SEE LETTER BELOW!

20th Annual National TPRS Conference
Minneapolis, MN – July 20-24, 2020
Join hundreds of teachers in Minneapolis for the 20th annual National TPRS® Conference. This is the most comprehensive and rewarding TPRS® experience available. Some highlights of this conference include:
- Keynote speech by Grant Boulanger,
- Specialized tracks for Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Chinese TPRS® teachers, and teachers of Elementary aged children,
- Sessions on a wide variety of topics,
- Learning a new language in Fluency Fast language classes,
- and MUCH MORE!
See why people keep coming back each summer to NTPRS®! The skills you will learn and practice in Minneapolis will empower you to take your students’ language abilities to their next level!
This year’s theme is “NTPRS 2020: CI through Multiple Lenses”. Improve your TPRS® Vision this 2020 in July!
In addition to the conference you may want to look into:
- PRE-CONFERENCE: COACHING FOR COACHES (pre-conference)
Check it out on the tab to the left!
Dear Fellow TPRSers,
On behalf of my team, I would like to express my deep appreciation for your contributions for NTPRS in years past as well as your would-be contributions for the 2020 Conference. This Conference could not take place without your gifts, passion, and genuine desire to add value to the lives of teachers. This summer would have marked the 20th year for NTPRS. Regrettably, COVID-19 has taken its toll on our society. In light of the virus, the NTPRS Conference for 2020 has been canceled.
We look forward to a successful Conference in 2021. We will be planning the 2021 Conference in the coming months.
In the meantime, we wish you good health and optimism as we all navigate these uncertain times. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with any questions.
Welcome to NTPRS 2020 – Minneapolis!
As a participant, you will find a large variety of sessions that can help you where you need it! Check out the following TRACKS to determine which one would benefit you the most. With few exceptions, the tracks will run Monday through Wednesday while Thursday and Friday will be jam-packed with a variety of presentations and innovations from the TPRS world! Before you finish registration, you will need to PICK ONE OF THE FOLLOWING TRACKS.
TRACK INFORMATION
Beginner Track
The BEGINNER TRACK is designed for teachers that are new to teaching with methods that implement Comprehensible Input. Generally, if teachers have been to less than 1 or 2 workshops, the Beginner Track is a perfect start. This workshop is for teachers who are new to TPR Storytelling® or for teachers who feel that they need to revisit and practice the fundamentals of the method. Develop TPRS® skills with step-by-step training. Be a student in a language classroom. Practice with an experienced team of coaches.
LANGUAGE EXPERIENCE:
You will experience learning Mandarin as a student in a TPRS class. You will be amazed by how much language you will learn over our three days together! Having the opportunity to be a student and a teacher at the same time will allow you to experience first-hand the skills essential to this method. This track starts on Monday and ends on Wednesday with open sessions on Thursday and Friday.
Intermediate Track
The INTERMEDIATE TRACK is a three-day workshop that will highlight the following topics:
- managing the class during stories to maximize student engagement,
- taking suggestions and story details from students,
- moving beyond basic circling,
- adding variety to spice up your teaching,
- and finding your TPRS style in the classroom.
The Intermediate Track is designed for teachers that have been to a handful of workshops, are proficient in conducting lesson using storytelling strategies and have been a language teacher for more than 3 years. This track starts on Monday and ends on Wednesday with open sessions on Thursday and Friday. This year’s Intermediate Track will implement TPRS with Presenters Michelle Kindt and Craig Sheehy.
Advanced Track
The ADVANCED TRACK is a three day workshop designed for teachers that have been Teaching with TPRS and CI methods for multiple years. Teachers that have attended multiple workshops or conferences and are comfortable teaching novels, circling, triangling, personalization, and dramatization.
This track has a multiple presenters with varied topics to meet the advanced TPRS teachers’ needs! This workshop will consist of a cohort of experienced TPRS teachers who will reflect together and be coached in advanced TPRS skills: how to maximize personalization, spin highly personalized stories from creative student ideas and use TPRS techniques to engage in meaningful conversations with depth and complexity from beginning levels to AP. Learn to better manage a highly interactive classroom by developing a positive classroom environment. Visit K-12 classrooms via videoclips to see TPRS strategies in action and how well they align with the ACTFL CORE Practices.
Some of these sessions will be presented by Blaine Ray, Amy Marshall, Grant Boulanger, Adriana Ramírez, Sabrina Sebban-Janczak, Karen Rowan and more.
