation

9:00am MST

Unlocking Potential: 9 Ways We Use Proficiency Data to Innovate and Improve World Language Instruction (Exhibitor Session)
Saturday January 25, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am MST
Palo Verde A
Feedback Survey
The presenter will describe 9 ways their district uses the proficiency data from the Avant STAMP Assessment to enhance World Language instruction. The nine ways will be thoroughly explained with practical examples of how teachers and instructional leaders can work with this assessment to transform teaching and learning, assessment practices, enhance collaboration and vertical alignment, as well as promote college and career readiness. Additionally, participants will gain knowledge about how to better integrate assessment and instruction, use data to improve learning, and promote student ownership and goal setting.
Speakers
avatar for Maylén R. R. Sullivan - Avant Assessment

Maylén R. R. Sullivan - Avant Assessment

Teacher on Special Assignment / French and Spanish Teacher, Avant Assessment
I'm passionate about facilitating my students' growth towards proficiency and student travel abroad opportunities. A language lover and world traveler originally from Cuba, I love to talk to people from different backgrounds and perspectives. PhD in Leadership Studies with Coaching... Read More →
Saturday January 25, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am MST
Palo Verde A
  60-minute presentation

10:45am MST

Bruh, It’s Not the Same
Saturday January 25, 2025 10:45am - 11:45am MST
Yucca
Feedback Survey
If you struggle to see (or explain) the difference between the interpretive mode and comprehension, come explore the exciting world of the Interpretive Mode with us: how to maximize it, how it provides opportunities for Gen Z to be critical thinkers and consumers of information, plus examples and tools to take with you, of course. We will also discuss how it all holds up under AI. In this session we will discover how basic comprehension gets a major glow up with the interpretive mode; it just hits different, fam.
Speakers
avatar for Ashli Sambaluk

Ashli Sambaluk

World Language Coordinator, LISD
I especially love supporting new LOTE teachers in thriving in their roles as well as helping them to successfully pass the state LOTE exam!
Bruh, It's Not The Same SWCOLT '25 pdf
Saturday January 25, 2025 10:45am - 11:45am MST
Yucca
  60-minute presentation

10:45am MST

But How Do I Test This? Efficiently Assessing for Proficiency (Exhibitor Session)
Saturday January 25, 2025 10:45am - 11:45am MST
Ocotillo C
Feedback Survey
How can we assess efficiently when we teach for proficiency? We often struggle with how to assess students’ proficiency outcomes—without taking too much time to grade. Strategies such as project-based learning and integrated skills will be provided to help you teach and assess for proficiency even with the constraints that you may have, such as getting students ready for standardized tests. Lesson Magic by Teaching Solved will be demonstrated to help support you in this in Spanish, French, or English, but the strategies are also applicable more broadly.
Speakers
avatar for Hope Anderson - Founder & CEO - Teaching Solved LLC

Hope Anderson - Founder & CEO - Teaching Solved LLC

Founder & CEO, Teaching Solved LLC
Helping teachers help students learn languages. Come see our supplemental print and digital materials for Spanish and French classes, including a huge resource site and ready-made lessons for your classes, as well as teacher t-shirts and other swag! We want to make it easier for you... Read More →
Saturday January 25, 2025 10:45am - 11:45am MST
Ocotillo C
  60-minute presentation

10:45am MST

Do Your Students Only Care about the Grade? - Get Them to Jump out of the Gym and onto the Playing Field (Exhibitor Session)
Saturday January 25, 2025 10:45am - 11:45am MST
Ocotillo B
Feedback Survey
None of the tools for language acquisition or proficiency matter if the student doesn’t care and they’re only “in it” for the test or grade. Boomalang can be the first breakthrough for a student, allowing them to recognize the joy, challenge, and gateway to another world that a language can afford them.
Speakers
avatar for Chris Gerding - Boomalang

Chris Gerding - Boomalang

CEO, Boomalang
Boomalang is a live conversation platform that provides high school and undergraduate world language students real-life video chats with trained and engaging native speakers so they can gain confidence and comfort communicating in a new language (..and start GIVING A DAMN beyond the... Read More →
Saturday January 25, 2025 10:45am - 11:45am MST
Ocotillo B
  60-minute presentation

10:45am MST

Grading for Growth: Rethinking Assessment in Language Learning
Saturday January 25, 2025 10:45am - 11:45am MST
Palo Verde B
Feedback Survey
This presentation centers on redefining traditional grading practices to foster a more dynamic and learner-centric approach that empowers all learners. Growth comes from failure that is recognized and remedied, yet grades often promote perfectionism and a hesitancy to take risks. Thus, the very trait needed to become a lifelong language learner is quashed before students ever get out of the classroom.
The speaker will share research in the field and strategies with students from their respective institution. Deciding how to grade can make all the difference in promoting risk-taking, encouraging independent learning, and embracing creativity. Through the judicious use of self-assessment, individualized homework, diagnostic feedback, self-directed goals, and Integrated Performance Assessments (IPAs), students can move beyond a scarcity mindset and develop a culture of continuous improvement.
Speakers
avatar for Troy Cox

Troy Cox

Associate Professor, Brigham Young University
You can download my presentation from the following link:https://cycling-yogi-1.notion.site/UFLA-Integrating-Mindfulness-With-Proficiency-In-the-Language-Classroom-442b00aacb9048ce9abd9ef8ec7a40c0?pvs=4
Saturday January 25, 2025 10:45am - 11:45am MST
Palo Verde B
  60-minute presentation

