May 29
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June 7 | Vicarious Trauma in English-Language Teaching |
June 15
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June 22
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July 20
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July 27
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August 25
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August 31
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Sept 22
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Sept 28
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Nov 20
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Access to TESL Ontario webinars |
TESL Ontario members will continue to enjoy all TESL Ontario webinars for FREE as a benefit of membership. Members must be a member of the TESL Ontario group on Tutela. However, TESL Ontario webinars are now available to non-members for a fee of $30+taxes for each webinar. This includes:
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Assessment for Learning: the Road to Improvement 
Sponsored by International Test of English Proficiency
When: Sunday, May 29, 3:00 - 4:00pm
Please note early start time
Presenter: Annie Altamirano
Webinar Description
I'm quite happy with how I have planned this lesson and the way I'm teaching it but ... are my students learning? How can I tell? We do have a tool but is it assessment of learning or assessment for learning?
The aim of the webinar is to make participants aware of the difference between assessment for learning and assessment of learning, and to help them reflect on the importance of introducing assessment for learning in our lessons. We will explore what the aims of assessment for learning are, how it can be envisaged as a continual cycle, and what the advantages of this form of assessment are.
By the end of the webinar the following points will have been covered:
• the 10 principles of assessment for learning,
• what learning intentions and success criteria are,
• what effective questioning is,
• what formative feedback is,
• the role of these elements in assessment for learning, and
• how to introduce and support peer and self-assessment.
WEBINAR TYPE: Teaching Best Practices
CATEGORIES: Lesson Planning/Ideas, Assessment
TEACHING SECTORS: Elementary, Secondary, ELT
PARTICIPANT LEVEL: Moderate level
ABOUT THE PRESENTER
Annie graduated from teacher training college with a first-class degree in teaching English as a Foreign Language in Argentina. She holds an MA in ELT and Applied Linguistics from the University of London. As author, she has worked with a wide range of publishers and written materials for children and adolescents. For many years she served as a Cambridge English Speaking Examiner and as a Cambridge English Language Assessment presenter. She has given teacher-training workshops and presentations in Europe, Asia and Latin America. She is currently a mentor in the Cambridge Teacher support Service.
Twitter: @AnnieAlta2012
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anniealtamirano/
Blog: https://bloggingcrazy-annie.blogspot.com/
* Members must be a member of the TESL Ontario group on Tutela.
Vicarious Trauma in English-Language Teaching
Sponsored by International Test of English Proficiency
When: Tuesday, June 7, 7:00 - 8:00 pm
Panelists: Dr. Allyson Eamer, Dr. Amea Wilbur, Dr. Katie Crossman, Jennifer Allore, OCELT, M.Ed., Dr. Jia Li
Panel Description
Do you find yourself worrying about your students' well-being?
Have your students shared their traumatic experiences with you?
Are you impacted by vicarious trauma through sleeplessness, depression or other behavioural/mood changes?
As front-line workers in a helping profession, language teachers are often among the first with whom refugees develop a sense of relationship, through interaction in the form of daily English classes over many weeks. This closeness can lead to disclosures of past or ongoing trauma. We will discuss levels of preparedness with respect to teaching students with complex mental health needs.
This panel of researchers from 3 provinces will:
- describe the mental health effects of vicarious trauma upon those in helping professions who support trauma survivors
- explore the paradox of providing language teachers pedagogical advice with respect to programming for refugees, but very limited input with respect to their own self-care in relation to vicarious trauma
-discuss how teacher surveys will aid in identifying gaps in teacher preparedness & policy to ensure teacher well-being
- make procedural recommendations to ensure student are directed to mental health professionals
Webinar Type: Panel Presentation
Categories: Health/Mental Health, Work/Life Balance, Best Practices
Teaching Sectors: All sectors
Participant Level: No previous knowledge required
About the Panelists
Dr Allyson Eamer is an Associate Dean and associate professor of sociolinguistics at the Faculty of Education at Ontario Tech University. She researches in the areas of language policy, ethnolinguistic vitality and identity.
Dr Amea Wilbur is an Assistant Professor of Adult Education at the University of Fraser Valley. She trains instructors, settlement workers, and administrators about inclusive classroom and trauma-informed practices.
Dr Katie Crossman is a researcher at Bow Valley College who has conducted research on vicarious trauma with English language teachers in Alberta.
Jennifer Allore (MEd) is the Chair of TESL Ontario's Board of Directors and has conducted research on the impacts of trauma on language learning.
