TESL 0100 - Fundamentals of TESL - Visualizing my Classroom

As I imagine my future classroom there are 5 things I envision: 

1. Diversity - I will probably have a wide range of cultures and needs in my 
classroom, I will need to be flexible and aware.

2. Technology - Technological literacy is important in Canada today. EdTech can 
be used as a multi-purpose educational tool. 

3. Group Work and Hands-up Activity - Collaboration between students creates powerful
 learning opportunities and hands-on activities make the lesson memorable. 

4. Engaging with my students on a personal level - Education built on a trusting and
 positive relationship with the educator is key.

5. Joyful, supportive community - Classrooms are communities! We all want to feel 
safe to be ourselves and have a little fun along the way :)  
 

References:

[Photograph of large group of cheering students] (2017). Retrieved from: 
https://www.bostonpublicschools.org/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&ModuleInstanceID=
12450&ViewID=DEDCCD34-7C24-4AF2-812A-33C0075398BC&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=
16887&PageID=5947&Tag=&Comments=true

[Photograph of students at the computer] (2019). Retrieved from:  
https://www.thoughtco.com/call-use-in-the-esl-efl-classroom-1210504

[Photograph of students working in a group] (2019). Retrieved from: 
 https://kingdomway.ca/free-esl-class/

[Photograph of teacher helping student] (2018). Retrieved from: 
 https://www.thoughtco.com/beginner-the-alphabet-1212141

[Photograph of smiling students] (2019). Retrieved from: https://kingdomway.ca/free-esl-class/

TESL 0100 - Fundamentals of TESL - Unit 10

Unit 10: A look into the future

 

As we come to the end of this fundamentals course, it’s a natural time to reflect on the 
journey and look to the direction we want to travel in. The path to becoming certified TESL
instructors will need to include continuing professional development, collaboration with others, 
self care, social responsibility and critical pedagogy. We aren’t alone, we have a supportive 
community of student peers and educators, as well as numerous published and online 
resources. 

As I reflect on how I would like to continue with my professional development and 
collaboration with others I will continue to draw on the supports I mentioned in my 
PLN drawing: Tutela, ESL teaching blogs/websites, Twitter, working at a school with other 
educators, class discussions with my TESL student peers, friends and family and will as PD 
days with MB Teal. As I grow and develop in my career as a language educator I hope to make 
more connections with the Twitter TESL community and will as with local TESL instructors. 
Something I really would like to do in the future is to attend TEAL Manitoba events and perhaps 
go to the BC TEAL annual conference as I hear it’s an excellent event. There are also many 
tele-conference style workshops and seminars that I often see posted on my Twitter feed that 
I think would be fun to partake in. Twitter is such a rich connection to the TESL world and I’m 
thankful that this course is designed in a way that encouraged us to engage with that 
community. I honestly wouldn’t have ever started a Twitter account for professional 
development reasons if this course hadn’t encouraged it. I’m happy I did! 

Another important part aspect of the teaching profession is self care and avoiding 
burn out. As a helping profession, teachers give a lot of themselves. Staying late after class 
to talk to a stressed out reufee mother, marking at home, planning early in the morning, trying 
to problem solve classroom issues, and juggling the needs of administrators and students. 
Something I’ve learnt along the way is that boundaries, firm priorities, and clear expectations 
are all important to maintain a professional relationship with your students and other teaching
staff. Another thing I’ve had to learn is that there is wisdom is “putting your own oxygen 
mask on first”. If you are run down and emotionally ragged you will very little use to those 
who you are teaching. You will have little to draw on while serving others, struggle with 
impatience, feel more negative and have trouble feeling joy in your work. Your students 
need you to bring strength, wisdom and love to your classroom. You are a leader in your 
classroom community and if you hanging on by a thread you really aren’t helping those 
around you. Immigrant adults who are learning English are most likely under quite a bit of 
personal stress themselves and are looking to you for help and direction.

As I reflect on the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual strain of the EAL classroom 
these are a few things I can predict for myself. Physically, as a teacher I know you are 
often hunched over a computer or a stack of papers, marking and lesson planning. In the 
classroom you are often leaning over desks and walking around the class. Ways that I can 
take care of myself are to exercise regularly, even if that means taking a walk in the evenings 
or doing some gentle yoga before bed. Emotionally, I foresee myself getting heavily invested 
in the lives of my students and wanting to help in every way I can. Knowing that I am an 
empathetic person I will need to set up healthy boundaries and keep in mind that it’s not my 
job to fix every stressful situation I’m made aware of. Another area that I predict may cause 
me stress is if there is disrespect in my class towards myself or others. A way that I can 
handle this is to draw on the support and wisdom of my administrators and fellow teaching 
staff. Mentally, I see myself perhaps getting frustrated if my teaching isn’t effective if the way 
I would like or if there is a big roadblock with one of my students that I can’t figure of a solution 
for. This is another situation that I will need to turn to my PLN in. Another mental strain may 
be just the stress of grading and lesson planning. Hopefully good planning and priorities will 
help to alleviate that strain.  Spiritually, I see myself becoming burdened and grieving for 
some of the stories I may hear. Some of the refugees I know have shared such sad and scary
stories with me, one can’t help of grieve for the state of our world. I think a way to deal with 
this strain is to look for the hope and resilience in these stories. Look for the love and strength 
that people have shown and focus of these things. As that Mr. Roger’s quote says, 
“Look for the helpers.”

