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Saturday - Professional Learning - Click here for full session descriptions!

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1. Complete session descriptions & Presenter Bios - Descriptions were provided by the presenters.

2. Saturday (10:00-11:00) Language Chats Join Codes 

3. Sunday 11:00-12:00 “Office Hours” Join Codes

Note to participants: Each recorded presentation has a collaborative document for you to take notes, ask questions to the presenters, and add your own resources. You may make a copy of the documents for your own use.

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Links shared during the Keynote and other live sessions

Office Hours, Sunday 11:00-12:00 am

Drop in to ask questions

• Seal of Biliteracy, Competency Testing (Michele Aoki & Donna Lansberry): Do you need assistance or information about the Seal of Biliteracy or Competency Testing? Zoom Zoom Join Code (W)
• Ask WAFLT Anything (Catherine Ousselin): Zoom Join Code (P)

Session descriptions

Session A 8:00-8:30

A.2 Give yourself a break with asynchronous learning tasks

Language of Presentation: English

Target Language: All

Presenter: Sarah Willoubhby

While Zoom and other synchronous tools are great for creating connections and getting "face time" with students, synchronous teaching is demanding and let's be honest... EXHAUSTING for the teacher. This session will explore ways to develop asynchronous tasks that are effective and address many of the same outcomes that we often try to achieve during synchronous class sessions. Let's use the concept of the "flipped classroom" to lighten your load and create more time in your schedule for creating material, providing feedback, supporting students, etc.

Questions:

1.         How much of your time and energy is dedicated to synchronous online teaching? (please type a percentage into the chat ex. 80%)

2.         What are the learning outcomes that you are addressing during your synchronous sessions?

3.         Can you think of asynchronous tasks that would address the same learning outcomes?

A.4 Mapping and Enhancing Language Learning in WA 2020 Update

Language of Presentation: English

Target Language: All

Presenter: Michele Anciaux Aoki, Veronica Trapani, Russel Hugo, Tamara Leonard

What world languages are taught in our state? Where are they taught? Are enrollments going up or down? What is the impact of World Language Competency-Based Credit Testing? What should we do next? Since 2006, WAFLT has worked with OSPI and the UW through the MELL project to gather, analyze, and report on this critical information for ensuring equitable access to language learning. Here’s the latest update. Learn more at http://depts.washington.edu/mellwa/. World Language educators have current data on trends in languages taught and world language credits earned in our state.

Teachers can advocate in their districts and with the state for supporting/expanding world language offerings.

WAFLT and UW can advocate for OSPI and districts to collect and report accurate data.

A.6 Backward Design: Keeping the outcomes in sight in English and Chinese

Language of Presentation: English and Chinese

Target Language: Chinese

Presenter: Wendy Hagin

At the end of the unit, you want your students to make a project as their performance-based assessment, in a format of their choice: a song, a rhyme, a skit, a video, a book, etc.  How do you get there?  Background design. In this presentation, you will learn how to design a unit using a template that helps you to keep the outcomes in sight and allows you to see the flow of the whole unit at a glance.        Learn to use a unit design template, following the backward design principle.

Session B 8:30-9:00

B.1 iCan Integrate Social Media: Communicative Activities for All 3 Modes

Language of Presentation: English (or French depending on participants)

Target Language: Most Languages - French

Presenter: Catherine Ousselin

Session description: Intrigued by authentic Francophone social media on platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat, but need support to design purposeful and authentic communicative tasks? Discover school-appropriate social media and create research-based activities for all three modes that support proficiency-based thematic units and World-Readiness Standards.

Session Objectives:

• search for, evaluate, and organize authentic social media posts for use in the design of engaging interpretive, presentational, and interpersonal activities for a variety of proficiency levels.
•  plan the implementation and assessment of purposeful communicative activities utilizing authentic social media posts within thematic units.

B.2 Remote Testing with Avant

Language of Presentation: English

Target Language: Most Languages

Presenter: Bonnie Buck

Session Description: Learn about the various options for remotely conducting Credit Based Competency and Seal of Biliteracy testing with Avant Assessment. Although students are not all back in the classroom yet, providing avenues to test for these valuable credentials is still possible. Join our discussion to listen to and share tips on remotely proctoring student testing.

