If you are a school administrator registering teachers, please include teacher name(s) and email(s) in the comments section at check out.
Register with another teacher from your district and bring a third for free! Contact us.(If there are three of you, just register for two and then include the names and emails of all three teachers in the comments section at check-out.)
We accept Purchase Orders from schools.
Schools should email [email protected] with PO number.
Please contact us if you do not have school funding and are experiencing financial hardship during COVID-19. We do not want finances to hold anyone back from participating in this conference.
Watch our 5-minute video compilation from our 2017 teacher workshop.
Someday we will all be together in person again!
University of the Pacific courses you can get credit for:
P EDU 9000: Practicum for Development of Instructional Activities (1-3)
P EDU 9001: Developing New Learning Activities Practicum (1-3)
P EDU 9002: Developing Hands-On Activities to Enhance Learning Strategies (1-3)
P EDU 9003: Learning Activities and Environment Practicum (1-3)
P EDU 9004: New Curriculum Idea/Materials Development Practicum (1-3)
P EDU 9005: Developing Learning Activities Through Hands-On Learning (1-3)
P EDU 9006: Curriculum Development Through Special Projects(1-3)
P EDU 9007: Curriculum Enhancement Through Special Projects (1-3)
P EDU 9008: Developing New Ideas in Education Practicum (1-3)
P EDU 9009: Activities to Accelerate Learning (1-3)
P EDU 9010: Curriculum Enrichment Activities (1-3)
P EDU 9011: Creative Projects for the Classroom (1-3)
P EDU 9012: Teaching Objectives with Hands-On Activities (1-3)
P EDU 9013: Hands-On Activities to Strengthen Learning (1-3)
P EDU 9014: Creating Practical Strategies and Ideas (1-3)
P EDU 9289: Focus with Topics to Accelerate Learning (1-6)
P EDU 9401: Developing Motivating Instructional Projects (1-3)
P EDU 9085: Enhancing Curriculum with Learning Activities (1-3)
P EDU 9087: Expanding Today’s Curriculum with Teacher Made Activities (1-3)
P EDU 9199: Multi-Sensory Activities & Development (1-3)
P EDU 9088: Adapting Curriculum Through Teacher-made Projects/Activities (1-3)
P EDU 9467: Language Arts Creativity Practicum (1-3)
About the Instructors
Stay tuned for updates!
Annabelle Williamson, a.k.a. La Maestra Loca, is a passionate elementary and middle school Spanish teacher in New Orleans, Louisiana. She is the 2017 LA Teacher of the Year. Annabelle loves teaching middle school but she has taught students ranging from 2-82 years old. She taught for a year in China in 2014-15 and before that taught for 4 years in public schools in Denver, Colorado, where she learned from a community of brilliant CI (Comprehensible-Input) teachers in the area. Since then she has developed her own unique style, which her students call “loca” or “crazy”. She enjoys helping students of ALL ages acquire the Spanish language. Her goal for her students, children and adults, is communication and joy. In her free time Annabelle enjoys traveling the world and blogging about her travels. She also loves eating! Anything and everything, even duck tongue and sheep brain! Her favorite thing in the world is spending time with her family, and picnicking with her boyfriend Paul and bonus-daughter Isla Rose who just turned three and LOVES all things magical like unicorns, fairies, and mermaids, just like La Maestra Loca.
Elissa McLean founded Express Fluency in 2012 to bring Comprehensible-Input based language classes to adults. Tired of hearing (almost) everyone say “I studied (fill in the blank) language in school for 4 years and I can’t speak a word now” – she decided to be part of a movement to change that.
Elissa holds a Masters degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and has taught Spanish to students from preschool to college and adults. Prior to teaching Spanish full-time she co-founded two innovative expedition-based high schools. She loves to travel, meet new people, hang out with her 15-year old daughter, and help bring more joy and multilingualism into the world.
Justin Slocum Bailey is crazy about helping teachers and learners succeed with less stress and more joy. A veteran language, music, and martial arts teacher, he operates Indwelling Language, a treasure trove of resources and low-prep practices for joyful language education, while consulting for schools, districts, publishers, travel companies, and non-profits worldwide, with characteristic kindness, humor, and outside-the-box thinking. Justin was raised in Vienna, Austria, but now lives in Michigan, where he thrives on fingerstyle guitar, jujutsu, and Detroit Tigers baseball.
