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World Languages

World Languages

Professional Learning

We encourage World Language educators to take advantage of the variety of professional learning opportunities listed below.  The Office of Bilingual Education and World Languages provides monthly online workshops to assist educators in making the transition to the revised NYS Learning Standards for World Languages.  These workshops are offered free of charge to any teacher of a world language working in a NYS school, including district, charter, and non-public schools, as well as BOCES and RBERN employees.  These workshops qualify for CTLE credit for world languages. 

Upcoming OBEWL Webinars, Workshops, and Conferences for World Language Educators

2023 World Language Professional Learning Series

OBEWL is proud to release the following schedule of professional learning workshops:

**All OBEWL webinars are offered free of charge to educators working in NYS schools.  Educators can earn CTLE credit by attending live events or viewing the recording and scoring at least a 7 out of 10 on a multiple-choice post assessment.**

 

Thinking Thematically: Ready for the New Standards

OBEWL is proud to announce an in-person conference for world language teachers and administrators on Thursday, June 8, 2023 from 8:30am-3:00pm at MS 104 Simon Baruch Middle School (330 E. 21st Street, NY, NY, 10010).  This full-day, in-person professional learning conference is offered free of charge for any world language teachers (pre- or in-service) or administrators working in a NYS school.  CTLE credit is available.  Click here to register.  For more information, please visit the conference webpage.

 

Unit Design Workshops for Checkpoint B (Summer 2023)

In an effort to assure that as many NYS world language educators as possible are prepared to revise their Checkpoint B curricula prior to implementation of the revised NYS Learning Standards for World Languages in September of 2023, OBEWL will host unit design workshops for Checkpoint B in the summer of 2023 in nine regions of New York (Capital, Hudson Valley, Long Island, Mid-State, Mid-West, New York City, Northern NY, Southern Tier, and Western regions).  Although the examples given will be for Checkpoint B, these workshops are open to teachers of any level (Checkpoints A through C).  The events will run from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (with a one-hour lunch on your own) on two consecutive days.  (Please note: the second day of the NYC workshop - July 21st - will run from 10am-3pm.)  Participants must commit to attending both days.  Participants who satisfy the attendance requirements of this workshop will receive a total of eight (8) hours of CTLE credit.  To participate, educators must register in advance using the online form.  Registrations will be accepted on a first come, first served basis until the venue capacity has been reached.  These sessions are offered free of charge, are in-person only, and will not be recorded for future viewing.  Below are the list of dates and locations by region.  Click here to access the registration form.

  • Capital:  Thursday, July 13th - Friday, July 14th - Questar III BOCES (10 Empire State Blvd., Castleton-On-Hudson, NY  12033)
  • Hudson Valley:  Tuesday, July 18th - Wednesday, July 19th - Ulster BOCES (175 Route 32 N, New Paltz, NY 12561)
  • Long Island:  Tuesday, July 11th - Wednesday, July 12th - Western Suffolk BOCES (31 Lee Avenue, Wheatley Heights, NY 11798)
  • Mid-State:  Thursday, July 27th - Friday, July 28th - OCM BOCES (110 Elwood Davis Rd., Liverpool, NY  13088)
  • Mid-West:  Monday, June 26th - Tuesday, June 27th - Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES (3599 Big Ridge Rd., Spencerport, NY  14559)
  • New York City: Thursday, July 20th (9am-2pm) - Friday, July 21st (10am-3pm) Fordham University - Bronx Campus (2691 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY 10458)
  • Northern NY:  Tuesday, August 8th - Wednesday, August 9th - Franklin-Essex-Hamilton BOCES (23 Husky Lane, Malone, NY  12953)
  • Southern Tier: Tuesday, July 25th - Wednesday, July 26th - BT BOCES, Johnson City Learning Center (500 Main St, Johnson City, NY 13790)
  • West: Thursday, July 6th - Friday, July 7th - Erie 1 BOCES (355 Harlem Rd., West Seneca, NY  14224)

Most OBEWL webinars for world languages are recorded for on-demand viewing.  Click the link below to check out the recordings available.  All recordings are accompanied by multiple post-assessments that world language educators can take to earn CTLE credit based on a score of at least seven correct answers to 10 questions.