Session Objectives: Be informed on the options for remotely proctoring language proficiency testing. Discover new ideas to prepare for remote proctoring or improve upon your current remote proctoring skills. Share your best practices with your fellow members. Understand the process for implementing remote proctoring and continue providing this valuable option to all students.

3 Questions:

1) Does your district/school have a plan for providing language proficiency testing during distance or hybrid learning?

2) If you've already been proctoring tests remotely, what are some of the challenges you faced, and how did you overcome them? If you have not yet proctored tests remotely, what are some of the obstacles in your way?

3) If you've already been proctoring tests remotely, what is the best advice you have to share? If you have not yet proctored tests remotely, what ideas for implementation would you like to share?

Here is the Zoom link I’ve setup for the session. I will sign in 15 minutes early on the day of my session to confirm tech settings. I have a full Zoom license that will allow for up to 100 participants.

Bonnie Buck is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

 Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83135289426

 Meeting ID: 831 3528 9426

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B.3 Connecting through Hobbies and Dreams – distance learning must-have topics, spiral teaching design, and resources

Language of Presentation: Chinese

Target Language: Chinese

Presenter: Hong Chi

In Covid19 distance learning, what topics can build better connections in a distance learning format? What topics can make students feel the benefit of studying at home? How to use “spiral teaching” to design a variety of projects to meet the needs of different levels of students and enhance collaboration? The presenter will use the theme “Hobbies and Dreams” as an example and share her teaching toolkit which includes activities and projects that make it possible to teach the same theme to 5 different levels of Mandarin Chinese students. Attendees will leave with resources they can start using right away. Participants will learn:

*how to choose must-have topics in distance learning

*how to design spiral teaching lessons by levels according to the end goals or standard tests of your program

*how to create a variety of activities and projects that enable students to preserve a digital print of their progress and utilize them for future learning

 *resources for spiral teaching and other Chinese teaching resources, including books, videos and websites.

B.4 Utilizing video recordings and feedback to develop speaking skills

Language of Presentation: English, Spanish

Target Language: Spanish, Any Language

Presenter: Jacob Broadhead

Giving students an opportunity to speak in class can be difficult because of time constraints and varying proficiency levels. Furthermore, due to most schools in the area restricted to virtual teaching, in-class speaking opportunities is even more limited. With the help of FlipGrid, a web-based video recording software, I have developed a procedure to give students more opportunities to practice structured responses and then evaluate one another and give meaningful feedback spurring higher levels of proficiency. I'll provide the graphic organizers as well as examples of students speaking to equip teachers with a plan so that their students can achieve higher levels of speaking proficiency.  Teachers will be able to use a graphic organizer & sentence frames to encourage students to speak longer

Teachers will be able to use sentence frames to give feedback and facilitate acquisition of more accurate speech from students

Teachers will be able to use FlipGrid to record, save and share video recordings

B.5 Bitmojis for Creating Culture and Continuity in the Virtual Classroom

Language of Presentation: English

Target Language: Any Language

Presenter: Alysha Holmquist

Bitmojis and avatars are all the rage right now! Using your bitmoji during remote learning promotes classroom culture and lets your students get to know you as an instructor better. Bitmojis can be set in the target language! Jump on the bandwagon and find out how to create a bitmoji, as well as how to create a bitmoji email signature, google classroom banner, and virtual classroom.  Participants will learn how to create a bitmoji avatar.

• Participants will be able to update their email signature with their TL bitmoji.
• Participants will learn how to create a one-of-a-kind banner for Google Classroom.
• Participants will be shown how to create a virtual classroom.

B.6 Why Is That Man Smiling at Us? Catching a Student's Eye with Captivating Art

Language of Presentation: English

Target Language: Any Language

Presenter: Harry Levinson

Learning how to harness great works of art is engaging and helps teachers create memorable lessons, be they synchronous or asynch.  Examining art opens a student's mind to culture, story/history, and a host of relevant themes, including the representation of BIPOC, or the lack thereof.  This session will introduce educators to programs such as StoryMap and Juxtapose, which allow both students and teachers to present artworks and share ideas while charting location on a visually-pleasing map. Join me as we discover new ways to amplify student expression and hook them from the other side of the screen with meaningful and provocative examples of humanity's creative genius.  Familiarize viewers with a few ways to engage students with artwork in the remote learning classroom;

Share a StoryMap on Afro-Latino artists;

Learn how to add accountability tasks to your Virtual Museum Visits; and perhaps most critically,

Encourage you to create a new silly walk and sing loudly because I won't be able to hear you.

