The development of spontaneous talk is an essential aspect of language learning. But how do we motivate our students to use spontaneous and meaningful language in a classroom setting? In this interactive session, we will explore various ways to support successful and unrehearsed target language conversation in the World Language classroom. Teachers will leave this session with various strategies and activities to encourage unscripted speech in the classroom setting.

FLENJ Teacher of the Year 2022

Melissa Sarracino is a graduate of Rutgers University  with a M.A.T in Spanish. She is a creative, enthusiastic and student-centric educator with 19 years of experience teaching Novice, Emerging and Intermediate students at the middle school level. Melissa currently works as a Spanish teacher in the Summit Public School District. In 2022, she was selected as the Union County Teacher of the Year by her peers at Lawton C. Johnson Summit Middle School. Throughout the years, she has presented various workshops at the state and regional levels and within her school district. Each year she strives to instill confidence, promote proficiency, and encourage her students to use the target language in and out of the classroom. Melissa is passionate about her role in language learning and loves to share that passion with her  students, colleagues and professional community.