Coming Soon! TESLNB and TESL Canada join forces for a stellar day of learning and community partnership on June 9th. View the poster here.

The day will include three Professional Learning sessions, as well as the Annual General Meeting for both TESLNB and TESL Canada.

Register now to save your spot! This meeting is free for members; $20 for non-members; or, buy your annual membership for both TESLNB and TESL Canada for a one-time fee  of $60 and attend for free! Become a member here.

Here is a sneak peak at the professional learning sessions offered on June 9th:

Presentation #1: Reflections on teaching EAL: ◊ Hope ◊ Story ◊ Humour - Judy Sillito
A collection of personal stories and reflections on 30 years of teaching English to refugees that invite us to think about the important work of teaching, learning, and intercultural engagement and its connection to the connection to hope, humour, and heart.

Presentation #2: First Steps to Employment - Judy Sillito
In 2016, in Alberta, a group of us asked the question:  What supports would need to be in place in order for immigrants and refugees who face multiple barriers to employment and have low English language skills to achieve their employment goals?  This presentation will outline the innovative features of a pilot program that was designed to provide language, cultural supports, and skills training for refugees and immigrants with low language skills and complex barriers to work readiness. The outcomes in of the pilot saw 29 of 30 participants successfully finding work and we are now in our second year of program delivery.

Judy Sillito works in adult education primarily in the immigrant-serving sector where she has worked in English as an Additional Language, settlement, narrative approaches, hope studies, diversity and inclusion, and digital storytelling.  She is employed in an immigrant serving agency in Edmonton, AB. Currently she is Past President of TESL Canada and is also a past president of ATESL. She is keenly interested in alternative approaches to language instruction and cultural diversity as they relate to education and program development.

Presentation #2: Teaching Multi-Level Classes - Dr. Dianne Tyers
Many teachers, especially those in smaller language programs with fewer language levels and classes, are faced with the challenge of teaching classes in which the students have a variety of language proficiency levels.  This session presents strategies for how to design and implement classroom materials, activities and assessments in order to meet the needs of students at multiple language roficiency levels.

Dr. Dianne Tyers has 27 years of experience in the English language education sector, as a teacher, teacher educator, manager, program developer, program evaluator and researcher.  Dianne has worked across Canada and globally on both short-term and long-term projects, for both public and private sector organizations.  Dianne has a PhD from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto, an MBA from the Ivey School of Business, Western University, and a Masters of Arts in Applied Linguistics from the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.  Dianne currently runs Advance Consulting for Education, Inc, an education consulting company and a leading provider of English language teacher training.

See you on June 9th for a great day of learning and networking!