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Session C 9:00-9:30

C.3 SEL in the Current Online Language Classes

Language of Presentation: English and Chinese

Target Language: Any Language and Chinese

Presenters: Shujun Xiang and Wenjing Huang

Social emotional learning is a very popular topic in the current online classes. Different schools, districts have different curriculum, standards, and expectations for this. By definition, SEL is a process for learning life skills, including how to deal with oneself, others and relationships, and work in an effective manner. It can be incorporated into each lesson and each subject. In this presentation, we will share how Chinese teachers use this topic in our online lessons to interact with middle and high school students in different levels of language classes. At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to learn:

1.how to incorporate SEL in online languages classes with students through activities and technology tools

2.our reflections of teaching SEL in the first month of the new school year

C4 Aplicaciones teóricas y prácticas del corpus en la clase de español

Language of Presentation: Spanish

Target Language: Spanish

Presenters: Inma Raneda-Cuartero, Jorge González-Casanova, Antonio Rueda

In this presentation, different factors that influence dialectal variations like social status, context, and geography will be presented. With a focus in geographical variations, there will be a brief discussion of the linguistic areas where a great variability among dialects is observed. Furthermore, the issue that all variations of Spanish are equally as legitimate and respectable will be addressed, and the fact that instructors are responsible to inculcate this notion in their students. Finally, various online resources will be presented like corpora and dictionaries that allow teachers to learn more about the unique characteristics of the different dialects of Spanish. To explore the differences between a dialect and a language, analyze the socio-historical factors that influence dialectal varieties, and use various online resources like corpora.

C.5 Student Choice, Collaborative Work, Remote Learning: Using Sway and FlipGrid as Tools for Collaboration

Language of Presentation: English

Target Language: Any Language

Presenters: Athena Jimenez

Set up group projects using Microsoft OneNote/Google Docs, Microsoft Sway/Google Slides, and FlipGrid. This presentation will focus on Microsoft applications but it can be applied to Google Classroom. Attendees will learn how to have students self-select groups and research topics, collaborate, and create presentations that their peers will view and respond to.  1) Attendee will understand and apply the value of student choice in remote learning projects. 2) Attendee will learn to use FlipGrid for presentations and feedback.

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Session D 9:30-10:00

D.1 How to become a lazy but effective online teacher?

Language of Presentation: English

Target Language: Any Language

Presenter: Siyi Gao

The purpose of the session is to discuss how to easily conduct effective virtual teaching. The facilitator will first identify instructors’ roles and challenges during virtual teaching. Attendees will be asked to share best practices to overcome challenges. Attendees will then discuss how virtual teaching can effectively prepare students for real world application, create positive and collaborative learning environment, improve teaching efficiency, and enhance learning motivation and outcomes.

Questions:

• What are instructors’ roles in virtual teaching?
• What are best practices to overcome challenges when teaching virtually?
• How can virtual teaching effectively prepare students for real world application?
• Identify instructors’ roles and challenges during virtual and hybrid teaching;
• Discuss best practices to overcome challenges during virtual teaching;
• At the conclusion of the presentation, attendees would be able to apply innovative approaches to create a positive and collaborative learning environment, improve teaching efficiency, and help students enhance learning motivation and outcomes.

D.2 The Kite that Touched the Sky

Language of Presentation: English

Target Language: Chinese

Presenter: Jim Mockford

I was a member of WAFLT in the 1990s when I taught Japanese at Camas HIgh School but I entered the software business and my work took me to China and Taiwan many times over the past 20 years. When I became a grandfather I wanted to write a bilingual book for my grandchildren who live in China and the USA. My journey to create the bilingual book began before Covid-19 impacted us all and our story is told on our blog at https://kumquatkids.com/grandpas-story-and-inspiration/ and https://kumquatkids.com/we-all-faced-challenges-in-2020/  We are happy to announce that "The Kite That Touched the Sky" was published this summer and is now available via Ingram/Spark to independent bookstores and the online marketplace.

