May 30–June 1, 2024
The Graduate Hotel
Minneapolis, MN
Invited Speakers
- Megan Bang, Northwestern University
Cultivating Land and Water Based Education with Educators, Families, and Communities for Just and Sustainable Futures- Erin Kearney, SUNY Buffalo
Envisioning and Embodying Language Teacher Education Change: Praxis for a New Era
- Tracy Quan, University of Colorado Boulder
Critical Language Awareness and Language Teacher Education: A Hope Towards More Equitable Futures- Manka Varghese, University of Washington
Collectivizing Care in Teacher Education for Multilingual Teachers of Color
Call for Proposals–Deadline has Passed
- Notification of the status of submitted proposals will take place in early March.
- Information about the selection process can found below.
Introduction
The 12th International Language Teacher Education Conference welcomes proposals for papers, symposia, discussion sessions, and posters on all aspects of the education and professional development of language teachers. Proposals must address an audience of language teacher educators (not language teachers) and may report on empirical research, theoretical and conceptual analyses, or practices in language teacher education. This year’s conference theme highlights the deep connections within our field between theory and practice and how these are manifested in language teacher education research and professional development.
The mission of this unique conference is to address the education of teachers of all languages, at all instructional and institutional levels, and in all the national and international contexts in which this takes place, including: English as an additional/world language (e.g., ESL, EFL) instruction; world/modern/classical language teaching; bilingual education; immersion education; indigenous and minority language education; heritage language education; and the teaching of less commonly taught languages. The conference thus aims to bring together a range of teacher educators to discuss and share research, theory, and situated practices, and to initiate and sustain meaningful professional dialogue across languages, levels, and settings on the topic of language teacher education. The conference will focus on four broad themes, which are described below.
Conference Themes
(Click theme title for a description)All proposals must address an audience of language teacher educators and fit within one of the four themes listed above.
Types of Sessions
Symposia (2 hours): A symposium provides an opportunity for a group of individuals to propose a specific issue or topic in the field of language teacher education and examine it from a variety of perspectives. Total presentation time is limited to one hour to ensure that at least half of the session engages presenters and the audience in extended dialogue. A symposium proposal may have a maximum of six presenters.
Papers (30 minutes): A paper involves a 20-minute presentation followed by 10 minutes of Q&A on a topic related to one of the four themes. A paper proposal may have a maximum of three presenters.
Discussion Sessions (45 minutes): Discussion sessions address a topic best pursued through extended dialogue among participants. These sessions will begin with a short (10 minute) informal presentation; the remaining time will be devoted to a small-group discussion moderated by the presenter/facilitator. Discussion session proposals may have a maximum of two presenters/facilitators.
Posters: Posters provide an opportunity to present empirical research, theoretical and conceptual analyses, or practices in language teacher education in a less formal, more conversational setting. Poster presentations will take place during one of the conference’s coffee breaks; presenters are expected to set up their poster prior to the break and remain by their poster during the break to converse with attendees about their project. Poster session proposals may have a maximum of two presenters.
Language Teacher Education
What is Language Teacher Education? The field of language teacher education explores research, theory, and practice related to what and how teachers learn, the various contexts in which teacher learning takes place, and the educators who facilitate teacher learning. Language teacher education, therefore, is not about how students learn or how teachers facilitate student learning. Gaining a deeper understanding of topics in language teacher education leads to more robust research and informs practice in teacher preparation programs and language classrooms.
Who are Language Teacher Educators? Many people carry out language teacher education, including college of education faculty, directors of language programs, curriculum coordinators, state and district supervisors, cooperating teachers, and practitioners involved in professional development efforts. Together, this diverse group of language teacher educators contributes to meaningful professional dialogue across languages, levels, and settings.
Submission Guidelines
The deadline for submissions was Friday, January 12, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. (Central Time).
Notification of the status of submitted proposals will take place in mid March.
- All proposals should be appropriate for an audience of language teacher educators (not language teachers) and fit within one of the four themes listed above.
- Proposals must include an abstract of your paper, discussion session, or symposium. Abstracts for papers, discussion sessions, and posters are limited to 400 words; abstracts for symposia are limited to 600 words.
- Proposals must also include a 50-word summary for the printed program.
- All proposals will be evaluated using the review criteria (see below).
- Lead presenters will be responsible for contacting all co-presenters with information concerning the conference and presentations.
- Individuals may propose up to two sessions as a lead presenter, and may be listed as a co-presenter for additional sessions.
- For papers, symposia, discussion sessions, or posters with more than one presenter, you must include the contact information for all presenters, even though information regarding the proposal will only be sent to the first (lead) presenter listed.
- Paper sessions are limited to 3 presenters; symposia to 6 presenters; discussion sessions to 2 presenters; and posters to 2 presenters.
- Audio/visual equipment: Presenters must bring their own laptop. A data projector and screen will be provided in each room at no charge. Data projectors/screens are NOT provided for poster presentations. Any other AV equipment must be rented through the hotel by the presenter.
More information about these details will be sent to presenters of selected sessions at a later date.
Submit Proposal
- Use the online submission system when you have reviewed all of the submission guidelines (above) and the proposal review criteria (below).
- The proposal submission deadline was January 12, 2024.
- Notification of the status of submitted proposals will take place in mid March.