Recordings of previously offered OBEWL webinars

2023 Professional Learning Series

Centering Voices: Representation within and through World Language Classrooms by Ingrid Paredes and Diana Clark Perez (January 24, 2023)

Real Connections:  Leveraging Literacy Strategies for the World Language Classrooms by Elizabeth Slocum (February 28, 2023)

Connecting Technology to the Modes by Françoise Piron (March 14, 2023)

World Languages in the Elementary Schools and the Revised Standards by Marissa Coulehan (April 18, 2023)

Orientation Webinars for Administrators on the NYS World Learning Standards for World Languages (Parts 1 & 2) by Dr. Joanne O'Toole, Bill Heller and Dr. Lori Langer de Ramirez (April 18, 19, 25, and May 3, 2023)

Getting to Know Your Heritage Language Learners:  Basic Sociolinguistic Concepts by Dr. Carolina Bustamante (April 24, 2023)

Getting Ready for Implementation of the World Language Standards: Administrators’ Perspectives by William Anderson and Shawnna Sweet (May 9, 2023)

Starting a NYS Seal of Biliteracy Program at Your School by Candace Black (May 10, 2023)

 

2022 Professional Learning Series

Understanding Vocabulary Development in Standards-Based Teaching by Dr. Joanne O'Toole, Dr. Lori Langer de Ramirez, and Bill Heller (January 13, 2022)

Understanding the Role of Grammar in Proficiency Development Parts 1 and 2, by Dr. Joanne O'Toole, Dr. Lori Langer de Ramirez, and Bill Heller  (February 24th & March 3rd, 2022)

Understanding Standards-Based Lesson Planning, by Dr. Joanne O'Toole, Dr. Lori Langer de Ramirez, and Bill Heller  (March 31st, 2022)

Preparing for Standards-Based Curriculum Planning, by Dr. Lori Langer de Ramirez, Dr. Joanne O'Toole, and Bill Heller  (May 19th, 2022)

Assessment Part 1: Creating Standards-aligned Rubrics for Performance Assessment Tasks, by Bill Heller, Dr. Joanne O'Toole, Dr. Lori Langer de Ramirez  (September 27th, 2022)

Assessment Part 2:  Creating Formative and Summative Performance Assessment Tasks, by Dr. Joanne O'Toole, Dr. Lori Langer de Ramirez, and Bill Heller  (October 11th, 2022)

Lesson Planning Part 1 – From Unit Plan to Lesson Plans: Putting the Pieces Together (November 1, 2022)

Lesson Planning Part 2 – Lesson Planning Options for Thematic Units (December 13, 2022)

 

2021 Professional Learning Series

Embedding Authentic Resources into Lesson Plans by Leslie Grahn (January 20, 2021)

From Skills to Modes - Standard 1: Interpretive Communication by Dr. Joanne O'Toole (March 10, 2021)

From Skills to Modes - Standard 2:  Interpersonal Communication by Bill Heller (March 24, 2021)

From Skills to Modes - Standard 3:  Presentational Communication by Dr. Lori Langer de Ramirez (April 7, 2021)

From Skills to Modes - Part 4 -  Planning for Learning:  Integrating the Modes of Communication by Laura Terrill (May 19, 2021)

From Facts to Functions - The Cultures Standards by Dr. Lori Langer de Ramirez and Dr. Joanne O'Toole (June 9, 2021)

Understanding Checkpoint Proficiency Targets by Bill Heller & Dr. Joanne O'Toole (July 21, 2021)

Understanding Performance Indicators and Can-Do Statements by Bill Heller & Dr. Joanne O'Toole (August 11, 2021)

Understanding NYS World Language Themes & Topics by Bill Heller, Dr. Lori Langer de Ramirez, and Dr. Joanne O'Toole (September 28, 2021)

