Course Description: TCI Oregon: The Power of Teaching with Comprehensible Input

Join us for The Power of TCI, a groundbreaking conference devoted to Teaching with Comprehensible Input. Designed especially for educators experiencing burnout or seeking new inspiration, this immersive event will help you rediscover the joy and connection at the heart of language teaching.

Explore how to use language to build vibrant classroom communities while experiencing a live, authentic Russian language lab, demonstrating cutting-edge comprehensible input strategies in action. Throughout the conference, you'll take part in engaging workshops, dynamic presentations, and collaborative sessions that challenge your thinking and deepen your practice. You'll walk away with practical tools rooted in the latest research on Teaching with Comprehensible Input.

This summer in Oregon, experience CI from master teachers:

Daily Beginner Russian with Michele Whaley
Intermediate to Advanced Spanish Observations with Skip Crosby
Skill debriefs and practice with Laurie Clarcq

Whether you are brand new to Comprehensible Input or a seasoned practitioner, you'll leave energized, encouraged, and equipped with fresh ideas for your classroom. Last year's participants, from first-timers to veteran CI educators, described the experience as "truly transformative". Come discover the power of CI in action and reignite your passion for language teaching.

Course Details: (seats remaining)

Schedule:

Every day, starting on 06/29/26 and ending on 07/01/26

Times:

09:00am-05:00pm PDT

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Price:

Class Price : $299.00

Additional Course Information

Graduate level PDU credits available through the University Pacific. Register by April 1 for Early Bird pricing. Registration and refund deadline: May 19, 2026, 5 pm.

Instructors

Name

Additional Resources

Laurie Clarcq

Biography: Laurie Clarcq is originally from Rochester, N.Y. and has traveled the globe as a teacher and a learner. Her classrooms have always reflected her love for language, learning and laughter. The students are, by far, her favorite part of teaching, but she has a special passion for exploring ways to connect students with the curriculum, and teachers with their students.

Laurie is a graduate of the State University of New York at Cortland, and holds a Bachelor of Arts in both Spanish and Early Childhood/ Elementary Education, and a Master of Science in Education with a concentration in Reading and Curriculum Development. She has over 36 years of teaching experience in Spanish and English as a Second Language and has enjoyed working with students at many levels from preschool through university, adult education and professional development. She has twice received the President's Award by the New York State Foreign Language Teachers' Association for her contributions to the profession.'

Laurie has been a presenter, consultant and trainer on a local, state, national and international level. Her recent work in Australia, France and Canada has successfully introduced the skills of Comprehensible Input-based teaching to teachers in other areas of the world. In 2008, She and Michele Whaley of Anchorage, Alaska began to implement an approach to reading that they titled? ?Embedded Reading?. It has been successfully and joyfully shared with and utilized by teachers internationally. A long-time blogger and contributor to written publications on and off-line, her work can be found on her two websites (www.heartsforteaching.com and www.embeddedreading.com?).

Most important to Laurie is the message that we are human beings teaching other human beings. It is the heart, imagination and spirit that we honor in the classroom, and in life. It is our ability to develop confidence, curiosity and insight in our students that will change the world. It is our ability to appreciate what we each offer our students and each other that will strengthen and honor the profession. Whatever the topic, Laurie loves having the chance to interact with other teachers and connect with other kindred spirits!!

Michele Whaley

Biography: Michele Whaley has taught languages in Alaska for more than thirty years. She has mentored teachers for the last fifteen, sharing methodology techniques locally, nationally and internationally at language conferences and workshops. A recent focus is on preserving indigenous languages. Michele believes that languages open our eyes to new ways of thinking and communicating, and she works to find and share the most effective techniques for language acquisition. Michele was the 2016 Pacific Northwest Language teacher of the year and she was a national finalist in 2017. She teaches Russian at the University of Alaska and kindergarten through fifth-grade Spanish at Pacific Northern Academy in Anchorage. She has been part of COSSI since its inception.

Skip Crosby

Biography: Skip Crosby has been teaching Spanish in Maine public high schools for 35 years. Skip gained proficiency in the Spanish language during a two-year stay in Colombia after college. While in Colombia, he earned a Diploma de Espa�ol como Lengua Extranjera from the Javeriana University in Bogot�, Colombia in 1989.

In 1998, he earned a Master's Degree in Spanish from Middlebury College in Vermont. He has taught as an adjunct at the college level for a total of fourteen years. He also teaches high school Spanish online. Skip has coached and taught at national conferences and colleges across the country.

In 2014, Skip was named Maine Foreign Language Teacher of the year, Northeast Conference on the teaching of Foreign Language Teacher of the Year Finalist, Androscoggin County Teacher of the year and in 2015 was the Maine Teacher of the Year, Finalist. He was also the 2015 Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Teacher of the Year Finalist. Skip earned National Board Certification (NBCT) in 2018. In 2021 Skip was recognized with the Richard Williamson Award for Leadership in World Languages by the Foreign Language Association of Maine (FLAME).

For the past six years, Skip has taken groups of students to Guatemala City to work with Safe Passage, an organization dedicated to helping the families working in the Guatemala City dump with education, food and medical care.

Skip lives in Poland, Maine with Beth, his wife of 31 years, Lexi, the 9.25 pound Mini Dachshund and Neil his 14 year old Doxie "brother." Gabe, their 23 year old son, is a 6th grade ELA teacher.

Facility Detail

COCC Redmond Campus - Building 2

REDMOND RTEC

2030 SE COLLEGE LOOP

REDMOND, OR 97756

Cancellation Policy

Students must cancel by contacting our office via phone: (541) 383-7270 or email: ceinfo@cocc.edu. Cancellations received 5 days prior to the start of the class will receive a full refund. Full refunds are also issued for classes cancelled by COCC. Refunds will be issued back to your card or in the form of a check and mailed within two weeks of the cancellation date if paid by check or cash. Failure to participate in a course or program does not result in a refund. Exceptions to the general refund policy are noted in the course descriptions on our website and in the printed schedule. If you have any questions, please call us at (541) 383-7270.