NEW! Upcoming Fall 2015 Event!
Save the date Saturday, October 17th Check out our Fall 2015 Workshop page Discover Your Inner Chef! Food Budgeting Curriculum. Our first
Mingle with Munchies was a huge success! Thanks you to everyone that came out and spent an enjoyable evening, albeit at the start of a long weekend, socializing and sharing stories from the previous school year. This was just the first of many more fun events to come! Spring 2015 Event!
Our Spring 2015 event (Saturday March 7th, 2015) was a Great Success. Thank you to all who came out to make the event a memorable one! May I have your ear just for a moment? June, 2015 From: Declan M. Nolan, TESL Durham Member To: TESL Durham Members I want to tell you a short story about an extraordinary man who told an extraordinary story. His name is Robert Cutting, author of Bear, Turtle Island Voices and many other books of Aboriginal oral history. He has been an educator for over forty years. He was the guest speaker at the March 7, 2015 TESL Durham Spring Workshop and Annual General Meeting. I have been attending TESL Durham workshop meetings for about three years now and I have always been struck by what a pleasant experience it usually leaves with me. Each time I have spent a few hours with my TESL colleagues in such a warm and inviting atmosphere on a Saturday morning, I have found myself musing about what the experience has added to my professional capabilities. Sometimes it is only a little, such as making a new acquaintance or an interesting discussion with members about teaching moments. However, more often it is a lot, such as with this latest workshop. As the Spring Workshop invitation crossed my desk, the words: "Gift of Story - Connections, A Presentation by Robert Cutting", caught my eye. I stopped |
Lesson Corner Blog!
Latest Edition Posted January 2015! TESL-Durham is pleased to offer a blog hosted by Curriculum Specialist and ESL instructor, Paula Ogg. Click here to see her most recent update. Do you have an idea for an event?
We know how imaginative our members are and we want to build on that. If you have an idea for an upcoming event or are willing to volunteer as a presenter, please head to our Feedback form and submit an idea to us! Our Spring 2015 event continued ...
for a moment to read what it said. Could I afford to miss this? What would I lose if I did? What would I gain? "The art of story-telling encourages the speaker to use language to develop characters, settings, plots and timelines. A good story-teller will make the audience listen; a great story-teller will teach and the audience will walk away wanting to know more. Great stories connect the speaker and the listener linguistically and culturally." Well, I certainly walked away from this one wanting to know more. Robert opened up an awareness in me of how I might further use story in all its forms as a supporting technique in my lesson creation (I create almost all my own teaching material). Now when I create a lesson for ESL or LINC students, I have the power of the knowledge that I gained from Robert to assist me in being "a great story-teller" who teaches. I would encourage all members of TESL Durham to consider how much you might gain by coming out to the next meeting or workshop. Chances are that you will learn a lot, as I did; and you will meet some very nice new friends with whom you can discuss your classroom experiences. You will contribute to your own success in teaching as you add your creative juices to those of your colleagues. You will be warmly received and you won't ever go away hungry, as the food is great and well-presented. On the other hand, you might hunger for more experiences like this! It is a few hours well-spent. |