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D. 3 Accessible for All: Applying UDL Principles in Foreign Language Curriculum Design

Language of Presentation: English, Chinese

Target Language: Any Language, Chinese

Presenter: Lijie Qin

How can we better support the diverse population of students in our foreign language classroom? By applying the Universal Design for Learning (UDL)  principles into curriculum design, teachers can effectively address the diverse needs and abilities in the classroom and reach all students. This session will present an overview of UDL and dive into offering various means of engagement, representation, and expression to address the “why”, what”, and “how” of foreign language learning.  Attendees will walk away with concrete strategies to empower students with personal choices and increased course accessibility by applying the Universal Design for Learning (UDL)  principles into curriculum design.

D.4 Learner Autonomy: Activities to empower the students' autonomy when learning a foreign language

Language of Presentation: English

Target Language: Any Language

Presenter: Javier Montero Pozo

In this session, we will discuss the concept of autonomy when learning a foreign language- and how the figure of the teacher plays an important role in this autonomous learning context.

We will mainly focus on how to improve the speaking skill, as students, in order to improve this skills, must previously master other fields/skills to succeed in their oral production.

A set of activities and rubrics will be presented.

We will also deal with the concept of motivation, which plays an important role when learning in an autonomous way.  1. To learn what autonomy is.

2. To carry out investigation research to better understand the students' needs.

3. To discuss different methods/approaches.

4. To empower students in their learning process.

5. To present activities the boost our students' autonomy.

D.5 Remote Interactive Understanding

Language of Presentation: English

Target Language: Any Language

Presenter: Paris Granville

TPR, Storytelling, Vocabulary Signalling, Question Ladders, Checks for Understanding - all these are challenging, but essential in teaching Language remotely. Participants will discover 7 strategies to get language into the brain remotely and in person.

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Session E 1:45-2:15

E.1 NADSFL Washington Meeting

Language of Presentation: English

Target Language: Any Language

Presenter: Paris Granville

Participants will exchange experiences leading world language programs. What is working? What are the challenges?

E.3 Input-Based Assessment in the Online Teaching Environment

Language of Presentation: English

Target Language: Any Language

Presenter: Ben Fisher

How can teachers assess students’ growing skills in communication while also continuing to provide the input that students need to build their internal language systems?  Assessment in an online teaching environment is difficult, but we can still make it valuable and useful to both student and teacher.  Learn 10+ flexible and reusable strategies that will get kids processing and using language in visible ways, while also providing the teacher with data to make better-informed instructional decisions. Teachers will be able to:

Identify principles of assessment that make their assessments powerful and useful.

Learn about 10+ input-based assessment tools for use in online, hybrid, or in-person learning environments.

Plan for the use of at least 2 of the assessment tools in their current units.

E.4 Assessing for Proficiency in the Virtual World

Language of Presentation: English

Target Language: Any Language

Presenter: Donna Lansberry

We will look at the differences between Achievement, Performance, and Proficiency. We will also look at the various online assessments available for Proficiency Testing and the Seal of Biliteracy.  To provide information about assessing for Proficiency.

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E.5 Integrate Social-Emotional Learning into World Language Classes

Language of Presentation: English

Target Language: Any Language

Presenter: XIAOLING MO

This presentation demonstrates how to integrate Social-Emotion Learning into world language curriculum design and daily lesson plans. It elaborates some practical strategies and activities along with student work and student feedback. Participants will understand Social-Emotion Learning competencies and apply some strategies and tools into their teaching.

E.6 Heritage Language Speakers Can Earn the Global Competence Certificate through New OSPI Grant

Language of Presentation: English

Target Language: Any Language

Presenter: Svetlana Abramova, Michele Anciaux Aoki, Otilia Baraboi, Ryan Hauck, Rosanne Gostovich Royer

How can we motivate students to engage with their heritage language in new and exciting ways? Project-Based Learning leading to the Global Competence Certificate awarded by the World Affairs Council is the approach used in this unique collaboration of Evergreen Public Schools with the World Affairs Council, Ethnic Heritage Council, American Romanian Cultural Society, and Slavic East European Teachers Association of Washington. Students of Romanian, Russian, and Spanish from throughout the state will engage in a year-long, remote-learning program designed to raise the students’ language proficiency and literacy skills and also qualify them for the Global Seal of Biliteracy. World Language educators:

•    Learn about OSPI’s new grants for Heritage Language programs and options for taking learning outside of the classroom.

