In the 2020s post-secondary world language education landscape, inclusion is more critical than ever before. Inclusion, especially disability inclusion and accessibility, can be the innovative factor that separates floundering language programs from vibrant ones. In this presentation, participants will: (a) explore appropriate terms to use when describing disability and disabled people; (b) encounter important considerations at the nexus of disability inclusion and world language learning and teaching; (c) identify why it is so important to advance inclusive practices right now and the role disability inclusive culture building can play in recruitment and retention efforts; and (d) examine a framework to guide educators–especially program administrators–in achieving higher and more expansive levels of inclusion.

This comparative sociolinguistic study examines the challenges and innovations in the secular instruction of Pennsylvania Dutch (PD) by analyzing its trajectory against two related minority Germanic languages: Yiddish and Mennonite Low German (MLG). Both PD and Yiddish are characterized by an ideologically contentious divide between a dwindling secular heritage community and a robust, demographically growing sectarian anchor. The Yiddish secular movement has enjoyed both successes and challenges, demonstrating how large-scale funding, coupled with linguistic purism and differences with the vernacular majority, can result in “language products” but fail to generate new, intergenerational speakers. MLG provides a small but positive counter-model: lacking an antagonistic secular preservation group, its community-aligned innovations (such as a literacy curriculum and digital content) demonstrate successful corpus planning for language maintenance. The proposed further innovation for PD instruction synthesizes these findings: secular revitalization must leverage the organizational strength of the Yiddish model while adopting the non-antagonistic, pragmatic ethos of the MLG model. The strategy focuses on establishing a consolidated resource center, advanced genre-based curriculum development, and greater real-world professional utility. This assessment of historical data and contemporary practice can inform language revitalization and maintenance efforts for other languages as well by offering concrete ideas on collaborative innovation.

In recent years, scholars and educators have emphasized the importance of affective and intercultural dimensions in second language acquisition (Krashen, 1985; Byram, 1997; Dornyei, 2001). The traditional use of Arabic songs in Arabic as a Foreign Language (AFL) classrooms, though culturally enriching, can pose significant linguistic and cultural distance for learners. For students whose exposure to Arabic is limited to classroom settings, the unfamiliar rhythms, vocabulary, and cultural references of Arabic music can inadvertently heighten anxiety and reduce motivation.

This study responds to this pedagogical challenge by investigating the potential of using songs from learners’ first languages (L1) rather than Arabic-language (L2) songs as a strategy in teaching Arabic. While music-based instruction has long been recognized as an effective means of facilitating vocabulary acquisition and emotional engagement (Medina, 1990; Murphey, 1992), limited attention has been paid to the use of L1 music as an intercultural and motivational bridge in Arabic pedagogy. Drawing on classroom experiments, reflective observation, and student feedback collected over two semesters at a U.S. university, the study demonstrates that translating and discussing familiar L1 songs in Arabic allows students to build linguistic confidence and cultural empathy, while enhancing retention through emotional association — a process grounded in Krashen’s “Affective Filter Hypothesis” (1985) and Vygotsky’s (1978) “Zone of Proximal Development.”

Findings suggest that integrating students’ cultural capital through their own music supports the goals of intercultural communicative competence (Byram, 1997). L1 songs, when creatively incorporated into Arabic-language tasks, foster deeper motivation, cultural reflection, and lexical retention. Ultimately, emotional familiarity and cultural resonance emerge as powerful mediators for second-language development, reducing affective barriers and promoting more meaningful cognitive and intercultural learning.

This presentation highlights an application of the Cultures and Languages Across the Curriculum (CLAC) approach. I focus on a class activity and homework assignment developed in collaboration with the Smith College Museum of Art for an advanced Chinese language course. Although visual literacy in language instruction is often fostered through film, I argue that a campus museum’s rich collections—in this case, Chinese art—offer an equally valuable resource for enriching the curriculum.