10:45am MST

Increasing World Language Proficiency Across the Communicative Modes with Extempore
Saturday January 25, 2025 10:45am - 11:45am MST
Willow
Feedback Survey
Aurora Public Schools (APS) is transitioning from grammar-focused curriculum and teaching practices towards ones aligned with what second language acquisition research shows to be effective in helping students reach higher levels of proficiency. As a part of this effort, we have centered our professional earning on the Guiding Principles for Language Learning. We have made it a goal to increase the amount of time that students spend interacting with each other in target language via interpersonal tasks. APS was awarded a grant sponsored by World Languages 360 and Extempore. It provides students and teachers with access to the Extempore platform, which is designed to help teachers develop and assess students’ skills in all communicative domains and facilitates the design and implementation of interpersonal activities and that frequently are challenging to manage in the classroom. This presentation reviews the implementation to begin using one of the district’s largest high schools. The presenter will demonstrate the platform, its various features, as well as activities and assessments developed by teachers. He will share data regarding how Extempore is used, as well as student and teacher feedback on its effectiveness in increasing students’ abilities in interpersonal communication.
Speakers
avatar for James Yoder

James Yoder

Instructional Coordinator, K-12 World Language, Aurora Public Schools
Presentation Link pdf
Saturday January 25, 2025 10:45am - 11:45am MST
Willow
  60-minute presentation

1:30pm MST

Awarding and Motivating Students with AATSP (Exhibitor Session)
Saturday January 25, 2025 1:30pm - 2:30pm MST
Ocotillo C
Feedback Survey
Are you looking for a way to both award and motivate your students at the same time? Come learn about National Spanish Examinations, National Portuguese Examinations, and the National Spanish Challenge. This presentation will not only provide information about the exams but will also go over the numerous opportunities for scholarships and awards for elementary, middle, and high school students taking the exams, and for teachers giving them. It will also cover a comparison between the NSE, the largest and oldest national Spanish contest in the US, and the National Spanish Assessments, a newer and more flexible variant used specifically to measure progress, or as a placement test or benchmark in middle, high and, college/university levels.
Speakers
avatar for Claudia Kechkian - AATSP

Claudia Kechkian - AATSP

AATSP Exams Director, American Association of Teachers of Spanish & Portuguese
AATSP promotes the study and teaching of the Spanish & Portuguese languages and their corresponding Hispanic, Luso-Brazilian and other related literatures and cultures at all levels of education.  Founded in 1917, AATSP is the oldest, largest and most comprehensive language specific... Read More →
SWCOLT AATSP EXAMS INFORMATIVE SESSION pdf
Saturday January 25, 2025 1:30pm - 2:30pm MST
Ocotillo C
  60-minute presentation

1:30pm MST

Turn Up the Heat! Master the Hot Pepper Method!
Saturday January 25, 2025 1:30pm - 2:30pm MST
Yucca
Feedback Survey
Looking for an innovative and engaging way to build and assess learners’ proficiency levels? Come for a fiery session where participants will explore the “Hot Pepper Method” – a creative approach to measuring language skills using the heat levels of hot peppers as a proficiency metaphor. In this learn-by-doing session, participants will discover how to use hot peppers, from the mild bell pepper to the scorching Carolina Reaper, to represent different levels of language proficiency. Then they will dive into how this metaphorical framework can be applied to various assessment tasks, from beginner to advanced levels, preparing to ‘spice’ up instruction and feedback. Prepare for a session that’s equal parts spicy and informative, designed to elevate instruction and assessment strategies to a whole new level!

Presenters: Silvia Juhas & Brandee Mau
Speakers
avatar for Brandee Mau

Brandee Mau

Avant Assessment
Available in more than 50 languages, the Avant STAMP computer-adaptive language proficiency tests are used to qualify for State and Global Seals of Biliteracy, measure language growth, certify teachers and illustrate program quality. Avant STAMP, now including STAMP for ASL, are recommended... Read More →
SJ

Silvia Juhas

Tooele County School District
Saturday January 25, 2025 1:30pm - 2:30pm MST
Yucca
  60-minute presentation

4:00pm MST

Data-Driven Language Teaching
Saturday January 25, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm MST
Yucca
Feedback Survey
Learn how language teams in one Utah district are leveraging AAPPL, IPAs, formative assessments, student feedback and reflections to set meaningful learning outcomes for their students.
Speakers
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 →
avatar for Jody Lindsay

Jody Lindsay

Educational Services (Curriculum), Alpine School District
World Languages
Saturday January 25, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm MST
Yucca
  60-minute presentation

4:00pm MST

Technology Based Assessments in World Language Classrooms
Saturday January 25, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm MST
Palo Verde C
Feedback Survey
This presentation will provide the audience with information regarding various online applications that support world language teaching and assessment. The presentation will give examples specifically in the field of ASL and how applications can be used across all disciplines and languages. Attendees will receive an overview of programs such as quizizz, quizlet, kahoot, edpuzzle, and blooket. The presentation will showcase various usage of each application and will discuss the benefit of using them in formative and summative assessment settings. Attendees will be able to engage in a question-and-answer format with the presenter in order to support their everyday teaching practice.
Speakers
avatar for Natalie Cooney

Natalie Cooney

ASL Instructor, Ruben S. Ayala High School and Chaffey College
Saturday January 25, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm MST
Palo Verde C
  60-minute presentation
 
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