Jocelynn Hubbard | Custom Teaching Solutions (she/her)
 

PRESENTATION: Cultivating Joyful Connections: Building an Inclusive and Equitable World Language Community

Imagine a world language classroom where every student feels a deep sense of belonging and experiences the pure joy of connecting with the content and their classmates. This session will guide you through the process of building an inclusive and equitable community, where diversity is celebrated and meaningful relationships are fostered. Discover how to create a learning environment where joy is not just a feeling, but a fundamental part of the learning experience.

About Jocelynn:

Jocelynn Hubbard helps teachers spark joy during the learning experience by creating an inclusive and welcoming classroom environment for ALL their students. She is the founder and managing director of Custom Teaching Solutions, LLC and host of The Culture-Centered Classroom podcast. She has 16+ years of experience in education as an educator, speaker, professional development creator and facilitator. Driven by a passion to see the diverse people of our world feel welcomed, affirmed, and celebrated, she provides training on becoming and remaining culturally competent. As a wife and mother of five, her goals include squeezing in time for exercise, finding moments of joy each day, and parenting each of her children as unique individuals.

Jocelynn received a B.S. in Education from Miami University (OH) and an MA in Education from The University of North Carolina – Pembroke. She also has a graduate certificate in Gifted & Talented instruction from The University of North Carolina – Charlotte.

What does Joy & Fun mean to you? 

It means a vibrant, engaging, and supportive learning environment for both students and teacher. It's about creating a learning environment and experiences that fosters student growth, well-being, and a love of learning. Intentional time is spent gaining understanding of these concepts for everyone.

Andrea Setter-San Miguel | Bacán For Teachers

PRESENTATION: Finding Your "Why" Again: Reclaiming Joy and Sustaining Passion in the Proficiency-Focused Classroom

 
✨Feeling burned out or disconnected from your passion?✨
Join me for “Finding Your ‘Why’ Again: Reclaiming Teacher Joy and Sustaining Passion in the Proficiency-Focused Classroom.” This energizing session is your reminder that joy isn’t a bonus—it’s essential. Let’s reignite your purpose, reconnect with your students, and fall in love with teaching all over again. 💛✏️🎉

About Andrea: 

"I’m Andrea, a native Spanish speaker and veteran language educator with over 15 years of experience in bringing confidence, connection, and joy into the Spanish classroom. I specialize in proficiency-based teaching that prioritizes authentic communication and student engagement — the kind of learning that sticks and lights up a room.

Through Bacán for Teachers, I support educators with ready-to-use, culturally responsive resources designed to make teaching more joyful and meaningful. My goal is to help teachers reconnect with their passion and create language classrooms full of laughter, growth, and genuine communication."

What does Joy & Fun mean to you? 

JOY means creating a space where students feel seen, supported, and excited to learn. FUN is using engaging, culturally rich activities that spark curiosity and connection while making language learning meaningful and memorable.

Kia D. London | Trailblaze Into Language Learning (she/hers)
 

PRESENTATION: Successful Steps to Proficiency in the Target Language

This interview presentation will be about cultivating a responsive classroom environment for successful proficiency in the target language.

About Kia:

Kia is a passionate educator, writer, and advocate for equity by way of reading, representation, and interculturality in the world language curriculum. She earned a B.A. in Spanish and an M.A. in Linguistics, specializing in language and identity. She carries eighteen years of experience in the classroom, and has taught Spanish to multilingual learners for all grade levels K-12. She currently teaches Spanish to 5th and 6th grade students.

Through Trailblaze Into Language Learning, Kia provides workshops, webinars, and a curriculum coaching membership program focused on student representation, second language acquisition, belonging, and intercultural competence. She has presented at local, state, and regional conferences, as well as the ACTFL conference. As a writer of comprehensible short stories and articles, she successfully designs a rich curriculum that keeps her students engaged! 

What does Joy & Fun mean to you?

I believe that joy is intrinsic, and it comes from a place of authenticity, in wanting to share that with your students in the classroom.  I think that having fun is a must! You have to be able to laugh at yourself and laugh with your students.

Courtney Nygaard | Heritage Spanish

PRESENTATION: Spark Joy in Heritage Spanish Class

Spark joy in your heritage Spanish class through engaging activities, secret pen pals, and even class parties! Having fun together builds community, and we learn best when we feel comfortable and safe in the classroom environment.

About Courtney:

Courtney is the founder of the Ascendencia curriculum for high school heritage Spanish and the Linaje curriculum for middle school heritage Spanish. Courtney’s primary focus is on engaging students in learning through content-based instruction. She believes in empowering her students to become their best selves and that the best learning takes place when students are hooked on a topic that directly relates to their life experiences.

 What does Joy & Fun mean to you?

