2024-2025 Virtual Workshops

Proposed Changes to NYS Graduation Requirements: How To Make World Languages a Priority

Presenters: Marie Campanaro & Barb Patterson

NYSED is in the process of rethinking graduation requirements. An overview of NYSED’s Blue Ribbon Commission’s (BRC) presentation to the Board of Regents on the proposed revisions will be shared. The BRC’s goals, their recommended four transformations and the implementation timeline will be reviewed. The NYS Learning Standards for World Languages (WL) directly relate to each of the transformations. All WL stakeholders must take action in order to ensure that WL become an integral part of future graduation requirements and teacher preparatory programs. Responses to the ThoughtExchange topics and a sample letter to Board of Regent members will be provided.

Marie Campanaro graduated magna cum laude with a BA in Secondary Spanish and English Educ from SUNY Brockport, and an MA in Elem Educ with a concentration in Bilingual Multicultural Educ. Now retired, she taught ELA and Spanish for 38 years. She has National Board Certification in WLOE. She was awarded the Lifetime Enrichment Grant: Nurturing Creativity in the Classroom; NYSAFLT Embassy of Spain Scholarship to Salamanca, NYSAFLT’s President Award, the Ferdinand DiBartolo Distinguished Leadership Award, NYSAFLT Anthony J. Papalia Award and JNCL-NCLIS Power of Advocacy Award. A past president of NYSAFLT, she remains involved as Public Advocacy Co-chair. 

Barbara Patterson holds a B.S. in Secondary Education Spanish, M.A. in Spanish and a C.A.S. degree. Barbara has taught Spanish for 31 years with experience in suburban, city and rural school districts. She is the committee chair of the NYSUT’s World Language Subject Area Committee and is the Co-chair of the NYSAFLT’s Public Advocacy Committee. As a Project Support Specialist at SUNY Oswego, Barbara works in conjunction with OBEWL at NYSED. Barbara served as NYSAFLT’s Assistant Director and LECNY’s Webmaster, Past President, President and Vice-President. She is the recipient of NYSAFLT’s President Award and received the Anthony J. Papalia Award with her Advocacy co-chair Marie Campanaro.

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Out of the Box Writing Activities that Motivate

Presenter: Diego Ojeda

In this Virtual Workshop, we’ll showcase innovative writing activities that spark student creativity and motivation. Learn unique techniques that go beyond standard writing exercises, making writing fun and impactful. You’ll gain practical ideas to encourage more enthusiastic and productive writers in your classroom. Transform writing practice into something your students will look forward to!

Diego Ojeda is a passionate Spanish teacher, a comprehensible poetry author, a blogger and an accomplished world language teacher trainer and presenter. He has been recognized and awarded for his outstanding teaching style that he brings to the class and enjoys sharing with his colleagues. Diego is a native of Bogotá, Colombia, and has many years of experience teaching in his native country as well as in the United States.

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Student Travel with Purpose

Presenter: Mandy Black

A panel of teachers that have experience traveling abroad with students will share their experiences. They will discuss anything from the logistics needed to make their travel programs happen to the learning experiences that they have curated to get the most out of student travel. Time will be given at the end for participants to share their experiences and to ask questions of the panel.

Mandy Black has been teaching students Spanish and English as a New Language since 1998. She has taught at all grade levels and in multiple districts in New York and North Carolina. Mandy has led trips to Costa Rica and Mexico since the early 2000s. She has worked with science teachers in her district to create a year-long class to prepare students for their trips. As a part of the class, students earn college credit and complete Project Based Learning experiences that they share with the community upon their return from travel.

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Higher Education Meets the Revised NYS Standards

Presenter: Dr. Erin Kearney

Achieving successful and meaningful learning outcomes for world language learners requires seamless collaboration among educators across all grade levels and educational stages. However, coordinating expertise, information, and insights can often be challenging. In this panel session facilitated by Dr. Kearney, educators from K-20 contexts will share their perspectives on implementing the revised NYS World Language Learning Standards. The discussion will explore emerging needs within the field and offer strategies for fostering greater collaboration to enhance language education outcomes.