A bilingual class visit enables advanced learners to activate and expand their vocabulary while gaining confidence in discussing visual texts they may initially feel unprepared to interpret. Because the discussion is unscripted, students have the autonomy to generate their own vocabulary and engage deeply with the artwork. This activity intentionally moves students outside their comfort zone and encourages them to reconceptualize the possibilities of language learning.

Student feedback has been largely positive. Although a few participants reported feeling intimidated—remarking that they do not know how to discuss art even in their first language—they nonetheless described both the museum visit and the related homework assignment as stimulating, meaningful, and engaging.

This presentation explores how English language teachers in Kazakhstani international schools draw on translanguaging as an innovative pedagogical and ideological practice within English-medium instruction (EMI) settings. While national policy promotes trilingualism (Kazakh–Russian–English), classroom realities often remain shaped by monolingual “English-only” ideologies. Through ethnographic data collected from interviews, classroom observations, and teacher reflections, this study examines how teachers navigate these tensions and use their full linguistic repertoires to support learning, identity expression, and intercultural understanding. The findings reveal that translanguaging functions not merely as a compensatory strategy but as a creative resource that fosters inclusivity and deepens content engagement. Teachers’ practices also illuminate the role of agency in reshaping language policy from the bottom up, as educators adapt global EMI models to local multilingual ecologies. By situating Kazakhstan’s experience within broader discussions of innovation in language education, this session invites participants to reconsider how multilingual pedagogies can sustain language program vitality and cultivate more equitable, culturally responsive classrooms across diverse contexts.

This session will be a roundtable discussion of students who have all studied languages thorugh self-instructional language programs (SILP). The panel is comproised of both undergraduate and graduate students who learned languages in SILP programs through Colgate University The Five Colleges Center for World Languages. Moderators will begin the session with a brief description of the different programs before posing some questions to the student panelists. Audience members are encouraged to bring their own questions for the group.

Students and language teachers want more and better resources for making language learning more inclusive for nonbinary and gender-nonconforming students, which can also be employed to be more gender inclusive beyond the classroom, especially for less commonly taught languages like Italian and Arabic. Converse and Negretto surveyed teachers of Arabic, Italian and Spanish for their openness to and strategies for teaching third gender grammar in the profoundly binary grammars of these languages, finding a wide range of both reasoning and practical applications. As part of a project on gender-inclusivity in language teaching with expert Kris Knisely, Converse and Knight, with a Moroccan colleague, conducted a survey of nonbinary and gender-nonconforming speakers of Arabic to better understand their strategies for navigating gender in the language, as well as their advice for students and teachers of Arabic. This survey informed open educational resources created by Converse and Knight for use in the Arabic classroom. We present findings from both studies and Knight’s work with French, including practical strategies and resources for the classroom, and will brainstorm input with the audience on both practical applications of existing research, and how students might contribute to the evolving landscape of gender-inclusive language. 

Cultivating Perseverance and Empathy: Using a Contemporary Novel as the Core Text in Intermediate Language Instruction

This 15-minute presentation proposes a model for Content-Based Language Instruction in the intermediate classroom, where a complete contemporary novel serves as the primary "textbook."

My rationale stems from the observable decline in long-form reading, especially fictional narratives. By assigning an entire novel in Italian to intermediate students, the course directly addresses several crucial pedagogical goals:

•        Cultivating Perseverance: Students are challenged to overcome initial difficulties with reading density. As they progress through the narrative, their reading fluency and confidence increase significantly.

•        Contextualized Acquisition: Idiomatic expressions, vocabulary, and advanced grammar points are studied and acquired within the engaging context of a compelling fictional narrative.

•        Integrating Literary Analysis: The narrative structure itself becomes an object of analysis, transforming the intermediate language course into a functional introduction to literary study.

•        Fostering Empathy: Crucially, both foreign language study and the sustained reading of long fictional texts have been shown to significantly enhance empathy—a timely and essential quality to cultivate in today's educational environment.

This presentation will detail the course design, provide examples of communicative activities anchored in the narrative, and discuss preliminary outcomes regarding student engagement and linguistic acquisition.

