2025 Spokane Regional ESL Conference: Full Schedule

Saturday, March 8th, 2025
Cataldo Hall Globe Room at Gonzaga University

We hope to see you there!
Thank you to our Silver Sponsor: Data Recognition Corp. (DRC) / LAS Links

Registration Prices:

$75 - February 28th to March 8th
$25 - Student with discount code (Contact us if you have questions or need the code.)

To register for the conference, please Sign up for SCHED or Log in to your SCHED account.

10:30am PST

Top Ten Warm-ups for Presentation Skills

Saturday March 8, 2025 10:30am - 11:15am PST

Jepson 122

The presenter shares quick, easy warm-up activities designed to support engaging presentation skills. Attendees will practice each warm-up and learn how to modify them for different student populations.

Presenters

Ellen Sherrifs Hall

Mukogawa US Campus

Ellen Sherriffs Hall is an experienced teacher, program coordinator, and presenter. She teaches in the English and Cultural Studies, Education, and School of Business Administration programs at MUSC in Spokane.

Saturday March 8, 2025 10:30am - 11:15am PST
Jepson 122

Instructional Strategies

Target Audience Higher Ed. Intensive English
Format Teaching Demonstration

10:30am PST

ChatGPT: Friend, Not Foe

Saturday March 8, 2025 10:30am - 11:15am PST

Jepson 111

This presentation offers practical lesson plans and teaching ideas for those interested in incorporating ChatGPT into the language-learning classroom, with a particular focus on writing, vocabulary, and critical thinking.

Presenters

Audra Lord

ELCAP Faculty, Highline College

Audra Lord is a tenure-track ESOL instructor at Highline College (Des Moines, WA).. Previously, she served as Academic Director of ALPS Language School in Seattle, where she designed curricula, supported and trained teachers, and taught all levels of ESOL. Other highlights: serving... Read More →

Saturday March 8, 2025 10:30am - 11:15am PST
Jepson 111

Technology

Target Audience K-12, Higher Ed. Intensive English, Adult Refugee/Immigrant
Format Teaching Demonstration

1:15pm PST

Embodied Storytelling: Marshallese Biit

Saturday March 8, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm PST

Jepson 122

In this session, members of the Marshallese Heritage Language Board engage their audience in a structured language learning experience through the Marshallese cultural practice of embodied storytelling called “biit”—a Pacific tradition of embodied storytelling through dance and movement. Participants will learn language, story, and cultural values from the iconic tales of the riMajel.

Presenters

Dorcas Taidrik

Spokane Public Schools

Dorcas Taidrik is a community leader and the Marshallese Heritage Language instructor for the newly developed Marshallese Heritage Language Program in Spokane Public Schools. She has served as an interpreter, translator, and community liaison in various organizations in Spokane including... Read More →

Doresty Daniel

Pacific Islander Community Association of Washington

Doresty Daniel is the Community Wellness Program Manager for the Pacific Islander Community Association of Washington (PICAWA) here in Spokane. She is a former Bilingual Specialist and Language Specialist for Spokane Public Schools and a founding member of the Marshallese Heritage... Read More →

Saturday March 8, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm PST
Jepson 122

Community Voices and Storytelling

Target Audience K-12, Higher Ed. Intensive English, Adult Refugee/Immigrant, Teacher Educators
Format Teaching Demonstration

1:15pm PST

Storytelling: Sounder, Trail of Tears, & Lakota Teen

Saturday March 8, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm PST

Jepson 109

Gafar (2024) found that “storytelling…is entertaining, interesting, and memorable.” This session demonstrates how Cherokee, African American, and Lakota elders tell stories in films to reinforce language learners’ identity while increasing listening, reading, and speaking skills. Materials are provided.

Presenters

LaVona Reeves

Professor of English, Eastern Washington University

LaVona Reeves, past WAESOL President and board member, is an Eastern Washington University Professor of English & Gender Studies. She has taught English Language Learners in the NYC & Boise public schools and at Boise State, the University of Wyoming, Osaka University, and Harvard... Read More →

Blair Benton

Education Student, Eastern Washington University

Blair Benton is an undergraduate at Eastern and loves to write—especially stories of her life and her family’s lives. She brings many lived experiences to her writing and responding to peers in her literature class. Blair has not declared a major yet, but she is considering... Read More →

Angus Trousdell

Education Student, Eastern Washington University

Saturday March 8, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm PST
Jepson 109

Community Voices and Storytelling

Target Audience K-12, Higher Ed. Intensive English, Adult Refugee/Immigrant
Format Teaching Demonstration

2:15pm PST

Rwandan Storytelling: The Difference Between Knowledge and Wisdom

Saturday March 8, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm PST

Jepson 122

Guest professor Dean Batuma provides a structured language learning experience in Kinyarwanda, engaging the audience in the storytelling practices of “The Land of a Thousand Hills.”

Presenters

Dean Batuma

Language Specialist, Spokane Public Schools

Dean Batuma is a polyglot with years of experience in the field of interpretation and translation for the African Great Lakes community. He is the French, Kinyarwanda, Kiswahili, and Kirundi Language Specialist for Spokane Public Schools as well as a guest professor in the Gonzaga... Read More →

Saturday March 8, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm PST
Jepson 122

Community Voices and Storytelling

Target Audience K-12, Higher Ed. Intensive English, Adult Refugee/Immigrant, Teacher Educators
Format Teaching Demonstration