HOME  CONTACT  ABOUT US  STUDENT PAGE
     The Kingston Association of Teachers of English as a Second Language celebrated its 25th anniversary on May 4, 2004. TESL Kingston was formed in 1979 as a support group and source of professional development for the volunteer and professional instructors who answered the call to provide English language training and community settlement assistance to Southeast Asian refugees who were brought to this area by the federal government in the aftermath of the Vietnam War.

     
          Now over 80 strong and still developing professionally within a protocol of high standards of training and certification, TESL Kingston, which includes Brockville, Belleville and Trenton, (with a few members as far away as Thunder Bay, China, Bahrain and Kenya), is affiliated with TESL Ontario, TESL Canada and TESOL-USA.   Administrators and instructors from TESL Kingston were involved in the English-language schools set up jointly by TESL Ontario and Citizenship and Immigration Canada for the Kosovar refugees in the summer of 1999 on the armed serviced bases in Trenton and Kingston. We are currenlty involved in planning with the Kingston Immigration Partnership (KIP).    
     
 
Our Mission Statement

 
TESL Kingston serves the needs of ESL teachers, instructors and students primarily in Eastern Ontario, but also in such places as Thunder Bay, other provinces, and overseas, by providing support to professionals working with ESL learners of all ages and levels in public, private and community schools, colleges and universities, as well as in community programs designed by Citizenship and Immigration Canada for immigrants and refugees. Our affiliate is also interested and involved in issues relating to:

• ESL literacy
• refugee concerns
• immigration and settlement
• English for academic purposes
• job training and accreditation
• LINC programs
• ESL in the public school system
• English language teaching overseas

   
  Our Goals :
  • to organize and publicize at least three professional development opportunities a year which are consistent with currently understood principles of second language learning and teaching
  • to provide a forum through our website for our members to share their best ideas, strategies and practices
  • to keep our members informed of important issues and news through the website.
  • to advocate for ESL rights and needs as the Board deems appropriate, so our voices are added to important ESL issues
  • to liaise with local settlement agencies and refugee organizations in order to keep ourselves informed about the issues and challenges facing our students and to provide such assistance as the Board deems appropriate to support them
  • to provide information to the public and to ELLs through the website about all the ESL services and programs in our area as well as information about local immigrant settlement agencies such as Immigrant Services Kingston and Area (ISKA) and Quinte United Immigrant Services (QUIS), and the Kingston Welcoming website
  • to provide informative articles on the website about new programs and resources available to our members and to immigrants and refugees
  • to provide a forum through the website to encourage our students to share their talents, feelings and opinions with others
  • to organize, support and publicize events intended to build bridges between our students and the general public
  • to publicize, through the website and in local media, the various events we and our members sponsor
  • to liaise with and, where possible, participate in TESL activities at provincial (TESL Ontario), national (TESL Canada), and international (TESOL) levels

 Our Executive Board is elected by members, with each position renewable after two years. It consists of Affiliate Representative, President, Past President, President-Elect, Recording Secretary, Membership Secretary,Treasurer, Programme Convenor, Webmaster, Public Relations Chair, and Members-at-Large. The Board meets several times each year to establish policy, carry out business, ( which includes planning and organizing professional development events), and advocate for ESL rights. Individual committees meet as often as necessary to carry out their duties, and a great deal of business is carried on through email and/or other web-based utilities. Our AGM is usually held in May.

Our 2010-11 Board

President-------------------------Barbara Dick
Past President------------------Sherry Archer
President-Elect-----------------Michele Dean
Affiliate Representative-------Johanne Myles
Treasurer-------------------------Sharon Cathcart
Membership Secretary--------Margaret Meyer
Recording Secretary-----------Gaitree Oogarah
Webmaster-------------------------Susan Bain
Program Convenor---------------Michele Dean
Roving Reporter-------------------Peggy Deaton
Publicity Chair--------------------- Jade Garrison
Member-at-Large-----------------Robert Johnson
Member-at-Large-----------------Maria Haig
Member-at-Large-----------------Corliss Finlayson

     When you join TESL Kingston, you get three memberships for the price of one. You automatically become a member of TESL Ontario and TESL Canada as well. Through membership, you have the opportunity to participate in the direction of your profession, add your voice to important ESL issues, expand your skills and gain professional recognition.