This project, Sustainable Encounters: Ethical Research on Cultural Heritage and Tourism in Costa Rica, explores how sustainable tourism can serve as a bridge between environmental stewardship, cultural heritage preservation, and ethical global engagement. Focusing on two key regions, the Arenal Region and Santa Rosa National Park, the study examines how tourism practices align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and embody principles of environmental ethics and community inclusion. Through content-based and experiential learning, participants analyze cultural and ecological dynamics, investigate community participation in conservation efforts, and evaluate the impacts of tourism on local environments and cultural identities.

Guided by critical reflection routines such as “See-Think-Wonder” and “Claim-Support-Question,” the project encourages students to challenge assumptions about tourism, sustainability, and cultural representation. By integrating field-based inquiry, ethical analysis, and creative research outputs (infographics, videos, and reports), the study promotes intercultural competence and sustainable awareness across disciplines. Ultimately, this research contributes to ongoing conversations about decolonizing tourism, fostering community-driven development, and advancing educational models that connect culture, language, and sustainability through ethical global learning.

It has become more important than ever to engage language learners, and student-centered course design offers one effective model. This presentation describes a student-led syllabus approach used in intermediate and advanced language classes grounded in content-based and project-based instruction. By involving learners directly in identifying thematic units and selecting authentic materials, the course structure fosters greater autonomy, motivation, and ownership of learning. Students engage more deeply with meaningful content and increase metalinguistic awareness. I will share examples illustrating how collaborative syllabus design supports student agency and creates a more responsive and engaging learning experience.

Plurilingualism in language education understands that learners’ linguistic repertoires are interconnected (Jaspers & Madsen, 2019; MacSwan, 2017), embraces learners’ varied language proficiencies (Bonacina-Pugh, 2020) and challenges monolingual, immersive pedagogical approaches promoting exclusive target language (TL) use in language classrooms (García & Otheguy, 2020). This series of interconnected talks examines a plurilingual approach to language education from the perspectives of measuring language use, perceptions of instructors, and learning outcomes. 

Quantifying plurilingual language use remains challenging for teachers and researchers; thus, the first study compares the operationalization of three methods of measuring language practices by a teacher and learners in an Arabic language classroom and examines the feasibility of each method.

Language teachers have been tasked with using their professional judgements in determining optimal language use in their classrooms (Turnbull, 2018); thus, the second study compares teacher estimates of their own classroom L1-L2 use with observations of their teaching.

In the third study, we turn to the effects of plurilingual approaches on outcomes in language learning by presenting a meta-analysis aggregating effect sizes from 31 samples in 24 empirical studies that contrasted L1-L2 with L2-only use among teachers and 2,203 L2 learners of English, Arabic, French or Spanish with various L1s.  

In this presentation, we introduce an AI based approach to identifying challenging vocabulary and adapting authentic materials to support its acquisition. The method draws on the principles of Modified Elaborated Input (Long, 2020), designed to enhance comprehension while preserving the linguistic richness of authentic texts.

The process begins by detecting potentially difficult lexical items using a frequency list (e.g., A Frequency Dictionary of Contemporary American English, Davies & Gardner, 2010). AI tools then modify the text to make these items more salient and semantically transparent without oversimplifying context or structure. In a final step, we use AI to generate an aural version of the adapted text to reinforce vocabulary learning through multimodal input.

During the presentation, we demonstrate this workflow and discuss pedagogical applications for language instructors seeking to balance authenticity, comprehensibility, and lexical development in AI mediated environments.

