The 2027 Language First conference will be in-person at the Hyatt Place St. Augustine / Vilano Beach at 117 Vilano Road, St. Augustine, FL on April 27-29, 2027. It will be from 12:00 - 5:00 pm on Tuesday, April 27, and 8:00 am - 5:00 pm on Wednesday, April 28 and Thursday, April 29. To book a room at the hotel, use this booking link.
See full schedule and session descriptions here.
ADVERTISEMENT & SPONSORSHIP
Want to exhibit in-person or advertise your business in our conference booklet? Or perhaps you’d like to support us by becoming a conference sponsor? Find out more here.
GROUP DISCOUNTS
Does your school have a group of professionals who would like to attend the conference together? Take a look at our group discounts. Email info@language1st.org for more information.
GETTING THERE
We recommend flying into Jacksonville International Airport (JAX).
SCHEDULE AT-A-GLANCE
Tuesday, April 27
8 am - 12 pm | Registration check-in and vendor set-up
12-12:30 pm | 10th annual conference welcome and video, “The Story of the Language First Conference”
12:30-1:30 pm | Julie Kessluk & Kaycee Rebello, Beyond the Running Record: Rethinking Reading Assessment for ASL Users.
*lunch provided
1:45-2:45 pm | Dr. Deborah Chen Pichler & Dr. Diane Lillo-Martin, How Effective is Early ASL Input if it’s not “Fluent” Input?
3-4 pm | William Fertman, Read to Your Deaf Kid Because No One Else Will (with Some Exceptions)
4-5 pm | Book signing, closing, giveaways
Wednesday, April 28
8:15-9:15 am | Dr. Elaine Gale & Dr. Shane Blau, Making Early Language Work: Learning from Deaf Adults’ Visual Strategies
9:30-10:30 am | Jamila Hubbard, ASL Linguistics in the Classroom: From Language Knowledge to Teaching Practice
11 am - 12 pm | Rhys McGovern, Embedding Culture: Deaf Mentoring in the Mainstream Classroom
12-2 pm | Lunch on own
2-3 pm | Dr. Emily Jo Noschese, Using Bilingual Grammar Curriculum Assessment Data to Inform ASL-English Bilingual Instruction
3:15-4:15 pm | Dr. Brittany Lee & Dr. Kristen Secora, Social Determinants of Language Access
4:15-4:45 pm | Elisa Abenchuchan Vita, Exploring the #CommSciences Tag in the TrueWay ASL Dictionary App (optional)
4:45-5:00 pm | Closing, giveaways
7:30 pm | Accessible sunset water tour (optional add-on)
Thursday, April 29
8:15-11:15 am | Vyron Kinson, Is BASL fo' Real?
11:30 am - 12 pm | Ariel Baeseman-O'Donnell and Mary Grace Hamme, POSTERS: Deaf Education in Ethiopia; AAC Support Classes for DHH Students; Instructor Perceptions of Neurodivergence in ASL Classrooms
12-2 pm | Lunch on own
2-3 pm | Eliza Porter & Geoffrey Porter, Alternative Augmentative Communication for Hearing Parents
3:15-4:15 pm | Marissa Chappell, Reforming Outcomes Measurement for Deaf Children in Early Intervention
4:15-4:30 pm | Closing, giveaways
This is a digital purchase only; no physical ticket is provided. A form will populate for you to complete your registration and then your purchase will be added to your cart in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. Please email info@language1st.org with any questions.
The 2027 Language First conference will be in-person at the Hyatt Place St. Augustine / Vilano Beach at 117 Vilano Road, St. Augustine, FL on April 27-29, 2027. It will be from 12:00 - 5:00 pm on Tuesday, April 27, and 8:00 am - 5:00 pm on Wednesday, April 28 and Thursday, April 29. To book a room at the hotel, use this booking link.
See full schedule and session descriptions here.
ADVERTISEMENT & SPONSORSHIP
Want to exhibit in-person or advertise your business in our conference booklet? Or perhaps you’d like to support us by becoming a conference sponsor? Find out more here.
GROUP DISCOUNTS
Does your school have a group of professionals who would like to attend the conference together? Take a look at our group discounts. Email info@language1st.org for more information.
GETTING THERE
We recommend flying into Jacksonville International Airport (JAX).
SCHEDULE AT-A-GLANCE
Tuesday, April 27
8 am - 12 pm | Registration check-in and vendor set-up
12-12:30 pm | 10th annual conference welcome and video, “The Story of the Language First Conference”
12:30-1:30 pm | Julie Kessluk & Kaycee Rebello, Beyond the Running Record: Rethinking Reading Assessment for ASL Users.
*lunch provided
1:45-2:45 pm | Dr. Deborah Chen Pichler & Dr. Diane Lillo-Martin, How Effective is Early ASL Input if it’s not “Fluent” Input?
3-4 pm | William Fertman, Read to Your Deaf Kid Because No One Else Will (with Some Exceptions)
4-5 pm | Book signing, closing, giveaways
Wednesday, April 28
8:15-9:15 am | Dr. Elaine Gale & Dr. Shane Blau, Making Early Language Work: Learning from Deaf Adults’ Visual Strategies
9:30-10:30 am | Jamila Hubbard, ASL Linguistics in the Classroom: From Language Knowledge to Teaching Practice
11 am - 12 pm | Rhys McGovern, Embedding Culture: Deaf Mentoring in the Mainstream Classroom
12-2 pm | Lunch on own
2-3 pm | Dr. Emily Jo Noschese, Using Bilingual Grammar Curriculum Assessment Data to Inform ASL-English Bilingual Instruction
3:15-4:15 pm | Dr. Brittany Lee & Dr. Kristen Secora, Social Determinants of Language Access
4:15-4:45 pm | Elisa Abenchuchan Vita, Exploring the #CommSciences Tag in the TrueWay ASL Dictionary App (optional)
4:45-5:00 pm | Closing, giveaways
7:30 pm | Accessible sunset water tour (optional add-on)
Thursday, April 29
8:15-11:15 am | Vyron Kinson, Is BASL fo' Real?
11:30 am - 12 pm | Ariel Baeseman-O'Donnell and Mary Grace Hamme, POSTERS: Deaf Education in Ethiopia; AAC Support Classes for DHH Students; Instructor Perceptions of Neurodivergence in ASL Classrooms
12-2 pm | Lunch on own
2-3 pm | Eliza Porter & Geoffrey Porter, Alternative Augmentative Communication for Hearing Parents
3:15-4:15 pm | Marissa Chappell, Reforming Outcomes Measurement for Deaf Children in Early Intervention
4:15-4:30 pm | Closing, giveaways
This is a digital purchase only; no physical ticket is provided. A form will populate for you to complete your registration and then your purchase will be added to your cart in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. Please email info@language1st.org with any questions.
Image 1 of 19
Image 2 of 19
Image 3 of 19
Image 4 of 19
Image 5 of 19
Image 6 of 19
Image 7 of 19
Image 8 of 19
Image 9 of 19
Image 10 of 19
Image 11 of 19
Image 12 of 19
Image 13 of 19
Image 14 of 19
Image 15 of 19
Image 16 of 19
Image 17 of 19
Image 18 of 19
Image 19 of 19
