Awarding Teacher Training Recognition

Name of Standard

Details of Eligibility

Professional Standard One

The Professional Certificate: Standard One is intended to recognize ESL/EFL educators who have completed an undergraduate degree and a Standard One TESL Canada recognized TESL training program.

The Professional Certificate: Standard One may be granted upon presentation of certified evidence of:

1)    Completion of an undergraduate degree at an accredited post-secondary institution, and

2)    Completion of a TESL Canada Recognized TESL Training  Program which includes:

a)    A minimum of 100 hours of theory and methodology and

b)    A supervised practicum of a minimum of 20 hours (10 hours of observation and 10 hours of teaching under the supervision of an instructor certified at a minimum of TESL Canada Professional Certificate: Standard One, Two, or Three with at least 2,000 hours of adult ESL/EFL classroom experience  or equivalent.)

c)    Up to half of the practicum teaching hours may be completed in online synchronous* and asynchronous** environments, with no more than 25% of the total teaching hours completely online asynchronously***.

d)    Up to 50% of the total hours of classroom observation be permitted to be done through recorded footage of in-person adult ESL classes selected from TESL Canada’s recommended list or recordings of similar quality.

Note:  Item (2) may be part of an undergraduate or graduate degree.

Professional Standard Two

The Professional Certificate: Standard Two is intended to recognize ESL/EFL educators who have completed an undergraduate degree and a Standard Two TESL Canada recognized TESL training program.

The Professional Certificate: Standard Two may be granted upon presentation of certified evidence of:

1)    Completion of an undergraduate degree at an accredited post-secondary institution, and

2)    Completion of a Standard Two TESL Canada Recognized TESL Training  Program which includes:

a)    A minimum of 250 hours of theory and methodology and

b)    A supervised practicum of a minimum of 50 hours (30 hours of observation and 20 hours of teaching under the supervision of an instructor certified at a minimum of TESL Canada Professional Certificate: Standard One, Two, or Three with at least 2,000 hours of adult ESL/EFL classroom experience   or equivalent.)

c)    Up to half of the practicum teaching hours may be completed in online synchronous* and asynchronous** environments, with no more than 25% of the total teaching hours completely online asynchronously***.

d)    Up to 50% of the total hours of classroom observation be permitted to be done through recorded footage of in-person adult ESL classes selected from TESL Canada’s recommended list or recordings of similar quality.

Note:  Item (2) may be part of an undergraduate or graduate degree.

Professional Standard Three

The Professional Certificate: Standard Three is intended to recognize ESL/EFL educators who have completed a Master’s/Doctoral degree in TESL or equivalent with a demonstrated background in adult education from a Canadian institution which is a member in good standing of Universities Canada, and a minimum of 50 hours in a supervised adult ESL/EFL classroom practicum.

The Professional Certificate: Standard Three may be granted upon presentation of certified evidence of:

1)    Completion of a Master’s/Doctoral degree in TESL or equivalent from a Canadian institution which is a member in good standing of Universities Canada ,

2)    Demonstrated background in adult education, and

Completion of a minimum of 50 hours in a supervised adult ESL/EFL classroom practicum (30 hours of classroom observation and 20 hours of teaching under the supervision of an instructor certified at a minimum of TESL Canada Professional Certificate: Standard One, Two, or Three with at least 2,000 hours of adult ESL/EFL classroom experience or equivalent.) Up to half of the practicum teaching hours may be completed in online synchronous* and asynchronous** environments, with no more than 25% of the total teaching hours completely online asynchronously***.

Up to 50% of the total hours of classroom observation be permitted to be done through recorded footage of in-person adult ESL classes selected from TESL Canada’s recommended list or recordings of similar quality.

OR

1)    The requirements of Professional Standard One or Two,

2)    Completion of a Master’s degree or PhD in a related field at an accredited post-secondary institution.

https://www.ip-exhibitions.eu/events/autumn-21-virtual-ip-exhibition/

Bow Valley College Online Professional Development offerings: TESL

Post-TESL Certificate: Advanced Teaching Strategies for Diverse Classrooms

The Post-TESL Certificate provides focused and relevant professional development for ELL practitioners working with adult learners. It is designed to help you keep your skills and knowledge up to date. A certificate is granted upon successful completion of four of the six courses offered in this program.

Each 12-hour online course is cohort-based and facilitated by an instructor. Each course has regular deadlines to keep you on track to complete the course over four weeks. (These are not self-paced courses.)

Fall 2021 course offerings:

Task-Based Language Teaching in the Canadian Context

Sept. 13 - Oct. 8, 2021

12-hour online course

$295.00

To register: Click here, scroll down and click on add to cart.

