SWCOLT 2023 Pre-Conference Workshops

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WORKSHOP 1: A Window to Emotions through Movies, Music, and Dramatization in the L2 Classroom

Day & Time:  Thursday, February 23 – Half Day (morning) – 9 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Presenter:  Claudia Kechkian

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Workshop Description:  The purpose of this workshop is to raise awareness on the importance of emotions and perceptions in educational processes, and to facilitate the creation of a language-learning motivating atmosphere where emotions are experienced through music, movies, and dramatization in the L2 classroom. Participants will take part in hands-on activities, and will interact with ready-to-use templates designed for the students, as well as a template for teachers to self-reflect on linguistic and cultural objectives, strategies, and values before they do similar activities in class. Examples of activities with selected songs, movies and plays will be shared and participants will have a chance to apply the newly acquired strategies to design activities for their own classes, in pairs or small groups by target language affinity, based on specific guidelines with practical steps. Each group will share their work.

Goals/Outcomes: After the workshop teachers will be able to: 1. Help students identify and label emotions inspired by the “Mood-meter” (Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, 2016) 2. Teachers will be able to integrate music, movies, and dramatization into their curricula in an effective and practical way with the templates they will receive during the workshop. 3. Teachers will be able to design meaningful lessons by using a self-reflection template to plan on specific strategies, values, and linguistic goals for each activity.

Presenter Bio:  Claudia A. Kechkian holds a Master of Arts in the Teaching of the Spanish language and Hispanic cultures from the University

of Alcalá in Spain, and a Bachelor of Arts in English from the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina in Buenos Aires. She has been teaching

Spanish and English to all age students for over 30 years, is a published author in Medical Spanish, and was awarded the Xperitas Language

Matters Award by the AATSP in 2016. Claudia is currently serving as president and communications coordinator of the AATSP Texas-Brazos

chapter, and she is a NSE Leadership Council team member. She has a solid background as department leader and a vast experience in

curriculum design. As a WL Educational Consultant and Instructional Coach, Claudia designs and provides professional development workshops

for WL educators. She enjoys walking, traveling, being in nature, and spending time with family and friends.

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WORKSHOP 2: Moving from the WHAT to the HOW: Integrating Proficiency in a Language Classroom

Day & Time:  Thursday, February 23 – Half Day (afternoon) – 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Presenter: Troy Cox

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Workshop Description:  Have you attended a familiarization workshop on ACTFL proficiency levels and then wondered, what next? In this workshop, we will explore the use of reverse engineering to design lessons that will strengthen the student’s floor level and push them to failure and growth opportunities at their ceiling level. We will explore (1) backward design, (2) self-assessment, (3) agentive learning with a growth mindset, (4) formative assessment and (5) integrating skills and modes through the lens of language proficiency.

Presenter Bio:  

Troy L. Cox, PhD, is a leading expert in the field of language learning and measurement through the lens of proficiency. He received his PhD in

Instructional Psychology and Technology from Brigham Young University. He became ACTFL OPI tester in 2006 and has since become a

facilitator and consultant. Throughout his career, he has conducted extensive research on the assessment of second language teaching, learning

and acquisition, language proficiency, self-assessment, testing and objective measurement. He has also been involved in educational consulting

and teacher development for various educational organizations. Dr. Cox has published numerous articles and book chapters on the topic of

language assessment and has presented his work at international conferences. Dr. Cox's work has had a significant impact on the field of

language assessment and has helped to improve the way in which second language proficiency is measured.

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WORKSHOP 3: Integrating Indigenous Perspectives on Global Issues into the Language Curriculum

Day & Time:  Thursday, February 23 – Half Day (afternoon) - 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Presenter:  Maria Datel, ACTFL

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Workshop Description: 

In this interactive, hands-on workshop, participants will discuss how to integrate Indigenous perspectives into the language curriculum. The colonial genocide was also an epistemicide, yet there are still 50 million Indigenous peoples in Latin America whose knowledge production presents valuable solutions to contemporary issues including climate change, food sovereignty, medical hegemony, and gender equity. The attendees will explore these voices, collaborating to produce activities that fit their particular curricular needs and push students to think beyond the colonial framework. They will leave the session with applicable, ready-to-use tools and resources. Languages: English, primarily focusing on Spanish examples, but all language backgrounds welcome.

Presenter Bio:

María Datel is a master lecturer at Boston University, where she serves as the overall coordinator for the Spanish Language Program, is a fellow in the Designing Anti Racism Curricula Fellowship Program, and co-organizes the Second-Language Learning and Disabilities Conference. She teaches courses in Spanish language, Spanish for heritage learners, and second language pedagogy. With research interests centered around anti colonial pedagogies, she has devoted the past few years to creating a more inclusive and equitable Spanish-language classroom that is attentive to marginalized cultures, particularly those of Latin America. María has presented nationally and internationally on decolonization, antiracist teaching, and research-based pedagogical practices, and she is honored to have received several awards for her work.

 

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WORKSHOP 4: K-12 Dual Language Immersion (DLI) Classroom Visits: Elementary, Middle School, High School

Day & Time:  Thursday, February 23 – Full Day  – Start TBA; approximate meeting time to board the bus: 7:30 a.m. / End time 4 p.m.

Leaders: Carolyn Schubach (Utah Dual Language Immersion Administrators Director), Lois Simpson (Utah Dual Language Immersion English Program Director), Jill Landes-Lee (Utah Bridge Program Director), and State DLI Team directors

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Workshop Description: 

This full day workshop session provides school visits to support greater understanding of the K-12 Utah Dual Language Immersion (DLI) Program and the K-16 course articulation in language study. Utah DLI is helping students prepare for college and careers via academic/content knowledge, language proficiency targets, and Concurrent Enrollment upper division college course credit. Registrants will be asked to prioritize the language they wish to observe (Chinese, French, or Spanish), and tour sites will be chosen based on participant preferences. (Register early to submit your language preference!)

 

On this workshop, you will travel via charter bus to visit one elementary, one middle school and one high school site, and end the day back at the Marriott for a debriefing and Q&A session with state program leaders. Participants receive a packet of information on all levels of the program (e.g. instructional delivery model, state assurances for each of the levels, instructional priorities, and K-12 proficiency targets). Lunch and all transportation will be included.

Utah DLI Model:

• Elementary School – 50/50 instructional model (half the day in each language learning state core content), with one Target Language teacher and one English teacher

• Middle School – 2 classes in the partner language

• High School – Utah Bridge Program, with access for both World Language/AP and DLI pathway language students, offering upper division, 3000 level, university courses in high school

• University:  The K-12 program articulates to university degrees; all of Utah’s public 4-year universities accept Bridge Program course credit toward their minor/major in the language

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