•    Explore the Global Competence Certificate through the World Affairs Council as a framework for engaging heritage language students in meaningful content and project-based learning  in order to develop innovative methodologies for global literacy.

•    Consider how classroom teachers can also use this approach to engage any language learner in expanding their language proficiency while developing themselves as global citizens.

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Session F 2:15-2:45

F.1 Language Center and Student Retention, Completion and Success in Introductory and Intermediate Language

Language of Presentation: English

Target Language: Any language

Presenter: Erin Fernandez Mommer

Session description:I recently concluded a three year study with the help of my colleagues across all language we offer at Green River College (Spanish, French, Japanese, Chinese and German).  Faculty completed ACTFL rubrics measuring proficiency at the end of each quarter for 9 quarters.  In collaboration with the Office of Institutional Effectiveness we also compared student retention rates with proficiency levels and amount of hours spent in the language center.  I observed that as language center staffing included faculty tutors, the language center's numbers increases quarter by quarter.  I will present my conclusions from this study and we will discuss implications for further implementation and funding of language centers on college campuses.  

Session objectives: Present the study, conclusions and discuss implications for further advocacy for language centers.

F.3 Applying Student-driven and Tailored Instruction to Develop Autonomous Learners

Language of Presentation: English

Target Language: Any Language

Presenter: Siyi Gao

Language students learn at different paces and encounter diverse challenges because of their distinctive learning preferences. As mediators, teachers work with learners to understand their strengths, weaknesses, interests and needs, and to develop tailored curriculum based on their learning preferences. The presenters will demonstrate dynamic virtual classroom mediation methods, tailored curriculum with learning plans, and differentiated teaching approaches that improve students’ metacognitive and cognitive skills for becoming reflective and autonomous learners. This practice helps transform students’ mindsets and learning behaviors, promotes self-accountability, and enhances learning outcomes. Finally, students’ personalized daily learning plans, learning outcome and feedbacks will be shared.

(1)    Presenters share how student-driven, diagnostic instruction, and tailored curriculum help students build self-advocacy and autonomy;

(2)    Presenters share how to apply dynamic classroom mediation methods and differentiated teaching approaches to promote personalized learning;

(3)    Attendees will be able to create tailored curriculum based on learning preferences at the conclusion of the presentation.

F.4 The food of “Journey to the West”

Language of Presentation: English

Target Language: English, Chinese, Russian

Presenter: Yuping Zeng

This session will introduce the various food of “Journey to the West” with a exploratory of Chinese food culture. People of all ages who loves food and “Journey to the West”

F.5 Student SEL Virtually

Language of Presentation: English

Target Language: Any Language

Presenter: Alissa Farias

Discover ways to implement SEL in to virtual meetings through :

◦ Mindfulness

◦ Brain Breaks

◦ Collaborative Spaces

◦ Unintentional Moment

F.6 Best Practices for Supporting All Students in the Virtual Foreign Language Classroom

Language of Presentation: English, Chinese

Target Language: Any Language, Chinese

Presenter: Lijie Qin

A virtual foreign language classroom has great potential to transform into a safe, engaging, and effective learning environment for all students. This session will demonstrate the best practices coming from the presenter’s own remote teaching experience this spring that can effectively engage students in authentic language and culture so as to increase students’ comprehensible input and cultural competence. The session will also discuss how to set up virtual routines to simplify teacher’s planning and instruction, as well as how to add variety and novelty to bring excitement to students’ learning experience. Attendees will walk away with best practices they apply directly into virtual teaching.

Bios

Alysha Holmquist is beginning her 8th year of teaching German at Enumclaw High School. A graduate of Western Washington University, University of British Columbia, and Pacific Lutheran University, she is currently the president of the WA state chapter of the American Association of Teachers of German. She was awarded the German Embassy Teacher of Excellence Award in 2017.

