Celebrating 50 Years – History of PLAR Service at TESL Ontario


Written by - Allison Keown
Image source: TESL Ontario

Allison Keown is the Executive Director of TESL Ontario

TESL Ontario introduced certification for Ontario English language educators in March 2000.  The introduction of this provincial certification helped advance the TESL profession and the TESL Ontario certification swiftly became the sector standard for the hiring of English language educators in Ontario.

2004 – Expanding Access to Language Instructor Certification through PLAR

At a time when language teaching was gaining traction as a valued profession worldwide, internationally trained individuals (ITIs) with significant experience were struggling to obtain certification in Ontario, because their education did not meet the certification standards that had been established.  As a result, these qualified professionals were often having to repeat education that they already possessed, in order to become employable in Ontario.   

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Navigating Ontario’s EAP Sector (Part 2)


Written by - Heather Donnelly
Image source: www.bigstockphoto.com 

In Part 1 of this 2-part series, I discussed how people can get their foot on the Ontario English for Academic Purposes (EAP) ladder.

In this post, I discuss ways to climb the EAP ladder. As I stated in Part 1, much of what I say will likely be pertinent to other TESL environments. 

Climbing the ladder

In general, ESL work in Canada is precarious, and this situation also applies to the EAP sector. Recent research by Corcoran and Williams (2021) found that Ontario EAP programs offered more part-time and temporary contracts than any other province/territory. One consequence of this situation is that there are many highly educated and experienced EAP instructors competing for very few full-time opportunities. So, to make your mark, you have to bring your A-game. 

Below are my four suggestions for situating yourself effectively for advancement. 

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Growing Your Career During the Winter Months


Written by - Guest Contributor
Image source: Bigstockphoto

Guest Contributor: Catherine Crawford

Winter is a dormant season in Canada where the cold weather brings nature into hibernation. As such, our careers can also tend to fall into a period of stagnation during this time of year. It’s cold, dark and not many people are feeling energized compared to other times of the year. So, if you are trying to grow your career, how do you ensure it doesn’t suffer during these winter blues? Here are 4 career tips to implement this winter season:  

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Teaching and Learning Movements- Where Are We Now?


Written by - Sarah Langridge
Image taken from: BigStockPhoto

Schools were first developed not as a past-time, but as a way to elevate the rich and then as a way to educate the masses before they entered the workforce. One of the most basic reasons for this was the need for a literate workforce. Literacy and mathematics have been at the core of global educational systems for hundreds of years, and maybe not surprisingly, these subjects are still there.

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Navigating Ontario’s EAP Sector (Part 1)


Written by - Heather Donnelly
Image source: www.bigstockphoto.com 

2022 marks a professional milestone for me: one decade as a contract instructor within Ontario English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programs. The last ten years have seen me criss-cross the province undertaking assorted contracts for eight post-secondary institutions. Every college/university I have worked for has had a unique culture and slightly different approach to academic preparation for English language learners. However, some common themes have emerged about how the Ontario EAP market seems to operate.

In a two-part series, I will share insights about navigating a career in EAP that I wish I had realized from the start. I am confident much of what I say can apply to other TESL environments too.

In this first blog of the series, I discuss how people can get their foot in the door.

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H5P Power Tools


Written by - John Allan @mrpottz
Image Taken By: John Allan

H5P has become a buzzword since we adapted to online learning.  It has been touted as a way to integrate interactive, self-assessing, and media-rich learning objects into an online course. This is true, but many instructors quickly learned that even though H5P presents a relatively intuitive authoring method, the number of tools and associated options make this process overwhelming. 

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Seven motivational quotes for language learners


Written by - Gonul Turkdogan

Motivation is one of the key challenges for successful language learning, but sometimes instructors don’t sufficiently utilize motivation. Some teachers even think they cannot play a major role in student motivation, but I believe we can motivate our students in many ways. For example, motivational quotes are a great device to inspire our students. While teaching last summer at Niagara College, I shared biweekly motivational quotes to boost my students’ ambition. They truly enjoyed them! Below are the seven motivational quotes that my students voted as their favourites.

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Advanced Moodle Activities


Written by - John Allan @mrpottz
Image source: Pixaby by janjf93

Since the pandemic learning management systems have become a common means of hosting online content.  Beyond content, LMS provide security, accountability, feedback and various opportunities for collective and individualized learning.  The Avenue project is hosted on the Moodle learning management system.  Moodle arrives with a set of core activities that include:   Continue reading →

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Students in Charge: Ideas for Reading and Listening Activities


Written by - Bei Zhang
Image source: www.bigstockphoto.com

Recently, I did a small experiment with my students. Instead of me assigning reading and listening tasks, I asked them to read an article and watch a YouTube video, and then make their own questions as if they were teachers. The results and feedback were quite astonishing.

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Interview with 3 Board Members – A Year in Review (Part 2 of 2) 


Written by - teslontario

In Part 1 of this two-part series, you were introduced to three of the TESL ON Board members who have completed one year of service. In Part 2, we dig deeper into their responses about their perspectives as Board members.  

Interview (continued)

What have you learned from your fellow Board members in the last year? 

Cecilia: Where do I start? Everyone is truly focused on the continued strengthening of the organization and to share their individual talents to make this happen. We have only Zoomed since I joined but I have felt welcomed from the very first time we met. New members are matched with a mentor who we can call on anytime and that’s reflective of the spirit of collaboration that exists within the Board and our organization as a whole. David Hezell, past Chair and treasurer, became my mentor and that helped me to transition to my current role as treasurer.  

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