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Celebrating Multilingual Excellence With the ITBE at The 2026 Spring Conference!
ITBE BOARD Celebrating Multilingual Excellence With the
ITBE at The 2026 Spring Conference!
Teachers, administrator and teachers in training from across Illinois gathered in February for the annual Illinois Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages–Bilingual Education conference, titled “Equity, Access, and Innovation: Teaching Multilingual Learners in a Tech-Transformed Landscape.” It was held at the Sheraton Lisle Naperville Hotel on February 27–28, and the conference focused on strengthening multilingual education and supporting multilingual learners with an eye to new technology. The event brought together professionals committed to equity, cultural understanding, and innovative teaching practices in today’s increasingly diverse classrooms.
Throughout the conference, sessions highlighted strategies for improving literacy development, increasing student engagement, and supporting English learners both academically and emotionally. Teachers exchanged ideas on how to create teaching that use up-and-coming technologies like AI (Artificial Intelligence).
Keynote speakers including Dr. Diep Nguyen, Dr. Jennifer Mann, and Jeff Hutchinson emphasized the value of multilingualism in an increasingly global society while also addressing the realities and challenges educators face within the current political climate.
Dr. Diep Nguyen spoke about the importance of creating affirming classroom spaces where multilingual learners feel seen, valued, and empowered. She encouraged educators to recognize the cultural and linguistic assets students bring into the classroom and to advocate for policies that support educational equity.
Dr. Jennifer Mann focused on literacy development and instructional strategies that help multilingual learners thrive academically. She highlighted the importance of culturally responsive teaching and reminded educators that strong relationships with students and families are central to meaningful learning experiences.
Jeff Hutchinson addressed the rapidly changing educational landscape and the challenges schools face in supporting multilingual learners amid shifting political and policy conversations. He encouraged educators to remain collaborative, adaptable, and student-centered while continuing to advocate for bilingual and multilingual programs.
One of the conference’s final presentations featured representatives from Green Card Voices, including Tea Rozman, a multilingual, first-generation immigrant born and raised in Yugoslavia and the organization’s Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director. Rozman holds a Ph.D. in oral history and has helped preserve and share the stories of more than 600 immigrants and refugees from over 145 countries across eight states. Her presentation emphasized the importance of storytelling as a tool for empathy, social justice, and educational understanding. She also spoke about creating brave spaces where immigrant and refugee voices are centered, valued, and empowered within schools and communities.
Workshops covered a wide range of topics, including technology integration, culturally responsive teaching, differentiated instruction, and assessment strategies for multilingual learners. Educators also explored ways to strengthen partnerships with families and communities, recognizing that collaboration beyond the classroom is essential for student success.
The February conference also highlighted the continuing need for qualified bilingual educators throughout Illinois.
Illinois Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages–Bilingual Education continues to help shape the future of Illinois classrooms, and events like this conference ensure that educators remain connected, informed, and prepared to meet the needs of all learners.
Next year’s conference will take place three weeks earlier, with registration dates and proposal submission deadlines expected to be three to four weeks earlier. Come join us!
2026 Annual Convention - 309 attendees
2025 Fall Workshop - 126 attendees
Save the date!
Fall Workshop - October 17, 2026
Annual Convention - February 5-6, 2027
Balancing Academic Integrity and AI Integration: A Proposal for ESL Writing Programs
Sasan Mansouri Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing the way we teach and learn English very quickly. Many
AI tools, like ChatGPT and Grammarly, give ESL students instant feedback on their writing.
These tools can help students revise grammar, organize ideas, and notice patterns in language.
Research shows that AI-assisted feedback can improve coherence, idea development, and self-directed revision (Escalante et al., 2023). AI also gives support to students who may not have much access to academic help. It can guide them step by step and help them become more independent in learning (Wei & Wang, 2023; Warschauer et al., 2023).
At the same time, teachers are worried. If students use AI too much, it can hide their real
abilities, reduce critical thinking, and even cause problems with academic honesty. For students learning English as a second or foreign language, these risks are very serious. AI can be very useful, but it also can create unfair advantages if students use it without guidance.
