The Foreign Language Association of Missouri’s 2022 conference, “Embracing Our Diversity Through Languages,” will take place at Washington University in St. Louis Friday and Saturday, Oct. 7 and 8.
“This conference offers a wonderful opportunity to engage directly with our local communities while simultaneously sharing best practices and innovations in language pedagogy,” said Iva Youkilis, teaching professor of Italian in Arts & Sciences, who chairs the organizing committee.
The conference brings together more than 200 instructors from area schools, from K-12 through college level, as well as faculty from Saint Louis University, Webster University and the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Events will begin with welcome remarks from Stephanie Kirk, professor of Spanish and director of the Center for the Humanities in Arts & Sciences. Akash Patel, president-elect of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages and founder of the Happy World Foundation, will serve as keynote speaker. Three Arts & Sciences faculty — Mimi Mijeong Kim, Hea Young Chun and Taewoong Kim — will reprise their presentation “Fostering Cultural Literacy: Integrating Real World in College Language Curriculum.”
Other presentations by Arts & Sciences foreign language faculty include:
- “Coffee as the Locus of Cultural, Economic and Linguistic Exchange in Francophone and Portuguese-Speaking Countries” by Mark Dowell and Elizabeth Allen.
- “Student-Centered Digital Learning, Teaching and Gaming” by Youkilis and Dowell.
- “Tools to Promote Inclusion and Diversity in a Language Classroom” by Vincent Jouane.
- “Integrating Social Justice Pedagogy with Communicative Language Teaching” by Katherine Kerschen, with Alexis Wilt from The Pennsylvania State University.
- “Let’s Talk about TalkAbroad” by Youkilis.
The Foreign Language Association of Missouri is a professional association and advocacy group that represents language instructors from across the state. Membership is open to all current, former or aspiring language teachers. For more information or to register for the conference, visit flamnet.org.
