Along the path to proficiency, we encounter many things in our classroom, in our department, and in the field. In this series, we would like to share some notes from the field from educators who have made an impact and have learned something impactful along their journey. Here they will share their notes from the field with us and how their learning has helped shape them, as well as its impact, as they help their students along the path to proficiency.

My career has taken me in many directions since I began my path to proficiency in junior high school, but for the past twenty years, I’ve had the great fortune of working with many teachers and administrators to plan and implement Dual Language Immersion and World Language programs. I’ve become particularly fond of working with Heritage Language speakers of Russian and other languages.

My personal path to proficiency started with learning French in junior high school using the Audiolingual Method (yes, I know, it was a long time ago). We never saw a word written in French for at least six weeks, but I longed for visual cues, so I tried to take notes on a single sheet of notebook paper (Como talley voo?). The next year (age 12) I signed up for an “Aural-Oral” course at the University of Washington Language Learning Center to learn Modern Greek. I spent several months on Tuesday evenings with a reel-to-reel tape recorder learning to pronounce Greek, understand some words and phrases, and (fortunately) how to write the alphabet and decode words in Greek. I guess I wasn’t close to proficient in either language, and I knew it.

When I was 16, I headed to Europe with a group of dancers and musicians to travel to the Balkans and become immersed in the language and culture. And immersed I was. My French came in very handy a few times (though more people spoke German), and my Greek helped me learn to read Serbian, Macedonian, and Bulgarian Cyrillic a little faster. Living and traveling in a country gives you ample opportunities to learn critical phrases, like “Ima vreme,” which means roughly, “There’s still time, no rush, all things in due time, slow down and smell the roses” and “Nema problema,” which is pretty much what it looks like, “No problem,” and generally means that there are probably lots of problems but “Ima vreme” to figure them out.

When I entered the University of Washington, I thought maybe I’d study French, but when the advisor heard that I’d learned to speak Macedonian (well, more or less…) he said I belonged in the Slavic Department, so that was the beginning of my career with Russian. In the Spring quarter of my freshman year, this thing called the Student Strike (Kent State 1970) happened. Our Russian instructor was strongly in support of it, so she canceled regular classes, but she agreed to meet once a week if we’d conduct the class entirely in Russian and talk about current events. I probably learned more from those 10 hours than I would have learned from the 40 hours of class that we skipped.

I had the chance to study in Leningrad (yes, the Soviet Union) for a summer. We had to sign a language pledge, and many of us stuck with it even when we didn’t really know enough to speak accurately. (I spent the first night in the dorm searching out “brick” water because I confused it with the word for “boiled.”) After entering graduate school, I became a Teaching Assistant for Russian. I could say that all my personal experiences on the path to proficiency flooded over me, and I committed to creating a powerful language learning environment for my students. I spoke only Russian in class (although I did not even know what ACTFL was or the 90% goal in the target language). I did everything I could to provide comprehensible input (long before I heard of Krashen). I listened to my students, encouraged them, taught them to read in Russian during the first week, and tried to get them genuinely engaged in the language and culture.

So, now I’m trying to help others on their path to proficiency. Because I’ve coordinated our state and district testing for Competency-Based Credits and the Seal of Biliteracy, I’ve spent hours proctoring language proficiency testing and reviewing and summarizing test results in more than fifty languages. I can see the difference between students who are confident of their language skills and those who doubt themselves (and that includes, I’m sorry to say, a lot of Heritage Language speakers).

The beautiful thing about this work is that I never have to think about assigning “grades” in the usual classroom sense. Students receive ratings on the ACTFL proficiency scale. If their writing is lower than other skills, I can encourage them to go do some more writing in their language, then come back and test again. Many of these are students who have had little formal instruction in their language. But if they are Heritage speakers, they may have become sensitive to criticism from native speaker parents and adults who assume they should be more “native like” in their mastery of the language. It is a challenge to get everyone more oriented to recognizing what the students CAN do in the language.

