Workshops Basel

Teachers will be able to:

- Understand the importance of consistent retrieval practice

- Have learned about and tried out various low-tech retrieval activities that they can use in their classrooms.

- Have some ideas for how to use technology (AI and games) efficiently to do retrieval practice in class as well as encourage their students to practice at home.

Following the session, teachers will be able to implement a few improv activities/strategies specifically adapted for language classrooms, which will develop language skills and human-centered competencies. Additionally, teachers will be able to use "yes, and" philosophy to build student confidence in target language production and to create a safe and judgment-free learning environment where students can be risk-takers.  

Teachers get a better understanding of how AAPPL tests can be used to drive T&L + Assessment designing. 

What happens when a language teacher and a test provider team up to unpack the AAPPL? Join this session to hear both practical classroom applications and insider testing knowledge. Learn how one school successfully used AAPPL data to support language proficiency goals, and explore how language standards come to life through the AAPPL tests and how they can be better implemented. Whether you're new to the AAPPL or looking to deepen your understanding, this session offers both guidance and inspiration.

Following this session, teachers will:

• Reflect on how they can provide learners comprehensible input through curriculum content AND in how they facilitate the variety of classroom interactions

• Be reflective of their own Target Language use 

• Have new ideas and strategies to identify opportunities for maximizing their TL use with students.

And to provide a little more on content and format:

The content includes an interactive exploration of:

• The diverse types of teachers’ classroom interactions, specifically building awareness of differences between communicating curriculum content and facilitating classroom activities.

• Examples of the various functions of teacher speech which commonly occur in lessons and considering whether/how these can be communicated in the Target Language for beginner-level learners.

• The value of teachers maximizing their Target Language use for all communicative functions of a lesson: including challenges and strategies

Following my session, I want teachers to walk away with practical strategies they can implement immediately to spark interest in (Japanese) language learning within their school communities.

 This includes ideas for building cultural engagement, creating authentic learning experiences, and fostering a sense of global citizenship among students. 

Teachers will leave equipped to initiate meaningful changes that promote enthusiasm for (Japanese) and strengthen their school’s language learning culture.

1) Use digital resources and AI tools to analyze archival resources for language learning 

2) Explain the value of using archival materials to teach modern foreign languages 

3) Access unit plans for German language classrooms in grades 6-12 

To have more confidence on how to approach dyslexic students in their classroom.. to have practical multi-sensory ideas available on how to support them and to be able to understand why dyslexia does not effect all learners and all languages equally.

I start with a description with visuals on the different types of dyslexia and which sides of the brain are affected by dyslexia, and show clips of what that looks like in students learning. I then use a simulator which actually allows the participants go through the experience  of being dyslexic. We then follow up with practical strategies on how to support according to  language and level.

Strategies to Foster Oracy Skills in Language Learning and high level thinking. 

In an age of artificial intelligence, fostering Oracy skills—effective communication, critical thinking, and confident self-expression—is essential. This session explores practical strategies to empower students to own their learning through Oracy, even in a technology-driven world. Participants will discover how to leverage AI as a supportive tool, not a substitute, using it to inspire meaningful discussions, enhance critical thinking, and create authentic speaking opportunities.

Attendees will learn how to design engaging Oracy activities, such as Socratic dialogues, role-playing, and peer interviews, where students become active communicators and reflective thinkers. By integrating AI tools with student-centered approaches, educators can transform their classrooms into spaces where learners not only practice language skills but also develop confidence and autonomy. This approach ensures that technology enhances rather than replaces the human aspect of learning, making students active participants in their educational journey.

Key takeaways include using communication and language to foster enhanced creative thinking strategies, an intentional ability and awareness of how to shift attention, and a deeper understanding of how collaboration can help students transform abstract ideas and possibilities into tangible outcomes.

Gain strategies for scaffolding reading comprehension, grammatical development, purposeful writing and theatrical performance in the target language.

Explore the power of performance and student voice in promoting language proficiency and engagement.

Spark inspiration to expand teaching practices, blending traditional resources with modern ideas. 

