2025 MABE Dual Language Bilingual Education Conference

Discover how analyzing students’ writing in Spanish and English side by side provided deeper insights and better informed our writing instruction. Through video analysis, group activities, and scenario evaluations, participants will gain strategies to implement co-assessment cycles alongside co-instruction. Walk away with actionable ideas to strengthen teacher-teacher connections, leverage biliteracy as an asset, and elevate multilingual learners' progress. Join us to learn how collaboration and holistic practices create meaningful opportunities for impactful learning!

What does “good teaching” look like in dual language? Learn about the Four Cornerstones of Dual Language Pedagogy, and see it in action by participating in a model lesson. You will come away with effective strategies and a framework that can be used to guide dual language programs. This is a repeat session from the 2025 conference.

Translanguaging (García, 2009) has emerged as a critical and socially just pedagogical and linguistic frame that affirms and leverages multilingual students’ full communicative repertoires in order to successfully access and transform academic spaces and challenges. However, there are many myths that discourage teachers and administrators from accessing its full potential. We would like to address some of the myths around translanguaging and share scholarship that dispels these myths. Specifically, this presentation will look at seven myths around translanguaging and then provide participants with resources and best practices to enact translanguaging - through policy, planning, assessment - with multilingual students.

This presentation will focus on the operationalization of sociocultural competence (SC) in DLBE programs and will be grounded in Palmieri's (2021) research on teacher perceptions of sociocultural competence in DLBE. This session will provide participants with a) an overview of the current research on SC in DLBE, b) pedagogical practices to operationalize SC in the DLBE classroom, c) an opportunity to share ideas with other DLBE educators around the operationalization and conceptualization of SC, and d) space for critical reflection and dialogue around SC, guided by the Guiding Principles for Dual Language Education. Participants will learn about six pillars of sociocultural competence (Palmieri, 2021) a) critical consciousness, b) student identity development, c) teacher identity development, d) target culture/s development, e) Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, and f) student empathy development and cross cultural awareness.

Join this dynamic panel of district leaders as they share promising strategies and solutions to build and sustain Dual Language Bilingual Education (DLBE) programs in Massachusetts. Drawing from diverse contexts and experiences through the Western Massachusetts Bilingual Hub (WMBH) Partnership, panelists will discuss overcoming challenges such as staffing, funding, and community engagement. Attendees will gain actionable tools to advocate for bilingualism, enhance program models, and engage stakeholders effectively. This interactive session offers practical insights, networking opportunities, and a deeper understanding of how to navigate the complexities of DLBE implementation, leaving participants equipped to strengthen bilingual education in their own districts.

DLBE programs thrive best when a range of stakeholders’ practices are firmly grounded in systems of collaborative, shared leadership. In this way the design, implementation, and evaluation of programs can better rest on the four pillars of DLBE. Anchored to the Lachance and Honigsfeld framework for Collaboration in DLBE (2023), this workshop is ideal for pairs or small teams of teacher leaders and/or their administrators to attend together. We will explore tools for collaborative leadership to then reflect on current and/or planned programming. Participants from districts/schools with DLBE programs both as stand-alone or strand configurations will interact within the workshop to consider effective approaches for developing and fostering collaborative partnerships norms.


Workshop participants use tools aligned with GP Strand 1, Effective Leadership. These tools emphasize cohesion, collegiality, and collaborative planning. Outcomes focus on program leadership, advocacy, and model development centered on collaboration; Outcomes are aligned to EMMA Standards 5-6.

Discover how the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) can transform English language learning by creating personalized, efficient, and engaging teaching experiences. This session will explore practical strategies for educators to promote the ethical and responsible use of AI tools while training students to think critically and act responsibly in the digital age. Participants will gain insights into how AI can enhance dual language education by supporting bilingualism, biliteracy, and academic achievement. Attendees will leave with actionable steps to implement AI-driven tools in culturally responsive and equitable ways, ensuring a meaningful and inclusive learning experience for all learners.

This panel will share highlights from the Coalition for a Multilingual Rhode Island’s Train the Trainer: Multilingual Education Advocacy program which launched in Fall 2025. Panelists will share outcomes from training in six areas, including bilingual and dual language programs, advocacy strategies, and parent and student rights. They’ll discuss how they’re driving systemic change for multilingual students, educators, and communities. Attendees will learn about the program’s impact, its role in fostering equity, and strategies for replication in other regions. Join us to explore how trained advocates are creating lasting change in schools, districts, and communities statewide.

This dynamic workshop is designed to equip educators with practical knowledge and a tool to help students recognize and utilize their cultural and linguistic resources. Participants will engage with the Community Cultural Wealth Framework through interactive activities that include reflective writing, drawing, and coloring. This hands-on session aims to provide educators strategies to foster students’ self-advocacy and leadership, emphasizing the value of bilingualism and cultural diversity as assets in both personal and community advocacy. Expect to leave with practical tools for nurturing student-driven advocacy in diverse educational settings.

