About the Conference

American Association of Teachers of Korean

Name: 2026 AATK Annual Conference: American Association of Teachers of Korean The 31st Annual Conference and Professional Development Workshop
Start: 2026-06-18
End: 2026-06-20
Location: The Ohio State University

The 31^st Annual Conference and Professional Development Workshop

Beyond Boundaries: Bridging Korean Language Education across Disciplines, Careers, and Communities

The Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio
Thursday – Saturday, June 18 – 20, 2026

Invited Speakers

Keynote Speaker

Dr. Kate Paesani

Title: Shifting the Boundaries of Language Education: Critical Pedagogies and LCTL Teacher Learning

Abstract:

In this keynote, I discuss a hybrid critical approach to language education that meets both the language proficiency and textual analysis goals of language programs. This approach, which combines multiliteracies and social justice pedagogies, develops students' linguistic abilities as well as their critical thinking skills and deep engagement with interdisciplinary topics such as art, disability studies, environmental sustainability, language policy, and multiculturalism. The keynote comprises two parts: In the first, I outline the pedagogical approach and explain how it was used to support the creation of social justice curricular units in eight languages; in the second, I center the experiences of LCTL teachers as they designed and piloted the units and then discuss implications for curriculum construction and professional development.

Bio:

Dr. Kate Paesani is Director of the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA) and Associate Professor in the Department of French and Italian at the University of Minnesota. Her research focuses on postsecondary language programs, critical pedagogies, and language teacher cognition and identity development. Her most recent publications include Foreign Language Literacies: A Guide for Teachers and Teacher Educators (Georgetown University Press, 2023) and the 2025 special issue of Critical Inquiry in Language Studies on deconstructing the "critical" in critical pedagogies. At CARLA, she co-leads multiple initiatives and organizes professional development for K-16 language educators from across the globe.

Plenary Speaker

Dr. Janice M. Aski

Title: Reimagining world language education

Abstract:

The context in which we teach language constantly evolves through the effects of geopolitics or economic and political considerations closer to home. Consider three aspects of today’s context:

(1) Faith in higher education is wavering (Gallup: Link).
(2) Interest in the humanities is receding (Chronicle of Higher Education: Link).
(3) Enrollments in many world languages is declining (Modern Language Association 2016, 2020).

I argue that these trends are due, in part, to parents and students seeking a direct line from the degree to a future job, which is perfectly transparent in the professional schools, such as engineering, medicine, nursing, public health, etc., but less so for language study. Consequently, we must examine the transferable skills that are developed through language study and communicate them clearly, but also provide new experiences for our learners both in the classroom and beyond. In this talk, I give my perspective as a Professor of Italian and as the Director of the Ohio State Center for Languages Literatures and Cultures, whose goals are to communicate how learning one or more languages and the cultures they represent is essential for working in our 21st-century interconnected world and create initiatives that support this goal.

Bio:

Dr. Janice M. Aski is Professor of Italian in the Department of French and Italian and Director of the Center for Languages Literatures and Cultures at the Ohio State University. She specializes in world language pedagogy and historical Italian/Romance linguistics. Among her publications are two coauthored texts: Avanti! 6th edition (McGraw Hill, 2026) a first-year Italian language textbook, and the monograph, Iconicity and analogy in language change (De Gruyter Mouton, 2016). Her most recent research focus is the incorporation of intercultural competence training in the Italian elementary language curriculum and the development of emerging technology, more specifically, 360 video and AI language bots, in language teaching.