There’s something special about walking into a conference full of like-minded people and feeling as if you belong there. That’s exactly how I felt being back at the MITTEN CI conference in Saline, Michigan. It was so nice to see many familiar faces and positive energy. Conferences like this are incredibly important in our profession. These conferences help us grow, sustain us, and keep us from burning out. There were so many wonderful presentations with an inspiring lineup of teachers. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to attend all of them, but here are some takeaways from the sessions I did attend.
The first session I attended was Carrie Toth’s Planning to Read. She emphasized the importance of frontloading vocabulary and culture before students read a text. The goal is 95- 98% comprehensibility. She also shared powerful data from the STAMP exam showing that reading leads to gains across the board, not just in reading, but also in writing, speaking, and listening. One activity I took away from her session was Discussion Thursdays. In this activity, students earn points for speaking, answering questions, and asking questions about a text. She also shared a great way to get students to reread a text: the Game of Quotes by Señora Chase. I already tried it with my students, and it was a hit.
Another session I attended was Donna Tatum-Johns’ highly interactive presentation on using videos for Clip Chats in the world language classroom. I learned several activities to add to my toolbox. Before starting a clip chat, Donna shows screenshots from the video (all on one slide), and students work with a partner to decide the correct sequence of events. It’s a great lesson hook disguised as a guessing game.
She also demonstrated how to scaffold making predictions. She provides strips of paper with high-frequency verbs in the future tense, with the French on one side and the English translation on the other. Students read the strips, choose one, and then share it with the class, turning prediction into a reading activity.
Last but not least was Claudia Elliott’s presentation on Purposeful Output. She began by clearly defining output: the production of language to express meaning and serve a specific purpose. She gave us several classroom scenarios and asked us to decide whether they counted as output. For example, if students memorize a script and present it to the class, does that qualify as output?
She also shared some activities she uses to create daily micro-opportunities for output, such as Weekend Talk and Silent Discussions. You can learn more about Silent Discussions here.
I came back to Long Beach reenergized and full of new ideas. I’ve already tried two of them this week alone.
If you don’t have the time or budget to attend an in-person conference, many great teachers will be presenting at CI Reboot this summer. It’s an online conference with live sessions, and all sessions are recorded, so you can watch live or later. The cost is $169, and you can get $20 off with the code Dahiana2026.
Have you attended a conference recently, or is there one strategy that’s been working really well in your classroom lately? I’d love to hear! Share in the comments!
