Fluency Matters Conference 2023

We are excited to host the Fluency Matters Conference, July 18-20, and we cannot wait to see you there! Registration is now open, and the price of $399 (Plus tax where applicable) includes full conference registration, a welcome reception Monday night, 3 days of on-site lunches, a seat at the Devin Siebold comedy performance at the Palladium, and all the learning your brain can hold!

Jim Wooldridge is the creator of Señor Wooly, an eLearning application that teaches Spanish through story-based graphic novels and videos. He has written and directed over 30 music videos, just published his 6th graphic novel, and has been a featured keynote speaker at events like iFLT, CCFLT and Comprehensible Midwest! A Spanish teacher for over 10 years, Jim Wooldridge keeps close ties with his local community in Skokie, IL, frequently casting local students and teachers to perform in his productions. His philosophy is simple: Find a great story that’s worth telling, and then find simple language required to tell that story.

Nelly Andrade-Hughes is an outstanding Spanish teacher, presenter, and author. She has been teaching Spanish at all levels since 2006. She has presented on acquisition-driven activities and strategies at the local, state and national level. Nelly is a sought-after proofreader and creator of many educational materials. She is an advisor of the Spanish Club and Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica at her school and seeks every opportunity to engage her students with her beautiful native language. Nelly is the author of six Comprehension-based readers^™: Selena, Minerva, Mujeres extraordinarias, Hombres extraordinarios, Viaje sin retorno, and Fénix.

Keynote Title: "This or that? Unpacking dichotomies in language teaching”
Description: The goal of this talk is to offer a space for reflection on the symbiotic relationship between some common dichotomies in language teaching, such as input and output, explicit and implicit, form and meaning, authentic and simplified, research and practice. Do we have to pick teams, or is there more common ground than it looks?

A teacher of 14 years and a lifelong student, Ben has dedicated his professional and personal life to the pursuit of substantive diversity, equity, and belonging in education. In the classroom, he has had the opportunity to work with teachers and schools around the world to develop curricula that center Black Indigenous Communities of Color and other historically marginalized peoples. His recent work has focused primarily on leveraging language acquisition and language education toward developing global literacy and 21st-Century competencies. Ben will be teaching our novice French Language Lab as well as delivering an impactful closing keynote address.

This is the one our conference participants have been waiting for! Are you ready for some laughter and infectious positivity? Teachers will recognize Devin as the hilarious comedian from Tik Tok, Youtube, and Facebook, including headlining the popular Bored Teachers National Comedy Tour and as the host of the podcast Crying in My Car: A Podcast for Teachers. Over a decade of award-winning, clean stand-up comedy experience along with 13 years as a highly effective teacher, combine to create a relatable, real, and ridiculously funny experience you won't forget. Join us Wednesday night for this FREE show sponsored by Wayside Publishing!

This amazing conference will include engaging sessions created and shared by experienced, innovative educators, language classes for both students and participants, and training strands tailored to your experience with Acquisition-Driven Instruction (ADI). We are also offering a few evening activities that you won’t want to miss!

We are excited to partner with three hotels in St. Petersburg, FL!
Click the link below to find more information on the best option for you.

Wayside Publishing and the Fluency Matters Conference welcome vendors, to sponsor and/or exhibit. Choose as many sponsorships as you like to maximize your company’s visibility and earn Silver, Gold, or Platinum sponsor status and get your brand in front of teachers!

We realize that everyone is coming to this conference with diverse backgrounds and experiences with Acquisition-Driven Instruction. For this reason, we have developed strands that will focus specifically on your level of comfort and expertise with ADI, while allowing each of you to grow in your individual practice and reach your goals. Embedded within the strands there will be demonstrations, deconstructions, theory, practice, and feedback. Each strand will provide an overview/review of ADI and will work on the skills you need most.

Watch real students learn with ADI in our Spanish, French, German, and Russian classes!

We work hard to provide the best experience that we can for all of our attendees. Meet the wonderful team that makes the Fluency Matters Conference possible!

• The Fluency Matters conference (formerly known as IFLT) specializes in training and preparing teachers to implement Acquisition Driven Instruction (ADI), especially through the use of Comprehension-based™ readers.
• Learn the how, what, and why of Acquisition-Driven Instruction (ADI) from over 20 trainers and coaches alongside hundreds of like-minded colleagues!
• Discover how to confidently facilitate joyful language acquisition for all learners.
• Cultivate your skills as an acquisition-driven instructor.
• Fall in love with teaching again!

The conference will be held at John Hopkins Middle School (701 16th St S, St. Petersburg, FL 33705), which is located approximately 2 miles from the conference hotels. Transportation options coming soon!

Whoooo says there’s no such thing as a free lunch? Lunch will be served each day on us!
Day 1: Gourmet sandwich or veggie wrap
Day 2: Pasta buffet
Day 3: Latin American
Vegetarian and Gluten Free options available!

St. Pete has all kinds of activities on offer, especially at the height of summer time. Check out all the things to do from going to the beach to catching a baseball game.