Structure a Unit of Study where grammar is included meaningfully, building towards assessment. 

The idea is to share Units of Study that I have found work well in engaging students, while also including a specific grammar focus that ties in well with the Unit title and accompanying assessments.

Teachers will leave with a toolkit of ready-to-use strategies—adaptable for any language, level, or classroom—that foster motivation, build confidence, and support diverse learners.

Teachers will learn ways to use Flint AI to design engaging writing and speaking activities that promote authentic language learning. This session will demonstrate how AI can be used to promote vocabulary acquisition and strengthen writing and speaking skills. Participants will use Flint AI to develop these innovative activities, utilizing their own materials as a foundation for AI-powered learning experiences.

Understand why international links matter in MFL and the pedagogical impact on language learning.

Leave with strageies that they can implement immediately to establish international links and partnerships for their school. 

Teachers will leave this session with games, tips, and activities that will help students - and themselves - love novel units. 

Reading is a powerhouse for language learning, especially when students re-read the text multiple times. However, just getting them to read it once can sometimes feel impossible. In this session teachers will learn low-prep games and activities for pre, during, and post-reading that will have kids reading and re-reading each chapter of the novel - and learning more each time. 

Teachers will walk away with slides, activities, and know-how that enables them to use short, freely available, and compelling films to increase students' ability to communicate in the target language.

I want them to be able to implement ideas immediately into lessons: use resources that I will share, use platforms that I will showcase, be able to have conversations with senior leadership in schools that will strengthen the case of Languages, suggest ways to their schools that showcase MFL more and support and engage students in a subject that is often misconstrued as either for the “elite academics”, not valuable at all in the monolingual world,  more difficult or aren’t accessible to EAL or SEN students. 

I want teachers to leave the session with renewed empathy for their students and a clearer understanding of what it feels like to acquire a new language from zero. This shift in perspective will help them reflect on their own teaching through a Comprehensible Input (CI) lens—focusing on making meaning clear, reducing anxiety, and increasing student connectedness and confidence.

Join this session to explore routines, structures and strategies for supporting students to improve the composition of their sentences. We will use predictable frameworks and organizers that focus on using the core components of a sentence to reveal deeper understanding, improve use of complex sentences, and respond to experiences and texts. Best suited for capable and above language learning classrooms.

Incorporate playful word invention into their language or literacy lessons as a creative entry point for students of all abilities.

Use humour and invented language to reduce the fear of getting things ""wrong"" in the classroom, especially when speaking or writing in a second language.

Highlight the connection between language learning and 21st-century skills like emotional intelligence, creative thinking, and intercultural communication.

Spark curiosity about other languages by sharing untranslatable words and cultural expressions that reveal how different languages “think.”

Empower students to see language as a tool for connection and creativity, not just grammar and vocabulary.

Teachers will leave the session confident in how to create and assign engaging, curriculum-aligned activities using Languagenut’s digital tools. They will be able to set up personalised tasks in minutes, track student progress, and start using the platform immediately to reinforce vocabulary, grammar, and exam skills in a way that supports differentiated learning and boosts student outcomes.

This practical, hands-on workshop will explore how AI tools can support language teaching, with a focus on increasing engagement, creativity and productivity. Participants will be introduced to a range of classroom-ready tools and strategies designed to reduce workload and enhance learning across all four language skills. No previous experience with AI is required.

In this interactive and practical session, Dr. Liam Printer builds on his keynote by bringing participants into his live Spanish “classroom”. Participants will be part of Dr. Printer's class and will experience hands-on, three high-impact, zero-prep strategies that boost motivation through compelling, comprehensible input. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory and Comprehensible Input research, this practical workshop provides evidence-informed approaches that foster intrinsic motivation and natural language acquisition. Participants will engage with the practical CI strategies of: "classroom jobs", "the invisible character" and "write and discuss". All are designed specifically for the middle school or high school language acquisition classroom. Attendees will leave with a toolkit of low-prep, CI activities proven in the research to both motivate students and boost their natural acquisition.