- The BEGINNER TRACK is designed for teachers that are new to teaching with methods that implement Comprehensible Input.  Generally, if teachers have been to less than 1 or 2 workshops, the Beginner Track is a perfect start. This track starts on Tuesday and ends on Thursday with open sessions on Friday.

- This workshop is for teachers who are new to TPR Storytelling® or for teachers who feel that they need to revisit and practice the fundamentals of the method. In this workshop you will:

Develop TPRS® skills with step-by-step training,

Be a Chinese student in a language classroom,

Practice with an experienced team of coaches,

See how to align TPRS to the Core Competencies found in the new BC Curriculum,

Discover ways to assess for proficiency that translate to higher scores.

- The NON-BEGINNER TRACK will highlight the following topics:

     - managing the class during stories to maximize student engagement,

     - taking suggestions and story details from students,

     - moving beyond basic circling,

     - adding variety to spice up your teaching,

and finding your TPRS style in the classroom.

The NON-BEGINNER Track is designed for teachers that have been to a handful of workshops, are proficient in conducting lessons using storytelling strategies and have been a language teacher for more than 3 years. This track starts on Tuesday and ends on Thursday with open sessions on Friday.

August 12, 2018     9:00 am – 4:00 pm

This workshop is great for those who are or aspiring to be mentors, cooperating teachers, department chairs, or PLC leaders who already have a strong understanding of the steps of TPRS and/or TCI teaching.

The Coaching for Coaches full-day workshop takes participants through a series of activities to unleash their inner-coach while preparing them to return to their communities to support others on their TPRS journeys. Using the coaching team’s model, participants will not only reflect on their own skills but will also develop the language and demeanor needed to help others grow in a not threatening way. This workshop is great for those who are or aspiring to be mentors, cooperating teachers, department chairs, or PLC leaders who already have a strong understanding of the steps of TPRS and/or TCI teaching.

Blaine Ray

Blaine is the inventor of TPRS and author of several TPRS materials. Blaine developed and refined TPRS while teaching high school for over 20 years in Ontario, OR and Bakersfield, CA. During a 4-year period while teaching in CA, more of Blaine’s students passed the AP Spanish test than 13 other high schools in the district combined. Blaine is an experienced presenter and has given TPRS presentations in all 50 states and in many foreign countries in various settings. He currently resides with his family in Woods Cross, UT, where he continues to teach Spanish as a volunteer at a local high school on a regular basis.

Linda Li was born and raised in Shanghai, China. She is a master teacher and an author as well as an experienced TPRS trainer. Linda has presented at numerous national and international conferences and co-authored Beginning Mandarin Reader “Who is good looking” with Dr. Stephen Krashen. She is also the co-author of “I Love Learning Chinese” (Books 1, 2), containing TPRS teaching materials for beginning students. Linda has taught Mandarin to middle and high school students as well as adult learners for over 10 years. Her experience includes teaching at a number of international schools in China, Thailand and Saudi Arabia in addition to an urban school in Denver, Colorado. Linda is currently working at Singapore American School after teaching 3 years at American Embassy School at New Delhi, India.

Von is Blaine’s son. Von learned TPRS from his father. He taught middle school and high school Spanish for several years in CA. The middle school where he taught had a placement exam. Those that passed the exam were placed in level 2 high school Spanish. While teaching with TPRS over a 5-year span, Von and his colleague saw the pass rate increase from 30% the first year to over 90% the last year. Von is a seasoned presenter and has given TPRS presentations in 35 states and three foreign countries in various settings. He currently resides in Chandler, AZ near Phoenix with his family. He currently works full-time for his father’s business and teaches his elementary aged children using TPRS.

Adriana Ramirez works in Canada, in the province of British Columbia as a Spanish teacher. She has been a language teacher for more than 12 years. She is a well-known CI author and presenter. She has published several books with stories (in Spanish and French), to teach through storytelling and comprehensible input. She constantly presents at workshops in both Canada and the US. She trains and coaches teachers on applying CI techniques in the classroom, and welcomes guests to her classroom so they can see the power of TPRS first hand. You can watch a video of Adriana in her classroom on her youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsnrjR8QVCUD56gLPmycrug

Craig, a former high school student of Blaine’s, has been teaching in the Nampa School District in Nampa, Idaho since 2005. Craig has a Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish with a Business Minor and a Master’s in Education: Curriculum and Instruction from Boise State University. He has taught all levels of Spanish and has taught as an adjunct professor in the Modern Languages and Literatures Department at Boise State University since 2003 and the College of Western Idaho since 2009. Craig learned TPRS as a student teacher and has been using it with his students ever since. Craig started presenting TPRS Workshops in 2011 and has presented at the National TPRS Conference since 2014. Craig has also served as President of both IATLC (Idaho Association of Teachers of Languages and Cultures) and PNCFL (Pacific Northwest Council for Languages). Craig currently resides in Nampa, Idaho with his wife and five children.

First Day Nickname activity (To edit, make a copy and edit your own version)

Michelle is a passionate TPRS/CI language teacher who teaches Spanish 9 to 12 IB at West Vancouver Secondary School in West Vancouver, B.C.  Michelle has been using TPRS as her primary teaching methodology with tremendous success at all levels of her teaching since 2011.  She is a well-known TPRS Presenter and Trainer not only in her own school district of West Vancouver, but at the provincial and national level as well.  Last year Michelle worked as part of the Coaching Team at NTPRS in Boston and will again be part of the Coaching Team at NTPRS this summer in Chicago.

Michelle has also worked in the area of Curriculum and Assessment with the Ministry of Education in many different roles.  Most recently she was one of the writers of the new B.C. Core French Curriculum.

Michelle welcomes visitors to her classroom where she can share with them first hand the power and magic of TPRS!