ACTR Teachers' Lounges

ACTR offers its members an opportunity to have regular virtual Teachers' Lounges to exchange ideas, strategies, approaches to teaching, and specific activities for a Russian language classroom. 

Typically each Teacher's Lounge is focused on a specific topic, but teachers are always able to share any ideas or seek advice on any topic of interest. The Lounges are open to all active ACTR members. Please follow links below to register for any or all scheduled Lounges.

If you are a graduate student (non-member) requesting a registration fee waiver, email the committee co-chairs to get your registration code.

   Contact us
 
   Anna Asadov-Ossowska
   annaossow at gmail.com
   Maria Khotimsky
   khotimsk at mit.edu
   Olesya Kisselev
   kisselev at mailbox.sc.edu     Irina Kogel, co-chair
   ikogel at bu.edu
   Mollie Messick
   mwmessick at alaska.edu
​   Alexandra Shapiro, co-
   chair, aeshapiro at                 uga.edu


Please contact organizers with questions or suggestions for topics.

Upcoming events

  • “Новое — хорошо забытое старое”

    • 10 Sep 2026
    • 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
    • Zoom
    Register

    Join us for the first Professional Development event of the fall, a Teachers’ sandbox for rediscovering tried-and-true activities, games, and classroom tasks from the pre-digital era. 

    The session will offer a chance to think about class activities through the lens of “technological detox”: What can we do in the language classroom when we put the devices away? What kinds of activities offer something that AI and apps simply cannot replace? Bring back a favorite activity that requires no technology and can be pulled out of your sleeve in a pinch! We invite everyone to share and demonstrate a favorite activity that has stood the test of time.

    Show details

Past events

24 Apr 2026 High Impact Strategies for Teaching Tricky Grammar
27 Mar 2026 Embracing the AAC&U VALUE Rubrics
12 Mar 2026 Teachers' Lounge - Favorite Resources Refresher
27 Feb 2026 Follow-up Teachers' Lounge - Cultivating Compassion Together: Reflections and Classroom Applications
30 Oct 2025 Follow-Up Teachers' Lounge on Media Literacy in the Context of AI
03 Oct 2025 Follow-up Teacher's Lounge on AI in the Russian Classroom Webinar
11 Sep 2025 Технологическая песочница - AI for instructor use
08 May 2025 Teachers' Lounge Follow-up: ACTR 50th Anniversary Conference
27 Mar 2025 Teachers' Lounge Follow-up on Pragmatic and Intercultural Competence in the Language Classroom
27 Feb 2025 Teachers' Lounge: Teaching Grammar with a Purpose: Approaches to Scaffolding Grammar Acquisition in Communicative Contexts
06 Feb 2025 Teachers' Lounge: Enhancing Spontaneous Interaction and Language Production in the Classroom
17 Jan 2025 Технологическая песочница - Canva: Online Graphic Design Tool for Russian Language Instruction and Program Promotion
19 Dec 2024 Program Highlights from the Fall and Looking to the Spring Semester
05 Dec 2024 Технологическая песочница: AI Applications in the Classroom Beyond ChatGPT
15 Nov 2024 Teachers' Lounge: Classroom or Curricular Challenges: Brainstorming Solutions
01 Nov 2024 Engaging Every Student in Precollege and Postsecondary Classrooms
17 Oct 2024 Teachers' Lounge: Successful Instructional Strategies for Linking Input to Output
04 Oct 2024 Teachers' Lounge: Stimulating Sustained Conversations at Intermediate and Advanced Levels
06 Sep 2024 Технологическая песочница: Alternatives to Flip
23 May 2024 Program Highlights from the Spring and Looking to the Next Academic Year
12 Apr 2024 Technological Sandbox: WordWall
22 Mar 2024 Teachers' Lounge: Follow-up discussion of genAI in the RLC
01 Mar 2024 Teachers' Lounge: follow-up to "Teaching Russian during the War through Songs and Visual Arts"
14 Dec 2023 Teachers' Lounge: Program Highlights
01 Dec 2023 Teachers' Lounge: Advocacy Efforts
09 Nov 2023 Teachers' Lounge: Placement Methods
27 Oct 2023 Teachers' Lounge: Strategies for Retention
05 Oct 2023 ACTR Open House and Teachers' Lounge
22 Sep 2023 Teachers' Lounge: Student Recruitment
14 Apr 2023 Teachers' Lounge: follow-up on Feedback webinar
31 Mar 2023 Teachers' Lounge: evaluating students' cultural knowledge
17 Mar 2023 Teachers' Lounge: follow-up discussion on Ungrading
03 Mar 2023 Teachers' Lounge: follow-up discussion on supporting students with learning disabilities
20 Jan 2023 Teachers' Lounge: lessons learned from hearing diverse voices from the field
13 Jan 2023 Listening to Diverse Voices in the Field, part II (Teachers' Lounge)
16 Dec 2022 Teachers's Lounge
07 Oct 2022 ACTR Teachers' Lounge: Teaching Russian today
29 Apr 2022 Teachers' Lounge: Community-based teaching
01 Apr 2022 Teachers' Lounge: Project-based learning
04 Mar 2022 Teachers' Lounge: Teaching Culture through Film
04 Feb 2022 Teachers' Lounge: Supporting Students in Pre-college and College Russian Language Classrooms through the World-Readiness Standards
03 Dec 2021 ACTR Teachers' Lounge: Heritage learners in mixed language classes (Differentiating Assessment)
12 Nov 2021 ACTR Teachers' Lounge: Heritage learners in mixed language classes (Types of Assignments)
29 Oct 2021 ACTR Teachers' Lounge: Heritage learners in mixed language classes
15 Oct 2021 ACTR Teachers' Lounge on classroom activities/games
01 Oct 2021 ACTR Teachers' Lounge on lessons learned from teaching online
16 Apr 2021 ACTR Teachers' Lounge. Grading for Equity: Best practices
09 Apr 2021 ACTR Teachers' Lounge. Grading for Equity: Principles, Paradoxes, Problems

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