You’re invited to the


Teachers of English as a Second Language: Ottawa Affiliate

Winter 2012 Conference

Saturday, February 4, 2012
Elmwood School
261 Buena Vista Road

Presentation Abstracts


Preparing Your Students for University: Understanding the CAEL, IELTS, and TOEFL.

This panel discussion is aimed at increasing the awareness and skills of those working with high level students who plan on furthering their academic training in university. Participants will hear from a panel of experts at the Canadian Academic English Language Assessment (CAEL), International English Language Testing System (IELTS), and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Each expert will share their insight on what ESL/LINC teachers could do in their classroom to best prepare their students.

Wendy Fraser has taught ESL/EAP for 30 years in a variety of contexts. Since 1994 she has developed and researched the CAEL Assessment at Carleton University in addition to teaching EAP and language testing.

Carla Hall is a language instructor at the University of Ottawa and the test development coordinator at the university’s Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute. She has designed language tests for the University of Ottawa, the Federal Government, the Canadian Language Benchmarks, and the University of Central Asia. She has been a certified IELTS examiner since 2006. Her interests also include ESL and EAP curriculum and materials development.


Marian N. Crandall is an Associate Director in Global Client Relations at Educational Testing Service. She is responsible for outreach and communication to TOEFL® and GRE® Score Users in academic, institutional, and government agency settings. Prior to joining ETS, Marian was Director of Recruiting for a management consulting firm and, then, an ESL instructor. She has an AB in Political Philosophy from Kenyon College, an MSIA from Carnegie Mellon University, and an ESL teaching certificate from Columbia University.

Beyond Youtube: Using Videos in the Class

This workshop focuses on how to incorporate simple, do-it-yourself videos that are purposefully linked to existing classroom curriculum. Friends, acquaintances and other community members can “visit” your classroom through the medium of video in order to discuss topics directly connected to class content. These short videos clips can be set up to include pre-listening and post-listening exercises and can be done in the tradition of task-based learning. In addition to walking workshop participants through the process of recording short video clips related to curriculum content, this workshop will also provide tips on how to select and strategically use online TED Talks video clips in ESL classrooms

Michelle Wardman holds an MA in Linguistics and Applied Language Studies from Carleton University and has been teaching ESL for 12 years. She has taught in a variety of ESL programs and currently teaches full-time at Algonquin College.

Dmitri Priven is coordinator/professor in the Teachers of English as a Second/Foreign Language program at Algonquin College. He holds an MA in Applied Linguistics from York University and is currently working on his doctorate in Bilingual Education at University of Ottawa. Dmitri has taught ESL/EFL for 15 years in a variety of settings in Canada and internationally.


Changes in MCI: What’s happening to ESL


Abai Coker
ESL Administrator
 Continuing and Community Education
*** Bio is under construction. Please stay tuned.****

Plenary Address:

Yasir Naqvi
MPP Ottawa Centre
Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Finance

A first generation Canadian, Yasir’s family arrived in Canada in 1988 after the Pakistani government imprisoned his father for leading a pro-democracy march. With an upbringing deeply rooted in the values of social justice and compassion, Yasir feels it is important to be involved in the community and give back.

Yasir was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in October 2007. He served as the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services (Community Safety), the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Revenue, and the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Education. On November 9, 2011 he was appointed the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Finance and to the Chair of the Management Board of Cabinet. He has also served as the Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on the Legislative Assembly, and as a member of the Cabinet Committee of Legislation and Regulation.

Yasir is recognized by his peers as a strong community leader and involved resident of Ottawa Centre. He has sat on the Board of Directors of the Centretown Community Health Centre for four years and he has been the Co-Chair of the Capital Food Bank Blitz since 2005.