Alabama-Mississippi
Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages
AMTESOL has a new mailing address! AMTESOL PO Box 360122 Hoover, AL 35236
PCI Workshop E
Thursday, January 28, 2027
1:30 - 4:30pm
Birmingham, Alabama
Little Voices, Many Languages: Culturally Responsive Strategies for Emergent Multilingual Learners
Intended Audience: Teachers of Young Emergent Multilingual Learners and Administrators
Join us to expand your toolkit of developmentally appropriate, culturally responsive strategies to support young emergent multilingual learners succeed in the classroom. Through hands-on engagement, discussion, and exploration, participants will practice classroom management techniques that promote multilingualism, examine social-emotional learning strategies that affirm children's identities, and explore how music and movement scaffold language development. We will also review practical approaches for welcoming and partnering with families from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Participants will leave with classroom-ready strategies that respect families, engage young learners, and sustain the many languages and cultures children bring into the classroom.
Presenters
Josephine Prado, Ph.D.
Josephine Prado, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of English Learner Education at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), where she teaches graduate courses in second language acquisition, linguistics, and TESOL methods. For the past 30 years, Prado has taught English language learners in both Ecuador and the United States in K-12, university, and post-graduate settings. Prado serves as ESL Program Coordinator at UAB. Her research interests include exploring ESOL teacher advocacy and developing culturally sustaining curriculum.
Julie P. Flannery, Ph.D.
Julie P. Flannery, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses focused on preparing educators to support emergent multilingual learners, with an emphasis on authentic fieldwork experiences. Her research interests include family engagement practices for multilingual learners and preparing teachers to support linguistically diverse classrooms effectively. Her research also explores the intersectionality of language, culture, and identity in multilingual education, aiming to foster inclusive and equitable learning environments.