At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), international students in ESL writing courses use technology from the first week. Laptops and online platforms are part of almost all activities. This early access is good because students are motivated to use technology, but it can also hide their real writing skills. For example, a student might use AI to correct mistakes without really learning grammar rules. This shows why we need a clear plan to use AI responsibly in classrooms.
Week 1 AI-Free Diagnostic and Guided AI Integration
To solve this problem, I suggest a two-part plan. The first week of class is completely AI-free.
Students do all writing by hand, without laptops or AI. This allows teachers to see students’ real skills and find strengths and weaknesses. It also gives a starting point to measure improvement.
From the second week, AI is slowly introduced. Students can use AI for ideas, drafting, and
revising, but only after teachers have seen their handwritten work. This makes sure AI is a
support tool, not a shortcut. Students also reflect on their AI use. In fact, they compare
handwritten drafts with AI-assisted drafts and discuss what they learned. Teachers guide students in discussions about authorship, ethics, and honesty. Students and teachers also create rules together for responsible AI use in the class.
More specifically, the plan includes the following steps:
1. Week 1 diagnostic: Students write by hand in multiple formats: narrative, descriptive,
and argumentative. Teachers analyze writing to see real skills.
2. Gradual AI integration: AI is first used for brainstorming, then for drafting, and finally
for revising, always with teacher guidance.
3. Reflection exercises: Students answer questions comparing handwritten and AI-assisted
drafts. This helps them notice learning progress and understand the correct way to use AI.
4. Collaborative guidelines: Teachers and students make class rules for AI. This promotes
responsibility and fairness.
5. Ongoing monitoring: Teachers continue to check students’ AI-assisted work to ensure
ethical and effective use.
This approach teaches students how to use AI as a helpful support tool rather than a replacement for their own learning. It encourages them to think critically about when and how to use AI, so they develop responsibility and understanding of the technology. At the same time, it gives teachers a clear and accurate picture of each student’s actual abilities, skills, and areas for improvement. With this information, teachers can design lessons and provide feedback that truly meets students’ needs and helps them grow as independent and confident writers. This method also promotes fairness in the classroom, because students are assessed on both their own work and their AI-assisted work which makes the learning process more transparent. This plan seems to be useful for language teachers, program directors, curriculum designers, and teacher educators. In fact, teachers have an important role in guiding students on how to use AI responsibly. First, they need to explain the risks of using AI without guidance, such as depending too much on technology, hiding true writing skills, and creating problems with academic honesty such as being accused of plagiarism. To understand students’ real abilities, teachers can do a Week 1 AI-free diagnostic, where all writing tasks are completed by hand without laptops or AI tools. This allows instructors to see students’ actual strengths and weaknesses and plan instruction more effectively. Then, teachers can work together with students to create fair rules for AI use in the classroom, so everyone knows what is allowed and what is not. Teachers should also lead discussions about ethics, authorship, and honesty and help students understand the importance of doing their own work while using AI as support. Finally, writing tasks and grading should be adjusted to include both independent and AI-assisted work, making sure that students’ learning is assessed fairly and that AI is used as a meaningful aid rather than a shortcut.
Why Many ESL Programs Avoid AI-Free Instruction
Despite its benefits, implementing AI-free instruction in the first week may be hard for ESL
programs. Many programs seem to focus on student satisfaction and marketing. Students pay tuition and expect immediate access to technology, including AI tools. If AI is restricted at the start, students might feel disappointed or less interested in the program.
From the program’s point of view, administrators may worry that not allowing AI in the first
week will reduce enrollment or make students unhappy. They may think it is more important to satisfy students than to focus on real language development.
This creates a choice for ESL programs:
1. Focus on proficiency: Programs prioritize students’ real learning and skill development,
even if it is less convenient for students. Teachers guide students carefully to use AI
responsibly.
