Keynote Speakers
Katy Arnett
Professor of Educational Studies and Faculty Advisor for Academic Accessibility, St. Mary’s College of Maryland (Friday’s keynote)
Biography:
Katy Arnett is a Professor of Educational Studies at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. A former high school French teacher and Fulbright scholar, she has explored inclusive practices in a variety of language learning settings. She is the author of Languages for All: How to Support and Challenge Students in a Second Language Classroom (Pearson Education Canada, 2013) and, with co-author Renée Bourgoin, Access for Success: Making Inclusion Work for Language Learners (Pearson Education Canada, 2018).
Professor of Educational Studies and Faculty Advisor for Academic Accessibility, St. Mary’s College of Maryland (Friday’s keynote)
Biography:
Katy Arnett is a Professor of Educational Studies at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. A former high school French teacher and Fulbright scholar, she has explored inclusive practices in a variety of language learning settings. She is the author of Languages for All: How to Support and Challenge Students in a Second Language Classroom (Pearson Education Canada, 2013) and, with co-author Renée Bourgoin, Access for Success: Making Inclusion Work for Language Learners (Pearson Education Canada, 2018).
Kaleb Child (Musgamdzi)
Kwakiutl Educator and Director, Indigenous Education (Saturday’s keynote)
Biography:
Gilakas’la, nugwa’am Musgamdzi. Gayutłan’lax Tsaxis, gayutłan’laxa Kwagʼuł. Kaleb Child (Musgamdzi) is a member of the Kwakiutl (Kwagiulth) First Nation and has over 20 years of experience in education in both teaching and administration in First Nations and BC public schools. In his leadership roles across communities, he is committed to equitable learning environments, an Indigenous vision for pedagogy, authentic learning connections for all learners, Indigenous language and culture revitalization, and strengthening rights-based relationships.
Kwakiutl Educator and Director, Indigenous Education (Saturday’s keynote)
Biography:
Gilakas’la, nugwa’am Musgamdzi. Gayutłan’lax Tsaxis, gayutłan’laxa Kwagʼuł. Kaleb Child (Musgamdzi) is a member of the Kwakiutl (Kwagiulth) First Nation and has over 20 years of experience in education in both teaching and administration in First Nations and BC public schools. In his leadership roles across communities, he is committed to equitable learning environments, an Indigenous vision for pedagogy, authentic learning connections for all learners, Indigenous language and culture revitalization, and strengthening rights-based relationships.
Featured Speakers
Martina Bex
Owner, The Comprehensible Classroom
Biography:
Martina Bex is the Founder of The Comprehensible Classroom, whose curricula and training materials have been helping language teachers implement proficiency-oriented, comprehension-based language programs with confidence since 2010. Martina is internationally recognized for her leadership and expertise in the world language teaching profession as a teacher trainer and curriculum developer. A Spanish teacher by trade with experience in public and private schools and at the university level, Martina balances her work for The Comprehensible Classroom with the needs of her five young children, for whom she is the full-time caregiver. Martina has been published in The Language Educator and presents regularly at state, regional, and national conferences in addition to consulting with individual districts and organizations. Her newest project for supporting teachers is the Garbanzo App, an interactive library of stories in Spanish designed specifically with language classes in mind.
Owner, The Comprehensible Classroom
Biography:
Martina Bex is the Founder of The Comprehensible Classroom, whose curricula and training materials have been helping language teachers implement proficiency-oriented, comprehension-based language programs with confidence since 2010. Martina is internationally recognized for her leadership and expertise in the world language teaching profession as a teacher trainer and curriculum developer. A Spanish teacher by trade with experience in public and private schools and at the university level, Martina balances her work for The Comprehensible Classroom with the needs of her five young children, for whom she is the full-time caregiver. Martina has been published in The Language Educator and presents regularly at state, regional, and national conferences in addition to consulting with individual districts and organizations. Her newest project for supporting teachers is the Garbanzo App, an interactive library of stories in Spanish designed specifically with language classes in mind.
Luisa Canuto
Assistant Professor of Teaching, University of British Columbia
Biography:
Luisa Canuto is the Italian Language Program Director and an Assistant Professor of Teaching in the Department of French, Hispanic and Italian Studies at the University of British Columbia where she has taught since 1994. As a Faculty Associate and Manager for UBC’s Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology, she developed numerous initiatives. Her research interests include the use of educational technologies in the classroom, the impact of service learning on students’ linguistic and metacognitive development, and curriculum program renewal and development.
Assistant Professor of Teaching, University of British Columbia
Biography:
Luisa Canuto is the Italian Language Program Director and an Assistant Professor of Teaching in the Department of French, Hispanic and Italian Studies at the University of British Columbia where she has taught since 1994. As a Faculty Associate and Manager for UBC’s Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology, she developed numerous initiatives. Her research interests include the use of educational technologies in the classroom, the impact of service learning on students’ linguistic and metacognitive development, and curriculum program renewal and development.
