Meeting Invitation: 
Languages Canada ESL/FSL Teachers’ Assistant Certificate program
&
Mobility and International Experience Recognition initiative

Languages Canada members are invited to participate in a preliminary two-part meeting on the design and implementation of a new Languages Canada ESL/FSL Teachers’ Assistant (LCTA) Certificate program and Mobility and International Experience Recognition initiative. (Working titles.)
 
The meetings will take place on Monday, October 16th, from 9:00am to 5:00pm at Algonquin College in Ottawa. Attendance is limited to 15 participants, on a first-come, first-serve basis.

The timing of the meeting coincides with the visit of key partners from the Brazilian Ministry of Education’s Idioma sem Fronteiras (Languages without Borders) program as well as the Paraná fala Inglês/Francês (Paraná Speaks English/French) program. The LCTA Certificate program and International Experience Recognition pilot will be developed in close collaboration with these Brazilian partners, within the framework of the cooperation agreements between Languages Canada, the Ministry of Education and the state of Paraná. These projects are of great interest to Brazilian partners as they will enable an increased presence of native English and French speakers in Brazilian language education classrooms, as well as building bridges between Canadian and Brazilian academic institutions in order to advance mutual internationalization objectives.

The meeting will be held in two parts. Members may attend one or both parts.
 
Part I:    Content, design and delivery of the LCTA Certificate program
Time:     9:00am - 12:00pm

Description:
The vision for the LCTA Certificate is to establish an internationally-recognized, online certificate program that will qualify Canadian postsecondary students to work in foreign classroom settings as an assistant to teachers of English or French as a second language. 

The development of the LCTA Certificate course content, technical design, course hosting and administration will be conducted by a team of project partners, made up of committed LC members, that will be selected through a juried competitive process.

The Certificate program is still in the concept stage. As a next step, the October 16th meeting will:

•  Set the context for the program;
• Discuss course content, pedagogy, methodology; delivery platform;
• Define the project steps and timeline;
• Shape a call for proposals that will be launched later in the fall in order to select project partners (e.g. content creation, technical design, hosting,  course administration);
• Identify members of a Selection and Steering Committee to  guide the project and conduct selection process of project partners.

Who should attend?
Languages Canada members who are interested in participating in the design and/or delivery of the LCTA Certificate program OR in the Selection and Steering Committee. 

Part II: Mobility and International Experience Recognition initiative
Time: 1:30pm - 4:30pm

Description:
Putting the LCTA Certificate into action to promote student mobility and internationalization
The second part of this meeting will explore modalities by which the LCTA Certificate can support two-way student mobility between Canada and Brazil, as well as internationalization objectives of Canadian and Brazilian academic institutions, and will shape a pilot project to test the operationalization of these modalities.

The LCTA Certificate will serve as a valuable incentive to encourage more Canadian students to choose Brazil for study abroad. Partners from Brazil’s Idioma sem Fronteiras program have indicated that funding will likely be available to support the travel and/or living costs of a Canadian student who has completed the LCTA Certificate and commits to serving as an ESL/FSL Teacher's’ Assistant while pursuing his/her own academic program in Brazil. The financial assistance made available through the IsF program would greatly offset the cost of travel borne by Canadian students, and encourage a greater number of young Canadians to choose Brazil as a destination for study abroad.

The Certificate program will thus be made available to all Canadian postsecondary students, but will be primarily targeted to those students planning to study or conduct research abroad within an academic institution with whom their home university/college has a partnership. The roll-out of the program may encourage new partnerships to be established between members of Languages Canada, Idioma sem Fronteiras and Paraná fala Inglês/Francês.

The LCTA Certificate will also support Brazilian student mobility to Canada, by increasing the visibility of Canadian language programs and building linkages between Canadian and Brazilian institutions that encourage student exchange. Canadian students serving as TA’s in Brazilian classrooms will be informal ambassadors for Canadian postsecondary and language education. It may also be decided that students would be required to conduct more formal duties to promote Canadian language, postsecondary and pathways as a student ambassador/digital student ambassador in order to participate in the program.
 
International Experience Recognition initiative
Lack of recognition of foreign academic credits poses a significant barrier to Canadian student mobility; students often choose not to study abroad because the courses they take are not counted towards their degree.
 
The vision for the International Experience Recognition initiative is to establish a means of incentivizing Canadian student mobility by providing recognition for international experience. Essentially, students who have obtained the LCTA Certificate and conducted a TA work placement abroad would receive some form of credit or recognition towards the completion of their degree. For example, the TA experience could be counted towards co-op/internship hours; volunteer/service hours or TA hours that a student may need to graduate from his/her program. The TA experience could also possibly be counted towards practicum hours for a TESL/TFSL Certification, should the student decide to pursue English or French language instruction following his/her TA placement.

•  Set the context for the project;
• Examine student mobility barriers and proposed incentives;
• Identify practical considerations and determine feasibility of moving forward with a pilot;
• Identify members of pilot project team;
• Define the project steps and timeline.

Who should attend?
Languages Canada members who are interested in working together, and with Brazilian partners, to develop and launch a pilot project to increase mobility and cooperation between their institutions via the LCTA Certificate program. Ideally, the members of the pilot project team will have existing partnerships with at least one Brazilian institution that is a member of the Idiomas sem Fronteiras program. Members are asked to come prepared to the meeting with an idea of which programs / faculties / departments would be interested in participating in a pilot project of this nature.

Please direct your questions and confirmation of attendance to Rachel Lindsey, Director of International Affairs and Operations at rlindsey@languagescanada.ca / 613-794-7224, no later than September 29, 2017.