2. Focus on satisfaction: Programs prioritize student happiness and marketing appeal,
giving unrestricted access to AI, which may hide real abilities and affect long-term
learning. ESL programs should focus first on students’ actual language proficiency. When AI is introduced in a responsible and structured way, students can benefit from technology while still developing their own skills. Programs that follow this approach demonstrate that they care about fairness, honesty, and authentic learning, rather than only showing polished results. They show commitment to helping students grow as independent learners and to maintaining academic integrity. This balance also helps students understand the limits and possibilities of AI, encouraging thoughtful and ethical use. In contrast, programs that prioritize immediate satisfaction or marketing appeal may risk neglecting real skill development, which can be harmful to students in the long term.
Examples from Classroom
Imagine a student asked to write an essay in Week 1 without using any AI tools. The teacher
carefully reads the handwritten work and notices gaps in organization, grammar, vocabulary, or argument development. These observations give the teacher a clear understanding of the
student’s actual skills and areas that need improvement. In Week 2, the same student begins to use AI to brainstorm ideas, find evidence, or improve sentence structure. By comparing the handwritten and AI-assisted drafts, the student can see exactly where AI is helpful and where personal effort is still necessary. This reflection helps the student understand the value of independent thinking while learning to use AI responsibly. It also encourages awareness, self- regulation, and confidence in writing.
Another example is a student who immediately turns to AI without any prior assessment. The
essay may look polished and complete, but the teacher cannot see the student’s real abilities or the areas that require support. A Week 1 AI-free diagnostic ensures that instructors have accurate information about what each student can do independently. With this knowledge, teachers can guide AI use effectively, providing scaffolding where needed and promoting responsible, ethical use of technology. This approach also helps prevent overreliance on AI while supporting students in developing their skills gradually.
Conclusion
AI is a powerful tool for writing instruction. It can support language learners, provide feedback, and help students become independent. But using AI without guidance can hide real abilities and cause ethical problems. A Week 1 AI-free diagnostic, followed by gradual guided AI integration, can solve these problems. Students learn to use AI responsibly while teachers get accurate information about abilities. Although many ESL programs are hesitant because of marketing pressures and student expectations, programs that implement structured AI integration could benefit students’ learning and fairness. Gradual AI use under teacher supervision would allow students to experience the benefits of AI while maintaining academic integrity and developing authentic skills. ESL programs can balance technology use, ethical considerations, and authentic learning by carefully planning AI integration.
References
Escalante, J., Pack, A., & Barrett, A. (2023). AI-generated feedback on writing: Insights into
efficacy and ENL student preference. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher
Education, 20, 57. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-023-00425-2
Wei, P., & Wang, X. (2023). The impact of automated writing evaluation on second language
writing skills of Chinese EFL learners: A randomized controlled trial. Frontiers in Psychology.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1249991
Warschauer, M., Tseng, W., Yim, S., Webster, T., Jacob, S., Du, Q., & Tate, T. (2023). The
affordances and contradictions of AI-generated text for writers of English as a second or foreign language. Journal of Second Language Writing, 62, 101071.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2023.101071
Sasan Mansouri is a TA and instructor in the ESL Program at the University of Illinois Urbana
Champaign and is currently pursuing an MATESL degree.
Thirty Years of Teaching Immigrants
Richard Sasso
Thirty Years of Teaching Immigrants
This year marked my 30th anniversary of working as a TESOL teacher. It’s hard to believe three decades have passed since that cold January night in 1995, when I walked into a class of adult learners of English as a Second Language, as the field was then known. Many things have changed since then - gone are the overhead projectors and chalkboards, VCRs, paper-and-pencil grade books, and thick bilingual dictionaries. The smart classrooms of today, with video projectors, one-to-one laptops, and digital video and audio, would have seemed like science fiction, much less AI-powered learning management systems and smartphones with all the apps that we navigate through our days with.
I’ve also done a variety of jobs over those thirty years, from teaching adult education to workplace classes to family literacy to being a TA at the University of Illinois at Chicago. For the two-plus decades now, I’ve educated adolescent immigrants at a suburban high school. Alongside the technological and social changes in my field, I’ve been present in the educational experience of many immigrants in many places. I’ve always counted it a blessing to work with people from every part of the world. In fact, some of my fondest memories remain teaching those adult immigrants English at night. One of my favorite things to do is to play popular rock songs to help them learn about American culture and the English language. I have fond memories of playing Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” when I was the only person in the room born in the USA! And if I had a nickel for every time I was asked how many languages I speak, I would be a wealthy man.
