As language teachers, we strive to serve as culture bearers for our students. We aim to bring the target culture of our languages into our classrooms in real and engaging ways. One of the best ways to accomplish this goal is to connect students with authentic materials such as realia, folktales, music, film, TV, proverbs, magazines, websites and other culture-rich items. In this session, we will explore a variety of authentic materials and discuss ways in which they can be incorporated into your language teaching. References and resources will be provided.

Lori Langer de Ramirez

Dr. Lori Langer de Ramirez began her career as a teacher of Spanish, French and ESL.

She holds a Master's Degree in Applied Linguistics and a Doctorate in Curriculum and Teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University. She is currently the Director of World and Classical Languages & Global Language Initiatives at the Dalton School in New York City. Dr. Ramirez is the author of several books, including Empower English Language Learners with Tools from the Web and Take Action: Lesson Plans for the Multicultural Classroom, as well as several Spanish-language books and texts. Her website offers free materials for teaching Chinese, English, French, and, Spanish.