Welcome to the new VCC blog, TESOL in the Classroom, which was funded by the BCcampus Online Program Development Fund and involved a partnership between VCC, UBC and MOSAIC.

The purpose of the blog is to create a learning resource for learners and faculty at Vancouver Community College and other post-secondary institutions offering courses in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. The four video sections consist of An Introduction to ESOL Levels, An Introduction to the Communicative Classroom, Communicative Activities and Teaching a Grammar Lesson and the plan is for other video excerpts and interactive discussions to be added that will provide even more practical information for those pursuing a career in TESOL.

Teacher training students often find it difficult to obtain sufficient observation experience while they are busy studying for demanding TESOL courses. Since almost every TESOL course calls for several lesson plan assignments, this lack of practical experience can be a problem. It is hoped that these video excerpts will help to fill that gap and provide a snapshot of what really goes on in the classroom at various levels and for various purposes. The videos are simple but up to date and relevant to a Canadian context. In addition, established teaching professionals may wish to use the video excerpts for Professional Development purposes. Finally, links to helpful websites are also included in order to assist with lesson planning and other assignments. This list will be updated and augmented by VCC TESOL faculty whenever they find something interesting to share with students and colleagues. The videos will be used in both face to face and online courses in the TESOL department and will be integrated into coursework and assignments.