ESL Jobs: Thinking Outside the Box, Zoom March 7, 2023 6:30pm-7:30pm
TESL Kingston welcomed an interactive panel discussion about using TESL experience and credentials in jobs outside the typical classroom setting. Panelists included: Rasha Fahim-Educational Program Coordinator, Kendra Noble-Language Assessor, Ellen Turcotte-English Reading Tutor, Belinda Whyte-Entrepreneur who started an online ESL teaching company.
Welcoming Back Celebration! Annual General Meeting and Speaker Presentation
TESL Kingston hosted a "Welcoming Back Celebration" recognizing our first in-person workshop in 3 years! Members and friends gathered for the 2021-2022 AGM, a light dinner and cake and a rewarding presentation from speaker Sherry Lachine from Broadmind INC. Sherry discussed how to keep tabs on our mental well-being and offered strategies to help ourselves and support others. The evening included a used TESL book sale and a book draw that saw 3 participants win new ESL textbooks donated by the Queen's School of English.
Open Discussion: Our Classroom and the Ukraine War – Zoom, March 8, 20227:30-8:30pm
TESL Kingston hosted an open discussion for teachers looking to learn, share, and listen to others’ ideas and challenges in the classroom in response to the war in Ukraine. Open Discussion Summary
Resource Sharing and Networking Potluck – Zoom, February 28, 2022 7pm-8:30pm
Co-Hosted by TESL Niagara, TESL London and TESL Kingston, this online event provided TESL members from a variety of chapters to come together for an evening of networking and resource sharing. Each participant came prepared to share a favourite teaching activity or tip and had 3 minutes to share in breakout rooms before moving on to a new group.
January 2022 Annual General Meeting and Winter Workshop
Location: Online Webinar Date: January 20, 2022 5pm-7pm
Spring 2021 Webinar – Panelists Speak on Engaging Our Students in Learning Online
Location: Online Webinar Date: May 18, 2021 6:30pm-8:00pm
Winter 2020 Workshop – Art Therapy and Wellness: Techniques for the ESL Classroom
Location: KCHC, 263 Weller Avenue, Kingston When: Saturday, February 29,2020 9:30am-11:30am
Fall PD Workshop-The Art of Learning: What Does Science Tell Us About Effective Learning Strategies?
Location: KCHC, 263 Weller Avenue, Kingston When: Saturday, November 9,2019 9:30am-11:30am Presentation Slides
TESL Kingston Annual General Meeting and Spring PD Workshop When: Saturday, May 4, 2019 9:30am-12noon Where: KCHC 263 Weller Avenue, Kingston
As teachers, we are sometimes under the mistaken assumption that our students will automatically have the necessary conversation skills to begin, develop, continue and end a conversation. Teaching and assessing these skills, moreover, can be a challenge. This talk will share a number of activities used to teach and enhance the implementation of conversation skills, the rationale behind 
developing these activities, and rubrics used to assess them.
Besides writing a number of EFL textbooks, Lindsey Gutt has taught ESL / EFL and assisted with curriculum development through teacher training in Asia, the Middle East, South America, Europe, and Canada since 1992. Lindsey currently teaches at York University English Language Institute.
Weaving Soft Skills into Occupation-Specific Language Training When: Saturday, October 20, 2018 Where: KLS LINC, 16 Bath Road, Kingston 
Researcher and LINC instructor, Ann Chen, facilitated a relevant workshop on the importance of teaching soft skills in the ESL classroom. Ann shared the successes and challenges behind the design and implementation of an occupation specific ESL program for high beginner students in Kingston, ON. The workshop also included hands-on lesson planning activities.
Click on link below to view presentation slides:
http://www.teslkingston.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/TESL-K_KEYS-NCCM_ESL.pptx
Spring AGM and Keynote Speaker -“Little Victories: How Teachers Can Soar” When: Saturday, May 5, 2018 9:30am-11:30am Where: Queen’s University International Centre, 87 Union Street, Kingston Tim Westhead is an award-winning Canadian educator, author, actor, and popular conference presenter. With a dynamic style and humorous delivery, his entertaining and inspiring sessions have made him a keynote speaker with an international reputation. Tim presented a lighthearted look at teachers while providing effective ways to excel on the job and improve relationships with others – including ESL students and colleagues. Tim Westhead offered suggestions on setting priorities, using time more efficiently, and working more effectively, while savouring teaching’s little victories.
