From Engagement to Proficiency: Practical Strategies That Strengthen World Language Instruction

Description: This interactive workshop is designed for World Language teachers seeking practical, research-informed strategies that increase student proficiency, motivation, and meaningful use of the target language. Participants will actively work through classroom activities that expand vocabulary acquisition, strengthen listening and reading comprehension, support purposeful speaking and writing, and build a classroom culture where students feel confident using the language. Rather than focusing on theory alone, this workshop emphasizes immediately usable strategies, grounded in comprehensible input, classroom community, music, movement, and reading, and adaptable to any world language and proficiency level.

Diego Ojeda is a veteran World Language educator, curriculum designer, author, and professional development presenter with more than three decades of experience teaching Spanish as a second language in the United States. He currently teaches Spanish IV, AP® Spanish Language and Culture, and AP® Spanish Literature at an independent school in Louisville, Kentucky, where he is also involved in curriculum development and instructional leadership.
Diego is widely recognized for his work in proficiency-based instruction, comprehensible input, literacy development, and student-centered classroom design. His teaching philosophy emphasizes meaningful communication, long-term language retention, and the creation of classroom communities where students feel confident taking linguistic risks. Rather than focusing on isolated grammar instruction, his approach integrates listening, reading, speaking, and writing through authentic contexts and purposeful interaction.

In addition to his work in the classroom, Diego is an active national presenter and professional learning facilitator for World Language educators. He has led workshops and webinars for organizations such as Klett World Languages, CLB Languages, Digilangua, and multiple state and regional language associations. He is also the director of large-scale mentorship and professional learning programs that support hundreds of World Language teachers across the United States.