NDE World Languages Newsletter

• Highlighting Nebraska's Voice in World Language Education at CSCTFL 2025
• Nebraska World Language Standards Revision Timeline
• Nebraska Seal of Biliteracy Updates
• Announcing the 2025 Fall NDE, NLA, & CLTA SIG K12 Guest Speaker Series!
• Opportunities for World Language Teachers
• Opportunities for Students
• Prompting with Purpose: AI Tips for World Language Teachers
• Teacher Story: Dan Moran from Fremont Public Schools
• Spotlight on the Nebraska World Language Public Awareness Committee

Thanks to Kelly Garcia from ESU5 for reviewing this newsletter!

Nebraska World Language educators were proudly and strongly represented at the 2025 Central States Languages for All Conference. Over 30 educators from across the state—including representatives from Omaha Public Schools, Millard, Elkhorn, Lincoln Public Schools, ESU 5, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the University of Nebraska at Kearney, and more—delivered 15 engaging sessions spanning all five program strands: curriculum and instruction, assessment, intercultural competence, technology integration, and advocacy. It was a valuable professional learning experience filled with meaningful connections, networking, and collaboration. Their collective contributions highlighted Nebraska’s commitment to excellence in language education and demonstrated how educators across the state unite, grow together, and continue to raise the visibility of Nebraska’s World Language programs throughout the region.

The Nebraska World Language Standards, originally approved in 2019, are currently being revised. Thank you to the 2025 Standards Revision Team for their ongoing work and dedication.

Revision Timeline:

• June 18, 2025 – First draft of standards and indicators completed

• Dec 31, 2025 – Full first draft finalized (includes front matter, back matter, and special considerations)

• January 2026 – Second public input survey

• September 2026 – Potential State Board approval

• 2026–2027 – Exploration phase (standard discussion and professional development begin after board approval)

• 2027–2028– Initial implementation – Initial implementation

More updates and opportunities for input will be shared as the process continues.

The Nebraska Department of Education and the Nebraska Seal of Biliteracy Advisory Committee are excited to announce that 272 Seals of Biliteracy have been awarded to Nebraska high school students in the April 2025 round. This recognition honors students’ proficiency in English and at least one other language, celebrating their excellence in communication and cultural competence. Students earned the Seal in Spanish, French, Chinese, German, and Tamil, showcasing their impressive linguistic skills and commitment to multilingualism. Congratulations to all recipients for their outstanding achievements! Special thanks to Nebraska’s World Language teachers and all Seal of Biliteracy school liaisons for their hard work in supporting students, collecting information, and submitting school applications. We also extend our sincere appreciation to the Nebraska Seal of Biliteracy Advisory Board for reviewing applications. Additional thanks go to NDE TL&A office associates Stacey Weber, Stacy Harvey, and Suzanne Spiehs for their invaluable assistance in facilitating the Seal of Biliteracy process. Certificates, letters, and notification emails will be sent to recipients in early May. The official news release will be published in the coming weeks — stay tuned!

We are excited to introduce the dedicated educators serving on the Nebraska Seal of Biliteracy Advisory Board for 2025–2027. This outstanding group plays a critical role in making informed decisions on Seal of Biliteracy application reviews and drafting the upcoming Nebraska Seal of Biliteracy Executive Guidelines.
The board members are:

• Dr. Christopher Jacobs (University of Nebraska at Kearney)

• Dr. Chrystal Liu (Nebraska Department of Education)

• Danielle Fulcher (Lincoln Public Schools)

• Gwen Fisher (Creighton Preparatory School)

• Dr. Janet Eckerson (University of Nebraska at Kearney)

• Hannah Paredes (Omaha Public Schools)

We are grateful for their leadership and commitment to advancing multilingual excellence across Nebraska. Their contributions help strengthen and grow opportunities for students to earn this prestigious recognition.

We are excited to invite you to the 2025 Fall NDE World Language Education, Nebraska Language Association (NLA), and CLTA SIG K12 Guest Speaker Series! This fall’s theme is Designing Engaged Language Learning, featuring a dynamic lineup of presenters who will share innovative strategies and practical ideas to enrich language instruction.
Join us for sessions led by Dr. Dene Oglesby, Dr. Christopher Jacobs, Dr. Amanda Romjue, Dr. Chrystal Liu, Dr. Grant Moss, Leslie Grahn, Shanna Held, Danielle Fulcher, Dr. Nick Ziegler, and Dr. Sergio Perez.
Each session offers valuable insights to support World Language educators in creating engaging, effective learning experiences.
View the full schedule and register at: https://tinyurl.com/WLwebinarcalendar.
We look forward to learning with you!

The Nebraska Language Association (NLA, formerly NILA) is now accepting proposals for its 2025 Fall Conference, taking place in person on Saturday, October 4, 2025, at the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK). This year’s theme, “Flexibility and Resilience,” highlights the adaptability and strength of language educators.
Proposals are invited for 50-minute sessions focused on teaching second, additional, and heritage languages.
The proposal submission deadline has been extended to Monday, June 30, 2025, and notifications will be sent in early Fall.
Interested in sharing your expertise? Submit your proposal here: http://tinyurl.com/2025NLAcall.
We encourage all World Language teachers to consider contributing to this vibrant professional learning event!

