Category Archives: Professional Development

Joining the TESL Ontario Board


Written by - Paula Ogg

Inspiration to Join the TESL Ontario Board

Image Source: www.bigstockphoto.com

During the Ontario College strike in October 2017, I felt compelled to be more politically aware. Then, in October 2018, I attended the Canadian Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) Pan-Canadian Research Conference and I found the global and local initiatives to improve education truly inspiring. At my institution, I joined our Senate, Honorary Degree Committee, Local Executive Council, and became the Chair of the Academic Policy Committee. Being a driver of change is really hopeful and promising.

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Professional Development Opportunities


Written by - teslontario
New Year Resolution Goal List 2020 - Business office desk with notebook written in handwriting about plan listing of new year goals and resolutions setting. Change and determination concept.
image source: www.bigstockphoto.com

Have you renewed your TESL Ontario membership? Did you get in your hours of PD last year? We’re just two months into 2020, but it’s never too early to start planning your calendar, registering for new PD opportunities, and checking off those boxes! Whether it’s trying your hand at writing a blog post as an Occasional Blogger on our blog, virtually attending one our webinars, or having face-to-face connections at an affiliate workshop, there are so many ways to keep learning about the field, share your passion, and add up those hours.

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Keeping Your Passion for Teaching Alive


Written by - Martina Finnegan
Portrait of Asian Muslim woman smiling when reading book, magical book with letters flying from it
Source: bigstockphoto.com

Teaching techniques have been expanding and unfolding with ever-evolving paradigms that make the teaching profession demanding, and, at times, it can be difficult to maintain your passion for teaching. Drawing from my own experiences of teaching for the past ten years, I have compiled a list of ways to help you keep the passion in your teaching.

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Experiences at the 47th Annual TESL Ontario Conference


Written by - teslontario
Photo source: Jessica Freitag

The Marriott Downtown at CF Eaton Centre in Toronto was abuzz December 5 and 6 for the TESL Ontario Annual Conference 2019. Events included three keynote speakers, over 80 presentations, 28 interactive workshops, poster and publisher exhibits, and more.

Attendees viewing exhibits at the conference
Photo source: Svjetlana Vrbanic

Two members of our blog team, Lana and Jessica, attended Day 2 of the conference and each experienced a small sample of what was available. Following are some highlights from their day.

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‘Tis the Season for a Conference!


Written by - teslontario
Conference Concept. Modern Line Style Illustration. Multicolor Conference Drawn on Dark Brick Wall. Doodle Icons. Doodle Design Style of Conference Concept. Conference on Dark Brick Wall. Conference.
image source: www.bigstockphoto.com

The TESL Ontario Annual Conference is right around the corner! December 5th and 6th will be here before we know it. Are you attending? We’ve been looking at the schedule and highlighting all over the place! There are so many interesting topics being covered that it’s hard to pick just one at a time.

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Preparing for the TESL Ontario Conference


Written by - Svjetlana Vrbanic @lanavrb

The 47th Annual TESL Ontario Conference is quickly approaching, and I am gearing up for a great time.

A Chance to Network and Learn

Background concept wordcloud illustration of professional networking
Image source: www.bigstockphoto.com

This will be my first conference as a newly certified teacher. I am looking forward to seeing my colleagues – some new faces, and, hopefully, some I have seen before – and learning something new.

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October 22 #CdnELTchat (Technology, Organization, Blended Learning and Online Learning)


Written by - teslontario
Image source: #CdnELTchat

by Jennifer Chow

On October 22, enthusiastic #CdnELTchat participants talked about “Technology, Organization, Blended Learning and Online Learning”. We were excited to have Rob McBride (@LearnIT2Teach) of New Language Solutions join us as our guest moderator for this chat. Rob is one of the project managers for the EduLINC coursewareand LearnIT2Teach/Avenue.ca. Thank-you to all those who added their thoughts before, during and after the chat. 

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Self-care for teachers: #CdnELTchat September 24, 2019


Written by - teslontario
image source: #CdnELTchat

written by Bonnie Nicholas

As always, during the live chat, participants had a lively discussion responding to the questions posted by our moderator, Augusta Avram. And as always, people who couldn’t participate in the live chat added to the richness of the conversation afterwards through the #slowburn format. Thanks to everyone who participated! A couple of themes emerged from the ongoing conversation: #ELT can be stressful work, and we need to take care of ourselves and support each other. Some ideas that were shared included having an emergency self-care kit, remembering that “no” is a complete sentence, making  time and space to debrief, blocking off me time, advocating for ourselves as well as for our students, setting boundaries, and remembering the importance of exercise and physical health.

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What I Did on My Summer Vacations


Written by - Guest Contributor
Image Source: Patrice Palmer
Palmer, second from left, with staff of Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce Training Centre, 2017.





Do you remember having to write about your summer vacation on your first day back to school?  It doesn’t seem like a very original topic, but I want to share my experience as a volunteer in Honduras, Ethiopia, and Guyana with Canadian Executive Services Organization (CESO).  You are probably wondering how this happened since I’m an ESL teacher, not an executive.  Let me explain. 

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