This summer we have TWO options for Summer Institute. Choose based on your location or desired weekend...or don't choose and attend both!!
Option 1: DFW - June 12th and 13th - Ashli Sambulak
Option 2: Houston - July 10th and 11th - Megan Whalon
Option 3: BOTH!
DFW Details (Houston information below)
Title: Fill Your Cup First: Sustainable Strategies to Reignite Your Language Classroom
Location: TCU Campus (Fort Worth)
Schedule: Friday: 8:30-11:30, 1:00-4:00 / Saturday: 8:30 - 12:00
Description:
You can't pour from an empty cup, and Texas world language teachers deserve to walk into a new year feeling energized, celebrated, and equipped!
The "Fill Your Cup First" TFLA Summer Institute is a two-day workshop (actually — it’ll be more like a retreat!) designed to help you slow down so you can speed up. Through reflection, community, hands-on strategy sessions, and resource creation, you’ll remember what you love about language teaching, and you’ll leave with the spark to prove it. No fluff. No overwhelm. Just intentional, joyful professional learning — retreat style with your language-teaching besties!
Houston Details
Title: Craft it. Wear it. Teach it. Crafting a Communicative Unit Thread by Thread
Location: Lamar CISD campus - Richmond, Texas
Schedule: Friday: 8:30-11:30, 1:00-4:00 / Saturday: 8:30 - 12:00
Description:
In this hands-on, creative workshop, participants will design a fully communicative unit from input to output—while literally weaving the learning process together.
Grounded in a target culture, we will begin by centering the unit in authentic cultural contexts and essential questions. From there, participants will build each layer of communication intentionally:
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Interpretive Reading rooted in cultural texts
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Interpretive Listening connected to authentic voices
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Interpersonal Speaking tasks that foster meaningful exchange
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Presentational Communication that showcases learner voice and understanding
At each stage, participants will select a symbolic “thread” representing that component of communication. As we design each piece of the unit, we will reflect on how input leads to interaction and ultimately to output.
The session culminates in a collaborative weaving activity: participants will create a bracelet that braids together their selected threads—visually and tangibly representing how interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational modes intertwine to form authentic communication.
This workshop blends curriculum design, creativity, and reflection. Participants will leave with:
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A framework for building culture-centered communicative units
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Practical strategies for scaffolding from input to output
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Ready-to-adapt task ideas
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A wearable reminder that strong units—like strong communication—are intentionally woven, thread by thread
Come ready to craft, collaborate, reflect—and wear your learning.
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