Allison Litten grew up in Scituate, MA, where, in high school, she became interested in the French language and culture. She began her teaching career in 2000, immediately after having graduated from Williams College with a double major in French and sociology. She taught high school French in Brookhaven, MS, while simultaneously pursuing an MA in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Mississippi through the Mississippi Teacher Corps. In the summer of 2003 Allison moved to the Upper Valley and began teaching at the Marion Cross School in Norwich, VT. She has been here ever since, loving her job more as each year passes. She loves her students and having fun, singing songs and being silly. She completed her M.A. in French at Middlebury College in 2010, spending her final semester in Poitiers, France, and has traveled to France on numerous occasions since. This school year Allison is teaching French to kindergarteners and first, second, fourth, and sixth graders. She really enjoys having the opportunity to work with the various age groups. Her experience in each grade is totally different and she’s constantly in awe of what her students can do at each level. (Check out her Instagram to see photos and videos of her classes in action.) Allison blogs about her classroom experiences and ideas at cicanteach.com. Allison served as Co-President of the Vermont Foreign Language Association (VFLA) from 2012-2018 and was a board member from 2006-2018.
Outside of school, Allison enjoys spending time with her family, friends, and dog, traveling, watching movies, running road and obstacle races, cooking vegan food, and reading.
Diane Neubauer 杜雁子 is a Mandarin Chinese teacher who has taught elementary, middle, & high school as well as elective & adult classes over the past 14 years. She currently teaches online part-time while working on her PhD in Foreign Language & ESL Education at the University of Iowa. She frequently presents on a variety of language teaching topics at conferences and is involved in research relevant to comprehension-based language teaching and learning. She is currently ACTFL’s Comprehension-based Communicative Language Teaching special interest group’s Vice Chair. You can find her on YouTube, Twitter, & where she blogs.
Alice Ayel is originally from Paris and has been a teacher of French and Spanish for more than 15 years. She is the founder of Le Français Naturellement. Currently, Alice is well known for her videos based on the Story Listening approach, and she teaches languages online to people from all over the world. She is on a mission: French acquisition for all with optimal input.
Website: https://www.aliceayel.com/
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbC9Utt1c6UXRqWw2lOTCBg
John Bracey has been a Latin teacher in Massachusetts since 2010. He has a B.A. in Classics from UMass Amherst and an MA from Boston College. He has taught Latin exclusively using Comprehensible Input for the past several years. He leads workshops around the country for language teachers of all kinds. He is also the 2016 Massachusetts Latin teacher of the year.
Ping Wu has been teaching Mandarin Chinese at Columbus School for Girls in Ohio for 10 years. Her students range from 7th graders to 12th graders. She started experimenting with the Comprehensible Input teaching strategies in her class five years ago. With the desire to learn more about CI, she has attended many CI workshops and conferences, joined various CI social media forums, and gradually developed her own teaching style with CI principles in mind. In her opinion, classroom interaction (even on Zoom) is the soul of any language classes. She strives to provide compelling comprehended language input for students via engaging activities and discussion. She looks forward to sharing what she has learned and created with more teachers.
During her free time, she shares what she has created with other Chinese teachers via social media, online workshops, https://www.slideshare.net/WuPing and https://www.tes.com/member/pingwu.
She has won several awards including: Celebrating Teachers Award by DePaul University in 2019 (nominated by a former student for the long-lasting impact on the student), Columbus School for Girls’ Ruth Elizabeth Radcliffe Prize in Teaching in 2018, Outstanding Leadership Award by Cleveland State University’s Confucius Institute in 2016 (for the work she has done as presidents of the Ohio Association of Teachers of Chinese for 3 years), Ohio Foreign Language Association’s Outstanding Foreign Language Teacher Award in 2014, and Outstanding Foreign Language Technology Committee Award in 2012 (shared)
Michele Whaley has been offering Russian to students from middle school through adults for more than 30 years. She shares her passion for language acquisition at conferences and workshops, and by supporting teachers through social media. She was twice the World Language Teacher of the Year (ToY) for Alaska, the 2016 Pacific Northwest ToY, and a finalist for the 2017 ACTFL ToY. In the last two years, she transitioned to teaching Russian for University of Alaska and online students, and kindergarten through fifth-grade Spanish in an independent private school in Anchorage. When not teaching, Michele plays recorders in a Baroque music ensemble and works on her Spanish. She also likes to be rowing, Nordic skating, skiing or hiking with her husband and sled dog. Her eclectic family includes a musician, an actress, and an outdoor educator.