Join us for this four-week online professional development course that will introduce you task-based learning in an ELL setting. You will examine the integration of language knowledge into tasks, explore effective assessment of task-based learning and consider how to implement task-based learning in real-world classrooms.

Teaching in Multilevel Contexts

November 1-26, 2021

12-hour online course

$295.00

To register: Click here, scroll down and click on add to cart.

This four-week online professional development course will introduce you to highly practical strategies and approaches for differentiating and scaffolding reading and writing tasks for learners at different language proficiency levels. You will explore effective strategies and approaches for teaching reading and writing in a multilevel setting and consider how to incorporate what you learn in a real-world classroom.

Bow Valley College Online PD Opportunities: Intercultural Competencies Courses

Supporting Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners in College Career Programs

October 25-Dec. 3, 2021

(Registration opens Sept. 1)

6 weeks, $225.00

This facilitated course provides insights into cultural differences in academic cultures. Learn strategies to support culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) learners in your post-secondary classes as they navigate a new academic environment. The course also helps develop cultural awareness and intercultural competence, which are essential components for developing a global and inclusive perspective.

Intercultural Competencies for Leaders Certificate

4 courses, 48 hours in total, $295.00 per course

Increase your intercultural understanding and skills. This certificate program is essential for anyone working in a diverse setting. It offers useful tools to build intercultural sensitivity and enhance intercultural communication skills. The certificate is comprised of four 12-hour online courses which are cohort-based and facilitated by an instructor. Each course has regular deadlines to keep you on track to complete the course over four weeks. (These are not self-paced courses.)

Intercultural Competence 1

Sept. 13 - Oct. 8, 2021

Explore your own mindset and worldview and develop strategies for checking assumptions. Gain insight about important cultural frameworks and other worldviews. This course is typically offered in September, January and May of each year.

Intercultural Competence 2

Nov. 1 – 26, 2021

Build motivation and curiosity and develop the requisite attitudes for working towards successful intercultural interactions. Explore case studies employing multiple lenses and important frameworks. This course is typically offered in November, March and June of each year.

Supervisory Skills in Intercultural Teams

Sept. 13 - Oct. 8, 2021

Develop skillsets essential for building an inclusive environment on your team. Explore case studies and own experiences by employing varied lenses and intercultural frameworks to enhance a global mindset. This course is typically offered in September, January and May of each year.

Indigenous Awareness: Engaging Diversity and Inclusion

Currently being updated

Learn about Indigenous histories and contemporary realities in Canada. Explore cultural differences and basic indigenous ways of knowing and being while examining your own worldview with a goal to promote understanding and foster inclusivity. This course is typically offered in November, March and June of each year.

Graduates of the Intercultural Competencies for Leaders Certificate can also enroll in a personalized optional course: Developing a Global Mindset

For more information, contact the School of Global Access at Bow Valley College: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Teaching Children in ESL/EFL Classes (Online)

Saturday June 12, 2021 from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM EST 

Fees: $78.24 

TESL-trained teachers who go overseas often find themselves in front of a classroom of young children but lack the experience to teach them. This four-hour virtual workshop on Teaching Young Children in the ESL/EFL classroom will provide participants with practical strategies that can be used in an English-language classroom full of young learners, whether in Canada or overseas. Participants will learn classroom management strategies and reward systems, how to create a supportive learning environment and activities that can be used with young learners. Participants will also have the opportunity to learn how the activities and materials used in adult-learning language classes can be adapted for young children. The workshop will be fully online. 

Participants will receive a Certificate of Participation upon completion of workshop.

Register Online: https://humber.ca/courses.html?code=TSOL_010

AMSSA's latest e-learning course, Onboarding LINC Learners Remotely, provides information and tips for LINC instructors and frontline workers offering services remotely. You’ll learn about Internet communications, digital access and equity considerations, different ways to set up virtual classrooms, how to set and maintain boundaries and where to find videos, guides and tools to upskill for remote service delivery.

This course also provides videos and tips to support youwith onboarding and teaching literacy learners virtually. Chekc out the 19 LINC 1 teaching and assessing resources, the IT help videos, sample digital navigator job postings and other downloadable resourcse contributed by individual and organizations working hard on the ground. This course offers a certificate of completion. Time: 2-3 hours

Enroll for the free course here. You will require an AMSSA institue login.

https://institute.amssa.org/courses/onboarding-linc-learners

MOSAIC engage, one of the social enterprises of MOSAIC, is pleased to announce an exciting new teacher training program.

This one-month online certificate program is tailored to meet the learning needs of practicing ESL teachers and those starting out who are seeking specialized knowledge and professional certification in the area of IELTS preparation. IELTS testing is growing tremendously around the world and this course is a ticket to enter this dynamic teaching world.

