Why You Should Consider Attending NTPRS or IFLT in 2020

NOTE - I am only addressing NTPRS and IFLT in this blog post, because those are the two weeklong conferences which I have attended and on which I can speak from personal experience. Any omission of other weeklong CI conferences should not be taken personally and does not reflect my feelings for or against them. If you would like to write a guest blog post about another weeklong CI conference such as Agen or Express Fluency, contact me.

Although summer is now over and school is back in session, I write this blog post to challenge you to consider attending a conference like NTPRS or IFLT in the summer of 2020. If you have never attended weeklong CI conferences before, you will not be disappointed in what they have to offer. This is not to say that one cannot learn from a 1-2-day regional conference like TCI Maine, Mitten CI, or CIMidwest. Receive CI training wherever you can and as often as you can! And while online groups, professional learning communities/networks, and blogs are so important to the CI community, they can only go so far.

However, in my own experience, all I can say is that there is absolutely nothing like the weeklong concentration of being in a full CI training environment which you do not experience in a 1-2 day conference. I cannot explain what it is. Maybe because one has a week, there is more time to be immersed in a CI environment and to learn and to experience it all. Maybe because since pedagogically everyone there is on the same page, one is not constantly having to defend one's use of CI. Maybe it is the coaching sessions where one can be coached on a particular CI skill in a positive setting. Maybe a week gives participants time to ponder over, to process, and to experiment at a slower pace, since there is ample time to do so, as opposed to a single day at a training where everything is thrown at you at once. Maybe it is the overwhelming amount of practical sessions addressing CI implementation in the classroom. Maybe it is the tangible care and enthusiasm which the presenters, coaches, and leaders exhibit in creating such an accepting environment. Maybe because it is so much dang fun!

Although each summer I am a regular attendee at the American Classical League Summer Institute and as much as I look forward to the professional camaraderie of being with other Latin teachers from around the country, honestly, I cannot say that I walk away feeling pumped to return to my classroom when it is over like I do when I attend a NTPRS or IFLT. That is not to say that I do not enjoy attending the ACL Summer Institute, but the conference just has a different focus for me. I do appreciate though that the number of CI sessions at the ACL Summer Institute has increased each year and that we seem to have reached a critical mass in the CI movement in the Latin community.

This past July, I attended IFLT, and even though I was there wearing many different hats (sub-cohort leader, coach, and presenter), I got SO MUCH out of the conference! I cannot tell you how much I learned that I already have used in these past five weeks with students. If you have read my past few blog posts, they are all related to ideas which I learned at IFLT this summer. I attended a session where when the presenter saw me come in, she said, "Wow, what are you doing here? You know all of this." I responded, "That does not mean that there is still not more for me to learn." And yes, I walked away with so much from her presentation that I am now implementing in my classroom. Compared to the summer of 2018 where I did not attend a NTPRS or IFLT and felt "flat" entering the school year, this year already after five weeks with students, I am still SO pumped and jazzed to be in the classroom. IFLT so charged my CI batteries!

So which one is better: NTPRS or IFLT? I cannot answer that, because they are both different. In my opinion, one is not "better" than the other.

• NTPRS is five days, while IFLT is four days. 
• NTPRS is held in a hotel and has a more "conference" feel to it, while IFLT is held on a school campus.
• Both conferences offer tracks for their participants based on one's experience with CI.
• Both conferences offer coaching for their participants.
• IFLT offers language labs, where participants can observe master CI-teachers teaching a language class with actual students. In my opinion, this is where the magic happens. I could observe Linda Li forever work her magic in teaching Mandarin, and I would never get bored.
• NTPRS has organized nightly events, such as receptions, language-immersive dinners, and a talent show. This year, IFLT had one night session on Readers Theater, which was a blast!

The downside of attending a weeklong conference like NTPRS or IFLT is that it is not cheap when one starts to factor in the price for registration, travel, food, and lodging costs. That is why I encourage you start thinking now about attending. Find out if your school/district will pay for you to attend. Look into scholarship opportunities with your local/regional WL organizations. 

2020 dates for NTPRS and IFLT

• IFLT - July 14-17 in Southern California (yes, I know that it is rather vague at the moment, but I am assuming either in Los Angeles or Orange County)
• NTPRS - July 20-24 in Minneapolis 

So I encourage you to consider attending NTPRS or IFLT next summer. I have attended both conferences before. My blog posts on having attended each:

• NTPRS 2014
• IFLT 2016

I look forward to seeing you next summer at one of these conferences!

IFLT 2017

Wow, has it only been a week since IFLT ended?! My mind is still absolutely full from everything which I took in, so blogging is a great way for me to process it all.

