BC TEAL 2025 Annual Conference

This workshop addresses the current challenges of teaching English across diverse contexts such as LINC, general English, or English for Academic Purposes. Drawing on the principles of LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® (LSP)—a creative, hands-on method rooted in constructionism—participants will discover how tactile activities promote deeper engagement, collaboration, and language development. Research indicates that playful, tangible activities can deepen conceptual understanding and support learner well-being (Nerantzi & James, 2019). Additionally, the LEGO Education State of Classroom Engagement Report (2024) underscores the importance of bringing joy and curiosity into the classroom, highlighting improved academic outcomes, enhanced well-being, and lower teacher attrition.
During this interactive session, participants will build and share LEGO® models representing common challenges in learning English, ranging from vocabulary acquisition to effective communication in multicultural environments. By translating abstract ideas into physical models, learners gain a clearer grasp of complex concepts, shifting from passive recipients of information to active problem-solvers. The workshop also presents findings from a survey conducted with non-native English learners at a Canadian institution, highlighting how LSP positively impacted students’ creativity, collaboration, engagement, and language outcomes.
Attendees will explore practical strategies for designing LEGO® activities that foster creativity, collaboration, and deeper levels of engagement. They will learn how to adapt these tasks to fit different teaching contexts and learner needs. Emphasis will be placed on guiding students to reflect on the building process—encouraging metacognition and more meaningful application of language skills.
By the end of the session, participants will have hands-on experience with LSP techniques, an understanding of the theoretical foundations behind this approach, and a toolkit of adaptable lesson ideas. Ultimately, this workshop aims to demonstrate how playful pedagogies can transform language instruction, motivating learners to experiment, inquire, and collaborate as they develop essential communication skills in various English-teaching contexts.
References
 Nerantzi, C., & James, A. (2019). LEGO® for University Learning: Inspiring academic practice in higher education. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2813448
 The LEGO Group. (2024). State of classroom engagement report: How global insights from 6,000-plus administrators, teachers, parents, and students reveal strategies to build more engaged classrooms. The LEGO Group.

The Theoretical aspects of transformative strategies will be discussed and a case study of an English for Special Purposes program shown. Instructors will learn about transforming students for social justice and incorporate student engagement. 
As an EAL/Communications instructor for the Health Care Assistant program (HCA) (for caregivers) and someone doing her masters in Equity and Adult Education, I was inspired by learning about transformative education and how it could be used in class to inspire students and spark an interest in social justice. I will go through aspects of transformation as defined by researchers Mezirow (2009) , O'Sullivan (2016),  Schlattner, (2022), Lange (2023) and Stuckey and Taylor (2024) as well as give a case study on the transformation of my HCA students at the end of a 2 year program. I will make sure there is relevance to the EAL classroom. This also connects to UDL Principles and in teaching in different contexts. We will also touch on the topic of transformation/reflection, how this is measured, who notices and why that is important. The transformational principles include a post-colonial lens. Participants will be given a transformative survey link by Stuckey and Taylor (2024) https://sites.psu.edu/transformativelearning/
to use themselves and with their students. Topics include self-awareness, change in world view, openness, using art, how dialoguing fosters growth, imagination, spiritual connection, action, critical reflection, embodiment, and the environment. 

Sharing my journey from an uncertain start to discovering the power of AI to enhance both my teaching approach and students’ learning experiences. This session will begin with discussing the intrinsic value of language education, the differences between AI and human intelligence, and their unique roles in language learning. 
Participants will gain insights into how AI tools can enhance language education by infusing AI into their instructional practice. I will cover practical prompts for material preparation, feedback methods, and learner activities, offering concrete examples of how AI technologies can help learners focus on the process of learning and not solely on the correct answer. I will also share the results and my implementation of AI writing task to enhance my teaching approach and students’ learning experiences. We will also address important ethical considerations, ensuring that educators are aware of the implications, such as data privacy, algorithmic bias, of using AI in their classrooms and potential pitfalls to be aware of when incorporating AI in language learning, providing a balanced perspective on this emerging field. 

This CCLB session will present a quick review of key ideas from CCLB resources such as the CLB: ESL for Adult Literacy Learners (ALL), the CLB document, the ESL for all Support Kit as well as other tools and webinars that guide ESL literacy best practices. The Tutela PBLA Literacy Checklist integrates these ESL literacy key ideas and best practices into a convenient checklist that allows instructors to see whether literacy materials are aligned to these best practices. This session will take a quick walk through the checklist then practice using the checklist with sample literacy materials from the Identifying Learner Literacy Needs and Task Analysis Professional Learning Sessions.