conferences
November 18, 2023
Meet Jack, the mean clown who wants to help you remember the map to TL Memory Lane. Earlier this year, I blogged about the lessons we can learn from Lisa Genova‘s book Remember. Check out that blog post for a more in-depth look at the content of the book. I mentioned there that my dear […]
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October 4, 2023
It’s so sweet to be back, y’all. Last weekend, the annual conference of the Kentucky World Language Association returned to Lexington, Kentucky. Last year, KWLA was my first conference since I paused blogging while I wrapped my mind around a diagnosis of MS. I embraced friends, sat quietly, absorbed the learning– but I didn’t present. […]
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November 18, 2019
Drum roll… IT’S ACTFL WEEK! I skipped ACTFL last year because let’s face it, it is not cheap to try to pull that trip off when you don’t have institutional or corporate support, and I gladly admit I had zero FOMO – and you shouldn’t have it either. ACTFL is a great experience, and I’m […]
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November 3, 2018
The following material is taken from my session for the November 2018 Tennessee Foreign Language Teachers Association. If you read me much, you know that I agree with the broader field that asking “Authentic or learner material?” as a guide for choosing resources is the wrong question. The real question is this: What is going […]
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October 4, 2018
One way or another, you’ve probably experienced a conference. But have you experienced an unconference? As far as I can tell, the words “unconference” and “edcamp” refer to the same structure of professional development, with “edcamp” being specific to the education sector. The “edcamp” model has been taking hold for several years and the definition tells us […]
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September 12, 2018
I could be wrong, but it seems to me that teacher conferences are in trouble, and have been for a while. As I looked ahead to rejoining the conference scene, earlier this year I asked the language teacher community on Twitter to think with me about problems and solutions with conferences. I hope what we […]
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September 7, 2018
I don’t get to see you at ACTFL this year. For the first time since my first ACTFL in San Antonio (has it been that long?!), I won’t be there. And that is okay. Not only is it okay, it’s the right thing for me. For one thing, a few years ago I made a […]
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October 20, 2017
Verb charts are a core piece of world language curriculum. Aren’t they? I suppose they are, but I’m not sure why. Perhaps it’s because we know that visual organizers can work well for learning, and so someone once put the verbs in a chart in a certain order, and then it just got reproduced that […]
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November 14, 2016
Where will I meet you? I’d love to learn with you at any of these professional development opportunities this year. ACTFL Convention & Expo 2016 I’m headed to the annual Convention and Expo of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (gulp) THIS WEEK. I am participating in three sessions at the convention, […]
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March 12, 2016
A year passing between two versions of the same presentation changes things. That’s even more true when your teaching situation changes. Last year I presented at Central States a session about helping students face a world of incomprehensible input and turn it into the comprehensible input they need for acquisition by teaching circumlocution early and often. […]
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March 11, 2016
The Best Laid Plans (CSCTFL ’16)
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Isn’t lesson planning the easiest part of our job? I have to be honest: I find lesson creation and planning fun. But I don’t always find that what I produce is effective. What’s the difference between effective planning and randomly hoping it all comes together and accomplishing something? That’s the topic Thomas Sauer, Amy Lenord, […]
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November 27, 2015
Your turkey is digested and your shopping is all done. Now, are you ready for a shocking confession? Last week at the 2015 ACTFL Convention & Expo in San Diego, California, I was not able to attend a single session other than the ones I collaborated on. Shocking, I know. Part of the reason was […]
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