Current eligibility criteria for special education services in the U.S. is based on whether the student meets a disability category, one of which is specific learning disability. Individualized Education Program criteria for a specific learning disability include exclusionary factors: ensuring that limited English proficiency and cultural factors, are not used to determine specific learning disability eligibility, these criteria, however, are not fully inclusive of K-12 multilingual learners’ academic, linguistic, and sociocultural needs. Although special education and language education services co-exist in K-12 U.S. schools, these programs do not typically seamlessly connect; therefore, leading to a disproportionate number of multilingual learners in special education. This is a significant challenge facing K-12 schools. This session connects to innovative education representing the Cultures and Languages Across the Curriculum, representing approaches for Innovative Language Instruction Practices and Modalities. Special education and English language educational professionals collaborate in innovative and creative ways to best meet all students’ academic, linguistic, and sociocultural needs. This session will illuminate special education and English Learner education’s challenges and provide innovative insights into how dual identified English learners with language and specific learning disabilities can be best supported in the general, special education, and English Language classroom settings. 

This presentation consists of two parts, illustrating how Chinese for Current Affairs has developed as a dynamic curriculum that integrates language learning with real-world engagement. The presentation will firstly introduce the evolution of the course design, which adapts to current events and students’ interests while maintaining a strong focus on authentic materials and discussion-based learning. The flexible structure allows the course to respond dynamically to social, cultural, and political changes, fostering students’ analytical and communicative abilities in Chinese.

The second part of the presentation will focus on the integration of a Community-Based Learning (CBL) approach implemented in Fall 2025 semester. Partnering with the newly established Peach Blossom Haven Community near New Haven, students use advanced Chinese to conduct interviews, write articles, document stories, and participate in cultural events. This collaboration turns language learning into an active, community-connected experience.

By showcasing both curricular development and community collaboration, this session demonstrates how a dynamic, community-based approach deepens linguistic proficiency, intercultural competence, and civic engagement beyond the classroom.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology has rapidly entered the field of education and aroused much controversy and interest. The perceptions of EFL teachers’ and students’ regarding the integration of AI can shed light onto developing effective pedagogical implications. Most studies typically focused on exploring the effectiveness of AI employment or the perceptions of one of the two parties. This study focused on exploring both teachers’ and students’ perceptions regarding integrating ChatGPT into L2 writing classes in the context of higher education in Türkiye. Findings revealed that the views of teachers and students after their hands-on experience are not the same. Teachers chose to employ it more as they believe ChatGPT assisted the learners to come up with various ideas to use in their writings but did not want the learners to depend on the tool. They favored the in-class use due to benefits to the learners and empowering themselves as role models about responsible use. The students, on the other hand, disapproved of seeing their teachers directly interacting with the tool, perceiving it as a sign of reduced effort. The findings encourage teachers and students to meet in common ground and highlight the need for specific training for both groups.

Amidst increasing budgetary and societal pressures, language programs at regional universities are faced with once again providing justifications not only for adding new languages to the curriculum but also for retaining their current language offerings.  These justifications must be aligned to institutional mission statements; to local, regional, and/or state talent demands or workforce strategies; and to town and gown partnerships and career pipelines.  Undoubtably, conducting a community language needs analysis on the ready can prove a daunting task for faculty already stretched thin at a small regional university.  This study seeks to present what can be done with limited resources and on a small scale to identify local communities of speakers and the businesses and organizations that serve them. While this process may not follow a traditional needs analysis method, it can yield valuable localized data that program directors can use to begin to make a case for investing in particular languages and community partnerships that are advantageous for student’s academic and post-graduation goals. 

This study examines the long-term impact of Cultures and Languages Across the Curriculum (CLAC) in undergraduate linguistics courses. Two CLAC models were implemented: a modularized model and an infused model. Former participants in these courses were contacted via email or LinkedIn and invited to complete a follow-up survey. A total of 34 participants completed the survey. Where we examined participants’ recollection of the CLAC experience and its impact. 

This roundtable will focus on innovative strategies for engaging with advisors and administrators across campus, in order to improve language advising, placement, and ultimately, enrollments in language programs. The three presenters will discuss a project conducted at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to educate advisors about language placement and proficiency policies across language programs, to develop documents designed to help advisors guide students to the proper language course, and to cultivate channels of communication between campus advisors and language program directors. Keeping in mind the differences in administrative structures among institutions, the presenters will solicit feedback and ideas from the roundtable participants and pose questions about the effects that institutional forces have on language programs. Roundtable participants will learn from each other and gain valuable tools for engaging with advisors on their campuses.

