Fall 2026 CoTESOL Convention

Whether in person or digitally, TESOL professionals have a most unique opportunity to make a difference in this world. Let’s work together, and let’s re-imagine our charge! The time is now. The place is here: CoTESOL. In this presentation, Professor Ehlers-Zavala shares her personal story of overcoming the odds. She engages the audience in a visionary journey that underscores the (1) role that TESOL professionals play in educating the leaders of tomorrow by enacting one’s own innate, or developed, superpowers; and (2) by believing in the potential that all TESOL professionals possess to lead and, consequently, impact their respective worlds, local and/or global. Through her talk, Professor Ehlers-Zavala celebrates the work of TESOL professionals across educational and geographical contexts. Through her account, enriched by interactions with her audience, she will suggest guidance to consider for elevating one another, empowering each other to stay strong and resilient, and staying engaged with the field through the professional organizations that bring us together. She reminds us that we are here to plant the seeds for what is yet to come, and that one thing is for sure… A caring and mindful approach to educating multilingual learners will go neither unforgotten, nor unnoticed. She believes that one’s time and effort will always matter and will contribute to make a positive difference even when one cannot clearly see it or ever witness it. Through her own personal/professional story, she will show how we, as TESOL professionals, are all constantly impacting and changing lives. Finally, she will strongly encourage everyone to continue to dare to dream and follow one’s passion, for she strongly believes that the outcomes will, more than likely, meet or exceed one’s initial expectations.

CLDE CDE Credit: 5.09(1) ELEMENT A

Audience: All members. 

In this session, we take a page out of history and reframe our current teaching contexts to explore strategies for continuing to uplift and sustain language teaching for the future during these most challenging times.

CLDE CDE Credit: 5.10(1) ELEMENT A

Audience: Higher Education / IEP SIG

This session will explore the four aspects of the TAIL Model: Translation, Adaptation, Interaction, and Language Transformation. Participants will discover how simple (and free) tech tools can provide essential language support, helping teachers adapt materials so students can meaningfully engage with content and their peers in authentic ways. Attendees will understand how to leverage technology to support, engage, and empower multilingual learners. (Be sure to bring a device to this session.)

CDE CLDE Credit: 5.10(1) ELEMENT A

Audience: All members. 

Participants will be informed on general rights of immigrant students as well as possible forms of immigration relief available to them and their families. The presentation will close by empowering participants to refer families in need to resources in the community.

Audience: Sociopolitical SIG

As the population of multilingual learners continues to grow across Colorado, schools face the dual challenge of ensuring equitable access to content while accelerating language development. This session will highlight how Harrison School District 2 is reimagining professional learning through a coaching model grounded in Jim Knight’s Impact Cycle and districtwide initiatives such as Newcomer Support, Co-Teaching Academies, Comprehensible Input, Translanguaging, and increasing high-quality student output. 
Participants will explore how to design and implement systems that (1) empower CLDE teachers as experts in their buildings, (2) position every teacher as a language teacher, (3) provide asset-based support for students and families, and (4) hold staff accountable for student growth without losing the relational core that makes professional learning effective. Attendees will leave with ideas and examples that they can adapt to their own contexts.
This session is designed for educators, coaches, and leaders who want to move beyond compliance and create sustainable, relationship-driven systems that raise expectations and outcomes for multilingual learners.

CDE CLDE Credit: 5.12(1) ELEMENT A

Audience: Secondary Education

Discover how to keep instruction rigorous through purposeful questioning! In this session, you’ll learn how to craft and revise questions to target essential information while maintaining the complexity of vocabulary and content. Explore classroom examples that show questioning in action, and design your own “questioning ladder” to support deeper thinking and meaningful student engagement.

Audience: Elementary Education (EE) and general audience

Many today speak of being overwhelmed by the Information Age--there is so much to do and so little time—a time of “relentless change.” As a group, how can educators feel empowered and inspired when there is teaching, grading, meetings, and email that demand our time and attention? This presentation will discuss sources of empowerment and inspiration that are available to everyone now—in the classroom, in our communities, and in the world. In the end, inspiration and empowerment can actually support and even increase each other.

Audience: General audience.