The 2008 Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, a joint conference with the Michigan World Language Association, focused on learning about the diverse backgrounds and needs of today's students and discovering new ways to help them succeed in reaching the goal of language proficiency. A wide variety of workshops and sessions offered practical advice on how to deal with reluctant learners on a variety of levels. Immersion-type workshops and sessions were offered to help participants brush up on their language skills, and participants were brought up-to-date on topics such as foreign language advocacy, advanced placement, technology, assessment, culture, brain-based learning, and much more. In addition to "Best of" presentations from 15 states, the program included several encore presentations from last year's "All-Star" presenters. This volume offers the reader a wealth of research based approaches and strategies to language teaching and learning designed to assist the language educator in creating a learning environment that will motivate and engage all students in the language classroom. These articles focus on best practices representing theory-based instruction designed to optimize language communication skills and cultural knowledge for all learners.