Ontario’s Directory of Best Practices for Language Training began with a mandate from the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration in 2016 to identify best practice resources in programming and delivery that respond to diverse needs of learners (including ESL, FSL, ESL Literacy, Specialized Language Training, Citizenship, Special Needs and CLARS). Sources available for ESL practitioners and parallel work was done for the FSL community. The Directory went live in November 2017.
Originally intended for a print document, MCI generously allowed the project to develop a web portal and are continuing to fund the site until March 2021. This will allow the team to keep material current and add new resources as they are recommended. In order to recommend a resource, please bestpractices@teslontario.org .
The Research Team developed a list of criteria for resources to meet for inclusion:
- proven value based on a literature review (including Alberta TESL’s Best Practices document)
- instructor/user response through consultations in province-wide focus groups
- key informant interviews and
- an online survey of instructors and administrators
The Team asked
Is it…
- relevant to the curriculum and needs of adult ESL/FSL learners
- relevant to MCI objectives, as stated in the Keystone Concepts new curriculum guidelines and the Canadian Language Benchmarks
- accessible
Does it…
- contain clear guidelines to support teaching and learning processes, assessment and expected outcomes
- provide support for teaching and learning classroom content