Each fall, the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) holds the World Languages Expo, a professional development event attended by approximately 7,000 educators, according to the official ACTFL website. This year, some South teachers will attend the conference, which begins today and lasts through Sunday, at McCormick Place West in Chicago, according to the ACTFL website.

Spanish Teacher Rachael Rothrauff, who has attended the conference in previous years, is presenting this year, sharing ideas about the incorporation of Learning Maps and their ability to assist students in creating connections within a thematic unit for this year’s expo.

The convention is an opportunity to learn about schools around the country and grasp valuable information about language teaching, Rothrauff said. Viewing various presentations from other teachers is inspirational and refreshing because new ideas are heard, Rothrauff said.

“[The convention is] informative and inspirational in the sense that you see new ideas, and it gives you motivation in the middle of the year when [teaching] is harder,” Rothrauff said.

Additionally, the convention informs teachers about innovations that change the dynamic of teaching foreign languages globally, such as artificial intelligence, German Teacher Laurie Haugh said. Exchanging opinions between educators is beneficial because the knowledge gained can be applied to improve students’ overall learning process, Haugh said.

“[Attending the conference]  is a really big boost of energy,” Haugh said. “You get to go and talk to people from around the country who are passionate about the things that you’re passionate about.” 

French Teacher Amanda Moritz had multiple valuable takeaways from the expo, including instructional strategies and colleague connections from around the country. Striving to apply lessons learned at the conference into the classroom is a continual goal, Moritz said.

“I go to [the ACTFL to] learn about the best possible best teaching practices and to improve my students’ [class] experiences,” Moritz said.