I also work extensively with Dual Language Immersion programs. In elementary school, there is a level of freedom to let the language develop “naturally” unhindered by grammar tests and grades because the graded subjects are the content areas like Math, Science, and Social Studies. I see students taking risks (and, yes, making mistakes) but they internalize the language, a lot like I did when I was a teenager in Macedonia. It can be messy, but very rewarding. Some students develop great proficiency, not only in listening and speaking but also in reading and writing.

But then they hit middle and high school. In some of our programs that means encountering traditional “foreign” language teaching (like I experienced when I started studying Russian at the university). It can be a shock to move from owning your language proficiency development to trying to fit into a method of learning that someone else (the teacher or the textbook) has prescribed for you. I see students getting bored, discouraged, and sometimes giving up. It breaks my heart.

So, I continue relentlessly to provide our language teachers with more professional development on proficiency and the path to proficiency. Those that “get” it transform their teaching and their students soar.

Dr. Michele Anciaux Aoki, International Education Administrator for Seattle Public Schools, is responsible for developing and supporting the ten international schools in the district and their K-12 Dual Language Immersion programs in Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish, as well as supporting all World Language teachers in the district. She serves as Co-Director of the Confucius Institute of the State of Washington, a partnership among the University of Washington, Seattle Public Schools, the Governor’s Office, and Hanban in China.

Loading…

Tim has been a teacher of French and Spanish for 30 years and has been an instructional leader since 2006. He's served on the board of directors of the Massachusetts Foreign Language Association since 2008 and as president for 2017. He holds a B.A. in French and Spanish, and an M.A. in critical & creative thinking with a focus on second language acquisition and curriculum development. He's particularly interested in effective program design and instructional practices.

Paul Jennemann is the coordinator of an elementary school dual language immersion magnet program, has served on the curriculum revision team, and has facilitated district-wide professional development with Shelby County Schools (TN). Paul holds undergraduate degrees in Spanish and French and a graduate degree in Spanish with a focus on language acquisition and pedagogy. Paul lives in Memphis, Tennessee, with his wife and two sons, where they love to go to the park, go to the zoo, and cook together.

Alyssa Villarreal, is the President of Advance Learning and World Language Coordinator for Shelby County Schools (SCS) in Memphis, TN. Ms. Villarreal holds two masters degrees (Curriculum and instruction and educational leadership). As the World Language Coordinator for Shelby County Schools (SCS), she coordinates the district’s language program, which includes programs in eight languages including Spanish, French, German, Russian, Latin, Japanese, Arabic and Chinese. Ms. Villarreal has written and directed three successful Foreign Language Assistance program (FLAP) grants in her nine-year tenure in SCS. The first was to build a K-12 Russian program and was received in 2007. She was one of eight World Language Coordinators nationally to receive a 2008 FLAP grant to build K-12 global villages in Japanese, Arabic, Russian, and Chinese. In addition to her district duties, she has worked as the Foreign Language methods instructor for the University of Memphis. She has served as program director of three STARTALK programs for Memphis City Schools, consultant to other STARTALK programs and a STARTALK site visitor. In addition to her district duties, she has worked as the Foreign Language methods instructor for the University of Memphis. She is currently serving as President of the National Association of District Supervisors of Foreign Languages (NADSFL) and was named the 2012 NADSFL Supervisor of the Year.

Christi Gilliland has served as Williamson County School’s World Language Curriculum Specialist since 2012. Prior to that she taught Spanish to grades K-12 for a decade. She is committed to helping teachers grow professionally in order to create better language learning experiences for students. She strongly believes that any PD should reach the students’ desks. She was happy to represent NADSFL as an ACTFL Leadership Initiative for Learning Languages (LILL) fellow. The monthly NADSFL Café webinar sessions materialized as a direct result of her work with LILL. These sessions bring together experts in the field of World Language education to help leaders across the country learn more about current best practices. Currently, she is working hard to help her district transition to proficiency-based instruction and curriculum. As a good Southerner should, many areas of her life are often guided by the question, “What would Dolly Parton do?”

