Conference Sessions

This session will outline the decision made in Utah to implement the 50-50 Dual Language Immersion model and the reasoning that supports that choice. The session will also demonstrate how a single model implemented statewide has facilitated infrastructure development.

In this hands-on session, participants will learn about Words in Motion, an academic vocabulary curriculum designed for bilingual middle school students. The presentation will provide a general overview of the five-unit curriculum and a detailed introduction to one unit through active exposure to the seven-day instructional sequence.

Presentation Slides (PDF)

This presentation will explore how language learning is achieved through the intergenerational collaboration of fluent speaker teachers, advanced language students, and children who are involved in language immersion nests for young children. Various definitions of the language nest concept and how different Indigenous peoples are successfully using the language nest as the foundation to their broader revitalization efforts will be discussed.

State education policy recommendations and guidance contributed to the process resulting in the proficiency-based, K-12 North Carolina World Language Essential Standards. Participants will learn how policy shaped the new standards, linked student outcomes for dual language/immersion programs to the latest research, and informed professional development for implementation.

A review of the qualitative studies on peer interactions in Spanish two-way immersion programs in the U.S. will be presented. The findings of these studies will be examined to determine their impact on language development and their sociocultural implications.

For the Chinese language, the vocabulary building procedure is connected to the on-going recognition of single characters, which is quite unique compared to the vocabulary learning process of the Indo-European languages. This presentation discusses how to effectively teach vocabulary for intermediate and advanced immersion students based on the linguistic, semantic, and syntactic properties of the Chinese language, first-hand Chinese immersion teaching experience, and current research on teaching Chinese as a foreign language.

Presentation Slides (PDF)

The presentation will focus on strategies to help create a French learning culture in schools and classes. We will also analyze video samples of French immersion students' conversations with a view to promote greater accuracy in oral language based on Roy Lyster's counterbalanced approach.

Presentation Slides (PDF)

How does one design and lead a quality immersion school with today's stresses: State Standards, district mandates, standardized tests, NCLB, and more? The presenter will highlight what we learned in over 25 years of immersion education here in Minnesota, and how to prioritize when creating and running immersion programs.

Issues of classroom management impact both academic instruction and school climate. This qualitative study examines classroom management successes and challenges from teachers' and administrators' perspectives in new Language Immersion Charter Schools. Specific interventions of best culturally responsive classroom management practices will be recommended.

While acknowledging the numerous pluses of full immersion education, this discussion session focuses on program outcomes in terms of oral and written language achievement. The discussion starts by briefly considering the tenets of full immersion and poses to the participants a series of questions regarding means for improving language gains.

Discussions surrounding the necessity of oral language development for literacy achievement in L2 learners abound. This paper discusses the correlation between high expectations regarding use of L2 only (beginning in Kindergarten) in early total one way immersion programs and the resulting impact on L1 literacy achievement.

Presentation Slides (PDF) / Works Consulted (PDF)
Spanish-Mandarin ONLY Timeline (PDF)