The next course starts April 6.

USING THE “TEACHING MOMENT” IN LESSON PLANNING

Lesson planning is the most important step in providing meaningful teaching. Whether a seasoned teacher or a new kid on the block, planning is essential and it should go hand in hand with intuition, spontaneity and imagination, which make the complete toolkit for best teaching practices. On the other hand, a too detailed lesson plan can restrict our ability to cater to the needs of our learners as a group;

that is when a “teaching moment” could be perceived as a derailment from our plan and a breakdown in the lesson’s continuity. But, instead of looking at this interruption as a distraction, integrating it in our planning and using it as a teaching tool makes the lessons more varied and fun.

In this 90 minute session, Maria will demonstrate how the TEACHING MOMENT can actually be smartly and successfully INCLUDED in our lesson planning with great results for the learning process. She will show you how it can be made look like a natural occurrence in the middle of an ordinary lesson, at the same time giving credit to our learners for active participation and ultimately turning it into a fun learning experience for everybody.

DATES AVAILABLE:       APRIL 20 @ 5 PM MDT (TUESDAY)

MAY 18 @ 5 PM MDT (TUESDAY) REPEAT

This is a 90-minute session. The regular fee is $40; special fees are available for previous attendees, as well as for booking multiple sessions. Payment can be done by e-transfer or by credit card by sending an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. To register, please send an email at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.specifying the SESSION NAME and PREFERRED DATE in the subject line. Please note that THERE IS A LIMIT OF 15

PARTICIPANTS PER SESSION. For more information, feel free to contact Maria at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE – OR DO THEY?!

While nobody knows exactly where this “aphorism” comes from, today we use it in a self-deprecating, usually humorous way, when we realise that our “mind” has come to the same conclusion as our conversation partners. For educators, such declaration could describe two teaching methods that result in similar responses in our learners, as they acquire a similar piece of knowledge. But while the “minds” may think alike, many times, the path used to get to the same result is different. For instance, we may think that learning to spell correctly can only be done by incessant repetition, endless dictation or diction practice. The same result can also be achieved by reading extensively or by listening to audio books, while reading along. The scope of the activity is the same, but the path to achieve it is different.

In this 90 minute session, Maria will demonstrate different ways to teach the same topic, using different paths, with similar results. Taken from her extensive teaching career and the most recent studies in teaching methodology and pedagogy, she will address the question of teaching styles and learning styles and how we can adapt our teaching so that we address the individual needs of our learners, at the same time catering to the entire group.

DATES AVAILABLE:       APRIL 21 @ 5 PM MDT (WEDNESDAY)

JUNE 10 @ 5 PM MDT (THURSDAY) REPEAT

 This is a 90-minute session. The regular fee is $40; special fees are available for previous attendees, as well as for booking multiple sessions. Payment can be done by e-transfer or by credit card by sending an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. To register, please send an email at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.specifying the SESSION NAME and PREFERRED DATE in the subject line. Please note that THERE IS A LIMIT OF 15

PARTICIPANTS PER SESSION. For more information, feel free to contact Maria at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

“A MILE WIDE, AN INCH DEEP” – PREPARING TRUE REAL WORLD TASKS FOR THE ESL CLASSROOM

With the introduction of the PBLA for LINC programs in Canada and its implementation during the past several years, teachers have focused their lesson planning on finding those “Real World Tasks” to prepare our adult ESL learners for life after LINC. With the idea of the portfolio in mind and trying to scaffold the learning from easy to complex, teachers determine their learners’ progress or lack thereof using real world assessments. But, how many times did you “listen to a friend, colleague or classmate giving basic personal information about his/her life” or “listen to descriptions of various people to identify them in a photograph” in your everyday life? Copied “words from a picture dictionary into a guided text” or “emergency fire instructions posted in a building”?

In this 90 minute session, Maria will help you put together your own list of concrete, true “real world” activities, ready to use in your lessons and assessments, using examples from her 18 years of teaching in LINC programs and a 28-year long teaching career on two continents. THIS IS A SESSION ADDRESSING RWTS FOR CLBS 1 TO 4.

DATES AVAILABLE:       APRIL 27 @ 5 PM MDT (TUESDAY)

MAY 20 @ 5 PM MDT (THURSDAY) REPEAT

 This is a 90-minute session. The regular fee is $40; special fees are available for previous attendees, as well as for booking multiple sessions. Payment can be done by e-transfer or by credit card by sending an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. To register, please send an email at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.specifying the SESSION NAME and PREFERRED DATE in the subject line. Please note that THERE IS A LIMIT OF 15

PARTICIPANTS PER SESSION. For more information, feel free to contact Maria at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

TEACHERS ARE HUMAN AFTER ALL – HOW TO MAKE LEARNING MEANINGFUL BY SHARING PERSONAL STORIES

Building rapport with our learners is the key to a successful learning process in any educational situation or institution. Stepping down from the pedestal our learners like to place us on and showing them that “to err is to be human”, will not make us lose their respect; on the contrary. Showing our learners different ways to overcome the difficulties of learning English through examples taken from our own

“career” as lifelong learners will only empower them and encourage them to work harder.

