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 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?
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
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
Last month, women from Afghanistan, Peru, Mexico, India, Pakistan, Cyprus, Brazil and many other countries squeezed into our church kitchen to season bread crumbs, peel potatoes, baste turkeys and set a table that just seemed to get longer and longer as the morning progressed and we realized just how many people we were going to
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
I attended an interesting conference recently on Comics and Contemporary Literacy http://werklund.ucalgary.ca/ldlp/schedule . The speakers were all people who write and draw comic books or graphic novels and the purpose of the conference was to raise awareness as to the strengths of comics as a type of literature that has its own unique characteristics.
When we meet with adult English learners, questions around employment are always near the surface. Those who do not have a job, know they need to get one. Those who have jobs, want to move beyond their “survival” job, to one that better uses their qualifications and experience.
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
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
“L-is for the way you look at me”. I heard Michael Bublé serenading our adult beginner ESL class the other night and I thought to myself “what is up?” When I went in, I discovered that our creative and adventuresome teacher had decided to work with a Valentine’s theme and bring in songs for students
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
Karin Kossman (Jorgensen) emigrated from Denmark to Canada when she was eight years old. Here, she shares part two of her story about life on the ship as they leave Copenhagen for North America. These are Karin’s own words, but they have been mildly edited for clarity. Part One can be viewed here. LIFE ON THE
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
“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
Two weeks ago, I was listening to several excellent speakers at our Reaching Out With English course. I was inspired by the content and the well thought out presentations. But I also sensed that some of the participants were overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information and the realization of how much in involved in
I’m very humble and feeling blessed to be granted as a Canadian citizen. It wasn’t something that I even hoped for, but in everything God always has a plan for those who believe. Before I met my Canadian husband, I met a Canadian pastor who was willing to invest in me and supported me to
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
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
It’s helpful to discuss religion in our ESL classrooms because so many of our Canadian celebrations have roots in the Christian or other religious traditions. If we are to be cultural interpreters,
Join us for our Fall Training event on Saturday, October 4th
at West Springs Church in Calgary.
More info on our Upcoming Events Page.
We hope to see you there!
SPECIAL VIDEO SALE DISCOUNT FOR ALL EVENT ATTENDEES!
All attendees at our Annual Fall Training Event on October 4th will receive a 50% discount per video for Sara Dasko’s ESL Teacher Training series on our website Shop. A promo code will be available at the event on October 4th.