KAMLOOPS – What does Chilean government policy have to do with a Canadian university?
A lot if, like Thompson Rivers, the university has a global operation organized to respond quickly to educational needs in other countries.
That’s what happened this June when the first woman elected as President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, said, “We will achieve a more just country only if we can offer quality education,” announcing the implementation of eight new educational initiatives, part of the 36 she committed to realizing during the first 100 days of her term.
These policies include larger subsidies for pre-school and primary education, a one-stop system for applying for and receiving aid to attend post-secondary school, programs to improve English education in Chile, and measures to allow more Chilean students and teachers to study abroad.
These last two are where TRU enters the picture; opportunity knocks, and TRU responds.
TRU, through its international education division, TRU World, has been heavily involved in teacher training in the past few years, and further, has a number of initiatives underway in Chile, including tourism education and community projects, English-language training, and study abroad in partnership with the Kamloops Indian Band.
The Chilean president also highlighted “an extraordinary program to offer scholarships to English teachers to allow them to perfect their language skills abroad,” adding that “100 Chilean ESL teachers will travel abroad in the second half of this year, to receive further training.”
“In many cases, it’s too expensive for teachers to come here for training, so we?re taking the mountain to Mohammed,” said ESL chair Bruce Thomson. “We have an agreement with the public school system in Vina del Mar, Chile to train their primary school teachers to teach English. So we’re sending one of our instructors there now, we’ll send more instructors over the course of the two-year agreement, and we’re also sending two of our TESL students to do some student teaching there.”
TRU’s English as a Second Language (ESL) department and TRU World have over 20 years’ experience in delivering a variety of ESL programs in Canada and abroad. As well, for the past five years, the university has been delivering EFL teacher training courses to Chinese teachers, along with a pilot TESL program in 2004/05.
TRU’s TESL program is certified by TESL Canada, the national organization for ESL professionals, recognized in North America and abroad as a standard of teaching excellence. The program has been offered as a continuing education before, but is now core-funded and offered through the university’s ESL department. The first contingent started this May. Two of these students will travel to Chile for their practicum.
The TESL certificate, which includes 200+ hours of instruction and a teaching practicum, can be completed in one full-time semester or on a part-time basis. Foundational courses include Applied Linguistics, Curriculum and Instruction, and Intercultural Studies, and a series of electives that highlight current trends and specialities in TESL will be offered. The teaching practicum will involve classroom observations and practice teaching and will be completed in the ESL classrooms at TRU.
Entry requirements include an undergraduate degree or concurrent enrolment in the Education Department at TRU. The TESL program is designed to include both Canadian and international students so that it can provide a true intercultural experience. Class sizes will be relatively small with 20 students in the content courses and 10 students in each practicum group. The instructors will all hold a minimum of a master’s degree in ESL or a related field. The next program starts Sept. 5.
For more information contact TRU ESL Dept chairperson Bruce Thomson at 250.828.5294 or by e-mail.
For more information, contact Bruce Thomson at 250.828.5294
