Workshops and Presenters
Detailed Schedule
Monday, July 28, 2025
9:30 a.m. -10:30 a.m.
1. Recharging your Educator Battery
Presenter(s): Will Anderson, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY
Some days in the K-12 classroom can be challenging. We have all had days where the lesson doesn’t click, students don’t care, or we simply forgot our coffee that morning. The long school years can start to stack up, and we may find ourselves questioning if we still want to teach. Join us to chat about strategies to get inspired, to be mindful, and to find balance. This is a safe space for educators of all ages and experience levels….
11:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m. (TWO OPTIONS- CHOOSE ONE)
2. Surviving FLES
Presenter(s): Rebecca Peters, Port Chester Middle School, Rye Brook, NY
Surviving a FLES (Foreign Language in Elementary Schools/Foreign Language Early Start) program when you’re used to teaching older students requires flexibility, creativity, and an understanding of child development. Aligning instruction with New York State World Language Standards seen at Checkpoint A, I’ll share my survival skills and tactics to focus on communication and cultural competencies through interactive activities like songs, play-based and and movement-based learning ensuring students develop a curiosity to further their language studies in a fun but meaningful way.
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3. Activities: Phone-free Fun!
Presenter(s): Dr. Denise Mahns, Fayetteville-Manlius High School, Manlius, NY
Do you host a language club? Are you looking for “fun day” activities for your classes? This presentation will offer several models for low-prep activities and culture-focused participatory activities accessible to students of all levels. Learn to plan activities based on the “Story Hour Principle” of a theme, a snack, and a craft. Let’s exchange ideas for engaging, enjoyable, and enriching activities that get students off their phones and interacting with others.
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. (TWO OPTIONS- CHOOSE ONE)
4. Purposeful PLAY in the Early Language Classroom
Presenter(s): Glenda De Hoyos, The Langley School, McLean, VA
What is PLAY? What are the different kinds and stages of PLAY? How can PLAY help promote student comprehension, increase output, and foster a positive learning scenario for our youngest language learners? The goal of this session is to explore the importance of implementing PLAY with concrete ideas and specific examples that will promote language production in the classroom the very next day. Creating playful environments that are age-appropriate and planned purposefully to promote our classes’ language goals is an essential component of joyful experiences for our youngest learners. Discovering the power of PLAY in the early language classroom can also help with the development of essential social-emotional skills.
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5. Level Up Intermediate Language
Presenter(s): Carrie Toth, Salem Community High School, Salem, IL
Do you ask yourself: “How can we use our classroom practice to help our students reach higher levels of proficiency in a shorter amount of time”? Data shows that the national average for language speakers after four years of language study is on the border of novice high and intermediate low. In this session, participants will learn high impact strategies for leveling up student language. From input to output, participants will take a deep dive into what it means to move from novice to intermediate.
2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
6. Engaging Uses of Generative AI
Presenter(s): Noemí Rodríguez-Grimshaw, Pascack Valley Regional HS District, Ramsey, NJ
Generative AI can be used in so many different ways in schools to improve teaching, learning, creativity, productivity, support, and more for educators and students. Discover how AI-powered tools can revolutionize content creation, save valuable time, and enhance effectiveness in the classroom. Join to explore the many uses for generative AI including support for reading, writing, tutoring, conversations, feedback, and much more! Let’s unlock the potential of Generative AI to save time and positively impact students’ language learning journeys.
3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
7. Opening reception- LIVE ONLY (Not for CTLE)
Presenter(s): Alexis Thornton, Putnam Valley High School, Putnam Valley, NY
Come join us as we reflect on our first day of the summer institute and network with colleagues!
Tuesday, July 29, 2025
9:30 a.m. -10:30 a.m.
8. What’s Your #Authres Personality?
Presenter(s): Bill Heller, SUNY Geneseo, Geneseo, NY
Dr. Lori Langer de Ramirez, The Dalton School, New York, NY
Dr. Joanne O’Toole, SUNY Oswego, Oswego, NY
Have you ever wondered about the ease with which some colleagues seem to be able to find authentic resources? We suggest that this is related to their #Authres Personality. Take our self-assessment to find out your #Authres Personality and gain insights into the strategies of those who are most successful in locating, capturing, and curating authentic resources. Using authentic resources, you will then consider how to design learning sequences within and across modes of communication to enhance your thematic instruction. We will also offer hints for how AI can support the steps you take from identifying to integrating authentic resources for standards-based learning.
11:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m. (TWO OPTIONS- CHOOSE ONE)
9. Using short films to achieve ACTFL World-Readiness Standards
Presenter(s): Mónica Rodríguez Bonces, Rock Hill Schools, Rock Hill Schools, SC
Short films can help language teachers achieve ACTFL World-Readiness Standards. During the session, teachers will explore how pre-, during, and after-watching communicative tasks at interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational levels target communication, culture, connections, comparisons, and communities when using short films. Teachers will create and receive lesson plan samples, teaching resources including websites and worksheets, and a list of interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational tasks to aid in implementing short films in the classroom. Teachers will identify the benefits of using short films in the World Languages classroom by truly engaging students and having them communicate effectively using this authentic material. Finally, teachers will describe some assessment tools to be implemented at different proficiency levels and ages which means that the same short film may be adapted for any learning stage.
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10. Beyond These Walls: Communication Exchanges Build Global Engagement
Presenter(s): Rebecca Blouwolff, Wellesley MS, Wellesley, MA
Not every student will go abroad, but any language learner can benefit from interacting with peers in the target culture. Expand your students’ audience when you establish a communication exchange that is safe, manageable, and focused on target language use, interculturality, global engagement, and ACTFL’s Communities standard. This session seeks to demystify the Communities strand with a step-by-step guide for establishing a communication exchange, for example, via a free website such as epals.com. Receive a quick-start guide for how to: locate collaborating teachers in the target culture(s), set up realistic expectations, and establish guidelines for safe communication. Explore strategies to promote intercultural reflection after each contact, and engage learners in relevant tasks that develop cultural competence.
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. (TWO OPTIONS- CHOOSE ONE)
11. Hook them early!
Presenter(s): Marissa Coulehan, Harrison Central School District, Harrison, NY
Wendy Torres, Harrison Central School District, Harrison, NY
This session will talk about capturing the natural curiosity and flexibility of younger language learners and harnessing that to build strong world language programs in elementary schools. The presenters will share various strategies and activities/games used with checkpoint A learners that they ask for again and again! Some topics discussed will be teaching with cognates, utilizing a predictable routine with students, and gamifying instruction. The audience for this session can be teachers of beginning language classes at any level!
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12. Grammar In Context: Methods for Introducing New Structures
Presenter(s): Zach Bagan, Hingham Public Schools, Hingham, MA
Still having trouble getting away from explicit grammar instruction and introducing grammar in context? This presentation focuses on two distinct methods of getting students to acquire new grammatical structures that you want to introduce: Dictogloss and Concept Attainment. Learn how to apply these methods and go through sample lessons that follow a step-by-step process of how to implement them, preparing educators to be able to use those methods in the classroom the very next day.
2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
13. It Is All in the Prompt: Leveraging AI to Create Culturally Relevant World Language Materials
Presenter(s): Katina Price, Sewanhaka C.H.S.D. & LILT, Elmont Memorial High School & LILT
Discover the power of well-crafted prompts to unlock the full potential of AI tools like ChatGPT and Raina from Magic School. In this interactive workshop, participants will explore how AI can be a transformative resource for designing engaging, culturally authentic materials tailored to world language classrooms. Learn how to create prompts that inspire AI to generate dynamic activities, writing exercises, vocabulary games, and cultural explorations aligned with proficiency goals.
Leave with practical strategies to seamlessly integrate AI into your teaching while fostering students’ curiosity and global understanding. This session is perfect for educators looking to enhance creativity, save planning time, and elevate their curriculum with cutting-edge technology.
3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
14. End of Day Debrief/ Networking- LIVE ONLY (Not for CTLE)
Presenter(s): Alexis Thornton, Putnam Valley High School, Putnam Valley, NY
Sponsor: KLETT
Need a chance to unwind and process everything you have learned? Join us this afternoon to discuss the first two days of learning, share ideas, and network with colleagues! Thank you to our sponsor KLETT!
Wednesday, July 30, 2025
9:30 a.m. -10:30 a.m.
15. Low Prep, High Engagement in the WL Classroom
Presenter(s): Sara Hall, Swift Middle School, Watertown, CT
Jamie Roxas, Torrington High School, Torrington, CT
We seldom have all the time we need to create the captivating lessons we want to for our students. Join this interactive session to discover low-prep, high-engagement activities that motivate reluctant learners through reusable, interdisciplinary lessons in all three modes of communication. Participants will explore hands-on activities and games, collaborate with colleagues, and develop or refine a lesson plan designed to incorporate movement and diverse learning styles. We’ll provide adaptable templates to help you seamlessly integrate these strategies into your teaching. Joy and laughter guaranteed!
11:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m. (TWO OPTIONS- CHOOSE ONE)
16. Ushering In the Digital Age In the Classroom
Presenter(s): Alicia A. C. Quintero, Payton High School, Chicago, IL
The world of iRobot is here, and its tentacles are creeping into our curricula more than ever. Teachers are at their wits’ end—not just on how to navigate this intrusion, but also on how to harness it to enhance learning.