As a look to the next step in my TESL education, I’m excited to see how I will continue to 
grow and how my guiding principles will continue to be shaped along the way. 

References: 

[Photograph of airplane wing] ( 2019). Retrieved from: 

    https://unsplash.com/search/photos/plane

[Photograph of airplane stewardess] ( 2017). Retrieved from: 
 http://www.bakjacconsulting.com/michelles-blog/2017/5/28/how-to-put-your-own-oxygen-
mask-on-first

[Mr. Rogers photograph and quote] (2017). Retrieved from: 

    https://twitter.com/usatoday/status/914905437442539520

TESL 0100 - Fundamentals of TESL - Unit 5

Unit 5: What can I learn from others?

 

Issac Newton is famously quoted as saying, “If I have seen further, it is by standing on
the shoulders of giants.” This is abundantly true for those in the teaching profession. Many
hours of research, trial and error and personal experience has shaped the teachers that have 
come before us. It would be arrogant to believe that we don’t need to humbly study the findings, 
writings and posts of experienced English language educators. We have the privilege of access
to decades of detailed methods, approaches and techniques. In the age of the internet, we have
so many resources at our fingertips, why not take advantage of them. We have much to learn 
from those who have explored unknown territory and unpaved paths before us. 

I would like to highlight 3 topics that were discussed in this unit that peaked my interest: 
deductive vs inductive teaching, the use of authentic materials and who has control of the 
language learning in the classroom. 

Deductive vs. Inductive Teaching: This is a topic I am very curious about! I work in a 
highschool EAL classroom where the style of our program is submersion into regular stream 
classes. We have an EAL room that is always open to the students for help. High school 
students come to help during their spares and elementary and middle school students are 
pulled out of their homerooms to work with an EA for 30-60 minutes at a time. There really 
isn’t time, space, or energy for a lot of deductive, direct English language instruction, especially
 with the highschool students who have demanding schedules and are often stressed about 
completing their regular stream academic work. The general methodology of our program has 
been predominantly inductive style language learning. At times I’ve wondered if there we are 
doing them a disservice by not doing more direct teaching about the ins and outs of English. 
I agree that inductive learning that results some submersion is substantial and beneficial for 
survival/social language use. What is made evident in their reading and writing is that they are 
weak in the specifics of sentence structure and vocabulary. Perhaps the more technical aspects
of language are harder to just “pick up”? Surely there is a balance that needs to be struck. I 
would like to learn more about what the research says about the effectiveness of direct and 
indirect teaching. Should we focus on one more than the other in our future classrooms?

Authentic Materials: I see a big benefit in using authentic materials in the EAL classroom for
the following reasons.  First, from my experience in the classroom using authentic materials 
that students encounter in their real everyday lives peaks the interest of the students. When 
there is a personal connection with the material, students are more engaged and are more 
likely to remember the lesson. Students who are interested and engaged are students who are
learning. Secondly, it’s efficient to use materials that students will encounter in real life because 
you are equipping them with the decoding skills they will need along with giving yourself 
opportunities to incorporate cultural and social teaching as well. Thirdly, using authentic 
resources are easy to obtain, are often free and you can get multiple copies at once. Can’t 
argue with that! 

Who is in control of the learning in the classroom?: This is something that challenged me 
and sparked my imagination. Does the teacher control the learning in the classroom or do the 
students? EAL communities are there to serve the needs of students. Their needs determine 
how and what we teach. If the perceived or vocalized needs of students are being not fulfilled 
then we as teachers we need to reevaluate our methods and goals. Is the curriculum actually 
equipping our students to survive and thrive in English speaking Canada? I think this was a 
humbling realization for me that my role is to serve and to be sensitive and trustworthy enough 
for my students to let me into their worlds and share their needs and struggles. They may have
 needs that they aren’t aware of and I can plainly see, they may have trouble identifying what 
they need. It’s my role to lead them and teach them in a winsome and empathetic way, 
empowering them to emerge into the modern Canadian world with the tools they need.

All this to say, we as future educators have much to learn from others. We must be careful to 
be humble, teachable and take on our role with a sense of adventure and flexibility. Standing 
of the shoulders of giants, we can see much further sights, let’s enjoy the view! 