At large research universities (R1s), Language Centers operate at the intersection of high academic expectations, expansive program portfolios, and increasingly complex institutional landscapes. Unlike smaller institutions where program structures may be more centralized, R1 universities must balance the needs of multiple colleges, graduate and professional schools, global research initiatives, and diverse student populations. In this environment, Language Centers are increasingly called upon not only to support instruction, but also to guide campus-wide conversations about multilingualism, AI-mediated communication, equity in global learning, and the future of language education at scale.

This roundtable brings together Language Center directors from the University of Rochester, Cornell University, and the University of Chicago to discuss how centers at major research universities are evolving from service units into strategic institutional partners. Panelists will share high-impact initiatives in areas such as program visibility, community-engaged learning, faculty development, AI-integrated pedagogy, multimodal student support, and cross-college collaborations. Participants will also explore the structural barriers and unmet needs that persist within large, decentralized university ecosystems.

Designed as an interactive conversation, the roundtable invites attendees to compare models, identify shared challenges across institutional types, and explore opportunities for regional or national partnerships that advance innovation and long-term vitality in language programs at R1 universities.

This presentation consists of two parts, illustrating how Chinese for Current Affairs has developed as a dynamic curriculum that integrates language learning with real-world engagement. The presentation will firstly introduce the evolution of the course design, which adapts to current events and students’ interests while maintaining a strong focus on authentic materials and discussion-based learning. The flexible structure allows the course to respond dynamically to social, cultural, and political changes, fostering students’ analytical and communicative abilities in Chinese.

The second part of the presentation will focus on the integration of a Community-Based Learning (CBL) approach implemented in Fall 2025 semester. Partnering with the newly established Peach Blossom Haven Community near New Haven, students use advanced Chinese to conduct interviews, write articles, document stories, and participate in cultural events. This collaboration turns language learning into an active, community-connected experience.

By showcasing both curricular development and community collaboration, this session demonstrates how a dynamic, community-based approach deepens linguistic proficiency, intercultural competence, and civic engagement beyond the classroom.

This mixed-methods study investigated the perceived and observed intercultural communicative competence (ICC) of 89 EFL students and 46 EFL instructors, as well as their views on the usefulness of artificial intelligence (AI) for ICC development. Perceived ICC was assessed through a validated ICC questionnaire and observed ICC through two sets of researcher-developed discourse completion tasks (DCTs). In the first DCT set, participants responded solely based on their own knowledge; in the second, they were permitted to consult AI tools of their choice, enabling comparison across self-based and AI-assisted performance. Following the DCT tasks, participants also responded to open-ended questions regarding the perceived usefulness of AI in ICC development. To analyze the data, both statistical tests through SPSS and thematic analysis were utilized.

Findings show that instructors scored significantly higher than students in both perceived and observed ICC, while AI assistance did not reliably enhance performance for either group. Participants generally viewed AI as helpful for ICC development, although students did not prefer it over human instruction, and instructors emphasized the continued importance of empathy, contextual nuance, and authentic interaction in intercultural communication. Implications are discussed for integrating AI into language programs in ways that complement rather than replace human-centered intercultural learning.

This proposal describes a multimodal digital narrative project designed for second-year Chinese class, fostering students’ learning autonomy and agency as they explore their potential and limitations. Planning and completing the project involves collaboration between students and the instructor, supporting both student-centered peer learning and teacher-guided instruction.

The multimodal project engages students in collaboratively writing a cohesive introductory Chinese script that communicates effectively to a specific audience, while exploring and reflecting on cultural similarities and differences between their own culture(s) and Chinese-speaking cultures. It serves as an individually tailored platform for students to apply and synthesize their linguistic and cultural knowledge in a meaningful context, which allows them to strengthen their ability to articulate ideas clearly and deliver smooth, engaging presentations. During the project, students have the freedom to select topics, design scripts and scenes, and determine content, while the instructor ensures linguistic accuracy and cultural relevance.

