NYSAFLT Annual Conference 2024

Join me as I talk to you about my home country, Belgium! We'll talk about how the school system differs from the French one, we'll learn about all of the fun things that makes Belgium so awesome and learn some typical Belgian words, too!

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 the United States, approximately 3-4% of the population identifies as Deaf or Hard of Hearing, with a significant concentration in the Rochester Metropolitan area. The current shortage of certified ASL teachers poses a challenge to existing programs in New York State K-12 schools. This session will aim to explore the existing challenges with ASL teacher education and provide a platform for collaboration to identify solutions and to bridge the gaps. Participants will have the opportunity to engage in discussions to identify barriers and move towards improving ASL teacher education in order to pave the way for a more inclusive and supportive learning environment for Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals.

It can be a unique experience to teach language in a non-public school: from tiny class sizes to a lack of fellow department members, many language teachers find the experience to be an isolating one. This session will provide an opportunity to meet other teachers in similar situations, share concerns and successes, and establish a network for potential future collaboration.

Explore the enriching world of language acquisition through authentic conversation in our language-focused workshop, specially designed for Spanish teachers. This interactive session delves into effective strategies for incorporating real-world conversations into language teaching, highlighting the critical role of genuine dialogue in developing linguistic and cultural proficiency.

Participate in hands-on activities where you'll experience the power of conversation-based teaching. We'll discuss practical approaches for integrating these methods into your classrooms and enhancing student engagement and communication skills.

Join the 2023 Teacher Incentive Grant recipient as she discusses the action research project that brought language, literacy and play together in the K-12 setting. Learn about how Spanish 4 students strengthened the community through the joy of books, the love of learning and the pedagogy of play. Celebrate the power of language and laughter in your school setting. We have lots of ideas for students in levels Pre-K-14 at all levels of proficiency. While our project was in Spanish, the ideas are applicable to all languages and levels.

As language educators, our goal is to help students achieve fluency and proficiency. However, upper-level Italian courses often emphasize grammar drills and memorization, impeding communicative competence. Comprehensible input strategies provide a practical solution by offering engaging and meaningful language input that enhances language acquisition and fluency. Storytelling uses narratives to make new vocabulary and grammar memorable. Participants will receive adaptable templates to implement these strategies in various contexts, themes, and grammatical structures, creating a more communicative and engaging learning environment.