But the more things change, the more they remain the same. Immigrants struggle to adjust to life in America, a real America that is often different than the one they imagined back home. The English language isn’t any easier than it once was, although it’s only grown as the lingua franca of the world. And while immigrants bring with them a wealth of cultural experiences, they also share many, many universals. “They’re just like us,” a colleague observed once, “but in their own way.”
After so very many years of working with immigrants, one thing becomes readily apparent: Immigration is the perennial hot-button issue of American politics, despite our having been an immigrant society from our earliest days. Indeed, immigration seems to be a hot-button issue around the world. Jane Addams faced similar trying times a hundred years ago. Our immigrants are our treasures, she argued. Indeed.
But America and Americans uniquely struggle with the issue endlessly. Almost every election cycle, we find ourselves arguing about immigration: how much immigration, what kind of immigration, from where, and for what purpose. As anyone who has dealt with immigrants or worked with immigration can attest, there is an alphabet soup of visas, statuses, and pathways to residency and citizenship, all amounting to a dizzyingly complex bureaucratic apparatus that can seem impossible to negotiate—even with a lawyer! It seems beyond us to reach a consensus on this issue that would allow us to create a coherent immigration policy and finally move forward. Despite the urgency, this still proves elusive.
The result is that those of us who work with immigrants are perpetually in the act of advocacy, in small ways and big. From
arguing for another section of a course at a high school to talking to a senator or congressperson to help them understand these issues, the work never ends. But neither does the joy and pride we take.
On a personal note, my own father was an Italian immigrant who came to America knowing little or no English. He attended night school to learn the language. I don’t know the names of the people who helped him learn, but I feel a debt of gratitude toward them: He eventually spoke English so well that I never learned Italian— a shortcoming which I am trying to remedy as soon as possible! But I believe I am paying forward their kindness through the work I do.
As I come to the end of the second term on the ITBE Board, I take pride in not only the advocacy we do but also all the service I’ve been able to provide to my profession. It’s been my privilege, and I look forward to more!
“Who We Are and What We Value” : Incorporating Art and Self-Expression into a Humanizing First-Day Lesson
Angelina Adams and Sandra Keller In this article, we describe a lesson we designed and taught for the inaugural session of a short-term community-based English class for adult learners at beginning-to-intermediate proficiency levels. Our lesson theme, “Who We Are and What We Value,” aimed to support multilingual learners in developing linguistic tools to present their rich identities in our wider community. Importantly, we taught our lesson only a few weeks before the November 2024 election, when immigrants’ places in our communities, and their humanity, were already being questioned in public discourse. While we did not foresee the scale of the attacks immigrants in our state and nation have since faced, we already believed it vital to afford learners space to speak back to discourses that attempted to circumscribe them, by defining themselves in their own words. In response both to these larger moral concerns and to our immediate concern that students get to know one another during their first class, we devised this lesson, which we share here to offer ESOL educators a way to uplift students’ identities and values in deep and meaningful ways, and for students to articulate them even at beginning proficiency levels.
Context
We created this lesson while enrolled in a TESOL methods class at Illinois State University that prepares pre-service and current teachers to responsively teach multilingual and multicultural English language learners. Our professor, Dr. Kris Lewis, partnered with Western Avenue Community Center, located near our university in central Illinois, to hold free ESL conversation classes for immigrant adults in the community. Pairs of student teachers each taught one 90-minute lesson; we were assigned the first session. The people we taught came with diverse backgrounds that we viewed as assets to the planning, teaching, and learning process. Our learners self-identified at varied proficiency levels, from true beginners to intermediate. While they had different L1 backgrounds, the majority were Spanish speakers.