All scripts and digital projects will be presented on a class website, where students are encouraged to leave constructive feedback for their peers. Projects will also be showcased in class. These presentation modes, combined with giving students more authority over their learning, aim to stimulate interest and motivation to continue their language learning journey in the contemporary milieu.

This presentation argues that language education occupies a unique position within General Education in preparing students to act as twenty-first-century global citizens in a post-truth, AI-saturated era. I reanalyze General Education through four core competencies of global citizenship: intercultural communication, critical thinking, problem solving, and adaptability. I then show how these competencies can be purposefully embedded in language-education classrooms so that they become privileged sites for fostering critical literacies and systematic critical thinking.

Drawing on redesigned language courses, I illustrate how unit design supports cross-cultural engagement; how concept-based instruction using guided multimodal media comparison (e.g., texts, audio, video, memes, and AI-generated content) can systematize critical thinking; and how project-oriented courses can empower students to become problem solvers rather than bystanders. I also discuss how approaching the target language as one among roughly 7,000 linguistic systems, together with structured cycles of trial–error–adjustment–repetition, can rekindle a love of learning and help students respond to a rapidly changing world. Qualitative evidence from student work and classroom interaction, along with enrollment patterns and student feedback, suggests that students begin to view language education not as a transactional requirement but as a space to question, weigh evidence, and position themselves responsibly in global debates.

Traditional ancient language pedagogy, based on memorization of forms and vocabulary, has been rendered obsolete by freely-available digital lookup tools and AI translators. In order to remain relevant and command respect on the educational stage, we must stage a revolution. From my research in digital stylometry, I have developed an innovative approach to ancient language teaching, which could easily be adapted to modern languages. My students use syntactic trees (a kind of sentence diagramming ) in order to analyze how languages function. Memorization is minimized courtesy of digital online tools that identify form and link to the lexicon. Instead, we practice a critical approach to meaning and structure, as framed within the easy-to-learn dependency grammar. I teach my students how to articulate their questions and how to find the answers. To put this process in theoretical terms (Cognitive Load Theory), the use of lexical and morphological tools reduces the Extraneous Cognitive Load on student, while the use of dependency trees redirects this mental energy to the Germane Load.

 I will spend this session explaining and demonstrating my methods for any audience (no Greek needed!). One could adopt it for teaching High School or Higher Education, on-line classes, or inter-institutional partnerships.

As language programs across the United States face declining enrollments, constrained budgets, shifting student interests, and rapid advances in AI, the role of the Language Center in maintaining programmatic vitality has become increasingly important. Program health depends on effective  recruitment and retention strategies, strong curriculum, visible institutional support, engaged faculty, meaningful cross-disciplinary connections, and a clear sense of the value and relevance of language study.

Language Centers already contribute to these areas in significant ways, whether through student support, pedagogical innovation, co-curricular programming, or strategic collaboration with campus partners. At small liberal arts colleges, where programs are small, resources are limited, and student–faculty relationships shape much of the academic experience, these contributions are especially consequential.

This roundtable invites Language Center directors and staff at small liberal arts colleges to share the initiatives that have had the greatest impact on the vitality of language programs at their institutions, as well as the gaps or unmet needs they continue to face. Participants will compare approaches, identify shared challenges, and explore opportunities for collaboration that strengthen both Language Centers and the programs they support.

Indiana University, widely recognized as the institution that teaches the largest number of languages in the U.S., has recently faced the same enrollment pressures confronting language programs nationwide. As chair of the Department of Central Eurasian Studies, the unit that teaches the most languages within IU, and a linguist working closely with instructional faculty, I will discuss the set of structural and pedagogical innovations we have implemented to sustain our broad linguistic offerings while adapting to shifting student demand. CEUS alone teaches an exceptionally diverse range of less commonly taught languages, including Turkish, Persian, Hungarian, Estonian, Finnish, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Uyghur, and Tibetan. To preserve these languages and maintain curricular coherence despite low enrollments, we have recently introduced a flexible model that combines intermediate and advanced levels into unified, proficiency-driven courses. This restructuring not only stabilizes enrollments but also fosters individualized pathways for students at different stages of acquisition, while also letting us expand our lecturers’ teaching portfolios by creating new culture courses connected to their linguistic expertise. These courses are now undergoing review for General Education designations, which will enable broader campus participation and strengthen the visibility of our programs, while increasing average enrollments per faculty. 

