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Course Description: LinguaFest @ COCC: Rethinking the Power of Language
Calling all second language teachers in need of a refreshing change! Join our groundbreaking conference designed exclusively for educators who've faced burnout and are seeking innovative solutions. Discover how to use language to inspire joy and build strong classroom communities, with authentic teaching labs showcasing revolutionary strategies. Engage in interactive workshops, dynamic presentations, and collaborative sessions to challenge your practices and gain firsthand knowledge of the latest research. Connect with like-minded teachers to fuel your professional growth and reignite your passion for second language teaching. Together, we shape the future of language acquisition on a transformative journey. LinguaFest attendees are eligible for 2.4 Continuing Education Units with a minimum 90% completion rate. Certificates will be mailed to students after the event.
Meet Your Presenters:
Haiyun Lu has been an educator since 1993. She is a certified Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher from Brown University. She is also certified in Advanced Education Leadership from Harvard University. She is passionate about employing Acquisition Driven Instructions (ADI) in her classes and implementing mindfulness in education. She is a well sought-after ADI trainer nationally and internationally. She is the co-founder of the Comprehensible Midwest Conference and Ignite Chinese. She is a columnist for Intrepid Ed News. She is a blogger and writer; she has written 16 storybooks in Mandarin. When she is not teaching, she likes to hike, meditate, walk her dog, drink tea with friends, enjoy a good meal with family and watch her son playing video games.
Jon Cowart has been in public education for 15 years. He started teaching English as a second language in Chile before earning his Master's Degree in World Language/ESL Education. He taught high school Spanish and ESL for 10 years in Memphis, TN before transitioning into leadership as an instructional coach, school leader, and most recently as district director of Multilingual Learners in Everett, WA. Jon presents nationally to school districts and school-based teams on Comprehensible Input strategies with an emphasis on classroom management, Total Physical Response, and personalizing curriculum. He teaches a monthly class online to teachers from across the country on classroom management strategies specific for CI/ADI teachers. In his free time, he enjoys reading, watching football (go Titans), enjoying nature with his dogs, and building legos. He currently lives near Seattle, Washington with his husband and 2 dogs.
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?).
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 Español como Lengua Extranjera from the Javeriana University in Bogotá, 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.
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.
Meet Your Presenters:
Haiyun Lu has been an educator since 1993. She is a certified Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher from Brown University. She is also certified in Advanced Education Leadership from Harvard University. She is passionate about employing Acquisition Driven Instructions (ADI) in her classes and implementing mindfulness in education. She is a well sought-after ADI trainer nationally and internationally. She is the co-founder of the Comprehensible Midwest Conference and Ignite Chinese. She is a columnist for Intrepid Ed News. She is a blogger and writer; she has written 16 storybooks in Mandarin. When she is not teaching, she likes to hike, meditate, walk her dog, drink tea with friends, enjoy a good meal with family and watch her son playing video games.
Jon Cowart has been in public education for 15 years. He started teaching English as a second language in Chile before earning his Master's Degree in World Language/ESL Education. He taught high school Spanish and ESL for 10 years in Memphis, TN before transitioning into leadership as an instructional coach, school leader, and most recently as district director of Multilingual Learners in Everett, WA. Jon presents nationally to school districts and school-based teams on Comprehensible Input strategies with an emphasis on classroom management, Total Physical Response, and personalizing curriculum. He teaches a monthly class online to teachers from across the country on classroom management strategies specific for CI/ADI teachers. In his free time, he enjoys reading, watching football (go Titans), enjoying nature with his dogs, and building legos. He currently lives near Seattle, Washington with his husband and 2 dogs.
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?).
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 Español como Lengua Extranjera from the Javeriana University in Bogotá, 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.
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.