Nebraska World Language teachers — it's time to shine! The call for proposals is now open for the 2026 Central States Conference, themed "Languages are FUNdamental," happening March 12–14, 2026, at the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago, IL.
We encourage you to submit a session or workshop proposal and share how you bring creativity, joy, and innovation to language learning. Let’s show how Nebraska educators make language learning FUN and meaningful!
Proposals are due June 30, 2025.
Learn more and submit your proposal here: https://www.csctfl.org/conference/2026-session-proposals.
Let's represent Nebraska — and have some FUN — in Chicago!

The Nebraska Department of Education is excited to invite World Language teachers to join the 2025–2026 NDE World Language Teacher Cohort.
This cohort provides a supportive network for singletons, new teachers, and all educators who wish to connect, collaborate, and grow professionally.
Meetings will be held virtually on the third Wednesday afternoon of August, September, October, November, January, February, March, and April.
We welcome all teachers who are passionate about building community and enhancing world language education across Nebraska.
✅ Register here: https://tinyurl.com/2025WLcohortNE

We look forward to learning and growing together!

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Department of Modern Languages and Literatures continues to offer the AVANT STAMP test free of charge to support students pursuing the Nebraska Seal of Biliteracy. Languages available include Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Somali Maxaa, and Vietnamese.

🗓️ Next test date: May 31, 2025
🕘 Testing runs from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., with start times available every 30 minutes from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

👉 Register here: modlang.unl.edu/stamp-test-scheduler

Thanks to Dr. Rigoberto Guevara, Chair of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, UNL will continue hosting this important assessment opportunity in the upcoming academic year.

Language Testing International (LTI), the official testing partner of the ACTFL Seal of Biliteracy, is offering a scholarship opportunity for students who have earned their State Seal of Biliteracy.

This year’s theme is “Language is an Asset.” Students are invited to reflect on how multilingualism has shaped their goals and how they plan to use their Seal of Biliteracy to advance their education, careers, or community involvement.

Each nomination includes:

• A brief written statement (up to 300 words) or a 1-minute video from a teacher or mentor describing the student’s accomplishments.

• A 1–2 minute video from the student responding to the theme.

Scholarship awards: $500, $300, and $200
Submission deadline: May 30, 2025, at 11:59 PM ET

For full details and the submission form, visit:
https://content.languagetesting.com/seal-of-biliteracy-achievement-scholarship/#form

Encourage your students to share their stories and be recognized for their multilingual achievement.

If you're exploring tools like ChatGPT, Snorkl, SchoolAI, or other AI platforms in your language classroom, you've likely discovered that how you ask matters just as much as what you ask. A well-crafted prompt can save time, support your instructional goals, and generate tasks that are meaningful, culturally relevant, and proficiency-aligned.

Here are some practical tips to help you craft effective prompts for proficiency-based instruction:

1. Customize your AI before anything else
Before diving into lesson design, help the AI understand your context. Customize your AI tool to act as a World Language educator who follows ACTFL proficiency guidelines, supports student agency, and creates culturally responsive, proficiency-aligned materials. This step sets the foundation for more consistent, usable results.

Tip: For examples of how to customize your AI, refer to the January and February NDE World Language newsletters: https://secure.smore.com/n/410pw

2. Be clear and provide context
Include the target language, proficiency level, instructional purpose, mode of communication (interpretive, interpersonal, or presentational), and the theme or topic. These elements ensure the task aligns with both your learners’ needs and instructional goals.

Example:
Create an interpretive reading activity in French for intermediate-low learners. The goal is to strengthen reading comprehension using the interpretive mode. Use an authentic article about school life in France and include comprehension questions.

3. Define the role and output
Tell the AI what kind of educator it’s simulating and what type of resource or task you need. This helps generate clearer and more relevant content.
Example:
You are a German teacher designing an interpersonal speaking activity for Novice High learners. The topic is weekend activities. Provide sentence starters and a rubric aligned with the interpersonal mode.

4. Break it down to support student thinking
When requesting complex tasks, guide the AI to create scaffolds that support students in planning, reflecting, and making decisions—not just completing assignments. Include key elements (language, level, mode, theme), but ask for tools that promote learner independence.

Example:
Design a writing task for intermediate-low Spanish learners focused on the presentational mode, using the theme of food and dining. The purpose is to help students express cultural identity through writing.

Then, ask the AI to:

• Create an activity that helps students define their audience and purpose (e.g., choosing whether they’re writing a blog post, a menu description, or a message for a specific audience).

• Generate a planning tool or graphic organizer that helps students brainstorm and create their own outline.

• Suggest useful vocabulary and transitions based on the theme.

• Recommend a student-friendly rubric aligned with intermediate-low presentational writing.

5. Revise and refine
If the output isn’t quite what you need, don’t start over—refine. Try:
"Make it more culturally authentic," "Adapt for heritage learners," or "Align with Nebraska World Language Standards and communication modes."

