Salvete, everyone! My name is Keith Toda, and I will be serving as a Squad Mentor at this summer’s CI Summit in Cincinnati, OH. I have served as a Squad Mentor with the CI Summit since its inception in the summer of 2023 in Savannah, GA. The CI Summit has always been a highlight of my summers these past few years!
I can attest that attending in-person CI/ADI conferences has definitely contributed to my growth as a CI/ADI teacher. I have been fully implementing CI/ADI instruction in my Latin classroom since 2013. Previously, I had “dabbled” in TPRS, but I did not feel successful at all with it. However, in 2014 I attended my first NTPRS conference, and I learned that CI/ADI instruction was so much more than just TPRS! Ever since then, I have been hooked on attending in-person CI/ADI conferences!
In-Person Training
I do not think that I would be the teacher I am today if it had not been for attending in-person conferences dedicated solely to CI/ADI instruction. While I still learn from online Facebook communities and CI/ADI blogs, they have their limits, and one can only learn so much from them. Much like students in our own classrooms, we need the in-person training and learning which only face-to-face experiences can provide. In addition, while attending CI/ADI sessions at a state/regional conference can be beneficial, it cannot compare to attending a three-day conference whose sole focus is CI/ADI training. One cannot help but walk away completely saturated from having been immersed in the experience!
The daily schedule at the CI Summit consists of Squads, Studies, and Spotlights times. Although Squads are where the small-group instruction and training occur (based on your level of CI/ADI knowledge and implementation), Studies (language labs) and Spotlights (specific targeted topics) also provide learning experiences for participants.
This year’s language studies will be led by Justin Slocum Bailey, Emily Ibrahim, Diane Neubauer, and Eric Richards. Spotlight presenters and topics will be Justin Slocum Bailey (Storyasking), AnneMarie Chase (Assessment), and Eric Richards (AI in the World Language Classroom).
Role of Squad Mentors
At the CI Summit, Squad Mentors help oversee the daily CI/ADI training of participants. I do not take this role lightly at all! I have learned so much from so many mentors over these past 13 years in my quest to become a better CI/ADI teacher, and I wish to pass along what I have learned to others.
In addition, while my role as a Squad Mentor is to work with and train participants, there is still so much learning and training which I myself receive as a participant from attending the CI Summit. The Studies have been vital to my growth, because I have the opportunity to experience language learning like one of my own students. This perspective gives me valuable insight into how I need to deliver/scaffold lessons to make the language 100% comprehensible. So often I have taken what I have learned from a German or Mandarin Studies lesson and have “Latinized” it for my own students in the fall.
Come for the CI, Stay for the People
One of the absolute best parts of attending an in-person CI/ADI conference is the community. There is something about sharing a common learning experience together with other people in the same room which one cannot receive in an online digital environment. There are so many people with whom I have developed deep professional relationships from attending a conference like the CI Summit. Over the years, we have “talked shop,” discussed our lives over coffee or dinner, and learned from each other during these times. In addition, we all share a common core pedagogical belief: We only acquire that language which we understand; hence, our goal as teachers is to make language as comprehensible as possible. Because participants (for the most part) are united in this goal, the CI Summit does not have a combative environment where folks find themselves constantly having to defend their pedagogical philosophy.
Nightly at the CI Summit, there are events and mixers which offer participants opportunities to interact with each other. These are my favorite times, because I can just be “Keith Toda” and not “Keith Toda—Squad Mentor.” These events are great ways to connect with others outside of the conference setting—plus, there is Karaoke Night!
Recently, I wrote the following in my blog (Toda-lly Comprehensible Latin) which I posted after returning from last year’s CI Summit. I feel that this best sums up the importance of being part of a CI/ADI community:
Being part of a CI/ADI community has been my lifeline these past 13 years in which I have gone all-in with CI instruction. I know that I would NOT at all be the CI implementer that I am today if it were not for my community. These people are the ones who purely by their friendship and our common passion for CI encourage me and make me want to strive to be a better CI/ADI teacher. I have learned so much from them over the years—if you have read my blog, you will find that most (if not all) of the CI/ADI activities and strategies about which I have written come from them! I absolutely love how we share a deep common mutual respect. They are the ones who keep me motivated when the novelty of the school year begins to wear off, and real life begins. They are the ones who remind me that I am not alone in the trenches. These are the people who refill my cup when it is empty. I am so thankful to have seen and to have hung out in person this past summer at CI Summit with so many in my CI community who made me laugh and through their sheer presence encouraged me and always reminded me afresh that I am not alone as a CI teacher.
So I encourage you to consider attending CI Summit this summer—I hope to see you there!
Register for the CI Summit here.