My name is Hong Chi, also known as Christine. I have been teaching Mandarin Chinese in the US for about 20 years, teaching heritage and non-heritage students from beginner levels to advanced levels, such as AP and IB. I am currently teaching Mandarin Chinese from level 1 to level 5 at Edmonds Woodway High school (EWHS). The 2020 - 2021 school year is my 6th year at EWHS teaching in the Mandarin Chinese IB program.

ANTONIO RUEDA is an associate teaching professor of Spanish at the University of Washington. He received his M.A. and Ph.D in Hispanic Literature at Tulane University and an M.A. in Hispanic Linguistics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His field of interest ranges from applied sociolinguistics to the teaching of writing as a communicative reaction to literature and culture. He is currently directing the NW Cádiz Study Abroad Program. Email: arueda@uw.edu 

Athena Jiménez is a 7th year bilingual education teacher. She has experience using Google Classroom and Microsoft for Education in bilingual classrooms and brings a creative approach to strategies for remote instruction. In the summer of 2019, Athena earned a certificate in teaching languages online from the University of Minnesota's Center for Advanced Research and Language Acquisition.

Ben Fisher is a German and Spanish teacher in Bothell, WA.  He has presented at state, regional, and national conferences on lesson planning and high-leverage teaching practices.  He blogs at MrFisherSays.com.

Donna Lansberry is the WAFLT President-Elect & Testing Team Board Member.  She is a retired teacher.  She has taught all levels of French and Spanish as well as Middle School Language Exploratory, serving many years as Department Chair and on many committees. Her experience varies from being an Air Force Veteran, to teaching for DODEA in Korea, teaching in four states, and participating in the OSPI Dual Language and Tribal Language Task Forces.

Harris Levinson is entering his fourth time round as a Spanish teacher at Tacoma School of the Arts, after having taught American Studies, Drama, and Spanish at Vashon Island High School and Garfield High School in Seattle for 23 years. He last presented a workshop on Shark Tank at WAFLT in Pasco, in 2017 BT (Before Times). His time at the Ministry of Silly Walks was short-lived, but formative.

INMA RANEDA-CUARTERO is a teaching professor at the University of Washington and the third year language coordinator in the Spanish & Portuguese Department.  She has been teaching Advanced Composition and Cultural Studies courses at the University of Washington for the last 20 years. Her field of interest is related to the Teaching of Academic Writing, Responding to Student Writing, and Cultural Studies: Contemporary Spain among others. She is the recipient of the 2017 Distinguished Teaching Award at the University of Washington. Email: inma@uw.edu 

Hi! My name is Jacob Broadhead. I've been teaching Spanish & English Language Learners for the past 7 years. I just moved to Washington this year to teach Spanish Language Arts at Totem Middle School for Federal Way Public Schools. I love the process of language acquisition and my specific interests include speaking, assessment, curriculum development, and the use of corpora in language teaching.

Jorge González is an associate teaching professor at the UW Spanish and Portuguese Department since 1995.  He teaches first, second, and third-year courses.  Additionally, he is the Second-Year Coordinator as well as Coordinator for the UWHS program.  He is also Director of the Ecuador: The Meeting of Cultures program.  His field of interest is the systematic teaching of pronunciation as an integral part of the communicative classroom. Email: panta@uw.edu 

Javier Montero Pozo was a teacher of English as a foreign language for 18 years. Apart from teaching English as a second language, he has also taught French and Spanish. Just before moving to the States, he was teaching at a Community College for foreign languages, where he developed, together with his coworkers, the project Speaking for yourself. As of today, he is the director of the Center for Spanish Studies, an educational outreach of the Ministry of Education of Spain, the University of Washington and OSPI.  He is also in charge of the International Spanish Academies (ISA) Program, that is, high performing schools in the United States that implement a Spanish-English dual language immersion curriculum. 

Lijie Qin is a Chinese teacher at Oak Hill Middle School in Newton, MA. She earned two Master’s Degrees in Teaching Chinese from Brandeis University and Nanjing University. She has presented papers and workshops at many national and regional conferences, including ACTFL and CLTA Annual Conferences.