Originally from Ireland, Kevin Quigley has been living in New England since 2016. He obtained his Masters degree in French Language and Literature from the University of Glasgow in 2002. Before becoming a teacher, he was a student in language classrooms all over the world. As well as French, he studied German at school, Icelandic in Reykjavik, and Korean at a language center in Seoul. He subsequently taught in France, Switzerland, Morocco and South Korea.
Having been both a learner and a teacher of languages in many different contexts, he has developed a clear sense of what works (and does not work) in the World Language classroom. Discovering Comprehensible Input changed his life and the lives of his students almost overnight. His zeal for CI has led him to present at several conferences where he managed to win Best in NH at NHAWLT as well as Best in RI at RIFLA.
During school closure, he continues to bring communicative language teaching to his middle and high-school students on Zoom, and has even started a CI-inspired TikTok (@coronavision) to make sure his students are getting their daily dose of input.
A.C. Quintero
Erica Peplinski
Meredith White
Mike Peto
and
Carol Gaab
More coming soon!!!!!
Reviews
Carmen –
I learned so much about TPR and TPRS in three days thanks to Express Fluency. By participating in the classes as a student and then as an observer, I was able to witness firsthand the language learning process and later reflect on the method with other language educators. All three teachers were phenomenal: clear, organized, and engaging. I also appreciated the warm classroom environment, especially when participants were given the opportunity to try out the method on each other. Thank you!
Claire Lefferts –
I am so glad I attended Express Fluency’s Latin teacher training and stayed an extra day to participate as a student in the French class! Justin ignited his Latin class and demonstrated so many TPRS skills for us to learn. During teacher debriefs it was wonderful to discuss with other teachers the application of this method to our beloved ‘dead’ language, with all the expectations that are placed on Latin teachers. During the French class, I was able to get a taste of being on the other said as Sabrina utilized the same techniques with her own personal variations. Being able to both watch and then participate was crucial, because I now understand not only the techniques being employed but what it feels like to be the student. This will affect how I interact with my students and make sure I’m maintaining comprehensibility. I must also add that Elissa was a great facilitator, available for questions and offering resources to us. For three days I was in a great community. I hope to be able to attend next year to continue to develop my CI and TPRS skills.
Johnny Lee Conroy –
The teacher training was an exciting introduction to TPRS and a community of learners and teachers. Being able to experience it as a student, and then review that experience with other teachers was a brilliant way to internalize the theory and practice. Shortly after the training I had the chance to try out the methodology in a week-long language class that I taught. My students knew something new and exciting was going on and they were engaged and energized. We all had a great time, and learned some Irish to boot.
Learning the methodology works regardless of the language you teach. In my case it’s Irish (one of the Gaelic tongues) and it has proven to be immediately applicable, even though most of the literature, examples and other written resources are demonstrated using Spanish, French or Mandarin.
I am fortunate to live in Brattleboro where I have easy access to the Express Fluency gang. I’m very much looking forward to where we go with this.
Joy Wilson –
This past spring, I observed another language teacher use TPRS/CI and instantly wanted to use it in my classroom, but didn’t know where to begin. Luckily, I found Express Fluency! I attended the August teacher training and was astounded at how much Spanish I knew after the first day. The method is fun, engaging, and teaches you without actually realizing you are learning. All the trainers were wonderful and so helpful. I also thoroughly enjoyed the methodology part of the training. It gave me the confidence to integrate TPRS on day 1 of the new school year. I highly recommend Express Fluency for teachers and students alike!
Victoria Heflin –
I had seen and read about the TPRS and comprehensible input method of foreign language teaching, and was interested in the weekend program. It was incredible to me how much Spanish I learned and was actually able to use on just day one! Our classroom was filled with people from all different backgrounds, all ages, together in one comfortable learning community. All of the teachers at Express Fluency are amazing and it is obvious from the first minute that they love what they do. During the teacher training portion of the program, they practiced with us and answered all of our questions. There is no doubt that they are excited to bring the TPRS/CI method to as many teachers as possible!
The weekend was so energizing for me as a French teacher! I have been able to share this enthusiasm with my students and have been using TPRS/CI ever since. My students report that they are having fun, look forward to more stories and that I should “keep it up!” I will definitely be looking into more training at Express Fluency.
Viviana Hardy –
I learned about CI/TPRS last summer when I was desperately looking for a different way to teach Spanish to my 8th grade students. I read all I could find but needed some face-to-face training. That’s when I came across Express Fluency and Elissa. What a find! I participated in the weekend program in August and the Follow-Up Workshop in the fall. The teacher training allowed me to experience firsthand what my students must feel when confronted with a new language, when I was a student in Sabrina’s French class. And I had the chance to observe Elissa and Laurie using the same techniques (movie-talk, readers-theater, etc) with their own personal touches in their Spanish classes. The Follow-Up Workshop was an excellent opportunity to learn and share experiences with other language teachers as well as to learn and practice new and known techniques. Both experiences were awesome and left me feeling energized and if not ready (lots of trepidation as to “will I be able to pull it off”) to try it out on my students.
