B.A., B.Ed., TESL Certificate

My Current Teaching and Research Interests:

My current teaching assignments have taken me into many local schools, and these visits have caused me to reflect on my own education and ask some very basic questions: what is the role of education? Does our own education determine who we are as a teacher? What can we do to step out of ourselves and see new ways of thinking and doing? I love to explore these questions with students.

On the language level, my passion is the sentence in all its perplexing permutations. Some people love Sudoki: I love to unravel sentences.

My Teaching Biography:

Throughout high school and university I worked at Participation House, a residence for individuals with disabilities. Most of the people living there had difficulty with oral communication, so I learned how to communicate using Blissymbolics, spelling boards, body language and computers. It was a unique community in which people strived to communicate despite tremendous obstacles.

After I finished university I worked at a university in Chongqing, PRC, and found myself again in an amazing new community of people sharing new ideas and perspectives while learning English. My year abroad profoundly influenced the way I see the world.

For me, each new class is a new community of people who come from all over the world to communicate: to share their ideas, their passions, their dreams. My life is enriched by every class.

Those two words, communication and community, are key to what I consider to be a great learning environment.

Interests, Hobbies and Avocations:

I love paddle sports and have competed on an international level in Australia, Europe, Malaysia and in the United States. I’m currently General Manager of the Canadian Women’s National Dragon Boat Team and captain of the Mayfair Predators, the current National Championship mixed team. I also love outrigger canoe paddling - my favourite races are the Liberty Challenge in New York City www.newyorkoutrigger.org/liberty and the Toronto Harbour Challenge www.torontooutriggerchallenge.ca, which I help to organize.

I love sports and adventure – these often lead me to new and interesting communities of people: I participated in a support role in the inaugural Canadian Electric Wheelchair Hockey tournament in Calgary, in the Ontario March of Dimes Sail Holland Project and in many sports events for physically challenged athletes around Ontario.

My other passion is mountain hiking: I’ve hiked to base camp of Everest, to Machu Picchu, in the Smokies, the Atlas Mountains, the Andes, Patagonia, Rockies, Sierras....what can I say, I love high places!

My other favourite places to be (other than the classroom): in my boat or in my tent.

Distinctions and Awards:

Recipient of the Excellence in Teaching Award in 1996 www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071203.wcensusesl1203/BNStory/census2006

Professional Experience and Background:

Academic administration: Program coordinator: coordination and administration of ongoing language programs at the English Language Program, School of Continuing Studies. Programs include:

• Language Training for TEFL Teaching
• Effective Communication for Professionals
• Focus on Speaking
• Comprehensive English
• Academic Preparation

Program coordinator, contract groups: coordination and administration of special contract credit ESL study programs for international universities and organizations including:

• Kwansei Gakuin University
• Nagoya University of Foreign Studies
• Osaka University of Economics and Law
• National Taiwan University
• Universidad Mexiquense
• Scholar/Chinese University of Hong Kong
• Longgang Education Department of Shenzhen

Testing:

• in-house test development team member, U of T ELP
• reader and test developer for University of Toronto’s Certificate of Proficiency in English (COPE)
• coordinator of in-house Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) testing

Curriculum development:

• new Programs Coordinator
• curriculum Guidelines team member
• instructor performance and program evaluation design

Teacher training:

• Universidad Catolica de la Santísima Concepción – two-week teacher training professional development opportunity for professors
• instructor mentoring program leader, University of Toronto: supervising and advising new instructors to the English Language Program
• practicum advisor, Woodsworth College, University of Toronto: coordination and supervision placement of TEFL students in practicum course with English Language Program instructors
• coordinator and instructor in Language Training for EFL Teachers program

Presentations:

• frequent presenter at local TESL, school board and LINC conferences
• teacher training workshops for local language schools

Experiential programming: development, implementation and supervision of student (approx. 2,500 annually) group events, educational outings, special activities. Special projects include cultural festivals, school newspaper, concerts, sports events, weekend trips.

Professional Development:

• TESL Ontario, 1998, Toronto: Experiential Program Planning
• TESOL International 1998, Seattle: Academic Program Planning within a Business Context
• TESL Toronto, TESL Ontario, TESL North York, TESL Peel - Halton - Etobicoke , Hamilton – Wentworth, North York School Board, Toronto Catholic District School Board, 2004 – 2008: Pronunciation for New Instructors, Using Word for interesting handouts, Using Microsoft Tables to make interesting handouts, Using Country Music in the Classroom(www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071203.wcensusesl1203/BNStory/census2006), Strategies for Teaching Vocabulary, Games for Language Learning

Distinctions and Awards:

Recipient of the Excellence in Teaching Award in 1996

Current and Ongoing Professional Activities:

• COPEtest developer and marker
• frequent presenter at local TESL conferences and school boards teacher-training presenter at local language school