Chinese Track
The CHINESE TRACK is a three-day workshop taught in Mandarin Chinese. This is for teachers who teach Mandarin Chinese using TPRS.
Topics include:
- Chinese Demo: Story-asking – Getting Started
The purpose of this demo is to offer all participants in the Chinese track an opportunity to observe how collaborative storytelling is done. Participants will observe how the 3 steps of TPRS can be finished in an hour. They will also witness the power of pinyin text and Cold Character Reading.
- Story-Asking: Getting Started
Participants will look at backwards design concepts and how to intentionally select essential phrases for lessons and units. Working in small groups, participants will connect with the presenter and coaches as they design short story scripts. After designing scripts, participants will again work with the presenter and coaches via a number of hands-on practice activities, and practice the actual skill of story-asking with students.
- Story-Asking: Additional Skills
After being exposed to the basic skills necessary for story-asking, the third day continues with adding skills that move a story plot, create natural opportunities for repetition, and increase the amount of Comprehensible Input and interaction per lesson. Working with the presenter, coaches and other participants, the participants will observe and practice the following: utilizing more than one location, creating a parallel character, creating a parallel story, and personalization.
Elementary Track
Any K-8 teachers are welcome to join our cohort as various program models and age groups will be addressed throughout the ongoing workshop and all TPRS skill levels beginning, intermediate and advanced are welcome.
- transform your classroom communication with coaching in ESSENTIAL classroom management skills
- learn sample elementary stories in multiple languages
- be coached in TPRS skills for elementary / Movie Talk and MANY reading strategies
- learn how to blend TPR and content COMPREHENSIBLY
- get important tips to create a story-based curriculum
- adapt lessons to your specific needs in like-language/level small groups
- practice PQA and learn to create personalized stories with little ones
Keynote Speaker
Grant Boulanger
Beginner
Von Ray
Von is Blaine’s son. Von learned TPRS from his father / mentor. His passion for TPRS started at a young age as he taught middle school and high school Spanish for several years in CA. Von is a seasoned presenter and has given TPRS presentations nationwide. His TPRS passions include using student actors to enhance learning and the art of improvisation. He currently resides in Chandler, AZ his wife and 3 children. His oldest daughter, Kelci, recently completed a 100-hour Spanish class using TPRS with Blaine and tested intermediate mid on the ACTFL OPI.
Linda Li
Linda Li was born and raised in Shanghai, China. She is a master teacher and an author as well as an experienced TPRS trainer. Linda has presented at numerous national and international conferences and co-authored Beginning Mandarin Reader “Who is good looking” with Dr. Stephen Krashen. She is also the co-author of “I Love Learning Chinese” (Books 1, 2), containing TPRS teaching materials for beginning students. Linda has taught Mandarin to middle and high school students as well as adult learners for over 10 years. Her experience includes teaching at a number of international schools in China, Thailand and Saudi Arabia in addition to an urban school in Denver, Colorado. Linda is currently working in Shang-hai as an Assistant Principal.
Intermediate
Michelle Kindt
Michelle Kindt has over 20 years of teaching experience at both the middle and high school levels in public education. A National Board Certified teacher, Michelle currently works as a French teacher (Levels 1-AP) at Hershey High School in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Michelle has had the privilege of developing all of the curriculum for the high school French program. Michelle works with language teachers all over the country touting the message of Comprehensible Input (CI) and its significance to language acquisition and happy classrooms! As a teacher-trainer and coach, Michelle works with small cohorts of teachers over the course of each school year, introducing the cohort members to CI strategies and facilitating its use in their classrooms. In addition to state and local venues Michelle has had the privilege of presenting Comprehensible Input theories and strategies at national conferences, such as IFLT, NTPRS & ACTFL. She has worked with other school districts to develop curriculum and train teachers. She very much enjoys working with World Language teachers, encouraging them to teach for proficiency outcomes via acquisition-driven language instruction. Michelle believes that working with the right CI coach will make all the difference in using CI in your classroom!
Craig Sheehy
Craig, a former high school student of Blaine’s, Craig learned TPRS as a student teacher in 2005 and, after seeing tremendous results, has been passionate about ever since. Craig became a National Presenter for TPRS books in 2009 and now works and presents full time to a nationwide audience. He taught in the Nampa School District in Nampa, Idaho from 2005 to 2017. Craig has a Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish with a Business Minor and a Master’s in Education: Curriculum and Instruction from Boise State University. He has taught all levels of Spanish and taught as an adjunct professor in the Modern Languages and Literatures Department at Boise State University from 2003 to 2017 and the College of Western Idaho from 2009 to 2017. Craig has also served as President of both IATLC (Idaho Association of Teachers of Languages and Cultures) and PNCFL (Pacific Northwest Council for Languages). Craig currently resides in Nampa with his wife and five children.