Proposal Review Criteria
Proposals will be evaluated using the following categories and questions:
| Scholarly or educational significance | Does this proposal address an important issue in language teacher education? Does it offer the promise of new knowledge? Is it likely to stimulate discussion? |
| Theoretical orientation | For empirical submissions: For the theory-based submissions (those which propose a new framework or reinterpret earlier studies): For practice-oriented submissions and discussion sessions: |
| Quality of research (if applicable) |
Is the research design appropriate and adequately outlined? Will the findings be of interest to teacher educators? |
| Quality of practice (if applicable) |
Is the practice/topic described innovative? Is it of potential interest to other teacher educators? Does the abstract describe clearly what is involved? |
| For symposium proposals | Will multiple perspectives be shared by presenters? Does the proposal ensure that there will be adequate time for dialogue among presenters and audience? |
| Quality of presentation | Is the abstract focused? clearly organized? well written? |
Sociocultural Theory, Concept Development, and Foreign Language Teacher Learning
Summary
This presentation explores concept development in ten university French instructors during a semester-long professional development sequence on lesson planning. The sequence merges everyday and scientific concepts through collaborative, socially mediated activities. Descriptive data illustrate the efficacy of this sequence and point to implications for future research. [word count: 47]
Abstract
As has been widely recognized in research on foreign language (FL) teacher developing and professionalization, building pedagogical expertise and conceptual knowledge related to teaching are long-term endeavors (e.g., Allen, 2011; Johnson, 2009; Rankin & Becker, 2006). Yet, the typical training model for university FL instructors is an orientation workshop followed by a one-semester methods course, with little systematic professional development beyond these initial efforts (Allen & Neguerela-Azarola, 2010). Moreover, because they are formal in structure, the workshop and methods course are often transmission based, such that FL instructors read pedagogical research and attend class and orientation sessions with the expectation that they will appropriate skills and knowledge from the outside in (Johnson, 2009). A further problem related to this training model is FL instructors’ perception that formal activities such as workshops and courses are less helpful than informal interactions with other instructors or the language program director (Brandl, 2000).
Problems with this short-term transmission model of teacher development are compounded by the absence of a unified theoretical framework in which to ground teacher professionalization, explain teacher learning, and generate predictions for enhancing support for teacher-learners (Eun, 2008). Sociocultural theory (Lantolf, 2000; Vygotsky, 1986) is one example of a viable framework for studying FL teacher development and implementing long-term professionalization strategies.
This presentation contributes to discussions regarding the viability of sociocultural theory as a framework for studying teacher learning. Specifically, we explore concept development in ten French instructors at a large, urban research university during a semester-long teacher professional development sequence on lesson planning carried out in collaborative groups mediated by a language program director. The sequence merges everyday (i.e., experiential) and scientific (i.e., academic) concept development through dialogic mediation to promote internalization, reorganization, and refinement. After defining relevant theoretical notions, we illustrate their application to the lesson planning sequence, which draws upon the lesson study model (Johnson, 2009; Watanabe, 2002). The sequence merges everyday and scientific concepts through a variety of collaborative, socially mediated activities including workshop presentations, lesson plan analysis, discussion and feedback sessions, and lesson plan creation. Descriptive data, including reflective statements, email communications, and lesson plan drafts, illustrate the efficacy of this teacher professional development project and point to implications for future research. [word count: 366]
| Weak | Strong | |||
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| Scholarly or educational significance | x | |||
| Theoretical framework | x | |||
| Quality of research (if applicable) | x | |||
| Quality of practice (if applicable) | ||||
| Quality of presentation | x | |||
| Overall recommendation | √ Accept | Reject | ||
| Comments | This presentation will be of interest to language teacher educators in postsecondary contexts, and is likely to have implications to secondary teacher educators as well. The theoretical framework is clear and the proposal identifies a need for research in this area. Research questions and methodology are not presented, although the presenters do state that the data provided is illustrative in nature. | |||
Foreign Language Teaching and Technological Literacy
Summary
Teachers need technological literacy and skills, as well as pedagogical knowledge to use computers appropriately in foreign language classrooms. This presentation focuses on best practices in technology use in foreign language teaching and reports on lessons learned through technology integration in undergraduate language courses. [word count: 44]
Abstract
Teachers need both technological literacy and knowledge of foreign language pedagogy to make the best use of computers in instruction, but the specific technical and pedagogical knowledge required are unclear. National organizations such as American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), the Modern Language Association (MLA), and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) make broad statements about the importance of integrating technology in instruction, yet the details of how teachers might accomplish this goal remain underdeveloped. Furthermore, most national efforts focus on standards and criteria for the preparation and continuing professional development of K-12 teachers; standards and criteria for postsecondary language instruction are less well developed. As a result, postsecondary instructors do not have adequate guidance for implementing technology in pedagogically sound ways.
To address this gap, we describe best practices in technology use in undergraduate language courses based on 30 years of combined classroom experience. First, we describe our process of learning what technology tools are available for language teaching (e.g., ThingLink, YouTube, Padlet) and which of these tools meet specific language learning goals and reflect principles of communicative language teaching (e.g., communicative competence, fluency development, individual differences). Next, we show how we have integrated technology into lower- and upper-level language courses and the technological and pedagogical resources required to do so effectively. Finally, we reflect on the knowledge gained and lessons learned through technology integration in communicatively-oriented undergraduate language courses. Throughout the presentation, we provide concrete examples of technology tools and classroom activities, and connect these tools and activities to course learning objectives. We conclude by presenting a list of essential knowledge and practices for developing technological literacy and future directions for effective technology use in communicative foreign language classrooms. [word count: 287]
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| Theoretical framework | x |
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| Quality of research (if applicable) | ||||
| Quality of practice (if applicable) | x |
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| Quality of presentation | x | |||
| Overall recommendation | Accept | √ Reject | ||
| Comments | The proposal does not address language teacher education, as defined on the conference website, but rather presents best practices for teaching with technology. Although the presentation is likely to stimulate discussion and has the potential to be innovative, it is not clear what is innovative about the presentation, how it builds on previous research and practice, and, most importantly, whether it will be of interest to language teacher educators. | |||
