NYSAFLT Annual Conference 2024

Embark on a transformative journey into AI with this interactive workshop. This session offers hands-on experiences with diverse AI tools to enhance your teaching strategies. Learn to integrate AI seamlessly into language lessons, create compelling activities, and leverage technology for enriching homework, all while adhering to proficiency-oriented teaching principles. We'll also explore ethical considerations and digital literacy in education. Ideal for teachers aiming to captivate language learners with innovative, proficiency-focused methods. Bringing your own computer is highly recommended for full participation. Join us to revolutionize your teaching approach with AI, staying true to ACTFL's vision of high-quality language education. The presentation will be in English, with examples in Spanish, Portuguese, and Japanese (and whichever the audience choose)!

This workshop takes a deep dive into how to design practical, everyday teaching that meaningfully enacts the revised NYS Learning Standards for World Languages at Checkpoint A. The presenters—two classroom teachers and a unit plan exemplar author—describe their journey, processes, and strategies for bringing a standards-based unit plan to life for novice learners. They will share the sequenced and scaffolded learning tasks they designed and implemented to boost learner confidence and performance. Participants will then design practical unit-based learning tasks that they can use in their own instructional practice.

How can you lead with culture? Let's explore how we can use comprehensible input strategies such as Clip Chat, Picture Talk, Traveling Dictation and more, combined with cultural topics for this hands-on workshop! This workshop will equip you to lead with authentic cultural content in a comprehensible way! We'll explore how to consider social justice topics and use authentic resources such as images, art, music, legends, geography, and film to design comprehensible input activities. Through these activities, you'll discover how to connect with the target culture while ensuring understanding for ALL learners. Dive deep – join us for a cultural adventure in language learning!

This presentation describes the ins-and-outs of how to begin to implement a classroom library or independent reading program in your classroom. We will review physical and digital libraries and get you ready for literary success! Topics include: how to arrange your shelves, how to get your routine up and running, where to source materials, activity ideas to boost engagement, and what to do to entice students who are less than enthusiastic about pleasure reading.

Join us for a transformative workshop focusing on fostering inclusivity in World Language (WL) classrooms. Learn dynamic strategies to engage all learners, including those with diverse needs. From interactive games to tailored instruction, music, movement techniques, and leveraging technology, discover innovative approaches that promote active participation and language acquisition for every student. This session equips WL teachers with practical tools to create welcoming and effective learning environments where all learners thrive.

One of the best ways to learn a language is traveling to a country where this language is spoken, fully immersing oneself in target language and culture. However, such educational trips are not a possibility for most of the classes. Not to worry - we can recreate authentic immersive language experiences with the help of role plays set up right in our classroom. This session will share some of successful role play scenarios that can be recreated in any language, at any educational setting. As an important bonus, these in-class immersions offer an excellent opportunity to incorporate the voices of diverse communities where target language is spoken, communities that are usually underrepresented in our curricula.

In this interactive session, participants are invited to pose questions, articulate challenges, and seek suggestions related to the implementation of the Revised NYS Learning Standards for World Languages. A panel of members of the Executive Committee of the World Language Standards Initiative will provide answers, advice, and direction to attendees on topics related to the standards implementation process including lesson, unit and curriculum planning and design; assessment options; professional development possibilities; and teacher support and advocacy.

All are invited to attend this open meeting of the NYSAFLT Public Advocacy Committee (PAC). Learn how the PAC is addressing some of the most critical issues in our profession: retention of our WL programs; parent involvement; and providing WL teachers with resources and support as they transition to the revised NY Learning Standards. Please join us to learn more about how you can help advocate for world language education K-postsecondary.

What digital tools can students utilize to better their Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational communication skills? Join us as we explore software, and apps within the Google Suite, that will enhance understanding, and allow for student voice and choice. Time will be spent on Interpretive options for YouTube/ closed-captioning, Presentational communication choices within Google Slides, Canva, and the Screencast app, and Interpersonal communication enhancers within Canva and MOTE. Please bring a device if you would like to try out any of the software/apps during our guided practice time.

Have you ever wondered how to get your work published in the NYSAFLT Journal? Do you have colleagues with valuable insights and experiences to share but who might not yet see themselves as potential authors? This session, led by the current journal co-editors, will demystify the publication process and outline the supportive steps available to help you publish your first article in the NYSAFLT Journal. We'll provide a detailed overview of the submission guidelines, the review process, and the resources available to assist you from initial idea to published article. Whether you're an aspiring author or simply curious about the process, bring your questions and invite your colleagues to join us for this informative and encouraging session!

