Empowering ESL & ELL Teachers to
Inspire Learners

For workshops at your location with your facilitators, no honorarium will be requested nor expected. Network events may have a registration fee for basic refreshments, site rental or site insurance.

Periodically, emails that announce events and relevant news will be sent (BCC) to the contact list. This website will be our metro-Vancouver hub for the foreseeable future.

People who have active faith based English language programs are added to the email contact list. If you do not represent an active program and would still like to receive news, please inform me and I will send accordingly.

Just send an email. We can meet in person or speak on the phone or via zoom.

CELPIP General LS Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program General Listening/Speaking. Test scores of 4 or higher are accepted for Canadian citizenship.

Sample test questions and teaching materials can be found at https://www.celpip.ca/celpip-general-ls/

CELTA Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of other Languages. A 100- hour teacher training program which is offered by Cambridge.  CELTA is recognized worldwide and offered online or in person. https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/teaching-english/teaching-qualifications/celta/

CLB Canadian Language Benchmarks – a descriptive scale of 12 levels of language ability. It’s the national standard for assessment and curriculum planning. The levels include Literacy, Beginner (Stage 1: LINC 1 – 4), Intermediate (Stage 2: LINC 5 – 8) and Advanced (Stage 3:  LINC 9 – 12). Achieving a CLB level 4 or higher in Speaking and Listening is required for Canadian citizenship.   Check out the Centre for Canadian Language website for all the free materials and other links.   https://www.language.ca/resourcesexpertise/for-language-teachers/.

EAP English for Academic Purposes  – basically university preparation (CLB 5/6 – 12)

ELL English Language Learner – most common way to identify a learner

ESL English as a Second Language – not used in the field since English is often the 3rd or 4th language for many learners. However, it is known by most in society, so it is still used.

IELTS International English Language Testing System – managed by the British Council. Scores of 4 and higher in Speaking and 4.5 and higher in Listening can be used as proof of language ability for the different categories of Canadian citizenship.  https://ielts.org/

IRCC Immigration, Refugees & Citizenship Canada – the federal department in charge of visas, study and work permits and permanent resident status (PR). They fund the English courses offered to refugees and PRs in LINC and post-secondary institutions (where offered).   https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship.html

LINC Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada   programs funded by the IRCC for newcomers with permanent resident status or refugees with a decision (not undocumented people).   Starting April 2026, funding will only be available for Literacy and LINC 1 – 4 learners. Funding for LINC 5 and 6 will end March 31, 2026. All the free materials are found at the Centre for CLBs.  https://www.language.ca/home

 NCLC Niveaux de Compétence Linguistique Canadiens –  12 descriptive levels of language ability.  Different classes of citizens must have an “adequate knowledge” of French with NCLC 4 as the minimum requirement.  More and more ELLs are learning French to gain additional points for the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) used for citizenship.  https://www.nclc-ael.ca/niveaux-de-comp%C3%A9tence/vue-d’ensemble

TEAL Teaching English as an Additional Language – used for training for all proficiency levels. BC’s professional organization is BC TEAL

TEFL Teaching English as a Foreign Language – is used abroad for English classes in a country where English is not the official language.

TESL – Teaching English as a Second Language  

TESL Canada  –  national professional body that monitors standards for professional certification and teacher training program recognition    https://www.tesl.ca/

TOEFL – Test of English as a Foreign Language – language proficiency test developed in the USA and used for post-secondary entrance.   TOEFL Essentials is a more general skills test and the test providers are working with ICRC to get it approved for citizenship.   https://www.ets.org/toefl

TESOL  Teachers of Speakers of Languages -an international professional organization with headquarters in the USA. Has affiliates in most countries. TESL Ontario and BC TEAL have hosted conferences with up to 7,000 attendees. https://www.tesol.org/