Dr Jia Li is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Education at Ontario Tech University, and researches second language literacy in immigrant and Indigenous populations.
* Members must be a member of the TESL Ontario group on Tutela.
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Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Resources on Tutela
Sponsored by International Test of English Proficiency
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee Webinar Series
When: Wednesday, June 15 7:00 - 8:00 pm
Presenter: Diane Ramanathan, OCELT
Webinar Description
Are you looking to include more content on diversity, equity, and inclusion in your classes? Not sure how to access these resources on Tutela? Join us for a Tutela orientation on what resources are available and how to access them.
In this session, we will look at diversity, equity, and inclusion resources available on Tutela and review best search practices for accessing, bookmarking, and using the resources. Resources may include video, audio, word docs, SCORMS, and H5Ps.
As an outcome of this session, attendees can expect to:
- be aware of diversity, equity, and inclusion content on Tutela,
- be more familiar with best search practices on Tutela, and
- have a better understanding of SCORMS and H5Ps.
Webinar Type: Language Training Resources
Categories: Lesson Planning/Ideas, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
Teaching Sectors: LINC
Participant Level: No previous knowledge required
About the Presenter
Diane is a community outreach coordinator for Tutela.ca, as well as a TESL professor at Algonquin College and a LINC Home Study instructor with Achev.
* Members must be a member of the TESL Ontario group on Tutela.
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Developing Intercultural Competence in the Virtual Classroom 
Sponsored by International Test of English Proficiency
When: Wednesday, June 22, 7:00 - 8:00 pm
This presentation will begin with a theoretical framework conceptualizing "intercultural competence" and establish the principal characteristics that constitute it as per scholars such as Darla Deardoff and organizations such as UNESCO. It will deal with the challenges and how to overcome them in building intercultural competence in the virtual classroom for an effective classroom dialogue to take place.
You will learn: how to develop an interculturally competent ESL classroom in the current pandemic scenario when teaching is remote and online and videoconferencing has a culture of its own, the challenges/barriers in creating an interculturally effective virtual classroom, and ways to circumvent these challenges/barriers.
Webinar Type: Teaching Best Practices
Categories: Blended Teaching/Learning, Online Teaching/Learning, Intercultural/Multicultural Competence
Teaching Sectors: LINC, Continuing Education/Adult ESL (non-credit), Multicultural
Participant Level: No previous knowledge required
About the Presenter
Dr. Paramita Dutta has over 10 years of experience in teaching English and assessment. She is a LINC/ESL Instructor at Halton District School Board and a Speaking Rater for the CELPIP exam with Paragon Testing Enterprises. She knows six languages at varying levels of proficiency. Previously, she was an English lecturer at Ryerson University, and taught English in the higher education sector in India for nine years. She is the manager of TESL Ontario’s Exchange Video Series, and a member of its Conference Committee and Social Content Committee.
http://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-paramita-dutta-8504a469
* Members must be a member of the TESL Ontario group on Tutela.
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Five Research-Informed Best Practices for Remote/Online EAP 
Sponsored by International Test of English Proficiency
Colleges and Unversities Committee Webinar Series
When: Wednesday, July 20, 7:00 - 8:00 pm
Presenters: Karen Englander & Bruce Russell
Webinar Description
Some online teaching practices seems to work, and others don’t. What can research tell us about best practices for online teaching? Can I connect research to practice in my online teaching activities? Can I make small adjustments that could have a big impact on students’ satisfaction in online learning?
At the U of T's International Foundation Program, when pivoting to online teaching last year, the research framework of the Community of Inquiry was used to investigate the efficacy of the new delivery format. Eliciting data from students and instructors allowed them to determine what worked well and what did not. The analysis provided five best practices for instructors.
Key learning outcomes are:
- The Community of Inquiry permits understanding of students’ and instructors’ satisfaction in online teaching/learning, a framework webinar participants can use to reflect on their own experience,
- social connection is the hardest to achieve in online learning, but that does not seem to determine students’ overall satisfaction,
- the role of the teacher in online teaching has the biggest impact on student experience, and
- distinct practices will be discussed for participants to consider in their own contexts.