Denis Cousineau
Consultant, FSL-CEFR
Biography:
Denis Cousineau retired from teaching in January 2018. Since then, he’s been fully active as a CEFR expert throughout the country, and is working closely with Groupe Média TFO to support a major pedagogical change in the wonderful world of French as a second language (FSL) in all programs offered: French Immersion and all aspects of FSL (Core French and Extended French). He taught French Immersion and Core French for 32 years in the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB). Since summer 2009, he’s been participating in a project, still underway, in Ontario regarding the impact of the CEFR on improved success of students learning French. He was the director of the DELF centre of the OCDSB. Over the last 10 years, the centre has tested almost 15,000 students for the DELF.
Consultant, FSL-CEFR
Biography:
Denis Cousineau retired from teaching in January 2018. Since then, he’s been fully active as a CEFR expert throughout the country, and is working closely with Groupe Média TFO to support a major pedagogical change in the wonderful world of French as a second language (FSL) in all programs offered: French Immersion and all aspects of FSL (Core French and Extended French). He taught French Immersion and Core French for 32 years in the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB). Since summer 2009, he’s been participating in a project, still underway, in Ontario regarding the impact of the CEFR on improved success of students learning French. He was the director of the DELF centre of the OCDSB. Over the last 10 years, the centre has tested almost 15,000 students for the DELF.
Angelica Galante
Assistant Professor, McGill University
Biography:
Angelica Galante is an Assistant Professor in Second Language Education at McGill University and Director of the Plurilingual Lab, where she collaborates with researchers and graduate students on the effects of plurilingual instruction on language learning. Her work has been published in important international journals (e.g., TESOL Quarterly) and handbooks on multilingualism (e.g., Interdisciplinary Research Approaches to Multilingual Education). Her website Breaking the Invisible Wall has pedagogical resources that can be adapted and implemented in the language classroom.
Assistant Professor, McGill University
Biography:
Angelica Galante is an Assistant Professor in Second Language Education at McGill University and Director of the Plurilingual Lab, where she collaborates with researchers and graduate students on the effects of plurilingual instruction on language learning. Her work has been published in important international journals (e.g., TESOL Quarterly) and handbooks on multilingualism (e.g., Interdisciplinary Research Approaches to Multilingual Education). Her website Breaking the Invisible Wall has pedagogical resources that can be adapted and implemented in the language classroom.
Catherine Ousselin
French Teacher and Curriculum Design/Technology Coach, Mount Vernon High School, Washington State
Biography:
Catherine Ousselin, M.A., currently teaches French at Mount Vernon High School in Washington State. She is the president of the Washington Association for Language Teaching (WAFLT-WA). She is also a member of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) and the International Association for Language Learning Technology (IALLT). She serves as a regional representative for the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF) and is its social media manager and resource curator, and the chair of the Technology Commission. She is an avid blogger and frequent workshop presenter on World Language curriculum development and technology integration. Catherine was a 2018 finalist for ACTFL “Teacher of the Year.”
French Teacher and Curriculum Design/Technology Coach, Mount Vernon High School, Washington State
Biography:
Catherine Ousselin, M.A., currently teaches French at Mount Vernon High School in Washington State. She is the president of the Washington Association for Language Teaching (WAFLT-WA). She is also a member of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) and the International Association for Language Learning Technology (IALLT). She serves as a regional representative for the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF) and is its social media manager and resource curator, and the chair of the Technology Commission. She is an avid blogger and frequent workshop presenter on World Language curriculum development and technology integration. Catherine was a 2018 finalist for ACTFL “Teacher of the Year.”
Maria Del Carmen Rodriguez de France
Assistant Professor, University of Victoria
Biography:
With over 35 years of experience in education, Maria Del Carmen Rodriguez de France acknowledges her privilege to live, learn, and teach on the land of the W̱SÁNEĆ, Lekwungen (Lək̓ʷəŋən), and SENĆOŦEN-speaking people. Carmen was born and raised in Monterrey, Mexico, and is a member of the Department of Indigenous Education at the University of Victoria where she facilitates courses on Indigenous worldview, and education. Her research focuses on the scholarship of teaching and learning.
Assistant Professor, University of Victoria
Biography:
With over 35 years of experience in education, Maria Del Carmen Rodriguez de France acknowledges her privilege to live, learn, and teach on the land of the W̱SÁNEĆ, Lekwungen (Lək̓ʷəŋən), and SENĆOŦEN-speaking people. Carmen was born and raised in Monterrey, Mexico, and is a member of the Department of Indigenous Education at the University of Victoria where she facilitates courses on Indigenous worldview, and education. Her research focuses on the scholarship of teaching and learning.