This session will explore practical strategies for leveraging digital tools to improve language learning and student outcomes. Rather than resisting the digital age, let’s use it to our advantage. Technology is a powerful tool, but then so is language!
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17. Create, Rinse, Repeat: Why work harder than your students?
Presenter(s): Dr. Emily Loughlin, Thomas Prince School, Princeton, MA
We have enough to do as teachers so it’s time to find the activities and strategies that work for us and create, rinse, repeat. Sometimes our students can do the heavy lifting, while other times we can create something or we can rely on an amazing creator or company to do the work. Either way, you already have something in your classroom that can help maximize input for your students that can probably be reused again to continue to provide more input. Come learn how to maximize your prep time by rinsing and repeating!
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. (TWO OPTIONS- CHOOSE ONE)
18. Teaching Littles about Proficiency
Presenter(s): Victoria Gilbert, Saint David’s School, New York, NY
Students who understand how “leveling-up” works can become more motivated and engaged in building their language acquisition. Come see how metaphors, visuals, task sequences and building metacognitive and reflective capacity can contribute to student commitment. Design your own proficiency pathway implementation plan and a sequence of tasks customized for your students’ developmental stage and proficiency level to help them move on up. Use tools provided by the presenter to support student self-assessment and reflection for more targeted goal-setting in your classroom.
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19. Let’s Get Personal! Input Rich Classrooms via Authentic Conversations
Presenter(s): Lauren Paz Soldan, Fairfax County Public Schools, Falls Church, VA
How do we get students invested in our class and excited about a second language? By getting personal! Attendees will learn how to cultivate belonging while delivering compelling, comprehensible input via authentic class building routines. We will focus on planning daily & weekly routines that start with teachers sharing about their own lives in novice language, modeling the openness we hope for from our students, & then invite students to share using scaffolds to support linguistic risk taking. These routines not only provide compelling CI but create the safe, connected environment necessary for students to build relatedness & internal motivation. Attendees will leave with strategies to inspire students to jump in and build class community.
2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
20. AI for World Language Educators
Presenter(s): Stefanie Gigante,
Amy Mason, Ridgewood High School, Ridgewood, NJ
You’ve heard of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and probably used it yourself (“Hey, Siri!”), but let’s move way beyond asking Alexa to tell a joke and explore generative AI tools in education. The resources are vast, the applications are innumerable, but it’s hard to know where to start. Amy and Stefanie start with a healthy discussion about the role of AI in education in order to dispel some of the popular fears and misunderstandings, and then guide participants through an assortment of AI tools and provide suggestions for their use in both your lesson planning and development of activities for your students. We provide a balanced framework for introduction with new tools as well as guided time for integration in your practice.
3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
21. Immersion hour- LIVE ONLY
Presenter(s): Alexis Thornton, Putnam Valley High School, Putnam Valley, NY
Come enjoy an hour of socializing, networking, and comparing professional notes in the language of your choice (other than English, of course!). Bring a non-member friend and introduce them to NYSAFLT!
Thursday, July 31, 2025
9:30 a.m. -10:30 a.m.
22. Unlocking Engagement: Using Digital Breakouts in the World Language Classroom
Presenter(s): Erin Johnson, Penn Yan Academy, Penn Yan, NY
Transform your World Language classroom with digital breakouts—interactive, puzzle-based activities that promote communication, collaboration, and critical thinking. In this workshop, participants will have a chance to try a digital breakout, and discover how to design and implement digital breakouts to enhance language learning, foster cultural exploration, and engage students in meaningful, real-world tasks. Learn practical strategies, explore digital tools, and leave with resources and ideas to bring the excitement of digital breakouts to your language learners!
11:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m. (TWO OPTIONS- CHOOSE ONE)
23. Beyond Technology: How AI Can Elevate Your Language Classroom
Presenter(s): Claudia Elliott, Growing With Proficiency, Jacksonville, Florida
AI isn’t just a futuristic tool—it’s your teaching ally! In this session, discover how artificial intelligence can help you design engaging activities, create interactive learning experiences, and simplify your daily workload. We’ll explore user-friendly tools that bring your ideas to life in record time, freeing you to focus on what matters most: connecting with your students.
Walk away with practical strategies to enhance creativity, optimize your time, and craft lessons that inspire and motivate learners. Whether you’re an AI novice or already experimenting, this session will equip you with the insights and confidence to make AI work for you—effortlessly and effectively!
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24. Making the Global Connection
Presenter(s): Heidi Trude, Loudoun Valley High School, Purcellville, Virginia
Are you looking for ways to incorporate target language and culture into your classroom? In this session, participants will examine the process of setting up and participating in a Mystery Meet all while staying immersed in the target language. In addition to Mystery Meets, participants will learn other ways to connect their students with native speakers through technology and how to create collaborative projects with those connections all while building community. Get ready to bring the world into your classroom and make global connections!
