GENERAL ADMISSION
NILA Virtual Fall Conference: Languages: Building Bridges, Joining Communities
President Katy Cattlett, Omaha Public Schools
October 23, 2021, 9am to 5pm (Central Time)
A variety of live, virtual presentations and sessions from master world language educators from all across the state will be offered, through an online-only platform. Virtually all will be LIVE, but there may be some pre-recorded information or sessions.
A schedule of events will be available soon.
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Stacey M. Johnson
Title: Contexts, Counternarratives, and Community-Oriented Language Teaching
Description: In a critical language classroom, students and teachers learn language by examining assumptions, questioning pre-conceived ideas, and challenging each other to see the world from new perspectives. When we foster a critical classroom, we open the door to community-oriented language teaching that teaches language not as an abstract concept or as a set of testable skills, but as a way to authentically engage with the communities that use that language. In this talk, Stacey will explore the contexts in which we teach languages, how counternarratives set the stage for critical language teaching, and finally how community-orientation can be the backbone of our teaching practices at every level.
Bio: Dr. Stacey M. Johnson is Assistant Director at the Vanderbilt Center for Teaching, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, and Affiliated Faculty in the Center for Second Language Studies at Vanderbilt University. She is also the editor of the journal Spanish and Portuguese Review and the producer and host of the podcast “We Teach Languages”. She has published books and articles on topics related to postsecondary language classroom practices, hybrid/blended instruction, and adult learning including transformative learning and critical pedagogy.