Dr. Erin Kearney is Professor and Chair of the Department of Learning and Instruction at the University at Buffalo. Drawing from her experiences teaching French for 8 years and in teacher education for 15 years, Erin is focused on supporting learners, teachers, teacher educators and researchers to enhance language learning and intercultural experiences in world language classrooms and in all multilingual classrooms and school spaces.

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Standards With Authenticity & Zest

Presenter: Swaz Piron

The shift to revised standards presents an opportunity to update curricula, though it may feel intimidating. In this workshop, the presenter will provide insights to help teachers navigate this transition, offering practical examples of strategies and activities that can be immediately applied in the classroom. The tasks presented will be suitable for any language and proficiency level, focusing on all three modes of communication. There will be a strong emphasis on using the target language and incorporating authentic resources.

Françoise “Swaz” Piron was born in Geneva, Switzerland, to a French mother and a Belgian father. She retired in 2021 after 35 years of teaching French. She served as the 2024 President of NYSAFLT and spent over 20 years contributing to the NYSED French state exams. Swaz has presented numerous workshops at local, state, and national levels. Honored as a “Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques” by the French government, she remains active in the field as a consultant for assessments, curriculum development, standards integration, and as an editor and translator of classroom readers.

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Maximizing Your Authentic Resources

Presenter: Maris Hawkins

We as teachers know that we need to use authentic resources, but unlike teacher created materials, they do not come with lesson plans attached! It can also be overwhelming finding a resource that works for your class. In this session, we will discuss what to look for in authentic resources and then we will discuss two strong lesson plans: one for an interpretive reading and one for an interpretive listening. We will also discuss how to level these lessons up or down, so you can use one resource in many levels.

Maris Hawkins holds a Masters in Teaching and a BA in Spanish and Art History from the University of Virginia. She presents frequently on proficiency based instruction and has participated in numerous podcasts including We Teach Languages. Her co-authored book, Common Ground: Second Language Acquisition Theory goes to the classroom, aims to help educators visualize how to put principles into action. She has taught all grade levels and currently teaches elementary and middle school Spanish at Capitol Hill Day School in Washington, DC.

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One-Way Dual Language Immersion: Nuts and Bolts for Implementation or Expansion

Presenter: Francesco Fratto & Katherine Kirschner

Join our presenters to learn how they articulated the Herricks Public Schools’ dual immersion one-way program; the steps they took to implement the program and ways to anticipate the many bumps in the road. Explore the goals of the program, how they are measured, and entry requirements.  Learn the logistics: finding qualified teachers, retaining students, balancing L1 and L2 literacy development, and ensuring content knowledge. Advocacy is key, but how do you do it? 

Francesco L. Fratto was a Spanish teacher with over thirteen years of teaching experience. He holds degrees from SUNY New Paltz, Boston College, and Adelphi University. He currently serves as the K-12 Director of World Languages, Spanish Dual Language Immersion (DLI), and English as a New Language for the Herricks Public Schools, New Hyde Park, NY. Mr. Fratto has overseen the expansion of the DLI program from the elementary level to the secondary. The immersion program is currently the only fully articulated K-12 DLI program in a NYS public school. Over the years, Mr. Fratto has been very active in the profession. He served ACTFL, NECTFL, NYSAFLT and NYSAWLA in various capacities. 

Katherine Kirschner has been teaching Spanish at the Herricks School District on Long Island for over 18 years. She has been teaching one-way Spanish dual language immersion to 7th, 8th, and 9th graders since 2017. Katherine led the curriculum writing and articulation for transitioning the program’s pioneer cohort to the secondary level. She has presented at the 8th International Conference on Immersion and Dual Language Immersion in Salt Lake City, UT and at the La Cosecha Conference based in Santa Fe, NM. Katherine deeply values high-quality professional development and opportunities to exchange ideas with other DLI teachers and experts.