Allowing for playfulness in the classroom is a great way to rejuvenate both students and the teacher. This can look like using silly story cards to spark creative writing, surprising students with a new destination for class when it's nice out, and planning class parties.

Will Adams | The Kě ài lǎoshī

PRESENTATION: Acquisition as Joy: Get back to the why behind the way we teach!

When teaching feels joyful, students feel it too. This session explores how centering joy in acquisition-based classrooms can reignite your passion and create a space where students thrive! You’ll leave with practical, joy-centered strategies you can use from day one.

About Will:

"Will Adams is a Mandarin Chinese teacher at North High School in Denver Public Schools. Now in his fourth year of teaching, he is dedicated to acquisition-driven instruction (ADI) as a pathway to meaningful and equitable language learning. Will believes that all students—regardless of background—can acquire a second or even third language, including those often labeled as “too difficult,” like Chinese. He was the recipient of the Welcome Package Award from the Colorado Congress for Language Teachers (CCFLT) two years ago and has since begun sharing his knowledge with fellow educators. Will was recently elected President-Elect of CCFLT for the 2025–2026 school year.

When he's not teaching or advocating for best practices in world language education, Will enjoys spending time with his fiancé George and their two beloved cats, Didi (弟弟) and Baobao (宝包)."

 What does Joy & Fun mean to you? 

Joy and Fun means letting go of the hum drum and what we hear in the news, and re-centering ourselves as humans. It means Centering humor, and positivity, leaning into the silly side of things- EVEN if it can be a little cringe sometimes.

Devon Gunning | La Libre Language Learning 

PRESENTATION: The Joy of Becoming a Language Facilitator

Ditch the stressful and outdated role of knowledge gatekeeper and  experience the joyful transformation to language facilitator. When you teach for proficiency, you're the skills coach, the party host, and conversation partner. I'll show you how the things you actually love to do, bring you joy, and connect you to your students in class are the most valuable language acquisition tools in your teaching toolkit. Best of all, you don't need any new skills to embrace your role as language facilitator. I'll simply be showing you how to direct your natural teaching instincts into a facilitator framework that makes every class more about skills and meaningful language use. 

About Devon: 

Welcome to Practical and Comprehensible 2025: JOY!

My mission is to help world language teachers discover a practical, teacher-friendly approach to best practice and true community in your classroom: through the power of CI and meaningful social justice resources & PD.

I work with teachers & districts in curriculum work, self care planners, French & Spanish resources, and the Practical Proficiency Network - a PD membership and community to connect you with like-minded, health-conscious and CI focused teachers.  

What does Joy & Fun mean to you? 

Life is too short and work makes up so much of it. Teachers are exceptionally talented, and we can't afford to waste days in class with things that don't bring joy to ourselves and our students. That doesn't always mean that it comes easy - in teaching you have to plan for, protect, and maintain joyful spaces & moments because we know it's best for us and our kids to see joy in doing hard things and having a LOT of fun in the process.  

Kim Bopp

PRESENTATION: Sparking Joy and Proficiency: Sustaining Passion and Progress in the World Language Classroom

Imagine a classroom where students light up with curiosity and confidence as they speak a new language—"Sparking Joy and Proficiency:  Sustaining Passion and Progress in the World Language Classroom" explores how to sustain that passion while driving meaningful progress in world language learning.

About Kim: 
I am a dedicated Spanish educator with 30 years of experience teaching students from 3rd through 12th grade in both public and private schools across New Jersey. I am a proud advocate for meaningful, culturally rich language learning as I designed, implemented, and continue to lead an accelerated Spanish program for middle school students at Russell O. Brackman Middle School. My teaching philosophy centers on fostering curiosity, confidence, and cultural empathy through joyful, communicative experiences that make language come alive for every learner. I work collaboratively with colleagues across my district’s World Language Department to align curriculum, share instructional strategies, and support a unified, proficiency-driven approach to language education. My career has been marked by a commitment to nurturing both proficiency and joy in the classroom, guiding generations of students toward global awareness and confident self-expression.

Beyond the classroom, my passions reflect my lively personality and love for community. I collect Day of the Dead artifacts, enjoy cooking and traveling with friends and family, and am deeply involved in Scouting. As an Assistant Scoutmaster for a local girls troop, a merit badge counselor and an adult leadership trainer, I mentor youth and prepare adult leaders. A lifelong Jersey girl, I am happily married to my husband of 26 years, Frank, and am the proud mother of three kind, talented young adults—Jillian, Abby, and Jack. Our home is shared with Rocky, a beloved 12-year-old boxer-lab mix.

What does Joy & Fun mean to you? 

JOY and FUN in the world language classroom mean creating a space where students feel excited, safe, and motivated to communicate. Using engaging, meaningful activities that make learning memorable and build confidence makes the learning fun.