WTAMU to host regional language teaching workshop

CANYON, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — The Panhandle Language Teachers Association at West Texas A&M University announced it will celebrate its fifth anniversary during a unique workshop designed to provide training for area instructors.

PLTA’s 2024 Teacher Development Workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 13 in the Classroom Center on WT’s Canyon campus. About 70 area language teachers are expected to participate. Officials noted that the workshop is co-sponsored by Clarendon College and WT’s Department of English, Philosophy, and Modern Languages.

According to WT officials, PTLA, affiliated with WT’s Spanish program at the Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine Arts and Humanities, is the only organization offering professional development for language teachers in the Panhandle region.

Dr. Tim Foster, a Spanish teacher at Oskaloosa High School in Oskaloosa, Iowa, was a Teacher Fellow with the National Book Foundation in 2023-2024, where he implemented a project using book circles and free reading in Spanish class. A former assistant professor of Spanish at WT, he helped found the PLTA and has taught all levels of Spanish. WT officials said his research has focused on local Hispanic cultural heritage in the Texas Panhandle, the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, and music and literature in early modern Spain.

“Language learning enriches lives in countless ways, both intellectually and socially,” said Dr. Eduardo Huaytan-Martinez, assistant professor of Spanish and director of WT’s Spanish program. “It not only broadens horizons but also equips individuals with the skills and perspective necessary to thrive in an increasingly globalized world.”

WTAMU officials also noted that a lifetime achievement award will be presented.

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