Sample prompt to try:
Create an interpretive listening activity in Spanish for intermediate-low learners using a short video about street food in Mexico. Include comprehension questions, a cultural discussion prompt, and a rubric aligned with the interpretive mode.

My name is Dan Moran. I am the founder, coordinator, and kindergarten teacher of Fremont Public Schools’ Dual Language Program (K-9). I have a BA (Spanish) and a BS (Elementary Education) from Iowa State University, a MA (Teaching, Learning & Teacher Education) from UNL, and I am currently enrolled in the CPED program (also at UNL). My wife and I are raising our three young children in a bilingual household - I only speak to them in Spanish (with the exception of the word fashion) and my wife speaks to them in English.

I remember at some point in my undergraduate work we had to develop our own teaching philosophy; that is, a short summary or phrase that justified our decision to teach. Knowing that I wanted to work with Spanish-speaking students, I imagine my first philosophy would have been something like I want to use a shared language to build relationships that will facilitate a positive learning experience, or something like that. Aligned with this idea, many of my early thoughts on language in education would have positioned language as an academic tool, and that bilingual programs create a design in which that tool is leveraged by students every day in order to learn.

Although I would still, to some degree, agree with positions of a younger version of myself, the time I have spent building and teaching in my own program have led me to take on different beliefs about teaching. Sure, I want to teach young students in their native language so they can have a better chance to be academically successful. And sure, I want to give monolingual (English-speaking) students the opportunity to become bilingual. And sure, I hope that heritage speakers (of the second, third, or fourth generation) will rediscover the language of previous generations. But by seeing language in school as strictly language for academic use, I was leaving out goals that humanize the experience. Luckily, my students have shown me language as humor, language as dynamic, language as a source of joy, language as a challenge, etc. These experiences have led me to rethink my whys of multilingual education, discovering that the beauty of a multilingual environment is that we never really know what will motivate us, challenge us, or surprise us (e.g., I would have never guessed that I would have a five-year-old Salvadoran student that would greet me each morning by saying, “Ohayō (Japanese for good morning) mi (Spanish for my) ajtij (K’iche’ for teacher)”). I believe this stance to be important, because it allows us to be participants of positive change, rather than the primary source of that change.

As a more clear example of this slow shift of perspective: Many students in my school and community are K’iche’ Maya. I didn’t know much (if anything) about K’iche’ people, their thoughts, or their language. As someone genuinely interested in language, I thought I would begin learning some basic phrases. Luckily, I was also given space to explore K’iche’ in a graduate class taught by Theresa Catalano (UNL). If I were to have attached a purpose statement to my learning, I probably would have established a very academic stance, such as “I want to learn K’iche’ to better support my students’ learning.” And if I were to have maintained such a stance, I wouldn’t have left space to see how parents and students can be positioned as linguistic experts, how the use of a language outside of the binary of a dual language program can enhance understanding of (in the case of our program) Spanish and English, or how the voices inside of a school can change when language is invited.

The Nebraska World Language Public Awareness Committee is committed to promoting the importance and visibility of world language education across the state. Co-chaired by Dr. Aleidine Moeller from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and Dr. Nick Ziegler from ESU 5, the committee includes active contributors Danielle Fulcher from Lincoln Public Schools and Alicia Shoemaker from Elkhorn Public Schools.

As the 2024 ACTFL National Language Teacher of the Year, Alicia Shoemaker has traveled and presented across the country, serving as a powerful advocate for world language programs and bringing national attention to Nebraska’s efforts. The team’s collaborative work also led to the launch of a statewide advocacy website:
https://sites.google.com/view/newlpublicawareness/home

Committee members have shared their work widely through professional learning opportunities. Dr. Moeller and Dr. Ziegler presented in the 2024 Spring NDE, NLA, and CLTA SIG K12 Guest Speaker Series. Danielle Fulcher presented at both the 2024 NLA Conference and the 2025 Central States Languages for All Conference. She will also present "Advocating on Capitol Hill: A First-Timer’s Experience with JNCL-NCLIS" on November 12 as part of the 2025 Fall NDE, NLA, and CLTA SIG K12 Guest Speaker Series.

We are grateful for their leadership and continued commitment to advancing world language education in Nebraska.

NDE World Language Education will continue to offer customized professional development opportunities to meet the unique needs of Nebraska Educational Service Units (ESUs) and school districts. Our comprehensive offerings for the 2024-2025 academic year encompass a variety of enriching themes. Please check the document for details or contact Chrystal Liu at chrystal.liu@nebraska.gov for questions.

Please check this document for the 2024-2025 annual events for Nebraska World Language Education. If you or your organization have events to share, please email Chrystal Liu (chrystal.liu@nebraska.gov) to add your events in the shared calendar.

Email: chrystal.liu@nebraska.gov
Website: https://www.education.ne.gov/worldlanguage/
Location: 500 S 84th St 2nd Floor, Lincoln, NE 68510
Phone: 402-430-8147

Facebook: https://secure.smore.com/n/g35ek
X: @NDE_WorldLang

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nde_worldlanguage/

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