Join us for a dynamic roundtable discussion and breakout sessions on how NYSAFLT can take concrete steps to actively seek out and elevate a greater and diverse representation of presenters in all areas of our professional learning. This session will focus on strategies for increasing diversity in our conferences, virtual workshops, and committee collaborations. Participants will have the opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue, share experiences, and brainstorm actionable solutions for fostering a more inclusive and representative professional community.We will explore best practices for identifying and reaching out to potential presenters of marginalized groups, building partnerships with organizations and communities to broaden our network, ensuring that our selection processes are inclusive and equitable, and creating supportive environments for presenters of marginalized groups to share their expertise and perspectives.Additionally, we invite you to bring your best DEI-themed bling to share at our DEI exhibitor table! From pins and stickers to educational materials and beyond, let's celebrate our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in language education. Don’t miss this chance to contribute to the ongoing dialogue and help shape the future of NYSAFLT’s professional learning landscape.

Motivate your students to use the target language for meaningful purposes! Find out how Level Up Village can connect your classroom with a partner class abroad for virtual exchanges that are tiered by proficiency and topic. Your students will be excited to practice the target language with native speaker peers and find out about life in another country. (This is great preparation for language proficiency assessments that can be used to attain the Seal of Biliteracy!) You have the power to awaken students’ curiosity, build cross-cultural appreciation, and expand their awareness as global citizens.

In this session, we explore strategies for enhancing Target Language (TL) Comprehensibility, extending beyond the basics to encompass all classroom interactions. By the session's end, participants will gain practical insights into creating a vibrant language learning environment characterized by comprehensible input, supportive contexts, and meaningful interactions.

You are committed to speaking as much target language as possible, but what do you talk about and how do you make sure your students understand what is being said? In this session, participants will explore ideas and strategies for presenting vocabulary in context using comprehensible input, scaffolding, and student language supports, and tips for checking student comprehension.

Join us for a session focused on the vital intersection of authentic resources and task differentiation, where we'll delve into the power of cultural resources in language learning. Explore practical strategies for constructing bridges that foster cultural connections for students, by diversifying how students engage with meaningful and relevant authentic materials like videos, news articles, and songs. These bridges serve as conduits, facilitating meaningful connections between students and new languages and cultures. Instead of altering content, we'll focus on adjusting tasks to suit diverse learning styles and needs. Don't miss out on this opportunity to enhance language learning experiences together!

The presenter will explain what the role playing game Dungeons and Dragons is and how it is played. He will discuss how this has been beneficial for his students in language acquisition and language production. He will address character creation and provide participants with character sheets in either German, French, Italian or Spanish. Tips for starting and important lessons learned will also be shared. Each guest at this presentation will receive a small gift to get them started on their own World Language DnD game!"

This session reports on one professor’s experience taking beginning and intermediate Spanish classes at the college-level. Sitting among the students provided a unique perspective to reflect on student learning, language acquisition, and language instruction. Instead of blaming students for not studying, we discuss the issues found among most freshmen and ways to help them. Delving into Second Language Acquisition theories, we examine the advantages and limitations of explicit grammar instruction. Finally, we offer concrete suggestions for language teachers at all levels to incorporate four strands (Nation, 2012) in their classroom: comprehensible input, comprehensible output, deliberate language study, and fluency development.

All too often, attempts to share a success or to influence other teachers—whether about a specific strategy or a proficiency-oriented approach to teaching and learning languages—fall flat or, worse, actually discourage or alienate. Geared especially toward teachers who train or mentor others, who share practices in person or online, or whose colleagues have disparate philosophies, this session will help you build trust, communicate clearly, and make an ongoing positive impact. We will cover general guidelines for successful communication as well as credible and encouraging ways to share learners’ successes, research-informed principles, and proficiency-promoting practices.

At its core, manipulatives are physical cards that show words, letters, or images that will be used to facilitate language acquisition and production that are often, but not always, accompanied by an authentic video or reading passage. This session will show the usefulness of manipulatives as an activity that can help language acquisition through critical thinking skills, repeat exposure,
physical movement, and fun. In the workshop, different types of manipulatives will be shown such ask Vocabulary Based, Sentence Makers, and Pictographs. Participants will learn how manipulatives can be used for all levels of language learners and by all types of language teachers in the three modes and to compare and contrast cultures and acquire language.