Contact us to learn more about membership at info@teslkingston.org
or apply on-line at TESL Ontario
Be sure to list Kingston as your home affiliate.

For important new information with regard to TESL accreditation in Ontario, please visit TESL Ontario

TESL Ontario Membership and Accreditation--Frequently Asked Questions
MEMBERSHIP

•  What is the difference between regular membership and accredited membership? Accredited membership is assigned to those who have gone through the accreditation process at TESL Ontario and have received their Certificate. Regular membership is for members who wish to belong to TESL Ontario but don't require TESL Ontario Accreditation.

•  How do I know if I'm accredited? If you do not know if you are accredited you can search for your name on the TESL Ontario Registry on our website: http://www.teslontario.org/find-an-instructor/

•  How much do I owe for my membership renewal? In the month prior to your expiry date you will receive a membership renewal notice with detailed information about the membership fee amount owed and the methods of payment.

•  What is my password to print my certificate? Your password is a capital T followed by your membership number.

•  What is the password to view webcasts? Your user ID is a capital T followed by your membership number and the password is 27carlton.

•  Are Accreditation and Certificate the same thing? Why do we interchange the words? Yes. In order to avoid confusion with the TESL Certificate received from institutions, in 2010 TESL Ontario renamed what was known as the TESL Ontario Certificate to TESL Ontario Accreditation.

•  When will I get my receipt? You will receive your receipt with your new membership card within 3 weeks of submitting your renewal and payment.

•  When can I print off my updated certificate? Included with your new membership card and receipt is a letter with instructions on how to log on to our website to print off your updated certificate.

•  When will I receive my renewal notice? You will receive your renewal notice in the month prior to your renewal month.

•  How can I pay for my membership renewal? You have three options. You can submit your payment online through on our website, or mail a personal cheque made out to TESL Ontario, or pay with cash in our office. Please do not send cash by mail.

•  What is my membership number? Your membership number is printed on your membership card.

•  What are the benefits of being a TESL Ontario member? Please visit our website at http://www.teslontario.org/membership/membership-benefits/

For Membership questions, please contact our TESL Ontario Member Services Manager Allison Keown at membership@teslontario.org


ACCREDITATION

1. I do not have a university degree. Do I still qualify for TESL Ontario ESL Instructor Accreditation? No. TESL Ontario considers a (minimum three-year) Bachelor's degree as an indispensable component of the overall training, general and specialized, that a teacher (of any subject matter or at any level) needs to have gone through. Therefore, TESL Ontario emphasizes that this is the minimum level of university education that an applicant is required to have completed to qualify for TESL Ontario ESL Instructor Accreditation application and to teach as an accredited ESL instructor.

2. I have obtained my degree from a university located in the USA/ the U. K. /Australia. Do I still need to submit a Canadian Equivalency Report? Yes. If your degree is from a university outside Canada, you are required to have it evaluated by one of the equivalency offices listed in this guide.

3. Can I submit a graduation letter from my university in lieu of my degree or degree transcript with my ESL Instructor Accreditation application? No. Graduation letters cannot be accepted in lieu of a degree, a degree transcript, or a degree equivalency report.

