W o r d T r a v E L S |

January 2016

Professors from Shanghai completed their APPEMI studies at the English Language School, Faculty of Extension.

ELS Newsletter, Issue 01

W o r d T r a v E L S | 2

English Language School

Executive Director’s Message

January 2016

Dear readers:

I t gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the first

installment of Word TravELS, our first digital newsletter to

connect you with our students and staff. Within these

colourful and compelling pages, you will read stories of our

students as they engage in a spectrum of academic

programs and activities in the community. Word TravELS is

a forum to feature the amazing diversity, rich histories, and

accomplishments of our students. It is a venue for us to

showcase our students’ talents and share their unique

stories and insights.

January signifies a new beginning and a new academic

term for us who work on campus. For our students, this is

the beginning of a new journey and a new chapter of their

academic pursuit. Our plan is to publish this digital

newsletter every term to capture relevant information and

student stories as they unfold. Reaching out to a wider

readership is our ultimate goal. Indeed, we strongly

encourage your contributions and hope you will consider

submitting a story, article, idea, or opinion.

Enjoy our first edition of Word TravELS!

Sincerely,

Mimi Hui

Executive Director, English Language School

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Contents

Student Success:

Science Without

Borders student

Camila Orsso

Curriculum and

courses: Updates

from the curriculum

and EAP classes

ELS Events: Looking

back at ELS events

from the past semester

APPEMI: The hard

work of ELS’s two

groups of professors

from China

ELS Student Corner:

Essays from the three

winners of the writing

competition

A New Student

Centre: The new state

-of-the-art space for

students

Final Words:

Upcoming events,

Greg’s Top Ten

column, and more.

@ualbertaels on

Instagram: a photo

montage of ELS

10-11

W o r d T r a v E L S | 3

ELS By The Numbers Winter Holiday Festival

T he ELS Winter Holiday Festival was a huge success

this year. The atrium at Enterprise Square was filled

with students decorating gingerbread houses and

ornaments. Alongside ELS teachers, our students also

demonstrated their talents with musical and dance

performances. Thank you to all those who attended and

organized! Here are a few glimpses of the Festival.

W o r d T r a v E L S | 4

C amila Orsso certainly didn’t let language become a

barrier for her. Having finished her 16 month pro-

gram last month, Camila had completed her studies with

the English Language School in December 2014. Since

then, she has taken three courses with the Faculty of

Physical Education, and throughout the summer, partici-

pated in an internship at the Alberta Diabetes Institute

with Dr. Carla Prado and Dr. Andrea Haqq.

Camila had the opportunity to present the results from

her summer research project, which was about the de-

scription of body composition in children with a genetic

obesity disorder called Prader-Willi Syndrome. On Re-

search Day with the Alberta Diabetes Institute, she pre-

sented her research in a seven minute presentation and

won the Mini-talk Award, a feat especially remarkable for

Camila amidst a majority of native English speakers.

While talking about her success, Camila said, “Many skills

that I have developed during the ELS classes, I could use

during my preparation and presentation time. It was my

first oral presentation in a scientific conference. My pro-

fessors and my colleagues motivated me a lot, and I tried

to do my best.”

Camila continued to present at a conference in Spain as

well as at Obesity Week 2015 which was held in Los An-

geles from November 2-6. As Rita Espeschit points out in

her conversation with Camila, Camila has also published

a manuscript with two more slated for the future.

Camila will finish her undergraduate program in Brazil, of

which one year remains. Upon completion, she intends to

pursue a Masters degree with the ultimate goal of be-

coming a university professor. She wishes to teach exer-

cise physiology and to continue her research about the

approaches taken to improve health and prevent disease

through exercise programs.

Camila was also featured in the UA Extension news, which

you can read here.