Webinar Type: Teaching Best Practices
Categories: Blended Teaching/Learning, Online Teaching/Learning
Teaching Sectors: College/University (EAP), Continuing Education/Adult ESL (non-credit), Adult ESL Credit
Participant Level: No previous knowledge required
About the Presenters
Dr. Karen Englander is the Research Officer at the International Foundation Program of the University of Toronto. She is an established scholar in the sub-discipline of English for Research Publication Purposes, with two recent books and more than two dozen peer-reviewed articles in English and Spanish. Karen is a former professor at the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Mexico, and York University, Canada, teaching EAP, TESL/TEFL, and applied linguistics.
Bruce Russell has been Director (Academic) of International Programs at the University of Toronto since 2004, where he oversees programming and instruction. Bruce is interested in how language support can be tailored to meet the needs of multilingual students in post-secondary contexts. His research interests include specific purposes language assessment, content language integrated learning, translanguaging, and reliability and validity issues in language assessment. Bruce is pursuing his Ph.D. at OISE with a focus on language assessment.
* Members must be a member of the TESL Ontario group on Tutela.
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Using Avenue.ca: Learner Reflection Tools
Sponsored by International Test of English Proficiency
When: Wednesday, July 27, 7:00 – 8:00 pm
Presenter: Kevin Wang, OCELT
Webinar Description
Are you a LINC instructor teaching in an online Adult LINC setting or in a hybrid setting? Are you looking for ways to engage learners in self-reflection? Are you looking for ways to make learner self-reflection more level appropriate online?
Our presenter will talk about different tools offered on Avenue.ca that can be used to conduct learner reflections, and how you can configure them to ensure they are appropriate for different levels. Also covered will be the advantages and disadvantages of the different tools to be discussed as they will be used for the purposes of learner reflection.
This presentation will address the following activity types:
• blog entries,
• forum posts,
• feedback,
• questionnaires, and
• assignments.
This is the second webinar this year on the topic of Avenue.ca. The first webinar received great reviews in survey feedback. The video of that webinar, Creating Assessments for Avenue.ca, https://tutela.ca/GroupEvent?organicgroup=8594&itemId=41824
is available to TESL Ontario members.
Webinar Type: Technology
Categories: Technology, Lesson Planning/Ideas, PBLA
Teaching Sectors: LINC, Continuing Education/Adult ESL (non-credit)
Participant Level: Beginner level
About the Presenter
Kevin Wang (he/him) is a LINC/ESL instructor with the Toronto Catholic District School Board. He has been an instructor for eight years, having worked in a variety of different levels and settings. Currently, he is teaching LINC and ESL in hybrid and fully online contexts. His experience with LMS instruction extends back to 2016 with the pilot of the OnyxON project.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevinltwang
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-wang-ocelt-ma-york-applied-linguistics-8582b553
* Members must be a member of the TESL Ontario group on Tutela.
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Playing to Learn: Games in the ESL Classroom
Sponsored by International Test of English Proficiency
When: Thursday, August 25, 8:00 – 9:00 pm
Presenter: Rachel Fourny, OCELT
Webinar Description
Have you ever played Trivial Pursuit to learn geography? Or played Monopoly to hone your math and money skills? What about Bingo to build your vocabulary? Are you looking for ways to make your online lessons more engaging? If so, consider including virtual games.
As children we play games all the time, from the store-bought ones to the ones we invent with our siblings and friends. As we grow up, we play games less frequently and tend to look at games as something that children do. In the ESL classroom, we rarely incorporate games into our learning activities or consider them as economical, engaging means of learning or practising language skills.
In this webinar, you will learn:
• how to incorporate games into your ESL classroom,
• the best types of games for different learning goals, and
• a list of games that you can use, including virtual games.
Webinar Type: Teaching Best Practices
Categories: Listening, Speaking (fluency), Writing, Reading, Pronunciation, Grammar, Lesson Planning/Ideas, Literacy
Teaching Sectors: All sectors
Participant Level: No previous knowledge required
About the Presenter
Rachel Fourny (she/her) has 20+ years combined in teaching, including ESL and FSL. A certified language assessor, she has taught in both the LINC and ESL programs and served as a team lead. She is also a certified PD Partner. She holds a B.Ed from the University of Ottawa and a B.A. from Andrews University as well as a CERTESL from the University of Saskatchewan and an i-to-i TEFL certificate from the United Kingdom.
* Members must be a member of the TESL Ontario group on Tutela
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Job Skills For Instructors

Sponsored by International Test of English Proficiency
When: Wednesday, August 31 7:00 - 8:00 pm
Presenter: Anjum Karimi, OCELT
Webinar Description
Are you promoting your professional skills effectively? Have you made an 'infomercial' for employers? Are the barriers to job market easy to identify?