Understanding Unit Planning with the Revised NYS World Language Standards - Part 1 by Bill Heller, Dr. Lori Langer de Ramirez, and Dr. Joanne O'Toole (October 26, 2021)

Understanding Unit Planning with the Revised NYS World Language Standards Part 2 - Checkpoint A with Rebecca Blouwolff  (November 9, 2021)

Understanding Unit Planning with the Revised NYS World Language Standards Part 3 - Checkpoint B with Lisa Shepard (November 30, 2021)

Understanding Unit Planning with the Revised NYS World Language Standards Part 4 - Checkpoint C with Regina O'Neal (December 7, 2021) 

 

2020 Professional Learning

Curating Authentic Resources for the World Language Classroom by Leslie Grahn (November, 3, 2020)

2022-23 NYSED Facilitator Book Study - High Leverage Teaching Practices, Vol. 1

2022-23 NYSED Facilitator Book Study - High Leverage Teaching Practices, Vol. 1

The 2022-23 Facilitator Book Study for High Leverage Teaching Practices, Vol. 1 is sponsored by the Office of Bilingual Education and World Languages (OBEWL) of the New York State Education Department (NYSED) and the New York State Association for Language Teachers (NYSAFLT). 

NYSED has selected three to five NYS world language educators or administrators from each of the seven regions of New York to participate in the 2022-23 Facilitator Book Study on High Leverage Teaching Practices, Vol. 1.  This book study will meet nine times via Zoom from 4:00-5:30 p.m. on the following dates:

  • September 20th
  • October 18th
  • November 15th
  • December 20th
  • January 17th
  • February 14th
  • March 21st
  • April 25th
  • May 23rd

Participants may earn up to 27 hours of CTLE credit (1.5 hours for each of 9 meetings and 13.5 hours for reading the book and preparing for meetings), provided they attend at least 8 of the 9 meetings.  The book, High Leverage Teaching Practices, Vol. 1, was distributed to all participants, free of charge, in early October.

Participants in this book study are encouraged to consider facilitating a book study on this same book in the 2023-24 school year with a partner from this year's book study, using the materials developed by NYSED.  Significant training and guidance will be provided in this year's book study for those interested.  There is no cost to participate in this book study.

Please contact Candace Black via phone (585.356.0951) or email (candace.black@nysed.gov) with any questions regarding this book study.

To download the flyer for this book study, click here.

Professional learning is also provided by a number of partner organizations, including the two statewide world language organizations - NYSAFLT (the New York State Association of Foreign Language Teachers) and NYSAWLA (the New York State Association of World Language Administrators), as well as regional organizations within our state.  Click the link below to explore these learning opportunities.

World Language Leadership Council

The World Language Leadership Council was created to provide a regular forum for world language educators and administrators to discuss and share their questions, concerns, and suggestions with NYSED.  The Council will also serve as an additional means of communicating information and initiatives regarding world language programs to the field, complementing our professional learning offerings, website, and newsletter.  Membership is open to teachers of world languages, department chairpersons, administrators, and school counselors.  The Council will meet virtually (via Zoom) for one hour on one Wednesday of the month from September to June.  Attendance at meetings is completely voluntary and CTLE credit will be awarded on a semester basis for those meetings attended.  Interested educators should complete this brief Google form with their name and contact information.  Previous members of the World Language Leadership Council do not need to re-register.  Links to join the meetings will be sent out on a rolling basis.  All meetings for 2022-23 will be on Wednesdays from 3:30-4:30 p.m.

Meeting dates

  • September 14th
  • October 12th
  • November 9th
  • December 7th
  • January 11th
  • February 8th
  • March 8th
  • April 26th
  • May 24th
  • June 7th
Upcoming world language-related workshops and conferences hosted by other organizations

New York State Association for Language Teachers (NYSAFLT) Annual Conference, "Reflecting, Regrouping, Realigning with the World Language Standards", Hyatt Regency and Riverside Convention Center, Rochester, NY, October 21-11, 2022

NCSSFL Annual Business Meeting, Boston, November 15-17, 2022

ACTFL 2022, Boston, November 18-20, 2022