Rebecca Blouwolff has been a French teacher at Wellesley Middle School in Massachusetts since 1998. Her practice was forever changed by attending a 2014 workshop with Laura Terrill, co-author of ACTFL's The Keys to Planning for Learning. Since then, she has abandoned her previous hobbies in order to rewrite her curriculum, blog about thematic units, participate in #langchat, and provide professional development to colleagues in the Boston area. She holds a B.A. from Brown University and Ed.M. from Harvard's Graduate School of Education, served as a Fulbright Teaching Fellow in France, and is a candidate to become a National Board Certified Teacher.

Nicaraguan-born, Miami-raised, confused for Cuban world language teacher and enthusiast always up for the challenge of adding more.   

Timothy is a third-year Spanish teacher in the Andover Public Schools. He holds a BA in Spanish and Secondary Education from Worcester State University. He has seen the power of proficiency in both his teaching and his own learning. Although he is new to the profession, teaching for proficiency is all he knows, so he feels blessed to have started his career so recently.

Maris is a Lower School and Middle School Spanish teacher at an independent school in Washington, DC. Although she has taught almost all grades and levels of Spanish. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and Art History in addition to her Master's in Teaching from the University of Virginia. Maris also loves adapting authentic resources to make them comprehensible to use in her class. In addition, she has presented on how to incorporate technology into a proficiency-based classroom at various conferences. She lives in Virginia with her family, and she enjoys exploring the area around DC.

Rosalyn Rhodes is currently a Spanish teacher in Charlotte, North Carolina. She holds a Bachelors in Spanish from UNC-Greensboro and a Masters in Teaching K-12 Foreign Language from UNC-Charlotte. She has traveled and led student groups in Nicaragua, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic. In her thirteen years of teaching, Ms. Rhodes has taught every grade level K-12, and has worked in both public and independent schools. In her professional career in Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, she served as the WL New Teacher Coordinator and WL Master Teacher, writes curriculum, and presented a variety of professional development workshops. A member of both ACTFL and FLANC, her 2014 and 2016 FLANC presentations earned top 10 status, and Ms. Rhodes was named the 2015 FLANC Teacher of the Year. She loves teaching Novice learners and states that her goal with her students is to “open their eyes to new people and new places, and to equip them with the language skills necessary for their own cultural journey.”

Lisa Werner is both high school German teacher and Department Chair of an inspiring group of World Language Teachers at Bozeman High School in Bozeman, Montana. Her formal teaching career began in Wyoming, continued in Ohio and brought her back home to Montana in 2004. She holds an undergraduate degree in German from the University of Montana, a M.A. in German Language from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is certified in both German and ESL. Lisa is  a member of the AATG, MALT, and ACTFL. She looks forward to spending June either leading students on travel/homestay adventures to Austria and Germany or participating in the AP Reading for the AP German Language and Culture Exam, after which she bask in the beauty of the Montana summer with her husband, Joel.

Matt Coss (“Mateo” or 高正远 to some) is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Second Language Acquisition & Application at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is also working as a member of the STARTALK division of the National Foreign Language Center at UMD. Previously, Matt worked as a Spanish teacher and freelance translator during a gap year after receiving his B.A. in Hispanic Linguistics and Chinese with a minor in Entrepreneurship from UNC Chapel Hill. What he lacks in age, he makes up for in teaching experience—despite only being 23 years old, Matt has been a Spanish teacher since the age of 16 and a Chinese teacher since the age of 19. Through a series of fortunate events that are much too long to relate here, Matt grew up bilingual (English & Spanish) and started learning Mandarin at age 11 (currently Superior on OPI/ACTFL scale). Matt has taught a broad range of learners in both Spanish and Chinese, from novice 3 rd graders to medical school students to retired adults and beyond. For Matt, language learning and teaching have been lifelong companions so far, and it is his dream to continue learning, teaching and growing on the Path…