Supporting Mental Health in the Classroom Speakers from St. Lawrence College, Queen’s University and Immigrant Services Kingston and Area spoke about the stresses international students and newcomers to Canada deal with and how they are affected. In addition, local teachers provided hands-on activities demonstrating classroom strategies pertaining to mental health in the classroom. When: Saturday, March 3, 2018
Incorporating Indigenous content into the ESL classroom Looking at social barriers and developing appropriate curriculum When: Saturday, October 21, 9:30am-11:30am Where: Queen’s University International Centre, Kingston Speakers: Kevin Reed, Indigenous Education Consultant, Limestone District School Board and Amanda Morrison, Teacher
Training for Volunteers-How to Teach English as a Second Language to Newcomers Help support newcomers to Kingston by learning strategies to teach English. When: Tuesday, May 23, 2017 from 4 to 6 pm
Where: Loyola School of Adult and Continuing Education, 1440 Princess Street, Kingston
TESL Kingston Spring Workshop, AGM and Luncheon A Year Later – The Private Sponsorship Experience –Successes, Surprises, & Challenges of Refugee Sponsorship TESL Kingston presented a panel of community members who participated in the private sponsorship of Syrian refugees in the Kingston community: When: Saturday, May 6, 2017
Where: Kingston Community Health Centres, 263 Weller Ave.
Laurie Gordon, Frontenac Refugee Support Group
Sandra den Otter, Queen’s University, Anglican Diocese of Ontario Refugee Support (DOORS)
Mike Gallagher, The Sanctuary Project, St. Paul the Apostle Church
Ideas that Work: Local ESL Instructors Share
Successful Classroom Practices “Creating Versatile Assessment Tools” When: Saturday, March 4, 2017
Learn versatile & student-friendly assessment ideas in this hands-on and interactive workshop Presenter Shelley Kirby works at Loyola as ESL instructor and lead instructor for PBLA, and has taught English in Southeast Asia and at Queen’s School of English
“Literature Circle Intensive Project for Intermediate/Advanced Learners” – learn how to introduce the set-up of a learner-centred Literature Circle Project starting from student choice of class novel to forming groups, identifying tasks, peer & self-assessment, and completion of final portfolio project Presenter Amie Pilgrim currently teaches at Queen’s School of English, and has taught in Okinawa, Japan and for various local organizations including the YMCA, the Limestone District School Board, and the Kingston Frontenac Public Library.
TESL Kingston Fall 2016 Workshop
Saturday, November 19, 2016 9:30am – 11:30am
Doors opened 9:00am for registration and book sales
Members $10, Students Free, Non-members $15
Location: Queen’s University International Centre
Attendees will be given a PD certificate for 2 hours.
TESL Ontario now requires 10 hours per year to maintain certification.
PART 1: The Rhythm of English: A musical look into teaching pronunciation Presenter: Darlene Barrowman
Professor in the English Language Learning Program at Centennial College, Toronto Teaching speaking skills to students from a variety of backgrounds can be challenging. This diversity makes it problematic to focus on each student’s pronunciation. However, a breakdown in communication is not always due to a mispronunciation in phonemes. In this workshop, we will examine the different components of speech (segmentals and suprasegmentals) that can lead to incomprehensibility and look at new ways to teach speaking in the classroom that help students become more confident speakers outside the classroom.
PART 2: Accessing English Through Popular Music Presenter: Dr. Nora Fayed
Professor of Occupational Therapy in the Queen’s School of Rehabilitation Therapy This workshop will be an introduction to using popular music as a tool for teaching English. The rationale, benefits, and drawbacks of this approach will be explored through discussion and learning exemplars. Bring your own ideas, music preferences and experiences. Be prepared to share and even sing along.
PDF: fall-2016-workshop-poster
Spring 2016 Workshop and TESL Kingston AGM
Innovative Ways to Use Technology in the Classroom
Presenters: Meagan Wills and Scott Murray
Saturday, April 16, 2016 10am – 1:30pm, with registration at 9:30am.
Lunch included. Members and students $10, Non-members $15.
Location: Queen’s University International Centre
Refugee Mental Health and Its Impact on Education and Settlement
February 27, 2016 at the Kingston Community Health Centres, 263 Weller Ave.
This workshop was sponsored by TESL Kingston with support from Kingston Immigration Partnership (KIP).
TV Cogeco local station’s clip is posted here.
The morning began with an introduction to Syria, presented by Captain (Padre) Ryan Carter, Chaplain at the Royal Military College of Canada.