By Tracey Hilden, Social Media Coordinator

ELS Student Achievements

S tudent success comes in many forms, and here at the

English Language School, we have many student suc-

cesses to report. This month, we take a look at one of our

Brazilian students sponsored by the Science Without Bor-

ders program, Camila Orsso. The Science Without Borders

program enables Brazilian students to study around the

world in science, technology, engineering, and mathe-

matics.

Camila presents at the Alberta Diabetes Institute Research Day

Photo courtesy of Camila Orsso.

Camila with her poster on the Prader-Willi Syndrome

Photo courtesy of Camila Orsso.

Many skills that I have developed

during the ELS classes, I could use

during my preparation and

presentation time. My professors

and my colleagues motivated me

a lot, and I tried to do my best.

W o r d T r a v E L S | 5

Curriculum and Courses

EAP Courses

Curriculum

By Justine Light, ELS Academic Team Lead (Curriculum)

A s a result of unprecedented growth in enrolment

and changing student demands, ELS recognized that

it was time for a refreshing of the learner pathways and

curriculum documents for all of the courses that are part

of the programming in the school. Students in the EAP

courses: EAP 135, 140 and 145 have been working from

the revised curriculum since September. A staged launch

of the new curriculum in the Intensive Day Program will

begin in January. In 2016, we will also review and revital-

ize our curriculum for EAP 550, Preparing for Graduate

Studies and our part-time programs.

By Dr. Donald Mason, ELS Academic Team Lead (Credit

Courses)

T he English Language School is excited to implement

a Community Service Learning component this se-

mester as part of English for Academic Purposes (EAP

135). During the first of the course, students will be intro-

duced to community volunteering opportunities. Over

the term, they will undertake 20 hours of community ser-

vice. This experience will help students feel more confi-

dent using English outside of the classroom and will help

them integrate into their new community in Edmonton.

Getting students out into the community and speaking

English is an important step in helping students become

familiar with their new home and new community.

Noon Hour Seminar, “Say What?”

A ssistant Professor Dr. Jennifer Foote offered a work-

shop last month entitled, “Say What?”, the first of a

series of free noon hour brown bag English language

workshops offered by the English Language School at

North Campus.

This pronunciation workshop provided an introduction to

the study of the sounds of Canadian English in speech. In

this session, students learned easy and effective tips for

improving their pronunciation from Dr. Foote, whose re-

search focus is on pronunciation.

The first session was very well attended, and the next “Say

What?” workshop will be held on February 3, 2016. Stay

tuned for more details.

W o r d T r a v E L S | 6

ELS Events

J ane Willis is a world-renowned English teacher, writ-

er, and educator. She travels internationally to con-

duct workshops and seminars on the English language,

and the English Language School, along with ATESL, had

the pleasure of presenting Jane Willis at the University of

Alberta’s Faculty of Extension to conduct her workshop,

“Teaching Grammar within a Task-based approach: a

broader view of grammar and learning processes.

The workshop, held in the atrium at Enterprise Square,

was open to all ESL teachers in the province, and the one

hundred available spaces for the workshop filled up

quickly. Both IDP and EAP teachers were in attendance,

and Jane Willis’ presentation was followed by a workshop

in which participants consulted as a team.

You can watch a video of the presentation here.

T he English Language School held a food bank drive

last month, and the ELS students, teachers, and staff

donated over 3,600 pounds of food over the course of

three weeks. Accompanied by weekly challenges such as

“Tuna Tuesday” and “Just Bag It”, the food was donated

to the Campus Food Bank just before the holiday break.

Job well done to all those who participated, and a big

thank you goes out to Barbara Lavallee for organizing this

great initiative as well as to all those who helped out!

Jane Willis’ Workshop Food Drive

Global News

W hile Canada opens its borders to Syrian refugees,

the English Language School is also doing its part.

Badi Jabbour recently came to Canada with his mother

from Syria, and ELS is pleased to present Badi with a

scholarship to study English with us. Global News recently

interviewed Badi about studying English with ELS and the

situation in Syria, and we’re very proud of how well Badi

did in the interview. You can watch part of the interview

here.