Advanced
Blaine Ray
Blaine is the inventor of TPRS and author of several TPRS materials. Blaine developed and refined TPRS while teaching high school for over 20 years in Ontario, OR and Bakersfield, CA. During a 4-year period while teaching in CA, more of Blaine’s students passed the AP Spanish test than 13 other high schools in the district combined. Blaine is an experienced presenter and has given TPRS presentations in all 50 states and in many foreign countries in various settings. He currently resides with his family in Woods Cross, UT, where he continues to teach Spanish as a volunteer at a local high school and online on a regular basis. (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCttcQPNVdv043bjpRH5saww)
Adriana Ramírez
Adriana Ramirez works in Canada, in the province of British Columbia as a Spanish teacher. She has been a language teacher for more than 12 years. She is a well-known CI author and presenter. She has published several books with stories (in Spanish and French), to teach through storytelling and comprehensible input. She constantly presents at workshops in both Canada and the US. She trains and coaches teachers on applying CI techniques in the classroom, and welcomes guests to her classroom so they can see the power of TPRS first hand. You can watch a video of Adriana in her classroom on her youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsnrjR8QVCUD56gLPmycrug
Amy Marshall
Amy has been teaching for 18 years at the college, high school and middle school levels. For the past 11 years she has been teaching Spanish to children in grades 6-8. Amy used to be a passionate grammar teacher, but once she discovered the world of TPRS and other comprehensible input teaching techniques, there was no denying the success she was seeing in her students and there was no turning back! She is on a journey to constantly question and challenge herself and to become the best that she can be at this craft. It is exciting to have this growing community of like-minded educators to share and work with and to learn from!
When Amy is not teaching, she is a mother of five amazing kids, wife to a great guy and zookeeper to two rabbits, 4 cats, 1 dog and a horse. If she’s not playing with her kids, she’s working with her horse or hiding somewhere reading a book.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZlv2kL41ogvJgGhuFXTDww
Sabrina Janczak
Sabrina Janczak grew up in Paris France and now resides in Denver where she teaches High School and adults in Boulder. Sabrina coaches teachers on teaching using Comprehensible Input. She also regularly hosts language labs in which teachers come to observe her teach using best practices. Sabrina has been presenting at national and international conferences on teaching using Comprehensible input.
As a Teacher Leader for Denver public School she has contributed in writing World language Scope and Sequence, as well as DPS World Language Proficiency exams.
Sabrina has written Teacher Guides, as well as translated and edited several novels and curricula. She also enjoys recording the audio portion of TPRS novels.
Chinese
Pu-mei Leng
Pu-mei currently teaches high school Chinese at McDonogh School in Baltimore County. She has taught middle school at Hong Kong International School and middle school and high school at Montgomery Public School System since 2005. She has been teaching with the TPRS and Comprehensible Input methods for more than ten years and is a regular presenter and a coach at the annual National TPRS conference, the annual ACTFL national conference and several Chinese teachers associations. Pu-mei has mentored three Chinese teachers sponsored by the Council of International Education and the State Department and two student teachers from the University of Maryland. Her interest is in content-based curriculum development and writing. She has published ten leveled readers for Chinese language learners.
Elementary
Jason Fritz
Jason Fritze has over 20 years of teaching experience at all levels (elementary, middle, high school, and university) in public (urban and suburban) as well as independent (private) education. A National Board Certified teacher, Jason currently develops curriculum and teaches in the elementary Spanish language program for Laguna Beach Unified schools in where he resides in Laguna Beach, CA. He works with language teachers around the globe in CI-based approaches, including TPRS & TPR, content-based instruction, reading strategies, reader’s theatre, etc. Jason also teaches intensive Spanish and French language classes to adult learners and is one of the cofounders of iFLT. Jason is a Nationally Board Certified Teacher (WLOE-Spanish). As a teacher trainer and coach he has worked with thousands of language teachers throughout the United States, Latin America, Europe and Asia.
Closing Speaker
To be announced soon!
A PRE-CONFERENCE Workshop is available for this year’s conference: COACHING FOR COACHES. Check out the description below.