This year, IFLT was held in Denver. I had an absolutely great time, but gosh, I could not get over how dry it was in Denver compared to humid Atlanta (I kept losing my voice due to the dry weather, so drinking LOTS of water was definitely a necessity), in addition to being out of breath slightly for the first few days on account of the altitude.

This was my second time attending an IFLT conference (see here about my first time at IFLT last summer). That definitely helped, because I knew the "routine," and I knew how to pace myself better. A major concern of mine was that since I was taking the 4-day Fluency Fast Mandarin class immediately before, I would already be tired and burned out by the time IFLT began. Far from it! Both Fluency Fast and IFLT were two completely different experiences (and I absolutely loved both of them), and in fact, the high which I was experiencing from Fluency Fast carried over to IFLT. 

Here are just a few of my many highlights from this summer's IFLT:

• Senor Wooly's opening address - Granted I am not a Spanish teacher, but I am aware of who Senor Wooly (Jim Wooldridge) is and of all of his resources (music videos, graphic novels, etc). At the same time, I never grasped why for most Spanish teachers, meeting him was like meeting Elvis. After hearing his opening address at IFLT, I now count myself in that group. In his opening talk, entitled "Embracing Inauthenticity," he addressed the following - I have been looking and asking everywhere if someone has a video of Senor Wooly's talk, because it was so incredible. Unfortunately, I have not been able to locate one:
1. Authentic language is not solely reserved for native speakers.
2. Non-native speakers can be effective language teachers.
3. When true communication (comprehension of what is said) in a language occurs, regardless of errors, it is real and authentic language.
4. As a result, the language which our students produce is real and authentic. 
5. Authenticity is about stepping the language outside of one's comfort zone to communicate.
6. We need to tell our students that they have a right to speak the language.

• Lab observations - Although I enjoy the many presentations at IFLT, I absolutely love the lab observations and getting the chance to see master CI teachers actually teaching students in a classroom setting. I can honestly say that the lab observations are where the true magic happens at IFLT, because folks can witness CI in action. To me, this is the major difference between IFLT and NTPRS.
• Annabelle Allen - There was absolutely NO way that I was NOT going to observe Annabelle teach elementary school Spanish, because observing her last summer at IFLT made such an profound impact on me. If you have ever seen her in action, then you know what I am talking about! Annabelle's high-level energy is absolutely contagious - heck, I want to be one of her students. This year, I observed Annabelle twice, because that is how much I wanted to see her teach. I also knew that I needed to get there EARLY if I wanted a seat, because her observations fill up very quickly. There is so much that I could say about Annabelle, and believe me, even though I do not teach elementary-aged students, I learn so much from her every time I observe her (both in Spanish and as a CI teacher) - it is difficult for me to pinpoint just one thing. What I love most about Annabelle is her absolute love for students and how much they love her in return. I remember last year being brought to tears as I saw her students RUN to see her, and this year, I witnessed that same love in her students. I love how Annabelle is able to correct a student behavior-wise in such a way that it makes that student feel like he/she is still part of the community. I was incredibly touched in seeing her deal with a particular young boy who was experiencing a meltdown at the end of the day. 
• Linda Li - I have to admit that I had rather selfish reasons for observing Linda: after 4-days of learning Mandarin from her in a Fluency Fast class, I wanted more! Before the lab observation began, I was sitting in the back of the room with the other observers, but Linda asked me if I wanted to sit up front with her students - I think that she sensed that I wanted to learn more Mandarin. I certainly obliged (but sat in the row behind the students so as not to freak them out) and even though I was there as an observer, I was also a silent participant in the class. I was an active listener, gestured with the class whenever Linda said particular words, and answered her questions in Mandarin under my breath. Even though Linda was teaching many of the same high-frequency vocabulary as she had in our Fluency Fast class, it did not matter to me: all I wanted was to hear more Mandarin, to interact with it, and to get more INPUT! Linda is a master at teaching Mandarin without it feeling one is actually learning, because it is all happening subconsciously. Honestly, this is how learning is supposed to happen!
• Mafia presentation - I gave two presentations on how to play Mafia in a CI Classroom, and I was absolutely floored by the number of folks who attended each time! What I enjoyed most was being able to demonstrate the game in Latin. I venture to say that most who attended had never experienced Latin as a spoken language, so it was rather cool to expose fellow world language teachers to comprehensible spoken Latin and to show them that it is indeed a true communicative language. Annabelle Allen wrote up a blog post about the session -  I wish I could tell you how special I feel!

Believe me, so much more than just this happened at IFLT. The coaching sessions, the Lunchtime Talks, the presentations, the Q&A session with Krashen and Bill Van Patten - how I can cover it all?!

