English Online December 6 Webinar: Exploring Language in Context

*If you require a certificate for  watching a recording of this webinar, please forward your request to Natalia Aleko at naleko@myenglishonline.ca.

Session 1. The Malleability of Language: Context and Creativity in the Classroom


With the recent emergence of research in areas such as translingualism and code-switching in the field of ELT, it is an ideal time to explore new pragmatic approaches to the pedagogy of language teaching. ELLs must explore real language, not to define a set of rigid rules, but to modify and play with language creatively and contextually. This workshop will provide in-class activities for instructors to introduce ELLs to the shifts in language use that occur in the countless different contexts they might encounter.

Session Resources

The Malleability of Language

About the author

Tiffany MacDonald is the Manager of Academic Services at East Coast School of Languages in Halifax. She was born in a tiny Nova Scotian village—En-bas-de-la-rivière—where she spent her childhood code-switching between English and Acadian French. After completing an honours degree in English literature and creative writing at Acadia University, she got CELTA certified and went abroad to teach in Korea and travel around Asia. She came back to Canada and taught in Vancouver for a few years before returning to Halifax in 2008, when she started working at ECSL. She lives for travelling, reading, and writing.

Session 2. Corpora as an Authentic Resource of the Language and Beyond

Most teachers consider corpora to be only applicable in linguistic research context. However, corpora have the potential to be not only another authentic resource of language, but a platform for adventurous learners to explore behaviour of the words in context, observe language trends and idiosyncrasies and even interpret language data to make their own conclusions. In this session we will look at several free corpora and corpus-based tools available online and how they can be used for and in the ESL classroom.

Session Resources

Corpora as an Authentic Resource of the Language

About the author

Yuliana Bagan supports free professional development for ESL practitioners, as well as self-directed and autonomous learners at English Online. She holds her Master’s degree in English Language and Literature from L’viv University of Ivan Franko, Ukraine. Yuliana is particularly interested in exploring idiomatic features of English, pronunciation and effective methods of teaching them to learners.

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