I can report that this school year has been a totally different experience for me and my students. They are spontaneously trying to speak Spanish both in class and outside. They are having fun and acquiring the language without even realizing they are doing so.
I highly recommend Express Fluency teacher training.
Heather Way –
WOW. What a productive and invigorating week! This is one of the best teacher trainings I’ve done and I would highly recommend it. I’ve never been so excited to get back into the classroom in the fall so I can start implementing some of the techniques I gleaned during this training week. To see master teachers in action was a privilege. I hope I can attend this workshop in the future.
Jeronimo Garrigues –
What a wonderful experience was to participate in this teachers training! Being able to observe a real classroom situation and then being able to talk about the different techniques was very enriching and, one week later, I am still trying to absorb/learn all that I experienced during this workshop. The presenters showed a clear understanding and gave clear steps about how to teach a language using Comprehensible Input. Beyond that, they showed a deep commitment to excel in what they do and a deep respect and care for the students. Very inspiring! I encourage all language teacher to attend a workshop. There is so much to assimilate that I am planning to be there next time! THANK YOU!
Megan Hughes –
I had a tremendous time at the teacher training last week. It was inspiring. I really appreciate the time and effort that was put into organizing such a well run conference and I especially appreciate the speakers you recruited to present. I attended Dustin, Annabelle and Justin’s sessions. all were beyond inspiring as well as generous and smart. and my daughter loved the language classes. I am excited to start my school year after such a great training provided by Express Fluency.
Adriana C. –
I have been practicing Ci for a while but I still found so many useful things this week, from how to organize my classes to become better at PQA, slowing down and teaching CI to upper levels. Also, what it was more relevant to me to me was that this conference was small enough that you could ask many questions to the presenters and you will run into them in the dining hall so it felt very cozy and that you connect to them. The sample classes in the morning gave you a true glimpse and what the flow of a real classroom could be. I brushed up on my French and learn some Latin. Papae!!!
Rachel Kirtley –
This conference is wonderful! It is small enough to feel like a real community, but large enough to attract truly masterful teachers. I feel so lucky to have been able to observe and learn from some of the best language teachers in the country at this conference. I have attended this conference twice now (once in 2017, and this year in 2019), and both times I have returned home reinvigorated for a new school year, and confident in my skills as a language teacher. Thank you!
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Carmen –
I learned so much about TPR and TPRS in three days thanks to Express Fluency. By participating in the classes as a student and then as an observer, I was able to witness firsthand the language learning process and later reflect on the method with other language educators. All three teachers were phenomenal: clear, organized, and engaging. I also appreciated the warm classroom environment, especially when participants were given the opportunity to try out the method on each other. Thank you!
Claire Lefferts –
I am so glad I attended Express Fluency’s Latin teacher training and stayed an extra day to participate as a student in the French class! Justin ignited his Latin class and demonstrated so many TPRS skills for us to learn. During teacher debriefs it was wonderful to discuss with other teachers the application of this method to our beloved ‘dead’ language, with all the expectations that are placed on Latin teachers. During the French class, I was able to get a taste of being on the other said as Sabrina utilized the same techniques with her own personal variations. Being able to both watch and then participate was crucial, because I now understand not only the techniques being employed but what it feels like to be the student. This will affect how I interact with my students and make sure I’m maintaining comprehensibility. I must also add that Elissa was a great facilitator, available for questions and offering resources to us. For three days I was in a great community. I hope to be able to attend next year to continue to develop my CI and TPRS skills.
Johnny Lee Conroy –
The teacher training was an exciting introduction to TPRS and a community of learners and teachers. Being able to experience it as a student, and then review that experience with other teachers was a brilliant way to internalize the theory and practice. Shortly after the training I had the chance to try out the methodology in a week-long language class that I taught. My students knew something new and exciting was going on and they were engaged and energized. We all had a great time, and learned some Irish to boot.
Learning the methodology works regardless of the language you teach. In my case it’s Irish (one of the Gaelic tongues) and it has proven to be immediately applicable, even though most of the literature, examples and other written resources are demonstrated using Spanish, French or Mandarin.