References

[Illustration of Issac Newton] (2019). Retrieved from 

    http://www.davidebonazzi.com/news

[Photograph of Hiker] (2019). Retrieved from: 

    https://theblazingahead.com/standing-shoulders-giants/

[Illustration of Hikers] (2019). Retrieved from:

    http://www.davidebonazzi.com/news

TESL 0100 - Fundamentals of TESL - Unit 1 - My Personal Learning Network (PLN)

TESL 0100 - Fundamentals of TESL - Unit 1 - Personal Teaching Identity Diagram

TESL 0100 - Fundamentals of TESL - Unit 1

Unit 1: Who am I and who I want to become

Beginning a career as a teacher is kind of like standing in front of the menu 
at the restaurant. You are faced with many choices and decisions. It can be 
overwhelming to think about what kind of teacher you want to be, who you will teach,
what kind of classroom you will foster, what kind of impact will you make, what teaching 
practices are best, and the list goes on. As we take steps towards becoming teachers, 
we will have many choices and they may involve some risk seeing as we have yet 
to “taste the food”. 

The strain of making choices can be alleviated by developing guiding principles and foundational
beliefs. Clarifying the purpose, role and goal of a teacher will help to form these underlying values.  
What is the purpose of the teacher? I personally believe the purpose of a teacher is to take the lead 
in building a trusting relationship with their students in order to facilitate both academic and character 
growth. The teacher’s role is to provide a calm, structured and enjoyable environment in which the 
student can gain the confidence needed to take risks in language learning and to positively contribute 
to the classroom community. The next integral question in teacher identity is defining our role. What is 
the teacher’s role in the classroom? What is the teacher’s role in the students learning? This may 
change in different contexts, with different proficiency levels and with different end goals. My view is that
the overarching role of the teacher is to be a guide for the students, to inspire confidence, to take the 
lead in fostering community and to create and maintain a healthy classroom environment. Finally, what 
the goal of the teacher? Well, the specific goals of a classroom teacher will obviously change from 
situation to situation however I believe it’s helpful for me to articulate a grand goal. I say the goal of the
teacher is to lead their students in becoming independent learners who are curious, self motivated and
able to problem solve for themselves. As teachers we won’t always be there to explain everything to
them and so the greatest gift we can give them is the tools to bravely solve the language frustrations 
they will inevitably encounter in the future. As a TESL student entering into the teaching profession, I 
hope that having an anchor to my teaching identity will help me in the many choices I will need to make
along the way. 

The choices we consciously or unconsciously make in the classroom are driven by our past
learning experiences and beliefs about education. As I hone in on my identity as a teacher I will 
need to take some time to reflect on who I am and who I want to become. Who I am? Well on the 
surface a white female born and raised in a small English speaking Manitobian town. I’m a native
English speaker who has studied 2 other languages other than my own, French and Chinese. I 
attended a English school but took French class from grades 4-12. In my early adulthood I had the 
opportunity to be immersed in Chinese and learn Chinese in a classroom environment for a short time.
These are my only formal language learning experiences. To be honest, I don’t identify as someone 
who is particularly good at learning other languages and I can’t say I loved learning French or Chinese. 
That said, I’ve always enjoyed English and excelled in my ELA classes. My parents read to me a lot as a
child and I’ve always had a strong intuition regarding language. I’ve also always enjoyed teaching and 
have been affirmed by others in my abilities as a teacher. I love to help others and enjoy the challenge of
coaching a student along until “things click”. 

I believe classrooms are communities and that the relationships and experiences we have while learning 
can deeply affect us in meaningful and lasting ways. I personally have been greatly influenced by the 
different teachers I have had during my education career. When a teacher loves what they do, it shows!
Teachers have challenged my thinking, improved my character, build my confidence, encouraged me to 
not give up, and inspired me to contribute my best to the world. I guess that brings me to who I want to
become as a teacher. I’m thankful for both the amazing teachers I’ve had as well as the teachers that
weren’t so great, for I’ve learnt from both. I think it comes down to this, I want to be a teacher that 
sees the best in my students. I want to have a strong enough character to be able to see through
classroom problems and envision the potential of my students. I want to be a positive presence in the
lives of my students and have the strength to lead our classroom community into new broader horizons. 
Well perhaps this is all a little idealistic, sure, maybe it is, but you have to have vision to get you through
the rough patches. My job isn’t to change my students, that will be their choice. My job is to lead and 
create opportunities to grow academically and personally to the best of the professional capacity. 

All this to say, I feel I am just at the beginning of my teaching journey, staring up at the “menu” in front 
of me with many choices to be made. Instead of thinking of it as overwhelming, perhaps I need to
reframe it as exciting and full of interesting possibilities. Many different flavours, combinations and
presentation styles to try and experiment with. Bon Appetit! 

References

[Photograph of Cafe Menu] (2015). Retrieved from: 

    https://pixabay.com/photos/cafe-restaurant-menu-coffee-984275/

Moss, L. (Photographer). (2017, May). Items from the To Share section of the menu  
[Photograph]. Retrieved from https://njmonthly.com/articles/restaurant-reviews/subterranean
-urban-luau-cellar-335-jersey-city/