Motivation
Inspired by our methods class, this lesson takes a humanizing pedagogy approach. According to Peercy et al. (2022), such pedagogy involves knowing students as individuals; building a positive learning environment; using comprehensible input, scaffolding, and differentiation to make intellectually rich content linguistically accessible; and prioritizing receptive and productive language use in ways that employ students’ home language as a resource (p. 3). Particularly because we taught the first session, we strove to foreground activities that let us encounter our students, and them one another, as full individuals. Teaching this lesson three weeks before an election marked by anti-immigrant rhetoric and slander heightened our desire to offer our learners English-language tools to present who they are in rich, nuanced ways (for a sensitive reflection on how the political rhetoric of the time could shape immigrants’ understandings of themselves, their languages, and their journeys, see Lozada, 2024). In many proficiency standards, including ACTFL’s (Adair-Hauck et al., 2013), discussing “matters of public interest” is considered an advanced skill (p. 129). A focus on identities and values, however, enables such consequential talk even at novice levels. It employs a personal, immediate lexical realm that is linguistically accessible to beginners, yet allows adult learners to communicate meaningfully on matters of public import and belonging.
Finally, inspired by Schwab (2019), whose learners made a collective “dream garden” to visually represent their goals, as well as by our methods class, where we drew self-portraits to reflect on our identities as teachers, we included artistic alongside verbal self-expression. As Kalaja and Pitkänen-Huhta (2018) argue, incorporating art into language teaching allows students to use visuals to more fully convey their subjective experiences. In the following lesson, we show how teachers can incorporate art to facilitate verbal sharing of students’ identities and values.
Our Lesson
After introductions in which we and students greeted one another in English and students’ home languages, we previewed our theme by sharing who we, their teachers, are and what we value. We shared self-portraits we drew featuring words and images found in the four-page picture dictionary we provided. For each topic, we presented approximately 20 words accompanied by explanatory images found online:
My family relationships. “I am: a daughter, a grandmother, a cousin…”
My personality. “I am: ambitious, brave, open-minded…”
My activities. “I am: an athlete, an artist, a caregiver…”
My values. “I value: nature, honesty, peace, freedom…”
The images helped learners identify vocabulary they related to or wanted to talk about, that could be used in their self-portraits. Then, learners brainstormed “I am” and “I value” statements, added them to posters, and did a gallery walk to begin discussing commonalities.
We then analyzed a self-portrait we found online (link: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/119838040086165815/), drawing students’ attention both to lesson vocabulary that the artist used, and other words that struck the students as useful or interesting. Next, we embarked on what we found most meaningful: encouraging use of this vocabulary, and students’ other linguistic resources, to engage in artistic self-expression. Students had 10 minutes to draw themselves, their identities, and their values. The class ended with a fluency line, in which students showed multiple classmates their portrait and narrated what it showed about who they were.
Who Our Students Were, and What They Valued
Here are some portraits our learners drew:
Figure 1. Martha’s self-portrait.
Figure 2. Olga’s self-portrait.
Figure 3. A student’s self-portrait.
Figure 4. Ivonne’s self-portrait.
Figure 5. Nallely’s self-portrait.
These portraits exemplify how art lets learners convey holistic subjectivities (Kalaja & Pitkänen-Huhta, 2018), particularly in a multilevel class. Mindful of varying proficiency levels, we provided the choice to draw pictures representing the vocabulary, or to write “I am” and “I value” statements; both tactics are represented above. Many incorporated an impressive array of identity statements (Martha’s portrait); others differentiated the activity for themselves by elaborating beyond the models provided (Olga’s “a stay-home person”; another student’s “I am happy” and “runnight”). We were gratified to see learners invoking images from our dictionary and loved seeing the new, creative visuals they devised to express their identities as they saw them (Ivonne’s ear representing “a good listener” was much better than our visual!). The identities that emerge in these portraits are colorful, multifaceted and complex.
We were particularly struck by students’ explicit proclamations of strength, courage, and agency. Of the 15 portraits we collected, five artists called themselves “brave,” three “strong,” and three “independent.” It was encouraging to see our learners claim these identities against dehumanizing national rhetoric. Nallely’s choice to represent herself actively speaking her identity and values aloud beautifully reflects this agentive stance.
