School of Continuing Education Works

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    Remote teaching, a brave new world, and an amber restorative
    (2021) McLean, Terence
    Now, I certainly do not want to sound glib in these troublesome times, but Lord love a duck. Thanks, COVID-19. Right after eschewing my inner Luddite while scrambling to remotely teach my English as an Additional Language (EAL) 2020 winter term courses, I found myself fretting as I made the foray into more remote teaching in the spring/summer/fall terms. If I may borrow from the sentiments of the inimitable PG Wodehouse: if not completely disgruntled, I was certainly far from gruntled.
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    Developing communicative cultural competencies with internationally educated nurses in a Canadian English for Specific Purposes course
    (2022) Yeung, May; Mah, Eaman
    This project was the result of the Teaching Impact Fund, an internal institutional grant, and a collaboration within the university’s School of Continuing Education between the Department of Academic and Language Preparation and the Professional Health Education Unit. The participants were 2 cohorts of internationally trained nurses from India and the Philippines enrolled in the Gerontology and Hospice Palliative (GHP) care program during the intensive 7-week spring and summer terms. This study measured the communicative cultural competencies (CCC) of internationally educated students (IENs) with a pre-survey. This was followed by an educational intervention with culturally responsive teaching (CRT) practices. Near the end of the course, a post-survey was administered, and the data indicated a rise of CCC among IENs in both cohorts. This report identifies the study components in depth and offers resources to implement CRT practices in non-health courses.
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    3 approaches to managing online interactions
    (2021) McLean, Terence
    Since the move to more online teaching, I have noticed a few areas in which I can help students manage their interactions during online lessons. The following observations are subjective, as they reflect my own teaching style, use of technology, classroom management philosophy, and individual student behavior; nevertheless, I hope that a point or two resonate with fellow instructors. I have separated my tips into three sections: technology, participation, and pragmatic awareness.
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    Online breakout rooms: jigsaw discussions and presentation practice
    (2021) McLean, Terence
    As a result of the switch to virtual and blended learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many language teachers around the world are working to establish welcoming, communicative, online language learning environments. Most of us have experienced the unwelcome silence associated with trying to get all students involved in an online session. Yes, some students thrive online, but others tend to hesitate, sit back and listen, or tune out completely. Even though we are teaching online, we can still give students a gentle virtual push—and breakout rooms, if your online platform has this function, are an excellent tool for increasing student talk time during virtual instruction. This activity, a jigsaw that uses breakout rooms, can be used as stand-alone speaking practice or as preparation for a future speaking assignment in which students give an online presentation for the whole class.
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    Answer the question: a research project
    (2020) McLean, Terence; Talandis Jr., Jerry
    As you probably know from experience, many Japanese students have trouble answering questions during English class. Why is that? According to Harumi (2011), the roots of this phenomenon lie in a complex mixture of linguistic, psychological, and socio-cultural factors. There is, in fact, quite a large culture gap in how silence is interpreted. For example, from a Japanese view point, the silent response from the student above could be seen as a means to save face, avoid difficulty, or request help. On the other hand, from a "western" perspective, the silence may come off as a sign of disinterest, boredom, or laziness. This phenomenon makes it very difficult for teachers to facilitate active learning (Harumi, 2001) and presents a risk of misunderstanding during cross-cultural encounters (King, 2005), both in Japan and while traveling or studying abroad. As a result, silence in the EFL classroom is widely acknowledged as a serious problem (King, 2013; Humphries, Akamatsu, Tanaka, & Burns, in press). It is therefore essential we help our students promptly respond to questions, whether they know the answer or not.