Voices of Every Community: 2025 MCTLC Language Conference

Maureen Elwell Peltier
Nov 18, 2025
2 min read

Updated: Dec 3, 2025

Celebrating Multilingualism, Equity, and Innovation in Minnesota Classrooms

By Maureen Elwell Peltier

November 18, 2025

The 2025 Minnesota Council on the Teaching of Languages and Cultures (MCTLC) Conference took place on November 14–15, 2025 at Metro State University, St. Paul campus, marking another year in the long-standing tradition of Minnesota’s premier gathering for language and culture educators.

A Conference Rooted in a Mission

MCTLC, founded in 1961, serves as a statewide hub for educators at all levels who teach languages and cultures, from elementary school through higher education. With a conference theme of “Language of All, Language for All: Advocating for Language Education”, the 2025 event focused on promoting access to language instruction, celebrating linguistic diversity, and supporting educators across Minnesota.

Attendees had rich opportunities for professional development and community-building. The conference featured a mix of workshops and sessions over two days, designed for language teachers, heritage-language instructors, and those working in multicultural education.

Among the highlights:

Presentations and sessions supported by CARLA (Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition, University of Minnesota), showcasing work on heritage language learning, bilingual seal programs, and culturally responsive language teaching.
After an open call for proposals, educators of Minnesota’s represented languages stepped forward and presented a variety of topics of interest to language and culture educators. Some exampled included focusing on inclusive classrooms, immigrant and BIPOC voices, heritage-language teaching, and use of technology in language learning.

In addition, each year MCTLC recognizes the extraordinary work of language teachers and advocates. Awards include but are not limited to: Minnesota World Language Teacher of the Year, the Pro Lingua Award, the Administrator Award, the Early Career Award. This year’s recipients can be found on the MCTLC website.

The MCTLC conference consistently offers excellent sessions that address the genuine needs of language teachers. I always look forward to it.

Purpose and Commitment

The MCTLC conference brings together a community of educators who share a passion for languages, culture, and equity in education. The 2025 gathering, with its inclusive theme and robust programming, reinforced MCTLC’s commitment to advancing language education throughout Minnesota. As a continuing affiliate of national and regional language-teaching organizations (such as ACTFL, CSCTFL, and JNCL) the conference helps educators stay connected to broader movements in world-language teaching while investing locally.

For many attendees, this experience was more than a professional development event, it was a reaffirmation of their work’s value, a celebration of linguistic and cultural diversity, and a place to build relationships that strengthen language education statewide.