The main speaker, Amy Soberano, explored the complex relationship between trauma and learning within the context of forced migration and displacement, and reviewed best practices for working with survivors of torture and war.
Ms. Soberano, a Registered Social Worker, is a Child & Youth Settlement and Trauma Counselor at the Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture in downtown Toronto. In this capacity she works to support individuals, families, and communities that have been impacted by torture, war, and/or organized violence. She holds a Master’s of Social Work from the University of Toronto, with a concentration in Social Justice and Diversity.
Local ESL teacher Barbara Dick followed with 6 practical tips for teaching ESL to refugees, based on her 35 years of teaching refugees in adult and secondary classes.
DICTATION TRIPTYCHS:
Innovative ways to teach conversation
October 31, 2015
In the opening dialogue on one of the handouts, one of the speakers asks: “Hey, so what about this ‘Dictation Triptychs’ workshop we’ve signed up for? Think we’ll be in for more trick than treat?†In the end, the workshop proved to be both a “treat†for ESL teachers who want to get their students to talk more, and a “trick†to get students to work together on a common goal.
The presenters Joseph Ng and Suman Jeoti invoked both “trick†and “treat†in their workshop for TESL Kingston, which fell on a very auspicious day, Hallowe’en. They offered the audience a fully interactive teaching tool to get students talking and collaborating with less chalk-and-talk and more student-to-student interaction.
The workshop participants were introduced to the idea of dictation triptychs by going through a process similar to that which ESL students would go through: each person in a group of three took turns dictating a bit of dialogue while the other members of the group listened and tried to fill in the missing parts of the dialogue. Along the way, members in the group of three asked each other questions for clarification, worked together to get a complete dialogue, and exchanged gaps in information among the group members. The room buzzed with energy as participants were trying to figure out the meaning of “Triptiks,†“Krashenesque TPR,†and“pneumonoultramicroscopicencilicovolcano.†Or if the question “How now brown cow?†was, indeed, more commonly used in generations past.
Although there were three separate dialogues presented on one sheet divided into three panels (thus, “triptychâ€), similar functional elements ran through them all, including a question at the start to break the ice, a response to express sympathy, a question to keep the ball rolling, and a leave-taking. The exercise therefore helped reinforce the fact that there are various ways to express the same idea, and we don’t have to rely on rote memorization of set phrases. Dialogues in ESL textbooks, the presenters suggested, often lack the vibe and energy of a more dynamic real-life exchange.
To check for pronunciation, the completed dialogue was also read out loud. For extension, some participants were asked to perform their own dialogues, which they had made up during the session. Kudos to TESL Kingston members Hal Schipper and Joanna Cooke, who gave the audience a rousing performance of their improvisational dialogue involving a bit of libation.
The versatility of triptychs was also demonstrated through a succession of example dialogues that the presenters passed out. These included an exchange with a cashier to get change (for a buck, a dollar, a loonie), between school friends who made excuses about finishing a project, and between a curt public transit worker and an inquisitive commuter.
Suman also described how triptychs could, with a lot more guidance from the teacher, be implemented in a beginner-level class (CLB 1). The key to success, she said, lay in adapting the triptychs to the skill level of students and the comfort level of the teachers.
For those who were unable to attend, check out the link here to get more information about dictation triptychs and how they can help students develop their conversation skills.
–David Chau
Presenters:
Joseph Ng is a PTCT- and TESL-approved trainer and a LINC instructor with MicroSkills, a community development agency in Toronto, and LINC Home Study, for distance learners. His current interests are in e-portfolios and Dictation Triptychs, a single-worksheet technique that marries the jigsaw classroom with old-fashioned dictation, which, he thinks, brings joy to teachers and students. He has an M.A. in English from the National University of Singapore.
Suman Jeoti has an M.A. in English and a B.Ed., besides being TESL, OCT and CELTA certified. She is also PTCT trained, and has wide international experience teaching ESL, EFL, IELTS, TOEFL and Literature. Also, she has been associated with two community colleges for ESL/ IELTS. She is a supply instructor / volunteer with MicroSkills LINC and remains interested in helping learners achieve new heights of discovery in their language-acquisition process.
TESL Kingston Refugee Mental Health Workshop Poster Winter 2016
TESL Kingston Dictation Triptychs Workshop Poster Fall 2015
TESL Kingston Assessment Workshop Report Spring 2015
TESL Kingston Assessment Workshop Poster Spring 2015
TESL Kingston Teacher Sharing Workshop Poster Winter 2015