Special Topics in World Language Education: Idioma World Language Institute

The Idioma World Language Institute is an opportunity to engage in a yearlong professional learning experience for Massachusetts and New Hampshire world language educators focused on strengthening proficiency-based instruction, assessment, and curriculum design within vocational-technical school settings. Through three full-day in-person workshops and four virtual coaching sessions, participants will explore practical strategies that align with the 2024 ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines, the 2021 Massachusetts World Languages Curriculum Framework, and the unique career-connected needs of vocational students.  We will also focus on how to align our programs so world languages students and heritage and native speakers of other languages can qualify for the career-ready certification of the Global Seal of Biliteracy and the State Seal of Biliteracy.

This collaborative institute is designed to provide educators with concrete tools, implementation support, and a cross-district professional learning community that extends throughout the school year.

Credit Options & Attendance Expectations

Participants will earn 45 professional development hours or PDPs upon successful completion of the institute. Teachers may also choose to upgrade to graduate-level credit through Idioma's university partnerships by completing additional required coursework.

In order to earn the 45 PDPs or 3 graduate-level credits, participants are expected to attend at least 2 on-site sessions AND 3 virtual sessions. If a participant's schedule changes during the year, every effort will be made to accommodate their needs so they can still receive graduate credit or PDPs, which may involve completing additional work or documenting additional clinical hours.

Content Delivery

On-site Sessions

Participants will meet on-site at Nashoba Valley Technical High School in Wesford, MA on the following dates:

• Thursday, August 20, 2026 | 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM

• Saturday, November 7, 2026 | 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM

• Saturday, April 3, 2027 | 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Virtual Sessions

Participants will meet virtually via Zoom on the following dates:

• Tuesday, September 15, 2026 | 6:30 - 7:30 PM

• Tuesday, October 20, 2026 | 6:30 - 7:30 PM

• Tuesday, February 16, 2027 | 6:30 - 7:30 PM

• Tuesday, March 16, 2027 | 6:30 - 7:30 PM

Graduate-level Credit Options

3 Graduate-Level Credits

• Required Text: Glisan, E. W., & Donato, R. (2021). Enacting the work of language instruction: High-leverage teaching practices (Vol. 2). ACTFL.

• Complete 45 combined contact hours and assignment hours.

  • Contact hours are the hours spent attending sessions or workshops and participating in workshop-related learning activities.

  • Assignment hours are the hours spent on assignments including discussion boards and the capstone unit project in the course.

• Complete all assigned coursework on Schoology for which you will receive an invitation upon registration.

• Click here to request a syllabus.

For detailed workshop content and presenter information, click here. Reach out to Elisa Kirschhoffer, ekirsch@idiomaconsulting.com with any questions.