How can educators effectively leverage multilingual students’ full linguistic repertoires to promote language development and academic success? Translanguaging—the practice of using two or more languages during instruction—can and should be utilized in bilingual and dual language classrooms. This session will examine practical strategies and structures for implementing translanguaging while addressing challenges specific to these programs. Participants will explore how to support the fluid language practices of their multilingual students and ensure strong development of both program languages. Through interactive discussions, attendees will gain practical tools and actionable insights to foster equitable and effective multilingual learning environments.

The presentation will discuss the impact of music activities on bilingual education. Its approximate duration will be 75 minutes. The presentation will cover how teachers can use multicultural music in their lessons to support sociocultural competence, multilingual songs to support biliteracy and bilingualism, and singing/songwriting to reinforce subject areas outside of music support high academic achievement.

Through our years of experience, we have appreciated how teaching music works on the social and cultural area of our students. We have used both languages in the musical repertoires we choose to teach our lessons. We have held concerts in which we celebrate Hispanic heritage. We have recorded musical projects in Spanish to highlight musical styles such as la Bomba and el Festejo, genres highly related to Puerto Rican and Peruvian culture, respectively. Likewise, we have worked on Latin rhythms by using instruments such as the flamenco cajon, bongo, güiro, maracas, congas, etc.

As teachers in elementary schools with bilingual education programs, we have used music to help students develop vocabulary and translanguaging skills, as well as supporting early literacy and other content areas through the use of songs.

Attendees will have the opportunity to learn and practice songs from multiple languages, practice translation and translanguaging skills by examining song texts, and apply musical skills to their own content areas, developing songs that reinforce vocabulary and concepts from their areas.

In recent years, many dual language programs have seen confusion among teachers regarding the concept of translanguaging, which has led to the interpretation of translanguaging as providing instruction through concurrent translation. This workshop uses the Spanish phrase “Te quiero o no te quiero” (I love you or I don't love you), to analyze the tensions between embracing translanguaging in the classroom while maintaining language boundaries. Just as the phrase captures a complicated relationship, educators must navigate beyond the either/or interpretation (te quiero o no te quiero) of translanguaging and language separation and move towards a balanced approach (te quiero o te necesito). In this workshop participants will leave with a nuanced understanding of how translanguaging (te quiero) and language separation (y te necesito) can work together as well as practical strategies to balance these approaches in their classrooms that they can implement immediately.

Content teachers play a vital role in the education of older newcomer MLs. Too often, though, these teachers join our teams without a high level of metalinguistic awareness or much training in language acquisition. Translanguaging is a concept that is frequently misunderstood. How can targeted coaching conversations and ongoing job-embedded professional development guide content teachers? Is it possible to develop a shared understanding of translanguaging pedagogy across a team of 30+ educators? I will share our approach (ever a work in progress) at the International Academy, a newcomer program located at Wilbur Cross High School in New Haven, Connecticut.

Otheguy, García and Reid (2015) have defined translanguaging as “the deployment of a speaker's full linguistic repertoire without regard for watchful adherence to the socially and politically defined boundaries of named (and usually national and state) languages” (p. 283). But what are the implications of it to language teaching and learning? In this presentation we are going to dive into the concept of translanguaging, the prejudice around it, and its importance in a bilingual education environment. We will also explain it through the lenses of sociolinguistics - so that we can understand it as a social and cultural phenomenon.

Discover how educational technology and dual language principles are being used to revive the Taíno Indigenous language, dormant for nearly 500 years. This session explores innovative curriculum design, translanguaging strategies, and tools like gamification, spaced repetition, and Declaratively Accelerated Blended Learning (DABL). Learn how technology facilitates the flipped classroom approach, enabling students to engage with content at home and apply knowledge in collaborative classroom activities. Attendees will explore how tech supports cultural revitalization while fostering bilingualism, biliteracy, and sociocultural competence. Walk away with actionable insights on integrating EdTech and culture to preserve endangered languages and enhance student-centered learning.

Are you looking for ways to enhance your teachers' practice and strengthen their professional identity? This interactive session is for district leaders and teachers supporting ongoing professional growth. Drawing from the book Integrando STEAM: A Guide for Elementary Bilingual and Dual Language Programs, we will explore how self-study can be powerful for reflection and professional learning. Self-study encourages critically examining teaching practices, collaborating with peers, and making meaningful changes that support both instruction and social justice. Participants will hear examples of self-study in action where teachers developed disciplinary expertise and equity commitments. Together, we’ll discuss ways to implement growth-oriented professional communities in your own school or district.

We know that emotional well-being influences academic success, but what do we do to make our students feel better? Do we really know our students?
The objective of this session is to learn about the relationship between social-emotional well-being and academic success through scientific evidence, as well as to participate in activities that act as a bridge between the social-emotional and academic factors while we have fun and we get to know each other. In addition, the most effective strategies in bilingual education will be presented.
If you are interested in bilingual education and interpersonal relationships this is the workshop for you.