The Cardinal

Deborah Varga, OWLA President 2025-2026
Spanish Teacher, McKinley Senior High School

Warm greetings, fellow OWLA members!

I cannot believe that the conference is just around the corner. We are preparing for an exciting time of not only professional development, but also professional RENEWAL. As you begin the second semester of the school year, I hope that you embrace new ideas that do not feel like an added burden, but instead spark excitement in your teaching. In these continually challenging times, I find it essential to seek out something new and inspiring, not only for myself, but also for my students. 

If you have not yet had the opportunity, please take a look at our OWLA 2026 Spring Conference Program. I always look forward to the creative and innovative ideas that our colleagues from throughout the state, as well as across the country, bring to our “OWLA table” each year, and this year is no exception! During the conference, there will be time to visit with colleagues, collaborate professionally, and engage with others for a wonderful experience.  

Nicola Work, OWLA President-Elect
Associate Professor of French, University of Dayton 

“Turns out the conversation partner my students would actually use was available 24/7 and never got tired of repeating the same question.”

AI is everywhere—and it’s here to stay. Students use it. Teachers use it. Administrators use it. Instead of forbidding it or pretending it doesn’t exist, we can learn to work with it and explore what it can actually do for us as language teachers—and for our students.

For years, I’ve wanted to give my students more opportunities for conversation practice. Of course, we can (and do) practice in class, but class time is limited. I wanted to offer additional practice. The question was: how?

I tried conversation hours (think office hours, but in French). Attendance? Spotty at best. I assigned partner recordings through our online workbook, but students struggled to coordinate schedules—and, frankly, they hated it. What I needed was a solution that was low-anxiety, easy to use, and always available.

Enter AI.

Megan Brady, OWLA Immediate Past President and Awards Chair
Spanish Teacher, Lake High School

What if I told you that the activity packet you spent 90 minutes creating last week could have been done in 15 minutes? And what if that same tool could help you find authentic resources, differentiate for three levels simultaneously, and respond to that parent email you’ve been dreading—all before your planning period ends?

I know, I know. You’ve heard the AI hype. Maybe you’ve even tried it and got underwhelming results. But here’s the truth: AI isn’t about adding to your workload. It’s about reclaiming your time so you can do more of what actually matters—building relationships with students, creating culturally rich experiences, and maybe even leaving school before 5 PM.

Let me show you three things you can try right now.

Teri Wiechart, OWLA Parliamentarian & Bylaws Chair
Retired, Delphos Jefferson High School

In a year when many educators feel stretched thin, it’s easy for the joy of teaching languages to get buried under paperwork, shifting district priorities, and the constant pressure to justify our programs. Yet across Ohio, world language teachers continue to create spaces where students discover connection, curiosity, and confidence—often in ways that go unnoticed outside the classroom.

Joy in language learning isn’t accidental. It’s built through thousands of small choices: the moment a teacher slows down to make input comprehensible, the risk a student takes to speak in front of peers, the cultural insight that sparks a new perspective, the laughter that erupts when communication finally clicks. These moments are not extras—they are the heartbeat of our profession.

Lauren Shaffer, OWLA Executive Recorder & Editor of The Cardinal
Spanish Teacher, Dalton High School

High school language teachers: Are you interested in having your students participate in this program? Check the link at the end of the article.

Last May, as my students eagerly awaited the end of the school year, I had the chance to let them break from the routine and step outside their usual roles: instead of being students, they became teachers. This opportunity came through the Ohio Distance Learning Association’s One World, Many Languages program, which connects high school classrooms with elementary classrooms for live, remote language lessons. Through the program, high school students plan and lead a 25–30-minute lesson for an elementary class, giving them the opportunity to apply what they have learned and share it with an authentic audience.

Perceptions of Linguistic Legitimacy Among Students

Megan Frate, OWLA Membership Chair
Spanish Teacher, Westerville City Schools

Cat. Cow. Water.  

These three words are all students hear before weighing in on the question, “Does this baby speak Spanish?” The hypothesis is that students will grant more linguistic legitimacy to a baby’s first words than to their own developing proficiency—even when that proficiency consists of hundreds or thousands of words.  To explore this, I followed up with another question, “Do you speak Spanish?”  These questions were posed to 103 students enrolled in Spanish levels 2 and 4.

Kaleigh Baker, OWLA Editor for Electronic Media
Spanish Teacher, Covington High School

In a perfect world, you do not have four (or more!) classes to prep for, and you can cycle between a couple of activities for the various celebrations that pop up during the school year. I do not teach in that perfect world, and I always find myself scrambling around each holiday to come up with something level- and also age-appropriate. 

First, do not think that your high school students do not want to embrace their elementary school days. Having them decorate and write out old-fashioned valentines is always a hit. I give them a list of phrases, and they can write as many as they like. Sometimes I have them write Valentine’s to their teachers. I try to do this in my upper-level classes, where the groups are a little smaller and the students are closer to some of their teachers.

How I use ChatGPT to Build Proficiency (and Challenge Myself!)

Alexis Blum, OWLA Professional Development Chair
Spanish Teacher, Wapakoneta High School

Two years ago, OWLA hosted a webinar on Artificial Intelligence and the new (and intimidating) tools that were rapidly becoming available for teachers. I remember feeling excited about the possibilities of these new resources, but also felt apprehensive that there was going to be such a steep learning curve in the coming months. In the past two years, we have seen an explosion of AI tools on all kinds of websites. Every website seems to have some element of AI to it now. 

As educators, we are constantly exposed to new resources with sparkly AI tools available right at our fingertips. It is very intimidating to decide if, when, and how to use this technology. I stand firmly on the side that AI is not a replacement for creative thinking, problem solving, or people. From my perspective, AI is a tool that teachers can use to enhance instruction and the learning experiences that we provide for our students. 

Lesley Chapman, OWLA Public Relations & Advocacy Chair 
French Teacher, Sycamore High School

It’s that time of year again! Course optioning for next school year is upon us. We know the drill—you encourage your current students, tell them how great next year is going to be, and cross your fingers that enough of them continue to enroll in your program. You campaign, market, and sell your program to potential future students and their parents, hoping that your pitch will be enough for them to sign on. It is a stressful time of year for all of us.

So how do we maintain and grow our programs, making them desirable to the students and their families? Here are some ideas that could help promote your world language programs.