Next year's IFLT will be in Cincinnati from July 17-20. Hope to see you there so that you can experience everything which I mentioned here!

IFLT 2016

I have returned from my first IFLT, a CI/TPRS conference sponsored by TPRS Publishing, and wow, what an incredible experience I had. Quite honestly, the words "wow" and "incredible" seem like understatements, because IFLT absolutely blew my mind! Carol Gaab, Teri Weichart, and the planning committee put on a superb conference!

Now I had attended two NTPRS conferences prior to this, so I was a bit unsure about what to expect at IFLT, other than wonderful presentations by master CI practitioners! Although both conferences address teaching world language teachers about CI/TPRS, there are a number of major differences between NTPRS & IFLT: 

1. NTPRS is held in a hotel, while IFLT is held on a high school campus.
2. Because of this, NTPRS has more of a "conferencey" feel to it, while IFLT is more casual and intimate.
3. IFLT is a 4-day conference, while NTPRS is five days. 
4. IFLT has learning labs, where participants observe master CI teachers actually teaching students using CI, so folks can see it in action. 
5. NTPRS has language classes where participants can learn other languages just like students via CI and get to experience sequencing/scaffolding of lessons in a language which they do not know first hand.

I can honestly say that one is not better than the other, as both have their differences, but both offer OUTSTANDING experiences for those wanting to learn more about CI/TPRS.

My dear friend Edie, whenever she asks folks to tell her about their vacations or an experience, will ask two simple questions: What was most as expected about _________? What was least as expected about ________? I will follow her lead and use those two questions to guide my reflection (plus Justin Slocum Bailey, who also attended IFLT, and I just asked each other these questions, as he is in town before heading off to NTPRS in Reno, so these answers are still fresh in my mind).

1) What was MOST as expected about IFLT? Hands down - the incredible sessions! Looking over the list of sessions on the program, I knew that it was going to be difficult to choose. Like NTPRS, IFLT was a watering hole for those CI teachers whom I greatly admire, and I got the chance to learn from them!

2) What was LEAST as expected about IFLT? I have two answers for this question.

• The language labs. To get the chance to observe master CI instructors teaching students in a real-life classroom environment is always great for me, because I learn a new strategy or I see ways in which I can refine what I am already doing; I was excited that I was going to get the chance to see this at IFLT. However, what I was not expecting to witness was the relationships which these teachers had with these students in these labs. The students in these labs were elementary and middle-school age students whose parents had signed them up for it, much like a weeklong summer camp, so these teachers only had 4 days to "work their magic." On day 2, I saw French teacher Donna Tatum-Johns personalize the stories which she was telling in French by involving the students in the class and how much they loved being characters in the story. When in a story where the character was being described as smart and Donna asked the middle school aged girl playing the character if she were smart (as part of circling) and she replied, "No, I am not smart," I saw Donna stop what she was doing, go up to her, place her arms on her shoulders, look her in the eye, and say with a motherly tone, "You are always smart in this class." On the last day, I observed Annabelle Allen's Spanish class for elementary school aged students, and I absolutely teared up seeing her students RUN to her class with absolute joy to see her and how she greeted each student individually with a hug and a kind word. I stayed for two lab periods on that day, because I could not get enough of what she was doing with these kids. At the end of the lab, when Annabelle asked the kids what she did to make the lessons understandable, one of the students replied, "Your voice is happy." 

• My own knowledge of CI. Yes, I know that I write this blog which is dedicated to implementing Comprehensible Input in the Latin classroom, but quite honestly, for some reason I still view myself as having a novice level user knowledge of CI facilitation. At IFLT, I was serving in the role as an apprentice coach, so I was involved in the coaching aspect of the conference, but quite honestly, prior to arriving, I felt like a fraud going in. I remember thinking going into the conference, "Wow, if the IFLT folks only knew how little I know about CI compared to the rest of these coaches." However, during the week, I cannot tell you how many lengthy one-on-one talks I had with beginner teachers in the Teacher Talk area who had questions about CI implementation, assessing with CI, how to plan a lesson, etc., and I was able to answer their questions. Somehow unbeknownst to me deep inside me I had that experiential knowledge, and that came out of me during these conversations. Maybe it was because I knew exactly where they were in terms of doubts and of concerns. Maybe it was because they just wanted to hear someone say that it was going to be okay. Regardless, I am finally beginning to think, "Wow, maybe I do know some stuff about CI..."  

Anyhow, IFLT was an absolutely incredible experience, and I would recommend it to anyone (in the same way, I would recommend NTPRS to anyone). If you are interested in next year's IFLT, it will be in Denver from July 11-14, 2017. I have already decided that I am going to be there! Hope you will join me!