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Slipping in Slang
When: Wednesday, February 19, 2020 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Presenter: David Burke
Webinar Description:
Is teaching idioms not your cup of tea? Do you puzzle over how best to incorporate teaching idioms and slang into your lesson plans? Do students greet you with ‘wassup?’ and you wonder whether you should go there? If so, join the crowd.
Our presenter will address the importance of teaching idioms and slang as a way to help students quickly integrate into their new environment, achieve true fluency, and give them the confidence to connect with their Canadian peers. He will address the newest slang permeating your classroom via teen students’ social media platforms.
During this webinar, our presenter will review:
- Unusual yet popular contractions & reductions,
- Accents from all over North America,
- Regionalisms,
- Deliveries of speech that change the meaning of a word or phrase,
- Grunts & groans in place of words,
- Acronyms & initials used everyday,
- Intonation & sarcasm,
- Idioms & play on words,
- Incorrect English that has become correct and now in official dictionaries,
- English being obscene unintentionally – common words & gestures and their shocking double meanings.
Webinar Type: General
Categories: Listening, pronunciation, grammar, speaking, conversation, culture
Participant Level: All levels
Being a polyglot, David Burke was all too familiar with the confusion that can come from not knowing a language’s slang or idioms. His love of language has, in part, led him to write and publish a range of books on this topic. His varied radio and TV career has included a regular segment on Voice of America, the broadcast network of the United States government. In addition, he has created and stars in a children’s TV show, introducing foreign languages and cultures in an environment of music, animation, and magic.
Twitter: @TheRealSlangman
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidburketv/
* Members must be a member of the TESL Ontario group on Tutela.
Using ESL Students as Instructional Resources
When: Sunday, February 23, 2020 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Presenter: Mostafa Hasrati, OCELT
Webinar Description:
Are you looking for innovative ways to encourage your students to participate and interact? Why not tap into the personal knowledge and experiences each student brings to the classroom? Are you open to having students lead the class, sharing their knowledge and experiences? If so, join us for this webinar.
Our presenter will explain how ESL learners can be employed as instructional resources in ESL classes. He will first review the theoretical rationale and foundations for this procedure, specifically:
- Cognitive foundations,
- Affective purposes,
- Communicative outcomes (information gap, choice, feedback, purpose),
- Social constructionist foundations (Communities of Practice).
He will then elaborate by providing some practical examples of how this can be implemented, such as:
- Seminar presentations,
- Focus group discussions and workshops.
Webinar Type: General
Categories: Lesson planning, lesson ideas, instructional design
Participant Level: All levels
Mostafa Hasrati has a PhD in education from King’s College London, UK, and is currently a TESL teacher trainer at Seneca College. He also teaches English for Academic Purposes and English courses at George Brown College. He has published 18 research papers and book chapters, and his research focuses on literacy within social contexts.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mostafa-hasrati-ph-d-ocelt-a7982660/?origina...
Website: https://mostafahasrati.weebly.com/
* Members must be a member of the TESL Ontario group on Tutela.
A Consideration of Intercultural Curricula
When: Sunday, March 22, 2020 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Presenter: Alanna Carter
Webinar Description:
Does your class consist of students from around the world? Do your students sometimes struggle to relate to you as their instructor and to other students from different backgrounds? Do you want to foster more connection and intercultural understanding among the members of your class? If so, this webinar will be of interest to you.
Our presenter will discuss the need for intercultural curricula in the Canadian context and offer classroom activities to encourage intercultural connection and learning.
This webinar will address the following questions:
- What is an intercultural curriculum?
- What are some of the challenges and strengths of an intercultural curriculum?
- What are some strategies and activities for the intercultural ESL class?
Webinar Type: General
Categories: Lesson planning, lesson ideas, curriculum, culture
Participant Level: All levels
Alanna Carter has a Master of Education in Curriculum & Instruction from the University of New Brunswick. She is an English language instructor in the Real Institute at Ryerson University and in the Green Path program at the University of Toronto. She has worked on curriculum development projects for various stakeholders and student populations. She has strong interests in supporting international students and fostering environments that encourage culture and diversity.
* Members must be a member of the TESL Ontario group on Tutela.
The BlendSync Approach to Teaching ESL: Pedagogy and Technology
When: Thursday, March 26, 2020 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Presenter: Dmitri Priven, OCELT & Donald Moen
Webinar Description:
Have you ever considered the possibility of your students telecommuting to class? How can integrating on-site and remote (online) students affect your class environment? What tools would you need to be able to do everything you do in a face-to-face class through a web-conference? Those are the questions being addressed in this webinar.
This webinar will focus on best practices in delivering BlendSync (blended synchronous) classes from a brick-and-mortar classroom for on-site and online students simultaneously. Our presenters’ approach to delivering BlendSync classes envisions live learning activities integrating both on-site and online students in one collaborative learning space.
