More than 200 participants at the New York City Association of Foreign Language Teachers/UFT’s 22nd annual conference left UFT headquarters in Manhattan “with a repertoire of materials that will keep them busy for the next few months of teaching,” said teacher Nunzia Manginelli of Esperanza Preparatory Academy in Manhattan, the group’s vice president and the conference chairperson. The Nov. 16 event featured 20 workshops, many hands-on, around the theme “World Language Proficiencies: Celebrating Our Shift to Global Connections.” Twelve of the workshops were in Spanish, three each in Italian and French, and two in Chinese. They did everything from deepen understanding of core practices to foster camaraderie through “speed dating” with Cantonese flash cards. Robin Birnbaum, a Spanish teacher at Brooklyn’s Edward R. Murrow HS, said a session in Chinese was especially illuminating for her. “It was wonderful to experience learning similar to that of my students,” she said.