Preconference Workshops

Preconference school visits run concurrently with the following workshops on Thursday, May 17, 2018.

Sessions will be presented in English or bilingually, unless otherwise noted.

• Half-day morning workshops
• Half-day afternoon workshops
• Full-day workshops

Thursday, May 17, 9:00 AM–12:00 PM (HALF DAY)

Effective Practices in Chinese Literacy Instruction ($100)

Led by National Council of State Supervisors For Languages (NCSSFL)

Presenters: Stacy Lyon, Ofelia Wade

Chinese literacy instruction, in the context of DLI in the US, can be described as being in its pedagogical infancy. The purpose of this workshop is introduce a pedagogical framework that bridges literacy instruction from a Chinese classroom context to that of a US DLI classroom, where language learning is facilitated through contextualized and interactive strategies to help students internalize language in a meaningful way that is conducive to transference across contexts. The content of this workshop will be presented in three phases: Theory, Demonstration, Praxis. 1. Theory: The theoretical underpinnings supporting the Before, During and After Literacy Framework will be discussed. 2. Demonstration: Each of the instructional phases of the literacy framework will be introduced and modeled with their corresponding supporting strategies. 3. Praxis: The participants will have an opportunity to work in grade-level teams to develop a literacy plan applying the Before, During and After Literacy Framework.

Formative Assessment of Oral and Written Language ($100)

Led by Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL)

Presenter: Jing Wei

This workshop will focus on formative assessments of productive language skills and their applications in K-12 classrooms. The workshop will begin with an overview of different approaches to formative assessment. Then, it will familiarize participants with the Classroom Observation Checklist Kit (CLOCK)—the formative assessment instrument developed by the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL). Participants will learn about how to set up classroom activities that effectively elicit student language samples and about how to rate those samples with CLOCK. Specifically, participants will review and analyze student responses at a variety of performance levels, consider the distinguishing linguistic characteristics of the responses, and practice rating with CLOCK. Finally, participants will extrapolate what they learned about CLOCK to creating their own formative assessment instruments.

Thursday, May 17, 1:00–4:00 PM (HALF DAY)

Core Practices for Effective Chinese Learning ($100)

Led by Chinese Language Association of Secondary-elementary Schools (CLASS)

Presenters: Yu-Lan Lin, Baocai Jia, Lucy Lee, Carol Chen-Lin, Dali Tan

As Chinese teachers gradually shift their attention from program promotion through interest generating to program sustainability through proficiency achievement, ACTFL has provided us with Six Core Practices that guide teachers toward teaching for language proficiency rather than simply teaching about the language itself.  This requires language teachers to provide students with opportunities to do something with the language and not just demonstrate their knowledge about the language.  This three-hour workshop will start with a description of the Six Core Practices. After the “tell” part, the presenters will use concrete classroom examples to “show” what these Six Core Practices look like in the Chinese classroom of various proficiency levels.  Students work samples will be shared, and participants will have opportunities to have hands-on experience of focusing on one of the Six Core Practices of their choice and create high impact instructional activities they could use immediately in their own classrooms.

Can-Do Learning – What Can Learners Do with What They Know ($100)

Led by American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)

Presenters: Kevin Chang

What do learners need to demonstrate consistently over time to show that they can use language for Interpersonal, Interpretive, and Presentational Communication?  What are the indicators of increasing Intercultural Communication?  Unwrap the revised NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements and the new Can-Do Statements for Intercultural Communication to create the blueprint for effective language learning. During this workshop, experience tasks that serve to develop and assess learners as they demonstrate interacting in conversations; understanding what is heard, read, or viewed; and creating written messages. Formative (daily, weekly) and summative (end of unit, end of course) assessment strategies are critical to evaluate learners’ language performance and chart progress toward proficiency goals. The overarching question is: “How do you know what learners can do with what they have learned?” Experience how to gather evidence of performance frequently, so both learners and educators can reflect on progress.

Teaching Chinese Characters & Vocabulary from Beginning to Advanced-Levels: Exploring Effective Methodology and Innovative Technology ($100)

Led by Chinese Language Teachers Association (CLTA)

Presenters: Chen-Hui Tsai, Liling Huang

Want to enhance your character and vocabulary instruction with creative teaching approaches, effective technology and award-winning designs to make learning more fun and engaging? This workshop will begin with using multimedia resources, such as research-based interactive programs on building radical awareness, character story animation tutorials for designing orthographic character learning activities, applications of speech recognition technology, and the EdTech-assisted instructional methods on teaching various dimensions of vocabulary in the meaningful contexts to foster students’ transcultural competence as well as to promote active learning, and critical thinking skills when the students are learning Chinese. Language specific theories and EdTech assessment frameworks will be presented to help teachers design their instruction.

The workshop will also provide the participants with hands-on experience with integrating technology effectively to teach vocabulary in the proper contexts. Specifically, we will discuss how to 1) teach and assess vocabulary through embedded interactive video quizzes and other online interactive games both inside and outside of the classrooms, and how to 2) facilitate the reinforcement of the learnt knowledge and collaborative learning through digital storytelling projects.

(Participants are required to bring their own laptops/tablets/mobile devices to engage in the hands-on activities.)

Thursday, May 17, 9:00 AM–4:00 PM (FULL DAY)

AP® Chinese Language and Culture Workshop ($165)

Led by College Board

Advanced Placement® (AP®) workshops are designed to help teachers and administrators develop and deepen their programs to prepare students for the rigors of college. Sessions led by College Board consultants feature innovative best practices and research-based strategies that can assist you in helping your students achieve their academic goals. AP workshops can help you to (1) Align instruction with the goals of the AP course; (2) Identify the skills and knowledge the exam will assess; (3) Determine the tasks and materials for which students may need more preparation; (4) Draft a syllabus that meets the curricular requirements for the course; and (5) Understand how to make equitable access a guiding principle in designing instruction.