By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:
- identify interactive pedagogical approaches in teaching ESL and content courses that lend themselves well to BlendSync,
- identify the main features and affordances of web-conferencing tools used for blended synchronous delivery of ESL classes,
- select appropriate audiovisual hardware that would support the BlendSync approach discussed,
- establish the limitations of this approach for ESL teaching purposes and ways to mitigate them.
Webinar Type: Technology
Categories: Technology, classroom management, instructional design, blended teaching, blended learning, online teaching, online learning
Participant Level: Moderate level
Both presenters are professors at Algonquin college. Dmitri is also the program coordinator of its TESL/TEFL program. Both have extensive backgrounds in all aspects of teaching adult ESL in Canada and internationally.
Dmitri is currently completing his Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics. His current research interests are form-focused instruction in English for Academic Purposes programs. He has also published on teacher training in online synchronous environments.
Donald’s research interests include intercultural communication, educational technology, online education, and educational leadership.
* Members must be a member of the TESL Ontario group on Tutela.
What's New in the Best Practices Directory in 2020
When: Thursday, April 23, 2020 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Presenter: Julianne Burgess, OCELT
Webinar Description:
Are you familiar with TESL Ontario’s Best Practices Directory? If so, join us to hear about new resources added over the past year. If the directory is new to you, then join us to learn more. We hope you’ll make the directory an invaluable go-to resource.
The directory is an online collection of hundreds of ready-to-use materials that have been carefully selected by teachers to meet the needs of busy professionals. These resources have been vetted to meet quality and suitability for the needs of adult learners across levels, including usefulness for PBLA classrooms.
What can you expect to learn at this webinar?
- A review of the topic areas available, including citizenship, PBLA, special needs, and literacy,
- Tools to assist last-minute supply teachers,
- Highlights of the new materials,
- How you can give input as to what you’d like to see on this site.
To access the Directory of Best Practices, go to: http://bestpractices.teslontario.org
Webinar Type: This webinar is part of the Best Practices webinar series. This series is funded by the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration (MCI).
Categories: Lesson planning, lesson ideas, PBLA
Participant Level: No previous knowledge required.
Julianne Burgess is program manager for the TESL Ontario Directory of Best Practices. She is also a LINC instructor at Mohawk College in Hamilton. Julianne has a Master of Education from Brock University, and is also a PhD student in the Educational Studies program there.
* Members must be a member of the TESL Ontario group on Tutela.
Mentoring Student Teachers - Fostering Instructional Development
When: Wednesday, April 29, 2020 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Presenter: Sharmaine Itwaru
Webinar Description:
Have you ever mentored a student teacher? Did you feel fully equipped to do so? Did you struggle with the developmental aspects of this process? Did you feel your feedback was effective enough?
This webinar will focus on how to mentor student teachers as a developmental process leading to an enhanced level of classroom instruction. Utilizing disorienting dilemmas as a technique, instructors will learn how to effectively identify critical incidents in practicum placements, as well as dialogue with student teachers through a critically reflective process. Demonstrated examples of this technique used with former TESL students will be shared.
Webinar Type: General
Categories: Instructor development
Participant Level: Beginner level
Dr. Sharmaine Itwaru is a graduate of the University of Toronto (OISE) in Curriculum, Teaching and Learning (M.Ed) and the University of Calgary in Adult Education (EdD). She has been a professor at George Brown College for the past fifteen years and has coordinated and taught in the English for Academic Purposes as well as the College Teacher Training programs. She is also an instructor at Brock University in the Bachelor of Education Program in Adult Education. As a passionate educator of adults, her experience in teaching ESL, TESL, and instructional development spans many years in higher education institutions.
* Members must be a member of the TESL Ontario group on Tutela.
Blended Learning to Optimize Teamwork
When: Thursday, June 18, 2020 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Presenters: Maria Pop, OCELT & Aga Wolczuk, OCELT
Webinar Description:
Are you finding that your EAP classes are too centred on individual work and instructor presentation of material? Do you want to give students more chances to practice communication skills and teamwork to prepare for their future workplaces?
Our presenters will show you how technologies promoting blended learning can be used for group work and give students the opportunity to develop teamwork and communication skills.
This webinar will:
- Introduce technology that can be successfully used for group work (Padlet, Google slides, & Kahoot games),
- Outline steps for using such technology
- Show how these tools can be used to increase cooperation among students in oral communication courses (and possibly other courses),
- Provide strategies for optimizing teamwork and increasing task efficiency with these tools.
Webinar Type: Technology
Categories: Technology, blended teaching, blended learning
Participant Level: No previous knowledge required
Maria Pop and Aga Wolczuk are both lecturers of English Language Studies at Renison University College, University of Waterloo.
Maria has been teaching both writing and speaking communication skills courses at Renison for the past seven years and has a particular interest in online learning and developing materials for online courses that maximize both instructor-student and peer-peer interaction.
Aga has taught both oral and written communication classes at Renison for 10 years. She has always been striving to increase student practice time and has been excited to learn about different technology tools helpful in achieving this objective.
* Members must be a member of the TESL Ontario group on Tutela.