BCom Information Session

E AP students had the opportunity to attend an infor-

mation session with the Bachelor of Commerce pro-

gram in November. With representatives from the Alberta

School of Business on hand, we had a full house with

standing room only.

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By Dr. Pam Young, Academic Team Lead (APPEMI)

I n 2015, the English Language School had the pleasure

of hosting two APPEMI (Advanced Professional Pro-

gram in English-medium Instruction) groups: twenty as a

cohort from various universities in Shanghai (funded by

the China Scholarship Council), and twenty four as a co-

hort from Southwest Jiaotong University in Chengdu, Chi-

na.

The Shanghai professors began their program on August

31, and completed it on November 10. The SWJU profes-

sors arrived in July, and participated in six weeks of ESL

classes prior to beginning their APPEMI courses in Sep-

tember, completing their program on December 4.

The eight APPEMI courses help to prepare the professors

to teach their courses using English, where English is not

their first language, or the native language of their stu-

dents. The courses address such topics as motivation and

engagement, instructional design, teaching with technol-

ogy, and lesson planning. Throughout the program, the

professors continue to work on their English language

skills. The program ends with each professor teaching a

20-minute mini-lesson on a topic of their choice.

In addition to the APPEMI courses, the professors have all

been involved in classroom observations of UAlberta pro-

fessors who teach in the same discipline. Students have

been able to learn about various teaching methodologies,

and to make research connections with UAlberta profes-

sors.

The professors also participated in various social and cul-

tural events, arranged for them by the English Language

School, such as attending the Canadian Finals Rodeo, vis-

iting the museum, art gallery, downtown library, Winspear

Centre and City Hall. They have also been independently

discovering other parts of Alberta and Canada, as well as

finding opportunities in the community to experience

Canadian culture and practise their English language

skills.

APPEMI

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My First Day in Canada

Yansi Lei, EAP 140

W ith snows falling and silencing the night in January

2013, I arrived in Canada, accompanying with my

passion and anxiety. I still remember that the first time

when I saw the white and beautiful snow in my life was so

exciting. Besides, when I inhaled the fresh air, I felt like a

bird that regained freedom. I knew, everything was new,

and something was going to change in my life, and I be-

lieved, Canada is a kick start for me to make a difference.

Life is not as easy as we expect, especially in another

country that contains cultural differences and conflicts.

The challenges shocked me when I wanted to buy a ham-

burger at the first day as I had no idea how to speak out

what I wanted to put into my hamburger. At that time, I

realized the unavoidable problem-- English is not my first

language! As a result, I always struggle with communi-

cating with local people by using appropriate words, cor-

rect pronunciations, and decent expressions.

Moreover, I had no friends, no aspects that I used to be

familiar with. Loneliness slightly invaded the depth of my

heart.

However, I cannot stop fighting and I wish I can partici-

pate the activities as a Canadian one day. Therefore, I

took various of courses that could assist me to improve

English. Meanwhile, I met friends from other countries

too! Thus, I could understand and respect more about the

differences among the world. Furthermore, I tried to get a

job as a pet groomer that worked with Canadians, it was

a great chance to practice English.

In a word, the first day in Canada can be interesting or

enjoyable for every new comer. But, as the second day

comes, more and more challenges and obstacles come at

the same time. We have to adjust ourselves to accept the

differences and pursue a higher level of living. As a saying

goes, “your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine

your altitude”.

My First Day in Canada

Bader Al-Khuwaysah, ESL 105

I came to Canada 6 month ago. I flew to Toronto and

then I came to Edmonton. I was very tired. I was

afraid because it was far from my country. My friend told

me that Canada was very cold. I wore a warm jacket, a

hat, and boots. Then next day it snowed. I stayed at my

friend’s house for two days. I didn’t know where anything

was. I didn’t know the streets. I didn’t how to use the

bus. My friend lives in Edmonton. This is why I came to

Edmonton. The next day I went to Tim Horton’s with my

friend because he had Canadian money. We bought an

English muffin with egg and cheese. My first day in Can-

ada is special and different but I like it.