Colleen Lee-Hayes teaches Japanese in a public high school in Coquitlam (Vancouver) BC Canada.  At age 17 she told her educator parents that she’d never be a teacher...and look where she is now! Her classroom is her laboratory and her teaching is a ‘hybrid’ of methodologies as she seeks to find what resonates with her students. Colleen tells her classes that her goal as a teacher is to help them develop the skills (& courage) to use their language in the ‘real world’. She blogs regularly and credits her involvement with the #langchat PLN for the evolution of her teaching. Colleen holds Bachelor degrees in Asian Studies/Japanese & Education and an MBA in Finance & Marketing. She has been a moderator with #langchat since 2013 and has presented locally/provincially in Canada as well at ACTFL.

I have been teaching Spanish for the past forty years at all levels from elementary to college with the longest tenure at the University School of Milwaukee Independent School for the past 33 years. I have had the great privilege of co-leading our PK-12 World Language Department in a conversion from a traditional grammar-based program to an oral proficiency-based program with the help of Greg Duncan. I received my ACTFL oral proficiency certificate in October of this past year and just returned from spending a week at the Singapore American School observing the most phenomenal elementary school language program that I have ever seen. I am an AP teacher and reader. For 18 years I have lead a summer service trip to Panama to work with malnourished children.

Saint Andrew’s School, in Boca Raton, Florida, is a PreK-12 day and boarding college preparatory school with 1,275 students from over 40 countries. Three of the school's language department teacher are sharing their reflections: Carolina Seiden, P.hD., is a passionate linguist, curious teacher, and adoring beagle mom. She is perpetually flawed and fortunate to have forgiving friends and colleagues. Currently, she is working as a language teacher and support staff for teachers’ use of technology in learning. Stephanie Shepherd is a second career language teacher.  Her former life as an orchestral musician ignited her passion for learning languages, traveling, and living in different countries. She tries to pass on the torch to her middle school students. Elena Giudice considers herself fortunate to have lived and worked in international schools in France, Puerto Rico, USA, The Bahamas, and Malta. Her studies in Intercultural Communications influenced her personal and professional growth in such positive ways that she strives to reach her students not only in their language growth but in the development of their social-emotional and cultural intelligence skills. Elena is currently Chair of the World Languages and Cultures Department at Saint Andrew’s School.

Jaime Basham is a high school Spanish teacher who enthusiastically incorporates humor and authentic realia in her classes. She has served on the revision committee for the Wyoming World Language Standards and has revised curriculum in Campbell County School District #1. Jaime holds an undergraduate degree in Spanish Secondary Education and is currently in pursuit of her masters in Curriculum & Instruction. She is a member of ACTFL, PNCFL, and the President of WFLTA. In the summers, when she isn't leading student groups abroad, she enjoys backpacking and fishing in the majestic mountains of Wyoming. She also enjoys playing disc golf, cooking, playing board games, and spending time with her husband and two cats.

Dr. Michele Anciaux Aoki, International Education Administrator for Seattle Public Schools, is responsible for developing and supporting the ten international schools in the district and their K-12 Dual Language Immersion programs in Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish, as well as supporting all World Language teachers throughout the district. She is Co-Director of the Confucius Institute of the State of Washington, a partnership among the University of Washington, Seattle Public Schools, the Governor’s Office, and Hanban in China. From 2008 to 2014, Michele served as World Languages and International Education Program Supervisor at the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). While there she worked with the State Board of Education and Washington State School Directors Association to develop and implement a model policy and procedure for Competency-Based Credits to award high school credits to students with demonstrated language proficiency. She was instrumental in introducing the Seal of Biliteracy in Washington State. Since 2011, Michele has partnered with the University of Washington on their Russian and Portuguese STARTALK Teacher and Student Programs. Michele has a Ph.D. in Slavic Linguistics and taught Russian language and English as a Second Language at the University of Washington for a number of years…

John Cadena teaches Japanese at the high school level for the North East Independent School District in San Antonio, Texas.  In addition to presenting at local, state, and national conferences on World Language teaching, he serves as a member of the Rubric Development Committee and New Teacher Training team for North East ISD World Languages.  John regularly collaborates with other World Language teachers online, and has been a moderator for the #langchat discussion group since February 2015.  An avid reader of teacher blogs and Twitter feeds, John strongly advocates for educators taking their professional development into their own hands and building a professional learning network that models reflection and growth.