We would also like to celebrate one of the true beginners in our class, whose addition of “runnight” after “I am an athlete” exemplifies the fruitful, collaborative nature of the lesson we facilitated. While working with lesson vocabulary, he asked how to pronounce “athlete,” then mimed running, volunteering “correr” in Spanish. The confluence of this learner’s interest in running, his desire to share it with the class, and our supplying the word “runner” let him express a more detailed part of his identity than we had anticipated. In his creative spelling, he even demonstrates knowledge of tricky elements of English, like the unpredictable manifestations of “–gh.” His inclusion of “I am happy”— syntactically and thematically relevant although not included in our dictionary—and his portrait’s wide, carefully-drawn smile further show that students can find a way to express attributes that matter to them, visually and verbally.
Beyond the Creation of Art
While self-portraits were the core of our humanizing lesson, we also witnessed students’ humanity through small, unplanned moments: when learners with different L1s found time during the fluency line to share home countries; when a student pointed at the large smile he drew and laughed; when learners invited us to join them in poking fun at their own drawing abilities; asking learners how to say something in their languages. In these moments, layers peeled back, and we faced humans with their individual complexities, stories, and joys.
Importantly, for this conversation class, we prioritized humane exchanges over drawing abilities, mechanics, or grammar, instead validating students’ successful linguistic and visual communication of themselves as multifaceted people. Especially when learners have widely varying backgrounds, these moments may be the driving factor influencing their decision to continue showing up. Each individual is an asset to the richness of learning that can take place. We believe that designing this lesson focused on self-expression planted a sense of comfort, vulnerability, and humanity within the confines of the classroom walls that would continue to grow over future class meetings.
Considerations for Adaptation
Should you facilitate a similar lesson, we provide the following tips for incorporating art and humanizing principles into your teaching:
Even at novice levels, you can teach rich vocabulary for talking about things adults want to talk about, including core values, as long as you scaffold intentionally. The purpose of this first-day lesson is to provide learners with functional vocabulary and language skills to express who they are, rather than merely learning to say what we want them to say. Celebrate all that each student contributes.
We recommend creating your own picture dictionary; we noted a paucity of resources for sharing nuanced identities and values in the publishers’ materials we accessed. We curated our vocabulary by first considering what we find meaningful ourselves, and then trying to diversify so that people with lives different from ours might find words that resonated. While textbooks can depoliticize and flatten vocabulary, our learners seemed eager to share these aspects of themselves. For accompanying pictures, we recommend you choose representationally diverse images with symbolism plausibly legible across cultures.
We recommend incorporating self-portrait realia where artists use words and images to convey their identities. However, be aware that students might have unexpected questions about meanings of words in context. The portrait we discussed incorporated some terms we used in our picture dictionary, but also additional language. One learner asked about an unanticipated term (“queen”), and while we found value in negotiating its possible meanings together, we are not sure all students followed. If you select material with multiple or abstract meanings, be prepared to provide an accessible way of negotiating meaning.
As our professor has shown us, we teach English not for the mere transmission of content, but so that our learners can live in the world in new ways, and express all of who they are to those they meet. Focusing on sharing identities and values is one easily differentiable, humanizing, community-building way of working toward that goal, from the first day forward.
References
Adair-Hauck, B., Glisan, E. W., & Troyan, F. J. (2013). Implementing integrated performance assessment. American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.
Kalaja, P., & Pitkänen-Huhta, A. (2018). ALR special issue: Visual methods in applied language studies. Applied Linguistics Review, 9(2-3), 157-176.
Lozada, C. (2024, October 13). When Trump rants, this is what I hear. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/13/opinion/trump-immigration-rhetoric-poisoning.html
Peercy, M. M., Tigert, J. M., & Fredricks, D. E. (2022). Core practices for teaching multilingual students. Teachers College Press.
Schwab, E. (2019). An inquiry approach to understanding students’ learning goals in an adult English for Speakers of Other Languages classroom. Working Papers in Educational Linguistics, 34(1), 27-48.
Angelina Adams earned her B.A. in English Teacher Education and minor in TESOL from Illinois State University in December 2025. She is currently a high-school English Language Arts educator in the Northwest Chicago suburbs.
Sandra Keller earned a graduate certificate in TESOL in May 2026 from Illinois State University, where she has been teaching French language and linguistics classes since 2015.
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