W elcome to the ELS Student Corner. Here you will

find unedited written reflections by ELS students at

different proficiency levels. In this edition, you will see

Canada from the lens of our students as they reflect on

their first day in Canada. A panel selected these three en-

tries as the winners for this issue’s ELS Student Corner.

ELS Student Corner

W o r d T r a v E L S | 9

Arriving in Canada

Aolie Yu, ESL 135

C anada, a “new” country---which I had never been

there before and only known it on the internet.

When I was on the plane, many feelings rushed into my

mind like in a blind marriage, a woman gets into imagin-

ing her future husband. I stepped down the plane when I

arrived in Canada, and looked around in the airport. It

was a blizzardy night, darkness surround my soul. I felt

lonely; that is one man only left on earth. I put my hand

into my pocket to take out a “cigarette”, imagined smoke

floating into the sky to relax my mind. It was two o’clock

in the morning, my luggage with me. I was waiting for a

couple to take me to their home. This was my first time to

feel helplessness and loneliness, but it lasted only half an

hour.

“Hello”, the greeting broke the silence.

“You’ve had a long flight, let’s take you to our home,”

they smiled and gave me a hug, then said, “Make yourself

at home”.

“Sure”, I nodded my head and thought that was not a

cold night due to their warmth.

We got into the car and then on the way to their home,

they said, “Take it easy, we think you’ll like living in Cana-

da for one year, Canadian are friendly”.

Actually, I knew their meaning. If you lived in an old place

for a long time, you will print “surroundings” into your

head naturally, social value, lifestyle and so on. I doubted

what they said first, wariness was my flood flowing in my

body for almost 20 years. That was because in China peo-

ple had told me not to trust anybody in the world since I

was kid. I accepted that before, and then at that moment

I doubted that and hoped to find out whether that was

true or not.

After a couple days, I had a chance to breathe some fresh

air to kill my claustrophobia. That day, cloudless, blue,

sunshine filled the sky. I took a bus to downtown happily,

but it was unlucky for me to take a wrong bus.

Then I got off the bus at an unknown stop; I lost my way

and worried about how I should do.

“May I help you?”

I turned around, and saw a woman smiling in front of me.

At that time, I was astonish and shook my head to search

around. Nobody was there!

“Yeah! Excuse me, do you know which bus I should take

to go to downtown？” Poor pronunciation with low voice

made me repeat it three times.

“I am so sorry, no bus to downtown in this bus stops. But

you’d better change the bus.”

Perhaps she saw my blank face, then said, “Don’t worry

about that, I just go to downtown to buy something. If

you don’t mind, I will go along with you”.

I trusted her and followed her, I didn’t know why. Maybe

she was a liar, just like those people who I met in China,

or maybe she was only a kind person. Whatever, I just

followed my heart.

Finally, we arrived at downtown. On the way to down-

town, I got the stories from her; she was an old immi-

grant 20 years ago, and she lost her way as well. What’s

worse, she knew English less. And she sat on the bus,

from one stop to another stop, just made sure every stop

was close to her house. Fortunately, the bus driver helped

her to point out the stop what she wanted.

“Thank you very much!” I said. Not only because she took

me to the exit of the maze, but also she taught me one

thing, that was open your heart to trust people first.

Trust one man, and this man will trust another man, just

like Chain Reaction, spreading over a group of people in

your community, and then over Canada. So we call

“Canadian are friendly!” they trust people first and help

them.

Here, Canada is my other home! I have joined new family

members living here, we trust each other, love each other,

help each other. We are all Canadian, friendly!