This presentation highlights how targeted, high-impact training for Self-Instructional Language Program (SILP) facilitators and peer tutors can counteract current pressures on language programs and foster an ecosystem of connected language-learning communities. Like many SILP directors, Hamilton College faces the challenge of training student facilitators to act as mini-teachers and native-speaker models—quickly and without access to pedagogy or methods courses. This model demonstrates how short, intense, iterative workshops can meet that need effectively.

Peer tutors and SILP facilitators engage in vertically articulated trainings aligned with ACTFL proficiency standards and “Can-Do” statements, as well as lessons learned from the presenter’s long career as a K–12 educator, all framed within modified Danielson K–12 rubrics adapted for university language centers. This structure makes expert teaching behaviors accessible, helping novice tutors cultivate core second-language instructional strategies—including circumlocution, scaffolding, and backward design—within both individual and group sessions.

Requiring minimal institutional resources, this high-impact approach strengthens curricular cohesion, supports learner autonomy, and enhances the role of the SILP–Language Center ecosystem as a catalyst for pedagogical innovation and student retention. Attendees will gain practical insight into scalable, proficiency-driven tutor development that transforms student employees into confident, effective facilitators.

This 3-presentation panel examines how creativity and self-expression enrich language learning by fostering engagement, confidence, and personal connection to the target language. Moving beyond accuracy-focused instruction, creative tasks—such as storytelling, multimodal projects, artistic expression, or reflective writing—invite learners to experiment with language in meaningful, personally relevant ways. Drawing on classroom examples and research, the session highlights how creative work strengthens learner voice, agency, and motivation, while supporting linguistic development. Attention is given to the emotional dimensions of language learning and the need to create inclusive environments where students feel safe expressing themselves. The panel will consist of the following presentations:

This presentation introduces strategies for integrating creative expression into language teaching across proficiency levels (beginner through intermediate and advanced learners), highlighting how creativity as a pedagogical tool can enhance motivation, collaboration, and meaningful language use, while reducing anxiety and fostering classroom community.

This presentation examines how language pedagogy can meaningfully integrate non-binary perspectives and gender-inclusive practices while maintaining attention to grammatical structures. It highlights storytelling as a productive site where learners explore identity, agency, and self-representation in the target language. 

This presentation examines a collective writing project in a Teaching Romance Languages course considering how such practices can expand reading and writing in language instruction. Drawing on Don Lorenzo Milani’s “collective writing” method from the Barbiana School, it highlights the value of collaborative authorship for fostering linguistic awareness, shared responsibility, and equitable classroom participation.

This panel presents innovative classroom initiatives developed through our recently awarded MLA Pathways Step Grant; specifically, we discuss the development and application of language instruction modules that embed career-readiness skills including networking, gatekeeping and digital literacy skills into language courses. As the mission of the grant is to “strengthen the recruitment, retention, and career readiness of undergraduate students, especially students of color, first-generation college students, and Pell Grant recipients,” we piloted two of our modules to Academic Opportunity Program students and are adapting them for use in any language classroom. 

The presentation features our networking (Ferry), gatekeeping (Bell) and digital literacy (Bidoshi) modules. Although career skills are inherently present in language instruction, they often remain implicit and unclear to students. By identifying and highlighting the networking, gatekeeping and digital literacy skills embedded in our classroom practices, we enable students to develop core workplace competencies, including building strategic professional relationships, retrieving and imparting key information to mediate connections, and interacting professionally with AI systems.

