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RYAN SMITH
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Ryan Smith, a former teacher of Spanish, Ryan Smith is currently an Assistant Principal of Vaughn Middle School in the Washoe County School District and an Adjunct Professor for World Language Teaching Methodologies at the University of Nevada, Reno. Previously, Ryan was the Career & Technical Education Program Coordinator and AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) District Director in WCSD, located in the Reno/Lake Tahoe region of Northern Nevada. Ryan is also the Past President of PLAN (Professional Language Association of Nevada), Nevada’s 2015 World Languages Teacher of the Year, and most recently NADSFL (National Association of District Supervisors of Foreign Languages) 2018 Supervisor of the Year.
Ryan advocated for the Seal of Biliteracy in his state, led the statewide implementation of the Seal, and served on the committee to rewrite the Nevada Academic Content Standards for World Languages. Ryan is extremely involved in world languages on a local, regional, and national level.
Ryan is the NCSSFL representative for Nevada, an active member of NADSFL, ACTFL, and SWCOLT, and was a member of the first cohort of LILL (Leadership Initiative for Language Learning). Most recently, Ryan co-authored the AP Spanish textbook, ¡Qué Chévere 4! (EMC Publishing, 2020) and is an active participant of LILL by creating and facilitating the annual summer leadership institute.
Ryan advocated for the Seal of Biliteracy in his state, led the statewide implementation of the Seal, and served on the committee to rewrite the Nevada Academic Content Standards for World Languages. Ryan is extremely involved in world languages on a local, regional, and national level.
Ryan is the NCSSFL representative for Nevada, an active member of NADSFL, ACTFL, and SWCOLT, and was a member of the first cohort of LILL (Leadership Initiative for Language Learning). Most recently, Ryan co-authored the AP Spanish textbook, ¡Qué Chévere 4! (EMC Publishing, 2020) and is an active participant of LILL by creating and facilitating the annual summer leadership institute.
Friday Pre-Conference Workshop
Putting InterPERSONALITY into the Interpersonal Mode of Communication:
Let’s Get Them Speaking!
When students are asked why they chose to take a language course, often the answer is, “I want to be able to speak (language).” In order to develop meaningful and engaging interpersonal activities, we must know how to differentiate the tasks to meet the needs of the students. Novice, intermediate, and advanced students have very different needs, which educators must take into consideration when planning lessons. We will examine differences between proficiency levels in order to better understand the needs of our students. Participants of this workshop will learn how to plan engaging tasks that encourage students to speak, while building and increasing their proficiency levels in the interpersonal mode. Participants will also explore new ways of building students’ vocabulary, making for better interpersonal skills.
Let’s Get Them Speaking!
When students are asked why they chose to take a language course, often the answer is, “I want to be able to speak (language).” In order to develop meaningful and engaging interpersonal activities, we must know how to differentiate the tasks to meet the needs of the students. Novice, intermediate, and advanced students have very different needs, which educators must take into consideration when planning lessons. We will examine differences between proficiency levels in order to better understand the needs of our students. Participants of this workshop will learn how to plan engaging tasks that encourage students to speak, while building and increasing their proficiency levels in the interpersonal mode. Participants will also explore new ways of building students’ vocabulary, making for better interpersonal skills.
NOTE: This requires a separate registration and additional fee. See our 2022 Conference Registration page for details!
Friday Keynote
ALL Means ALL: Leveraging Language Programs to Remove Educational Barriers for Students
While Creating Opportunities for ALL Students
Is it possible to create an environment of equitable opportunities for all students? Absolutely! School districts and individual schools can utilize their robust language programs to create a culture of inclusion and celebration, especially when talking about marginalized populations. How can we leverage 21st Century Skills to make classrooms and schools an environment of collaboration, innovation, rigor, and equitable opportunities for all students? By removing barriers and providing multiple opportunities to students, including offering classes in students’ home language, institutions can provide students with the tools they need to be successful in the future.
While Creating Opportunities for ALL Students
Is it possible to create an environment of equitable opportunities for all students? Absolutely! School districts and individual schools can utilize their robust language programs to create a culture of inclusion and celebration, especially when talking about marginalized populations. How can we leverage 21st Century Skills to make classrooms and schools an environment of collaboration, innovation, rigor, and equitable opportunities for all students? By removing barriers and providing multiple opportunities to students, including offering classes in students’ home language, institutions can provide students with the tools they need to be successful in the future.
Saturday Keynote
Focus on Increasing Literacy Skills while Enhancing the Experience for ALL Students
Increasing literacy skills is always a challenging, but necessary topic in the world language classroom. How do we truly engage students in the interpretive mode of communication while building their proficiency in reading and listening. This workshop will provide strategies that instructors can use to immediately focus on building proficiency in literacy for all students, including heritage or native speakers of the language. We know that heritage and native speakers have different needs than L2 learners, sometimes making it challenging for teachers to differentiate instruction. This session will focus on the research supporting the need for differentiated instruction for heritage speakers and provide ideas and tools for classroom teachers to ensure all students are engaged and that language proficiency is the always ultimate goal. This workshop will provide you with strategies and ideas for engaging ALL students, not only heritage and/or native speakers.
Increasing literacy skills is always a challenging, but necessary topic in the world language classroom. How do we truly engage students in the interpretive mode of communication while building their proficiency in reading and listening. This workshop will provide strategies that instructors can use to immediately focus on building proficiency in literacy for all students, including heritage or native speakers of the language. We know that heritage and native speakers have different needs than L2 learners, sometimes making it challenging for teachers to differentiate instruction. This session will focus on the research supporting the need for differentiated instruction for heritage speakers and provide ideas and tools for classroom teachers to ensure all students are engaged and that language proficiency is the always ultimate goal. This workshop will provide you with strategies and ideas for engaging ALL students, not only heritage and/or native speakers.