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
25. Google Slides To Make Paper Documents… What The Tech?!
Presenter(s): Meredith White, Collins Hill High School, Gwinnett County Public Schools, GA
Tired of Word/Docs sending images two towns over when you insert them? Want multiple versions of quizzes and tests in an easier/visible format? Need ONE place for everything at your fingertips *including* audio? Come to see how all this can happen using Google Slides as a document creator! In addition to housing the document, the Google Slides file can also keep the audio needed handy as well as notes to self and/or colleagues, multiple versions, and more. (All materials shown will be shared and editable.)
2:15 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.
26. UnCon and Share-out – LIVE ONLY
Presenter(s): Alexis Thornton
What have we learned? In this last hour of SI25, we will reflect together on what we have learned and how we plan to implement our new skills in our classrooms. NYSAFLT leadership will present an update on professional offerings in New York State and beyond, and we will share a brief slideshow of the highlights of the week.
Presenters:
Will Anderson is the former Curriculum Associate for World Language and ENL in the Massapequa School District. He retired in June of 2025. He is the Associate Dean for External Relations and Field Placement of the School of Education at Hofstra University. He is a past president of NYSAFLT, as well as a past member of the ACTFL and NECTFL Boards of Directors.
Zach Bagan has been a Spanish teacher at Hingham High School for the past ten years. A graduate from Boston University with a Master of Arts in Teaching Modern Foreign Language, he has been a student of proficiency-based instruction for most of his career. He is on the MAFLA Board of Directors and is dedicated to learning, growing, and sharing best practices for helping learners to acquire a world language.
Rebecca Blouwolff has taught French at Wellesley Middle School in MA since 1998. She fell in love with middle schoolers while serving as a Fulbright teaching scholar at a collège in Saint-Omer, France. She earned a B.A. magna cum laude at Brown University, and an M.Ed. at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is a National Board Certified Teacher and 2020 ACTFL Language Teacher of Year.
Marissa Coulehan 
Glenda De Hoyos is a dedicated World Languages Department Chair with more than 20 years of experience teaching Spanish to preschool through second-grade students. She was a finalist for the NECTFL TOY 2023 and GWATFL Teacher of the Year 2023. She also received the Best of NECTFL award in 2024 and Best of GWATFL in 2021. She has presented at numerous conferences and is a proud member of ACTFL’s LILL Cohort 5 Emerging Leaders.
Claudia Elliott 
Stefanie Gigante and Amy Mason teach Latin together at Ridgewood High School in NJ. Both have taught Latin for over 20 years. After following each other actively online for years, they were thrilled to start working together in 2021. Technology is a shared passion and one they believe has endless benefits for education. Beyond the classroom they are friends, travel companions, and running partners. Amicus est tamquam alter idem (A friend is as another self). -Cicero
Sara Hall 
Bill Heller has taught in public elementary, secondary, community college and undergraduate classrooms for over 40 years, including 24 years teaching Spanish at Perry High School. He has been a methods and Spanish instructor at SUNY Geneseo since 2001. Bill served as Conference Chair for the 2017 Northeast Conference (NECTFL) and is currently a member of the Executive Board and Content Advisory Panel for World Languages at the New York State Education Department (NYSED).
Erin Johnson is a high school French teacher at Penn Yan Academy, teaching levels 1-5. She has taught 6-12 French and Spanish throughout her career. She holds a B.A. in French Ed from Juniata College and a Masters as a Ed. Tech Specialist from Nazareth University. She has presented at many different conferences. She uses background and strong student relationships to make her classes student centered and communicative for all to succeed.
Dr. Lori Langer de Ramirez 
Dr. Joanne O’Toole is a Professor of Modern Language Education in the Curriculum and Instruction Department at SUNY Oswego. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the NYSED World Languages Content Advisory Panel and the Principal Investigator of the NYS World Language Standards Initiative. Joanne has served in several world language leadership positions, including NYSAFLT President and NECTFL Director, and is a regular presenter at national, regional, state, and local conferences.
Lauren Paz Soldan is a teacher and department chair at Annandale High School in Fairfax County Public Schools, Virginia. She has taught every grade of Spanish (except 7th!) including IB and AP. Lauren is the 2024 Foreign Language Association of Virginia’s (FLAVA) Teacher of the Year, as well as an NBCT. She is passionate about comprehensible, compelling input that is relevant to students’ immediate realities.
Rebecca Peters 
Katina Price 
A.C. Quintero 
Noemí Rodríguez-Grimshaw (@team_lologramos) 
Jamie Roxas-Pelosi 
Wendy Torres 
Carrie Toth 