4. Which one do I need: TESL Ontario ESL Instructor Accreditation, TESL Canada ESL Instructor Accreditation, or Ontario College of Teachers' (OCT) ESL Instructor Accreditation? If you are planning to apply for jobs at LINC and/or ELT programs in Ontario, you must be accredited by TESL Ontario. For jobs at all other ESL/EFL programs in Ontario, in other provinces, or in other countries, the type of ESL Instructor Accreditation required depends on the employer's decision; they might ask for TESL Canada ESL Instructor Accreditation, TESL Ontario ESL Instructor Accreditation, CELTA, DELTA, etc. You must be accredited by Ontario College of Teachers if you are planning to teach at public schools in Ontario.

5. I am a member of TESL Ontario. Do I need to fill out a new membership application form when I apply for TESL Ontario ESL Instructor Accreditation? No. We already have your membership record in our database.

6. I don't want to mail the required documents to the TESL Ontario Office. Can I submit them in person? Yes. TESL Ontario's address is Suite 405-27 Carlton Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5B 1L2. The office hours are 9:00am to 5:00 pm, Monday to Friday. When you are at the TESL Ontario Office, a staff person will make copies of your documents. You will then be able to take your original documents with you immediately. Please be aware that the documents submitted in person cannot be reviewed immediately.

7. I am going to mail my original documents to TESL Ontario. How can I get them back? You should send TESL Ontario a self-addressed self-stamped registered envelope with your application package. You can also pick up your originals from our office in person.

8. What are your office hours? Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

9. How long does it take for my application to be processed? It normally takes eight weeks from the date all required documents, forms, and fees are in place. If some pieces of required documents are submitted at a later date/at later dates, or if additional documentation is required, the eight week processing period starts after the last piece has arrived.

10. Can I submit a graduation letter from the TESL training institution in lieu of my TESL certificate or TESL transcript with my ESL Instructor Accreditation application? No. Graduation letters can not be accepted in lieu of a TESL certificate or transcript.

11. I have gone through some TESL/TEFL training in the past and have taught ESL/EFL for some time. Do I qualify for ESL Instructor Accreditation through PLAR assessment? For PLAR to be a worthwhile investment, you need to be able to demonstrate at least 50% of the TESL-specific 250 academic contact hours required by TESL Ontario. 125 hours of relevant academic contact hours ensures that the applicant has acquired at least the essentials of TESL methodology and theory. After 125 hours, PLAR becomes appropriate as a means of providing appropriate recognition for coursework and in-service and experiential learning that would not be accepted by a typical university program, saving the applicant from having to spend time and tuition replicating formal learning that for all intents and purposes has already happened.

12. I have a degree in English. Do I qualify for ESL Instructor Accreditation through PLAR assessment? If your degree in English did not include substantial coursework in second language teaching and/or applied linguistics (as distinct from English language and literature and theoretical linguistics), you will not have the baseline of formal training in TESL needed in order to make a PLAR assessment useful. If your BA or Master's programs included more than three one-term courses that were a genuine introduction to the teaching of ESL, PLAR may serve to reduce the total amount of training that you will need to qualify for TESL Ontario ESL Instructor Accreditation. If you have not completed this baseline of formal training (a minimum of 125 hours), you will need to enroll in a TESL Ontario-approved program and complete all of the required TESL coursework. You will also need to complete a TESL Ontario-standard practicum.

For Accreditation related questions, please contact our Accreditation Administrator Reza Mazloom-Farzaghy at accreditation@teslontario.org


   

TESL Kingston’s 25th Anniversary

     The celebration of TESL Kingston’s 25th anniversary in 2004 was a lively evening with a gathering of many of the founding members. One of these, Eleanor Rogers, a long-time director of the Queen's School of English, addressed the meeting from her own extensive experience in the field at national, provincial and local levels.


     Entertainment was provided by representatives from two of Kingston's cultural groups: Ian Bender, a championship Irish step-dancer, and children and teenagers from the India-Canada Association of Kingston, an organization which, by the way, was also celebrating its 25th anniversary that year. The whole evening was a fitting and joyful example of the mutual support and friendship that exists in a multicultural community such as ours.

Updated July 26, 2010

 
Site and contents © 2005 Tesl Kingston