I am fortunate to live in Brattleboro where I have easy access to the Express Fluency gang. I’m very much looking forward to where we go with this.
Joy Wilson –
This past spring, I observed another language teacher use TPRS/CI and instantly wanted to use it in my classroom, but didn’t know where to begin. Luckily, I found Express Fluency! I attended the August teacher training and was astounded at how much Spanish I knew after the first day. The method is fun, engaging, and teaches you without actually realizing you are learning. All the trainers were wonderful and so helpful. I also thoroughly enjoyed the methodology part of the training. It gave me the confidence to integrate TPRS on day 1 of the new school year. I highly recommend Express Fluency for teachers and students alike!
Victoria Heflin –
I had seen and read about the TPRS and comprehensible input method of foreign language teaching, and was interested in the weekend program. It was incredible to me how much Spanish I learned and was actually able to use on just day one! Our classroom was filled with people from all different backgrounds, all ages, together in one comfortable learning community. All of the teachers at Express Fluency are amazing and it is obvious from the first minute that they love what they do. During the teacher training portion of the program, they practiced with us and answered all of our questions. There is no doubt that they are excited to bring the TPRS/CI method to as many teachers as possible!
The weekend was so energizing for me as a French teacher! I have been able to share this enthusiasm with my students and have been using TPRS/CI ever since. My students report that they are having fun, look forward to more stories and that I should “keep it up!” I will definitely be looking into more training at Express Fluency.
Viviana Hardy –
I learned about CI/TPRS last summer when I was desperately looking for a different way to teach Spanish to my 8th grade students. I read all I could find but needed some face-to-face training. That’s when I came across Express Fluency and Elissa. What a find! I participated in the weekend program in August and the Follow-Up Workshop in the fall. The teacher training allowed me to experience firsthand what my students must feel when confronted with a new language, when I was a student in Sabrina’s French class. And I had the chance to observe Elissa and Laurie using the same techniques (movie-talk, readers-theater, etc) with their own personal touches in their Spanish classes. The Follow-Up Workshop was an excellent opportunity to learn and share experiences with other language teachers as well as to learn and practice new and known techniques. Both experiences were awesome and left me feeling energized and if not ready (lots of trepidation as to “will I be able to pull it off”) to try it out on my students.
I can report that this school year has been a totally different experience for me and my students. They are spontaneously trying to speak Spanish both in class and outside. They are having fun and acquiring the language without even realizing they are doing so.
I highly recommend Express Fluency teacher training.
Heather Way –
WOW. What a productive and invigorating week! This is one of the best teacher trainings I’ve done and I would highly recommend it. I’ve never been so excited to get back into the classroom in the fall so I can start implementing some of the techniques I gleaned during this training week. To see master teachers in action was a privilege. I hope I can attend this workshop in the future.
Jeronimo Garrigues –
What a wonderful experience was to participate in this teachers training! Being able to observe a real classroom situation and then being able to talk about the different techniques was very enriching and, one week later, I am still trying to absorb/learn all that I experienced during this workshop. The presenters showed a clear understanding and gave clear steps about how to teach a language using Comprehensible Input. Beyond that, they showed a deep commitment to excel in what they do and a deep respect and care for the students. Very inspiring! I encourage all language teacher to attend a workshop. There is so much to assimilate that I am planning to be there next time! THANK YOU!
Megan Hughes –
I had a tremendous time at the teacher training last week. It was inspiring. I really appreciate the time and effort that was put into organizing such a well run conference and I especially appreciate the speakers you recruited to present. I attended Dustin, Annabelle and Justin’s sessions. all were beyond inspiring as well as generous and smart. and my daughter loved the language classes. I am excited to start my school year after such a great training provided by Express Fluency.
Adriana C. –
I have been practicing Ci for a while but I still found so many useful things this week, from how to organize my classes to become better at PQA, slowing down and teaching CI to upper levels. Also, what it was more relevant to me to me was that this conference was small enough that you could ask many questions to the presenters and you will run into them in the dining hall so it felt very cozy and that you connect to them. The sample classes in the morning gave you a true glimpse and what the flow of a real classroom could be. I brushed up on my French and learn some Latin. Papae!!!
Rachel Kirtley –
This conference is wonderful! It is small enough to feel like a real community, but large enough to attract truly masterful teachers. I feel so lucky to have been able to observe and learn from some of the best language teachers in the country at this conference. I have attended this conference twice now (once in 2017, and this year in 2019), and both times I have returned home reinvigorated for a new school year, and confident in my skills as a language teacher. Thank you!