Amanda Robustelli-Price is a French teacher in northern Connecticut. An educator passionate about preparing students for success in our interconnected world, Amanda has been in the field of education for fifteen years, having worked as a teacher, department coordinator, and teacher trainer. She is returning to teaching after staying home with her son, and is excited to implement her professional learning from her time away from the classroom.

Valerie Shull teaches Spanish for elementary and middle school children at Rogers Park Montessori School, where she's been on staff for twenty years.  During her time at RPMS she’s worked with children age four to fourteen. The rubber hits the road in her proficiency-focused program during her school’s annual 8th grade travel/homestay trip to Costa Rica, which is recognized by ACTFL’s Global Engagement Initiative.  Valerie is passionate about working toward language proficiency with children, improving her own practice and supporting teachers in their journey. She is a regular conference presenter on the topic of language proficiency in the early years and is a member of NNELL, AATSP, and ACTFL,  where she currently serves on the Global Engagement Committee. Valerie works and lives in Chicago with her daughter, a young global-citizen-in-training. 

Sharon has recently retired as Instructional Specialist for Languages Other than English in Arlington Independent School District, Arlington, TX. In that capacity she oversaw the writing and implementation of curriculum for 32 courses in five languages. She was also instrumental in the establishment of two Fine Arts Dual Languages Academies, as well as FLES programs in Chinese and Portuguese. She has directed five successful STARTALK programs in Arlington. Sharon has served as President of the Texas Foreign Language Association and continues to be active in the profession in her role as a collaborator on the TELL project and as a consultant to various school districts. 

Meredith White earned her B.A., B.S., M.Ed., and Ed.S. all in World Language Education from the University of Georgia. Her focus on novice learners works to ingrain proficiency, authentic resources, genuine tasks, student-guided thematic units, and making language learning enjoyable. When she isn't at PRHS teaching Spanish, she's at Georgia State University teaching educational methods classes or presenting/attending state, regional, and national workshops. Passionate about sharing and collaborating with other teachers, she blogs, moderates the PLN #langchat, and serves on the GGC College of Education Advisory and SEALLT Executive Boards.

Betsy Taylor is a high school French teacher in Franklin, TN. She holds a B.A. in French from UT-Knoxville, Un Diplôme de Langue et de Culture from the University of Angers, France, and an M.S. in Secondary Teaching with an emphasis in World Language from UT-Knoxville.  Over the past 19 years, she has taught all levels of French, 1-AP/IB, often participated in local and state curriculum writing, and regularly presents at the local, state and regional levels.  She is a National Board Certified Teacher and is an active leader in TFLTA, where she has served as President and Conference Secretary, and was recently named the 2016 TFLTA Teacher of the Year.  She is a passionate Francophile dedicated to spreading the joy of language and culture to her students and providing them with quality proficiency based learning. In her spare time she attempts to teach her cat, Gigi, French and serves on the board of the Scottish Society of Middle Tennessee. 

Thomas Sauer is the Director of Design and Communication for AdvanceLearning and an independent consultant. He previously held positions as world language specialist in the Fayette County Public Schools and Jefferson County Public Schools for almost ten years and taught German at the University of Kentucky, Georgetown College and Kentucky Educational Television. He has directed a variety of state and federal grants, most recently as program director and consultant for several successful STARTALK programs. Thomas has served as President of the Kentucky World Language Association as well as on the Board of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, the National Association of District Supervisors of Foreign Languages and the Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. Named the 2011 Pearson/NADSFL Supervisor of the Year and a 2010 Global Visionary by the World Affairs Council of Kentucky and Southern Indiana, Thomas is passionate about helping educators making the shift from teaching to learning.

Back to Top