Upcoming Events




The Spring 2023 Webinar Series has now concluded, but you can find the recordings and session information  below!


Date, time: March 4th, 10AM

Title: Teachers as Cultural Advisers

Presenter: Dr. Tuula Lindholm

Session Type: Workshop

Focus: Adult education, Higher education, Bilingual education, Teacher training

Targeted Skills: Intercultural Communication

Session Summary:Culture/s can often remain an elephant in the ESOL classroom unless we as teachers allow intercultural communication to become part of our practice. Culture is no longer just understood as being about ethnic/national differences but as a much more complex and dynamic process that involves our social identities, formed through association with and membership in several groups in our lives. For our students we are more than language instructors; we are also their cultural informants and trusted advisers as they are experiencing acculturation, i.e., transitioning from one culture to another. This workshop offers an opportunity to explore the meaning of these roles in ESOL teaching and share with others approaches and useful strategies.

Recording available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0a3Ip7KCsA


Date, time: Friday, March 31, 4:00-5:00 PM

Title: Engaging English Language Learners with Global Education

Presenters: Abby Watkins

Session Type: Workshop

Focus: K-12, Teacher training, Advocacy

Targeted Skills: Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing, Grammar, Vocabulary, Intercultural Communication

Session Summary: Develop students’ English language skills through experiential activities that explore disciplinary content (science and social studies) around global issues. Engage in role-playing simulations and collaborative problem solving that address environmental challenges and quality of life trends around the world. Receive lesson plans differentiated for different levels of language proficiency.

Recording available at: https://youtu.be/SxC8OHcAfeY


Date, time: April 8, Saturday, 2023 10AM

Title: Generative AI: An Inevitable Part of ESL Writing Classes?

Presenters: Krisztina Domjan, Susan George, Max Rhinehart

Session Type: Workshop

Focus: Adult education, Higher education, Bilingual education, Teacher training

Targeted Skills: Writing, Grammar, Vocabulary, Technology

Session Summary:In this workshop, participants explore the benefits of emerging generative AI tools as learning assets. Are students prepared to leverage newly developed online tools to enhance their learning experience? Presenters highlight possible engagement norms and discuss strategies with co-presenters and attendees while testing the programs out.

Recording available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQg-Pne5KjA&feature=youtu.be


Date, time: April 22 at 10:00-11:30 AM

Title: The Functional Language Approach for Mathematics: Focusing on Visuals

Presenters: Dr. Karen Terrell

Session Type: Workshop (90 min) 

Focus: K-12, Bilingual Education, Teacher Training

Targeted Skills: Listening, speaking, reading and writing

Session Summary: WIDA (2020) has suggested the functional language approach across all content areas, including mathematics, to enhance the educational experiences of multilingual learners. We also know that visuals can improve our learners’ experience. This workshop will unpack what constitutes “visuals” and how they can best operate within functional-language approaches.

Recording available at: https://youtu.be/maIM0nw4HXI


Date, time: May 5th, Friday, 3:00-4:00 PM

Title: #LoveOurLanguages: Elevating the Languages of Those We Serve

Presenters: Carly Spina

Session Type: Practice-Oriented Presentation (60 minutes)

Focus: K-12, Advocacy

Targeted Skills: Intercultural Communication, Culturally Sustaining Practices

Session Summary:In this session, participants will explore tools and ideas for supporting an entire school system in developing appreciation, respect, and love for all languages in the community. This session will feature a resource bank full of templates for teachers to use, or share with colleagues the next day!

Recording available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BzWuRQFh3w



Date, time: Wednesday, May 17, 6:00-7:00 PM

Title: Implementing a Transmodalising Pedagogy with PK-12 Multilingual Learners in Science Classroom

Presenters: Dr. Sujin Kim, Dr. Kathleen Ramos, Cynthia Graville, Xiaowen Chen (Sylvia) and Eden Langston

Session Type: Practice-oriented (60 minutes)

Focus: K-12, Bilingual Ed, Teacher training, Technology

Targeted Skills: Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing, Grammar, Vocabulary, Intercultural Communication, Technology

Session Summary:This interactive webinar invites PK-12 teachers to explore how infographics can facilitate ways of learning STEM content and language with multilingual learners. Participants will discuss transmodalising practices, consider the implementation of infographic teaching, explore digital tools for learners to engage in multimodal representations, and be provided with students’ infographic examples.

Recording available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3dq3vpJxxg&t=10s



Date, time: June 3, 10:00-11:15 AM

Title: Developing transparent assignments to foster multilingual students’ academic success

Presenters:Ilka Kostka

Session Type: Workshop (75 min)

Focus: Higher Ed, IEP

Targeted Skills: Course design

Session Summary:

Is the “why and how” of your assignments truly clear and explicit to students? Together we will explore the concept of transparent assignment design by analyzing examples of assignments and developing ways of enhancing their transparency.



Date, time: June 17, Saturday, 10 AM - 11:30AM (workshop)

Title: Giving ELLs in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Fields English Language Support

Presenters: Kirsten Stauffer

Session Type: Workshop (90 min)

Focus: Adult Ed, Higher Ed, IEP

Targeted Skills:Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing, Grammar, Vocabulary,  Pronunciation

Session Summary: ELLs in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields need to develop communication and language skills. Through workshop discussions and interactive activities, participants examine perceptions, identify student needs, sample online lessons, and share resources. Participants will leave with innovative ideas and a digital workbook to add to their toolboxes.




Date, time: Recording will be released on Friday, June 23

Title: Making the implicit explicit: Teaching the "hidden curriculum" in the adult ed classroom

Presenters: Michelle Chan and Daniel Chavez

Session Type: Pre-recorded session

Focus: Adult Ed

Targeted Skills: Intercultural communication, Student autonomy, agency, self-efficacy 

Session Summary: Many adult learners struggle with the "hidden curriculum" of a language classroom. This session presents practices to implicitly teach academic skills to help students internalize them. Participants will be able to reflect and leave the session with ways to incorporate academic skills into their weekly class routines.

Recording Available at: https://youtu.be/BgzkQxi2QCo

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