Chilliwack Learning videos

Take a few moments during the holidays to check out our promotional videos.  http://www.youtube.com/user/chilliwacklearning/videos?view=0

Decoda - B.C.'s Literacy Organization

The Decoda Literacy Library has books you can borrow for free!  Decoda pays the delivery and return costs. You can return the books using the prepaid return label enclosed with your delivery.

Check out their website http://decoda.ca/resources/library to search the online catalogue of over 5000 titles and request books or browse materials lists by topic.  For help or ideas, email library@decoda.ca or call 604-681-4199.

New On-Line Learning Tool

NorQuest College in Edmonton had a new on-line interactive ESL teaching resource, Interactive English 2. The resource is built around short stories told through video, audio, and text, and creates opportunities for learners to safely experience and understand Canadian culture and develop functional literacy skills. These stories and associated activities are designed to develop reading, listening, vocabulary, and cultural literacy skills for students from diverse cultural backgrounds.

Interactive English 2 is suitable for adults who are learning in a classroom setting, training in employment preparation, studying with community tutors, or working on their own as self-directed language learners. The resource is available free at http://ie.norquest.ca/.  Check it out, and recommend to your learners!

Listening Skills

Some English learners have particular difficulty with listening.  They may be able to speak English, especially if they have time to prepare or practice what they will say.  They may be fairly good readers and writers of English because they've done so for many years, even in their home country.  Listening can be the biggest challenge for some individuals.  Native speakers talk too fast, run words together, don't give the listener time to sort out what is being said before moving on to the next sentence...
Listening skills will only improve with practice, practice, practice!  Online practice is a great way to add practice!  Check out many great web-sites at
http://www.eslstation.net/ESL320L/320L_Listen.htm
Strong English listening skills are especially important to attend college or work in customer service, hospitality, healthcare, etc. Regular on-line practice will show results!  A volunteer tutor to practice with is best of all!

Computer Skills

Computer skills are important for the Canadian workplace and vital for post-secondary education.  Here are a couple of good web-sites for ESL learners to practice their typing.

www.powertyping.com

www.typingtest.com

The computer lab at Immigrant Services has drop-in computer time as well as classes for beginners and intermediate users.  Check out the current schedule by calling Holly at 604-393-3251.  Pass on the information to your learner or come along to coach and improve your own skills!

To assess computer skills, try the on-line assessment at  http://www.thewclc.ca/edge/issue12/ComputerUse/ComputerUse.html

Computer use is one of the 9 Essential Skills for the Canadian Workplace.

Count and Non-Count Nouns

Ever wonder why we say “How much milk…” but “How many apples…”?  English learners learn the rules early on but frequently need to be reminded that it’s not correct to say “I found a few information...” 

Read the inspiring article about Phillip Choi at http://www.douglas.bc.ca/about/features/feature_story_archives/2009/esl-to-engineering.html

Note Phillip's reference to corrected writing. Does your learner have trouble with count and non-count nouns? Try promoting Phillip's trick of identifying all the nouns in his writing and thinking about whether they can be counted. Then apply the rules:

WITH COUNT NOUNS	WITH NON-COUNT NOUNS
a(n), the, some, any this, that, these, those none, one, two,… many a lot of a (large/great) number of (a)    few fewer… than more… than	the, some, any this, that none much a lot of a large amount of (a)    little less… than more… than

 

November 27 Workshop

ESL tutors are invited to our November professional development session for OWLs. This session will be a workshop on dyslexia that will provide you with an introduction to dyslexia characteristics, help you understand how dyslexia impacts language learning, and provide you with various strategies to use when tutoring students with dyslexia.

We expect this to be a very beneficial workshop even if your current learner is not formally diagnosed as dyslexic. I often have learners who "self-diagnose" as dyslexic, and they may benefit from some of the strategies covered in the workshop.

Details are as follows:

Date: Nov 27 2012

Time: 7 - 9 pm

Location: Immigrant Services - 9214 Mary St. Chilliwack, BC

Cost: FREE

The workshop facilitator is Debbie Weismiller.  Debbie is an English as a Second Language Teacher plus an Orton-Gillingham (OG) tutor specializing in teaching reading and writing skills, and school subject support to those with dyslexia as well as other learning, cognitive and behavioral disabilities.

Debbie graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a Certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language in 2002. She also was trained in the Orton Gillingham method of language instruction in 1992. Over the next several years, Debbie continued on with advanced OG instruction and completed Mentor Programs levels one and two.

Debbie has tutored students for over 22 years. She has delivered Advanced OG lectures, been a teaching assistant in the Orton Gillingham Introductory Course, and delivered professional development workshops. Debbie has been a speaker on the subject of dyslexia at learning disability associations, community associations and for various schools.

The workshop will be limited to 12 participants. Please reserve your spot.

Welcome!

Welcome to our new ESLSAP Chilliwack web-page.  This page will be incorporated into the Chilliwack Learning Community Web-site after it is updated in 2013.  Hopefully then we will have functions for discussions.  For now, I hope you will visit and comment on this BLOG often…

On-line tutor training

ESLSAP has excellent training for tutors of ESL learners.  This training is part of the package for new tutor training.  For continuing tutors it’s a great way to refresh your skills.  For inspiration and education, check it out at http://www.mytrainingbc.ca/eslsap/training/ 

Tutors needed

Do you know anyone who would enjoy what you do – be a bridge to a newcomer in Chilliwack?  Invite them to visit the ESLSAP information web-site at http://www.mytrainingbc.ca/eslsap/recruitment/

Thank you ALL for your partnership – you are making a difference!