This webinar will help participants identify and promote their hard and soft skills to get hired in the field of their choice. Participants will get tips to break the invisible barriers to the Canadian job market and the confidence to project their special skills to prospective employers.
By attending this webinar, you will:
• gain confidence about your unique skills,
• work on key areas to get noticed by other professionals,
• project your areas of expertise succinctly, and
• learn how to network efficiently
Webinar Type: Career Development
Categories: Employment/Self-Employment
Teaching Sectors: LINC, Continuing Education/Adult ESL (non-credit), OSLT, ELT
Participant Level: No previous knowledge required
About the Presenter
Anjum Karimi is an OCELT with more than 11 years of experience in the field of ESL/LINC/ELT teaching streams. She has published a book, 'An ELT Experience' to help new instructors learn about the barriers to the Canadian job market. The book was a result of more than 30 successful ELT sessions to prepare internationally trained professionals for the Canadian job market.
Twitter: @anjum_karimi
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/anjumkarimi
* Members must be a member of the TESL Ontario group on Tutela.
Google Forms and Assessments
* Members must be a member of the TESL Ontario group on Tutela.
Lessons Learned: Teaching About Racism in the ESL Classroom
Sponsored by International Test of English Proficiency
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee Webinar Series
When: Wednesday, September 28, 7:00 – 8:00 pm
Presenter: Wales Wong
Webinar Description
How can racism be discussed with language learners in a classroom? In the post-COVID era, what are some teaching strategies that can support language learners in exploring the issue of racism?
This webinar will describe how language instructors can discuss the topic of racism in the ESL classroom. A variety of examples from classroom experiences and a duoethnographic study will be shared.
The presenter will:
• review some key social justice concepts related to discrimination and racism,
• discuss how to engage with difficult issues by strategically fostering students' language skills and teaching critical thinking, and
• provide diverse and multimodal ESL classroom examples that engage students in discussions about racism.
Attendees will gain strategies to plan for lessons on addressing racism issues, and create resources that support language learning and engage with critical thinking.
Webinar Type: Teaching Best Practices
Categories: Listening, Speaking, Writing, Reading, Grammar, Lesson Planning/Ideas, Literacy, Instructional Design, Blended Teaching/Learning, Online Teaching/Learning, Social Justice, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
Teaching Sectors: Secondary, LINC, Continuing Education/Adult ESL (non-credit), Adult ESL Credit
Participant Level: Moderate level
About the Presenter
Wales Wong (she/her) has been teaching ESL at the secondary level and in a continuing education program in Ontario for over 15 years. She is also a PhD candidate in the Language and Literacies Education program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, conducting research on how translanguaging strategies can be implemented in an adult ESL classroom. Her work addresses the use of home languages as a resource for learning and how to engage with social justice issues in the ESL class.
Twitter: @WongWales
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/waleswong/
* Members must be a member of the TESL Ontario group on Tutela.
Designing Visually Successful Materials for Learners
Sponsored by International Test of English Proficiency
When: Sunday, November 20, 3:00 – 4:00 pm
Please note early start time
Presenter: Gabriela Kleckova
Webinar Description
What should we keep in mind when we design materials for language learners? What are the key principles of effective visual design of materials? What steps should we take when we design materials for language learners?
After outlining principles of perception and processing of visual information, the session takes participants step by step through the design process of a sample material and provides them with tips for designing visually successful materials. The presenter also discusses examples of problematic visual design from samples of teacher made materials and gives suggestions for changes that would make them more effective.
The presenter will address the following key points:
• the building blocks of effective document design,
• the effective use of visual elements,
• planning for visually successful materials, and
• learning from common design mistakes in materials.
Webinar Type: Career Development
Categories: Instructional Design
Teaching Sectors: All sectors
Participant Level: No previous knowledge required
About the Presenter
Gabriela Kleckova, a former lower secondary school English teacher, chairs the Department of English at the Faculty of Education, University of West Bohemia in Plzen, the Czech Republic where she also teaches second language teacher education courses to pre-service and in-service teachers. Gabriela’s professional interests include the effectiveness and utility of visual design of ELT materials, teacher education, innovation in education, and leadership. She has co-authored Creating Visually Effective Materials for English Learners (TESOL Press, 2019), as well as two book chapters on visual design of teaching materials. Gabriela is TESOL International Association president for 2021-2022.
Website: http://www.gab-elt.com/
* Members must be a member of the TESL Ontario group on Tutela.
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