W o r d T r a v E L S | 10

@ualbertaels on

Instagram

W o r d T r a v E L S | 11

@ualbertaels on

Instagram

W o r d T r a v E L S | 12

A fter months of construction, the English Language

School is excited about the new Student Centre that

opened in October. Our Dean, Dr. Katy Campbell, wel-

comed everyone to the new space in October and ad-

dressed some of the highlights of the new, innovative

space.

The new Student Centre is accompanied by four new

state-of-the-art classrooms with smart technology, which

will enrich student learning. The smart classrooms give

Extension teachers a greater flexibility throughout the

class by using new learning technologies such as smart

boards and enhanced audio/visual capabilities.

The foyer also contains tables and chairs for an open

study space as well as computers and a printer for stu-

dent use.

The space is also used for study support, lead by Bart

Lambrecht. An English-only space to foster language de-

velopment, the Student Centre is often the scene of dif-

ferent student events and workshops.

The new space also features a new contemplative room,

complete with a sink in which users can perform wudu

(ablutions) before prayer. One of our students, Hamed

Khojh, wrote a short article about the prayer space, which

can be read (in Arabic) here.

A New Student Centre

By Tracey Hilden, Social Media Coordinator

W o r d T r a v E L S | 13

Q: What is your favourite place that you have visited?

A: Probably Kashgar, in Xinjiang Province, PRC, with

Langkawi Island, Malaysia, a close second.

Q: What is your favourite food?

A: Unfortunately, I like all food. But if pushed, I'd say Per-

sian food.

Q: What is the last book that you read?

A: An Inconvenient Indian, by Thomas King; "a curious

account of Native People in N. America"

Q: What was your favourite subject in school?

A: Languages and Physical Education

Q: What is your favourite pastime?

A: Building things and reading, not necessarily in that

order

Q: If you were a superhero, what power would you have?

A: Not sure, something that would help others.

Q: Tea or coffee?

A: Coffee by myself, tea in company (3 parts Earl Grey, 1

part Orange Pekoe)

ELS Staff Q & A

W e interviewed one English Language School staff

member. Based on their responses, who do you

think this is? *The answer is at the bottom of this page.

Upcoming Events

Greg’s Top Ten...

...New Year Resolutions

By Greg Sowak

10. Use way less punctuation!!!!

9. Do the Macarena

8. Finally watch Avatar

7. One word: Synergize!

6. Star in an info-mercial

5. Transfer all those old ER episodes

from Beta to VHS

4. Renounce Global Warming

3. Eat some Surströmming

2. Get with the program

1. Party like it’s 1985!

Final Words

H ave something to share? Please

contact Tracey Hilden at hil-

den@ualberta ca (ESQ 1-004). We

are always looking for contributions,

whether you have a piece of writing,

artwork, poetry, or photography.

Contact us!

*Answer: Bart Lambrecht is this is-

sue’s Q&A staff member.

December 30 - March: Edmonton’s Ice Castle is ready to

be explored. Stop by Hawrelak Park for your chance to

visit this winter attraction.

January 1 - February 29: Do you prefer ice skating or

swing dancing? Head to City Hall and Churchill Square for

Swing ‘N Skate Sundays to try both (for free)!

January 21 - 24, 28-31: Edmonton is iced over for the Ice

on Whyte Festival. Participate in various winter activities

while enjoying the sparkling sculptures.

February 8: Lunar New Year

February 14: Valentine’s Day

February 15: Family Day

February 12 - 21: There’s a silver lining in every cloud!

Edmonton’s Silver Skate Festival offers plenty of winter

activities to keep you busy in Hawrelak Park.

February 24: Last day of class for IDP students

February 25: Last day of class for EAP students

S tay connected! Follow the

English Language School on

social media. You can find us on

Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

using the handle ualbertaels. It’s a

great way to stay up-to-date with

events and announcements from

the English Language School.

facebook.com/UAlbertaELS/

twitter.com/UAlbertaELS

instagram.com/ualbertaels/