SWCOLT 2025

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!

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.

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.

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.

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

Discover strategies to maximize teacher-intern partnerships through clear expectations, constructive feedback, open-mindedness, and defined classroom roles. Enhance collaboration and effectiveness in World Language Education by ensuring teachers and interns thrive in a supportive and productive learning environment. Participants will leave with practical ideas for productive collaboration from a recent mentor-intern partnership!

Presenters: Madison Rubino & Taylor Neihoff