Boston offered world language teachers new friends, old friends, and fantastic learning opportunities.
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A chilly November weekend in 2022 saw the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center host an event that had not taken place in person since 2019: the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Convention. A café-style booth with high-top tables and a gelato bar caught the eyes of over 5,000 language teachers from all over the country—and it was a pleasure to create a space for you!
As educators, we're passionate about providing world language educators with the tools, training, and support to help your build your dream classroom. Here were some of our favorite moments we shared with you.
Honoring and Empowering Every Spanish Speaker with En voz alta
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There is a wide range of backgrounds, needs, and proficiency levels among students who enroll in Spanish for Spanish speakers classes. While empowering students' voices, teachers face challenges in modifying one curriculum to suit various needs.
Our exhibitor session on the first day of ACTFL, on November 18th, 2022, by Jennifer Kilmore, Paula Hidalgo, and Michael Griffin, gave attendees insight into the driving force behind En voz alta: Español para hispanohablantes. This blended Spanish solution for native and heritage Spanish speakers encourages meaningful connections, embraces unique heritages, and celebrates each student.
Exploring Linguistic Bias in the World Language Classroom
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Soon after the exhibitor session, we dove into a workshop led by Janet Boring. She discussed how teachers' linguistic biases often impact how they perceive and evaluate students in world language classrooms.
There are several subtle ways in which students can become discouraged while learning a world language. As educators, we must take the necessary actions to become more flexible regarding the linguistic preferences of students during the learning process.
Teachers attending the workshop participated in group exercises with colleagues, exchanged opinions, and traded notes between themselves about their classroom observations, making it a very productive sharing session.
Bite-Sized Learning
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Throughout Friday and Saturday, we also hosted short, fifteen-minute workshops within our booth, where attendees received an opportunity to learn while participating in a raffle for a $50 Amazon gift card.
Through these sessions, people were able to stroll by and take part in educational workshops in bite-size chunks. Educators were delighted by demos on how to:
Adjust the task, not the text, with a five-question worksheet, shown with French materials available in iCulture.
Integrate digital readers in the day-to-day classroom.
Create opportunities for native and heritage Spanish speakers’ overall academic progress.
We Love Teachers Un-Cone-Ditionally
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Teachers work hard to make sure students have the best education possible. We were pleased to express our appreciation for all you do with a gelato bar!
It was an opportunity for teachers and staff members from around the nation to have some sweet treats and chat with one another. There's no better way to relax after a long day at ACTFL than with delicious gelato!
See You Next Year!
Join us next fall in Chicago at ACTFL 2023 to make more history! Wishing you a wonderful holiday season.
Former Spanish teacher based in Columbia, MD. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish Language and Literature from la Universidad del Zulia and a Master's degree in Spanish Linguistics from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Her interests include SEL education in the world language classroom, theater, and how to make the world a less scary place.
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