Coaching for Coaches
Pre-conference full-day Workshop ($100)
July 19, 2020 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
This workshop is great for those who are or aspiring to be mentors, cooperating teachers, department chairs, or PLC leaders who already have a strong understanding of the steps of TPRS and/or TCI teaching.
The Coaching for Coaches full-day workshop takes participants through a series of activities to unleash their inner-coach while preparing them to return to their communities to support others on their TPRS journeys. Using the coaching team’s model, participants will not only reflect on their own skills but will also develop the language and demeanor needed to help others grow in a not threatening way. This workshop is great for those who are or aspiring to be mentors, cooperating teachers, department chairs, or PLC leaders who already have a strong understanding of the steps of TPRS and/or TCI teaching.
Fluency Fast Language Classes
Being a student of a language you don’t know well is an excellent way of reflecting on your own practice as a teacher. Therefore, Fluency Fast classes will be a part of each attendees experience this year. Fluency Fast is a program that uses TPRS to gain fluency fast. They will be incorporated into the conference this year as has been done in the past. Please indicate your choices in your registration (1st, 2nd and 3rd) of which class you would like to attend. Since there is limited room, classes will fill on a first come first served basis.
POSSIBLE CLASSES AVAILABLE:
- Multilevel Spanish
- Multilevel French
- Beginning Mandarin
If you would like to follow up with more language classes after the Conference, click here to go to FluencyFast.com.
Hotel Info
ADDRESS:
DOUBLE TREE
1500 Park Place Blvd
Minneapolis, MN 55416
Phone: 1 800-245-9190 or 1 952-542-8600
Website: Click here for special NTPRS 2020 hotel room rates.
DATES:
Join us on July 20-24, 2020
COSTS: The special conference rate until June 27, 2020:
Single and Double Rooms – $139/night
Junior Suite – $179/night
ROOM SHARE
Attending NTPRS? Interested in sharing a room? Split costs! Save money! Meet new people!
Click here to add your name to the list.
Travel and Leisure Info
AIRPORTS NEARBY:
- MSP
TRANSPORTATION FROM THE AIRPORT TO THE HOTEL:
Rideshare options- *remember to have the Apps installed and ready on your device before you leave
UBER: https://auth.uber.com/login/?uber_client_name=riderSignUp
LYFT: https://g.co/kgs/wijtTv
WHERE TO EAT DINNER
Area Restaurants: Yangtze, TGIFridays, Leeann Chin, Jersey Mikes, Yardhouse, Jimmy Johns, Subway, Arby’s
THINGS TO DO
On hotel property: Fitness Center, Swimming, Shuttle within a 5 mile radius
In the area: The hotel is west of downtown, across from the Shops at West End and minutes from the Minneapolis Convention Center, Target Center, U.S. Bank Stadium, and Mall of America.
Meal Info (available for sale until June 21, 2020)
Monday Lunch (Keynote Luncheon) and Friday Lunch (Conference Closing Luncheon) will be provided.
Breakfast – Monday through Friday is available for $100
Lunch – Tuesday through Thursday is available for $100 (Lunch on Monday and Friday are included in the price of registration)
General Info for Potential Exhibitors
Join us on July 20-24, 2020
Registration deadline: July 4, 2020
Fill out the Exhibitor Form here.
DOUBLE TREE
1500 Park Place Blvd
Minneapolis, MN 55416
Exhibitor Registration – $400
Includes one 6′ table and 1 name badge
Extra tables – $200/each
Extra name badges – $300 each
For questions and Exhibitor registration payment contact:
andrea.schweitzer@yahoo.com
214.497.6993
EXHIBITORS
TPRS BOOKS – http:/www.tprsbooks.com
Registration
The conference registration includes Monday Keynote Luncheon and Friday Luncheon, and all NTPRS workshops and sessions July 20-24, 2020.
Registration Pricing Schedule:
$379 Nov 2 – Feb 2
$409 Feb 3 – May 31
$439 Jun 1 – Jul 7
$459 Jul 8 – July 20
Be sure to REGISTER FOR ONE OF THE LEVELS OF TRAINING
To determine which level of training you need, click here or on the PROGRAM INFO tab.
Room Share
Attending NTPRS? Interested in sharing a room? Split costs! Save money! Meet new people!
Click here to add your name to the list.
University Credit is available
Click the link below for more information on how to get University Credit for attending NTPRS!