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Leveraging Generative AI for Interpersonal Communication and Competency

Presenter: Dr. Kevin Gaugler

This workshop explores how Generative AI can support interpersonal communication and intercultural competency in the world language classroom. Participants will learn how AI tools can stimulate conversation, provide feedback, and create culturally relevant activities to enhance language learners’ critical thinking and communicative skills. Through demos and practical activities, educators will consider strategies to integrate AI into classroom instruction.

Dr. Kevin Gaugler is a Professor of Spanish and Assistant Dean of the School of Liberal Arts at Marist University in Poughkeepsie, NY. He is a former recipient of the ACTFL Award for Excellence in Teaching with Technology. He is the author of the technology chapter in the latest edition of the “Teacher’s Handbook: Contextualized Language Instruction”. Dr. Gaugler currently he serves as co-chair of the MLA’s task force on world languages and AI and co-chair of Marist College’s steering committee on AI.

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2023-2024 Virtual Workshops

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Making AI Work for Language Teachers

Presenter: Maureen Lamb – Ethel Walker School, Simsbury, CT

This webinar will address how teachers and students can harness the power and avoid the pitfalls of AI in the classroom. Through demonstrating how to use a wide variety of Generative AI tools, participants will learn how to use AI to generate prompts, rubrics, diagrams, differentiated texts, image generation, study tools, assessment generators, and more. Participants will come away with a wide variety of activities and AI tools that they can use right away in their classes.

Maureen Lamb is the Dean of Faculty, Dean of Academic Technology and Innovative Pedagogy, and Latin Instructor at the Ethel Walker School in Simsbury, CT. She is committed to creating an inclusive and engaging classroom environment that helps all students reach their learning potential. She was most recently recognized for her work with the ACTFL/IALLT Teaching with Technology K-12 award (2022-2023) and the SCS/ACL K-12 Classics Teaching Award (2022-2023). She was also the Connecticut Language Teacher of the Year (2016-2017), a Fulbright teacher (2009), and the Classical Association of New England Weinecke Award winner, among other things.

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Creative Presentational Speaking Assessments that Lead to Refreshing Results

Presenter: Bertha Delgadillo – Woodville Tompkins Technical & Career High School, Savannah, GA

Looking for creative ways to assess & find out how much language your students have acquired?  Join us as we examine a variety of ideas and tweaks to reengage your learners in presentational speaking assessments without losing your mind.

Bertha Delgadillo, NBCT is a high school Spanish teacher in Savannah, GA. Originally from Tampico, Tamaulipas, México, she enjoys empowering teachers to continue to stay connected to their passion for world language teaching through sharing practical engagement & student agency strategies all while placing students at the center of the learning experience. In 2023, Bertha was recognized as Georgia’s Teacher of the Year.

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Surviving Your 1st or 31st Year as a World Language Teacher

Presenter: Will Anderson – Massapequa School District, Massapequa, NY

Our 1st or 31st year as a language teacher can be stressful! Teacher education programs simply cannot cover all the things that we need to be prepared for. 20-30 years in the classroom can wear us out. Let’s discuss some tips and strategies to help manage your To-Do list and find success as a language educator.

Will Anderson has a B.A. in Spanish and Political Science (Syracuse University) and an M.S. Ed. in Foreign Language Education (Syracuse University). He is currently the Director of World Language Education at Hofstra University and the K-12 Curriculum Associate for World Languages and English as a New Language in the Massapequa School District. Will has served as President of NYSAFLT (2014), on the NECTFL Board of Directors (2015-2019), and on the ACTFL Board of Directors (2016-2018).