Together with other complementary grant components – developing alumni career profiles and the construction of a campus-wide language map – these modules demonstrate how the work students do in language courses positions language study as a meaningful, career-aligned pathway.

In this session undergraduate students from Colgate University and Skidmore College will engage in a roundtable discussion of their experiences studying language through Cultures and Languages Across the Curriculum (CLAC) programs. Moderators will beging with a brief description of the two different approaches to CLAC in these programs before presenting some questions to the student panelists. Audience members are encouraged to bring their own questions to discuss.

This presentation reports on a recently completed project that used Extempore to support writing in the target language through a semester-long, travel-based theme. Throughout fall 2025, French 101 students worked toward a common goal: planning a trip to a francophone country. We created weekly writing tasks that were connected to this theme, and the vocabulary they used came directly from the chapter’s focus each week—housing, transportation, food, weather, daily routines, cultural activities, and more.

Using Extempore, students completed short activities such as describing destinations, narrating travel plans in different tenses and responding to realistic travel scenarios. Because Extempore is multimodal, these writing tasks naturally linked to listening and speaking activities that the students were already doing, creating a more complete communicative cycle. We had the option to create customized activities and to use some of Extempore’s shared content, adding a nice variety and flexibility to the project.

Students worked at home and in class in an immersion type environment where only the target language was used. This helped them view writing as a practical tool for accomplishing a goal rather than an isolated academic exercise. By the end of the semester, students had completed numerous tasks that reflected their growing confidence and linguistic range. The session will share concrete examples of completed tasks, student takeaways, and suggestions for designing theme-based Extempore projects that integrate smoothly with course content.

This presentation explores the Five College Consortium’s innovative approach to collaboratively offering less-commonly taught languages through a continuum of instructional models, from traditional departments to a centralized self-instructional program and multi-campus shared language initiatives. The Five College Center for World Languages offers independent study opportunities in 40+ languages that feature structured self-instruction and peer-led conversation sessions, while multi-campus shared language initiatives utilize joint-appointed faculty, coordinated curricula, and flexible enrollment management strategies to offer multi-year sequences across multiple campuses. Drawing on learnings from decades of experimentation with these different models, this session will share insights into leadership structures, funding models, curricular design, and the benefits and challenges of each approach. 

This workshop offers interactive discussions on training and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students and community members as language tutors. Participants will discuss guided questions on topics including, language pedagogy strategies for less commonly taught languages in various language sessions and tutorials formats; approaches to “facilitating” vs. “teaching” the target language” in flipped classroom” models; creating lesson plans; the role of communicative and pedagogical activities; offering feedback to lesson plans; offering error correction and feedback; addressing questions and situations requiring specific knowledge; designing and conducting script practice sessions; creating an inclusive classroom; evaluating student progress; confidence-building methods; benefits and drawbacks of in-person session observations; opportunities and challenges to face-to-face (in person and online) and in-writing training and mentoring approaches. Additional topics will be discussed per audience request. Resources based on discussions and audience feedback and questions will be collected and shared at the end of the session.

In a time when language programs face growing uncertainty, the future of Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTLs) remains increasingly tenuous. Accordingly, many institutions struggle to support students whose target languages fall outside standard course offerings. The presentation highlights how departmental support and guidance promote the development of autonomous, motivated language learners through specialized programming. To supplement their work with a language partner, students design and maintain the trajectory of their language learning through strategic planning and thoughtful reflection. The comprehensive approach encompasses a structured yet flexible framework that empowers students to take ownership of their learning while receiving expert guidance and individualized feedback.  

Drawing on program design, learner support strategies, and student experiences, the session will explore key elements that promote successful independent study of LCTLs, including effective use of authentic materials and interactive technology, collaboration among the program’s language learners, and facilitation by trained language partners and advisors. Participants will gain insight into how program architecture and pedagogical scaffolding cultivate learner autonomy and resourcefulness to help sustain motivation and engender tangible language acquisition. The presentation offers practical and research-based strategies to develop adaptable models for institutions seeking to expand support for LCTL learners through innovative, student-centered approaches.