Michele Anciaux Aoki has a Ph.D. in Slavic Linguistics and taught Russian at the University of Washington for a number of years. From 2008 until 2014, she served as World Languages Program Supervisor at the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, where she helped develop the World Languages Competency-Based Credit Program to award high school credits to students with demonstrated language proficiency. From 2014-2019, Michele served as International Education Administrator for Seattle Public School, supporting Seattle’s ten International Schools and Dual Language Immersion programs in Spanish, Japanese, and Mandarin, as well as all World Language programs in the district. Michele has consulted with the UW STARTALK programs since 2011 and helped organize the annual Heritage Language Symposium since 2014. In retirement, she volunteers for the WAFLT Testing Team and Advocacy Team and serves on the Steering Committee of the Washington State Coalition for International Education.

Russell Hugo is the assistant director of the University of Washington Language Learning Center. He holds a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Washington. His areas of interest include computer assisted language learning, Indigenous language revitalization, language policy, language attitudes, and archiving. Russ has provided technical support to the Mapping and Enhancing Language Learning (MELL) project since its inception in 2006.

After 10 years of classroom teaching, Sarah Willoughby stumbled into online language teaching somewhat by accident. In the ensuing six years, she developed an affection for the online mode, perhaps even a passion for it! She enjoys working with students, but I also watching them work with others and begin to flourish as independent Spanish learners.

Shujun Xiang is a high school Mandarin teacher in an independent school in California. Previously she also taught high school students in private schools in Massachusetts and Ohio, as well as Chinese students in China for more than 30 years. Her interests are traveling around the world, singing, dancing, playing Taiji, Kongfu, and puff painting.Wenjing Huang teaches middle school Mandarin in an independent school in California. Previously she taught middle and high school students in a private school in New York and a public school in New Jersey. She likes to eat Dim Sum, drink bubble tea, watch Asian dramas, and travel to different places.

Siyi Gao is an Assistant Professor at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC), Monterey, CA, USA. She has 10 years of experience in teaching Chinese as a second or foreign language to non-Chinese learners in mainland China, Greece, and the U.S. She was awarded by the Department of the Army's Civilian Service Medal as DLIFLC's Teacher of the Year 2018. Her research interests include teacher professional development, integrating technology into language teaching, neuroscience and memory retention, assessment, curriculum development, and educational leadership.

Tamara Leonard has domestic and international experience in the fields of teaching & learning, organizational development, and humanitarian intervention. She currently serves as Managing Director for the Center for Global Studies at The Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington. She is a member of  the Board of Trustees for the Foundation for International Studies (FIUTS). She graduated from Oberlin College with high honors in sociology, is a former Thomas J. Watson Fellow,  and received her Master’s degree in Nonprofit Management from Case Western Reserve University where she was a Mandel Premier National Scholar.

Veronica Trapani joins OSPI as the World Languages Program Supervisor after a decade of teaching German and English in Michigan, Tennessee, New York, and Germany. She is currently working on her Ed.D. through Vanderbilt University, focusing on the social and emotional well-being of international students. Veronica’s interests, outside language acquisition and education, include cats, soccer, hiking, skiing, and musical theater.

Wendy Hagin has been teaching Mandarin Chinese for ten years at Wade King Elementary school, and six years at Whatcom Community College.

Xiaoling Mo is a certified Mandarin teacher, ACTFL OPI Tester and AAPPL Rater. She had taught at a public elementary school and a Chinese weekend school in Pittsburgh for a few years before she moved to Seattle in July 2019 and founded a new Chinese program in Seattle Country Day School. The new Chinese program focuses on inquiry-based, SEL-based and Project-based learning.

Yuping Zeng has a PhD of Russian literature, is a Russian teacher of 17 years, and is a Chinese teacher of 15 years.

Erin Fernandez Mommer Tenured Instructor of Spanish and Humanities, Founder of the Global Studies Concentration, Study Abroad Spain Faculty Coordinator, Faculty Virtual Exchange Coordinator (COIL) and member of the Hispanic Studies' Concentration committee at Green River College.  

Catherine Ousselin was a PNCFL finalist for ACTFL’s Teacher of the Year program. She has served WAFLT as AATF Representative, Corresponding Secretary, Social Media Manager and President. Catherine teaches French 2-AP at Mount Vernon High School.

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