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Subversive Social Justice in the Language Classroom

Presenter: Julia Koch – Bernards Township Public Schools, Basking Ridge, NY

The term “Social Justice” either makes people gather ‘round or run for the hills. Whether we’re excited about it, intimidated by it, or dreading another change we need to make, we’re probably ignoring the incredibly simple ways that we can (and already do) include it in our activities and materials. Participants will leave with a Diversity and Inclusion Checklist that will allow them to open the world to their students without giving themselves a headache!

Julia Koch is a French teacher working in a Blue Ribbon high school in northern New Jersey. She was a 2022 NECTFL MEAD Fellow and received the “Best of New Jersey” award from FLENJ in 2019. While teaching at Montville Township High School in Montville, NJ, Julia was honored by the American Association of Teachers of French with an Exemplary French Program Award. Her primary focus is on practices that allow teachers to stretch their students’ interactive linguistic skills and their intercultural awareness. Julia blogs about teaching and learning at La Prof Caféinée!

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Indigenous Peoples in the Spanish Language Classroom: Keeping it Current and Authentic

Presenter: Abi Cleary – Lansing High School, Lansing, NY

Indigenous peoples in the Spanish language curriculum are too often limited to creation myths, historical roles, and cultural “traditions” involving music and dance. As such they become relics of the historical and cultural past instead of recognizing the current realities, roles, and influences of indigenous peoples throughout the Americas today. Indigenous peoples are part of the “pop Latino” music scene. Their presence is key to environmental and social movements. This workshop highlights the many ways indigenous peoples can be included at all levels and topics – from relationships and bullying to clothing and the environment.

Abi Cleary has been teaching Spanish for over 30 years in public and independent schools around the United States. Keeping what she teaches inclusive, current, authentic, and engaging is her passion. This helps her stay relevant, inspired, excited, and proud to be a World Language teacher.

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The Input is Compelling, But What About the Output?

Presenter: Joshua Cabral – Brookwood School; World Language Classroom Podcast, Manchester, MA

It is essential that language be comprehensible so that students can make form-meaning connections, however, it also has to be of interest and compelling to learners. This is what motivates them to engage and make meaning. But, what about how students use the language they are acquiring? That also needs to be compelling to students. We will look at how to make input compelling along with output activities that are of particular interest to learners as well.

Joshua Cabral has been teaching French and Spanish at the elementary, middle and high school levels for 27 years. He regularly presents workshops on language proficiency and cultural competence at state, regional, and national conferences. Joshua has done extensive graduate work in Applied Linguistics and second language acquisition and consults with schools and districts throughout the USA working toward building and improving proficiency-based programs. Joshua is passionate about access to education and also works closely with schools in Haiti and Nicaragua where he travels to work with teachers and students. He is also the host of the World Language Classroom Podcast.

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Using ChatGPT for Efficient Language Resource Creation

Presenter: Joe Dale – Freelance, Isle of Wight, UK

Join our 60-minute webinar looking at the use of ChatGPT in the WL classroom presented by Joe Dale, and delve into the art of efficient language resource creation. Explore the multifaceted utility of ChatGPT in crafting dynamic lesson plans, generating captivating reading materials, and designing interactive activities. Discover how ChatGPT can elevate speaking practice conversations, streamline assessment with rubrics, and enhance feedback on student work. Witness real student examples and ChatGPT-enhanced feedback. Elevate your language teaching strategies and harness the power of AI. Stick around for a Q&A session to address all your queries!

Joe Dale is an independent languages consultant from the UK who works with a range of organizations such as The Association for Language Learning, The British Council, the BBC, Skype, Microsoft, and The Guardian. He was a host of the TES MFL forum for 6 years, a former SSAT Languages Lead Practitioner, a regular conference speaker, and a recognized expert on technology and language learning. He has spoken at conferences and run training courses in Europe, North America, South America, the Middle East, the Far East, and Australasia. He was described in a Guardian article as an ‘MFL guru’ and ‘the man behind the #mfltwitterati’’. Joe’s FB group ‘Language Teaching with AI’ already has over 1700 members!

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