In this 90 minutes session, Maria will share with you “stories from the ESL classroom” that demonstrate how using personal examples of trials and tribulations and success and failure, empower our learners but also create a relaxed, friendly and comfortable learning environment.

DATES AVAILABLE:       APRIL 29 @ 5 PM MDT (THURSDAY)

MAY 27 @ 5 PM MDT (THURSDAY) REPEAT

This is a 90-minute session. The regular fee is $40; special fees are available for previous attendees, as well as for booking multiple sessions. Payment can be done by e-transfer or by credit card by sending an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. To register, please send an email at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.specifying the SESSION NAME and PREFERRED DATE in the subject line. Please note that THERE IS A LIMIT OF 15

PARTICIPANTS PER SESSION. For more information, feel free to contact Maria at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ASSESSMENT AND FEEDBACK - EMPOWERING OUR LEARNERS (OR HOW TO “PRODUCE” SUCCESSFUL LEARNERS)

When the time for assessment comes, we battle with a number of “big questions”: who are we writing the assessments for: the learner or their next teacher? Also, what do we want to share with the recipients of these assessments: progress, lack thereof or both? Do we want to empower them to continue to work hard or do we put them down so they give up? To a certain extent, teachers acknowledge that the difference between constructive/positive feedback and berating the work of a student is the difference between success and failure. Not only can we prove to our learners which skills they suck at, but we can also trick them and fail them by providing them with complicated and wordy questions so they cannot complete a simple task. But, does this constitute best teaching practices?

In this 90 minute session, Maria invites you to participate in an open and honest discussion about why too many teachers employ such tactics that are not only detrimental to our learners, but ultimately to all of us in the teaching profession. She will share different ways to give feedback for lack of progress by using encouragement and positive reinforcement and will demonstrate how easy it is to change the

“negative” into “positive” while being true to the scope of our job.

DATES AVAILABLE:       MAY 4 @ 5 PM MDT (TUESDAY)

MAY 11 @ 5 PM MDT (TUESDAY) REPEAT

This is a 90-minute session. The regular fee is $40; special fees are available for previous attendees, as well as for booking multiple sessions. Payment can be done by e-transfer or by credit card by sending an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. To register, please send an email at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.specifying the SESSION NAME and PREFERRED DATE in the subject line. Please note that THERE IS A LIMIT OF 15

PARTICIPANTS PER SESSION. For more information, feel free to contact Maria at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

TEACHING STYLES AND LESSON PLANNING FOR THE ADULT ESL CLASSROOM (PART 1 & 2)

Teacher training programs more often than not, focus on providing their participants with a limited array of tools they can use to put together a lesson plan, find appropriate resources, create original

tasks or adapt assessments/tasks passed on from one “generation” to another. The practicum is also based on the one-size-fits-all lesson planning and the assumption that all teachers should teach the same way. What these programs do not take into account is how WE learn and, directly connected to this, how WE TEACH.

As they gain experience and become more confident, it is common for new teachers to discover that there are different ways to teach some contentious grammar point, include a speaking component in a reading task or prepare a fun vocabulary enrichment lesson, but for various reasons they prefer to go the beaten path and persevere in using the same teaching techniques whether they work or not.

In this 2-part session, Maria will help you identify your preferred teaching style and so, create lessons using the style that best matches your personality, without lowering or jeopardising the quality of your teaching. The first part will help you identify what your teaching style is and learn more about the different learning styles so that you can make an informed decision about what works for which task. The second part will provide you with the tools to put the “theory into practice”, by creating multi-style lessons that you are comfortable with and will also demonstrate how to collaborate with your peers and colleagues and organise the perfect “multiple-teaching-styles-common-activities”.

DATES AVAILABLE:       MAY 6 & 13 @ 5 PM (THURSDAY)

JUNE 11 & 18 @ 1 PM MDT (FRIDAY) REPEAT

This is a 2-part 90-minute each, session. The regular fee is $75 (both parts); special fees are available for previous attendees, as well as for booking multiple sessions. Payment can be done by e-transfer or by credit card by sending an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. To register, please send an email at:

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.specifying the SESSION NAME and PREFERRED DATE in the subject line. Please note that THERE IS A LIMIT OF 15 PARTICIPANTS PER SESSION. For more information, feel free to contact

Maria at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..