multiculturalism

Spring Training 2017 – James Edel

2017-06-08T20:30:59+00:00June 8th, 2017|General Interest, James Edel, Spring Training|

~ Spring Training May 22, 2017 – Ooh la la! What a great time at 2017’s Spring Training Conference that Cooperative ESL Ministries hosted!  God is good.  It was so beneficial to connect with each other and the speakers were such a big blessing.  Our theme was Invited in – The Journey so Far, and […]

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Conversation Starters—Dale Fisher

2017-02-26T16:19:55+00:00February 26th, 2017|Dale Fisher, ESL Classroom, ESL Tips|

About this time of year, we often feel that we could use some new ideas for our conversation classes. Here are four of them. The first, is a great idea I learned from my teaching partner, Cindy Hubert. Adjective + Occupation Activity Cindy handed out a set of cards with occupation titles such as: policeman, photographer, […]

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Seasonal, Secular, Sacred Christmas — Mary Cummins

2023-12-07T06:23:05+00:00December 20th, 2016|Christmas, ESL Classroom, ESL Tips|

  What is Christmas? In many places in the world, Christmas is the most popular holiday in the year, especially for Christians. It is very nostalgic for many people—the sights, the sounds, the smells—and time spent with family and friends. Since Canada is in the Northern Hemisphere, Christmas comes in the winter season. Thus, we associate Christmas […]

A Fond Farewell to Bev Chambers — Dale Fisher

2016-12-05T20:03:09+00:00December 5th, 2016|Dale Fisher, General Interest, Intercultural Communication|

A FOND FAREWELL TO BEV CHAMBERS We were all sad to hear last spring that Bev Chamber’s husband, Norm, had suffered a stroke, and that Bev had to resign from her position of Administrative Coordinator to care for him. How do we say thank you to Bev Chambers for all she has contributed to CESLM? […]

Dialogue Journals to Improve ESL Writing Fluency—Dr. Roswita Dressler

2016-11-28T22:23:49+00:00November 28th, 2016|Dr. Roswita Dressler, ESL Classroom, ESL Tips|

Sometimes we tell our students not to worry so much about how accurate their writing is, but to just take risks and write. Then we fall into the trip of correcting their grammar or spelling and we wonder, are we sending the wrong message. While many of our students care about writing correctly, it can […]

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Welcome One Another and Be a ‘Helper’ — Amber Wylie-Moerman

2016-09-05T09:48:18+00:00September 5th, 2016|Amber Wylie-Moerman, General Interest, Intercultural Communication|

I saw a quote recently, posted on Facebook that read, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping’ (Fred Rogers).” We see a lot of scary things in the news lately […]

Blessed in ESL by Earl Stevick—James Edel

2016-06-10T08:58:17+00:00June 10th, 2016|ESL Classroom, ESL Tips, General Interest, James Edel|

Sometimes I think the Professional Development (PD) Day means, for me as a teacher, a day to relax and text a bit, while people talk incessantly about the latest teaching fads, or what the government is currently doing, or which way the pendulum is swinging in our field.  But I was recently rebuked for my disinterest in […]

Middle East Expert Speaking in Calgary

2016-03-16T11:22:07+00:00March 16th, 2016|General Interest|

On April 9, 2016, Middle East expert Peter Twele (MA in Linguistics) will speak at our full-day spring training event Building Bridges: Responding to the Refugee Crisis. Peter carried out research through a number of institutions while residing in the Middle East for 11 years, and for the past 20 years has consulted for various Middle […]

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My Bread and Butter Lesson—James Edel

2016-03-16T10:22:25+00:00March 16th, 2016|ESL Classroom, ESL Tips, General Interest, Intercultural Communication, James Edel|

My ESL class has been studying the Canadian Food Guide. So, we’ve been learning that there are four food groups: Vegetables and Fruit, Grain Products, Milk & Alternatives, and Meat & Alternatives. Tricky situations do emerge. Why are nuts meat? Why are eggs meat? Why are lentils meat? Is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable? Aren’t potatoes […]

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How to Help Refugees with their English—Dale Fisher

2016-01-19T10:23:49+00:00January 19th, 2016|Dale Fisher, ESL Classroom, ESL Tips, Intercultural Communication|

Many groups are responding generously to the call to sponsor Syrian refugees. This is wonderful because these people will need this support, guidance and friendship for many years. CESLM can help with this process because we have a wealth of experience and resources to offer. All refugees will be eligible for free LINC classes, unless […]

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Syrian Refugees: How Can We Help

2015-12-01T09:17:14+00:00December 1st, 2015|General Interest, Intercultural Communication|

 The Syrian refugee crisis has been prevalent in the media lately, along with Canada’s response. Our new Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, has committed to providing shelter for 25,000 refugees who will arrive in Canada in the coming months. Of these, approximately 2,300 will make Calgary their new home*. Last week, sixteen refugees arrived, reuniting with family they […]

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Spoken Grammar – Dr. Roswita Dressler

2015-11-16T08:01:25+00:00November 16th, 2015|Dr. Roswita Dressler, ESL Classroom, ESL Tips, Intercultural Communication|

“Full sentences, please.” Have you ever been in a language class where the teacher reminded students to speak in full sentences? Have you ever thought about how odd that request actually is? I recently went to a workshop for English as a Second Language teachers where the presenter, Jane Willis, reminded us that spontaneous speech […]

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The Struggles Facing Newcomers in Schools

2015-09-04T10:29:44+00:00September 4th, 2015|ESL Classroom, General Interest, Immigration Stories, Intercultural Communication, James Edel|

While many of us have a keen interest in issues facing adult newcomers in Calgary, children of immigrant parents have their own set of struggles.  In the September 2015 issue of Albertaviews, an article entitled “Language Limbo – The urgent need for more ESL instruction in school” by Marcello Di Cintio, called for more attention […]

Child of an Immigrant; Mother of an Immigrant—Dr. Roswita Dressler

2015-07-20T10:14:11+00:00July 20th, 2015|Dr. Roswita Dressler, Immigration Stories, Through the Eyes of a Newcomer|

I grew up as a first generation Canadian. My parents came from Germany, met in Canada, got married and had children. Growing up, I had experiences similar to some of my ESL students’ children. I heard two languages, but was English dominant by the time I went to school. I ate different foods at home […]

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Intercultural Communication: Gestures — Dr. Roswita Dressler

2015-05-19T10:25:35+00:00May 19th, 2015|Dr. Roswita Dressler, ESL Classroom, Intercultural Communication|

Have you ever heard the saying “A smile means the same in any language”? While this statement may be true, it might be one of the few generalizations a person can make about gestures or facial expressions being universal. Gestures are given meaning by the culture in which they are used and since they have […]

Home Away From Home Part 2—Yaa Serwaa Somuah

2015-05-04T11:55:58+00:00May 4th, 2015|General Interest, Immigration Stories, Through the Eyes of a Newcomer, Yaa Serwaa Somuah|

One of the comments I always get from Canadians is, “What a cultural shock, eh?” Most times when I meet people and they get to know that I am a newbie, after the initial interrogations, they say those words. I immigrated from a tropical country where every day was summer. The average temperature throughout the year ranges […]

Home Away From Home Part 1—Yaa Serwaa Somuah

2015-03-09T12:35:11+00:00March 9th, 2015|Immigration Stories, Through the Eyes of a Newcomer, Yaa Serwaa Somuah|

Note from the editor: Yaa Serwaa Somuah shares with us a part of her story about coming to Canada and how she learned to embrace her native language and culture amidst the Canadian one. It has been lightly edited for clarity, but the words are her own. Language is a medium of communication in humankind. Different languages are carriers […]

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