Transcript Slide 1

Future Directions
TESL Ontario Conference
December 11, 2009
Immigration to Canada and Ontario
• Canada has maintained the highest relative level of
immigration of any major western country
• In 2010, Canada intends to welcome 240,000 to 265,000
Permanent Residents
• In 2008, Ontario received 107,047 immigrants or 43.6 %
of the national total.
• The Government of Canada’s increase of $1.4 billion
over five years to fund settlement programs is helping
newcomers obtain language training, job counselling, and
information services to better integrate into Canadian
society.
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Our Settlement Pathway
• Before we left our home country, we
visited the Going to Canada Immigration
Portal www.goingtoCanada.gc.ca and the
provincial and municipal portals.
• We watched videos that illustrate daily life
in Canada:
– Canada Day to Day
– Ontario Day to Day
• At the Port of Entry, we received an
information package about settlement
services in Ontario.
We Can Find Lots of Help on Our Settlement Path
Settlement Services in Ontario
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Provided by 128 ISAP Service Providing Organizations
Newcomer Information Centres
Client-centred services for youth, women, and seniors
SWIS: Settlement Workers in Schools
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Library Settlement Partnerships
Orientation to Ontario course
Host
Welcoming Communities Initiatives
Language Interpretation & Translation Services
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The Organizations and Communities that Help
Newcomers are Getting Help too
Capacity Building
• Corporate Governance training for organizations
• Professional Development
• Conferences
Innovative partnerships
• Newcomer awareness courses for hospital staff
• Translation of medical information materials
Local Immigration Partnerships
• Enhance service delivery networks
• Support integration of newcomers in local communities
• All LIPs Agreements in place by the end of this fiscal
We realize that we need language training
and there is language training available
Federal Programs
Provincial Programs
• Language Instruction for
Newcomers to Canada
• Adult Non-Credit ESL/FSL/CL (MCI)
• Enhanced Language Training
• Occupation-specific Language
Training
• Home Study
• Specialized Language Training (MCI)
• Bridge Training (MCI)
• Adult Credit ESL (MEDU)
• Literacy and Basic Skills (MTCU)
Delivering Agencies
• School boards (K-12 and
Continuing Education)
• Community Organizations
• Colleges and Universities
• Private Institutions
How will we decide which language
training program to take?
A Language Assessment Centre will assess our language
skills and discuss our goals with us
A language training provider can help us
A settlement agency can help us determine our goals
Our friends may know about language training
We can visit www.settlement.org, www.cic.gc.ca , and
www.ontarioimmigration.ca/adultlanguagetraining
Supports for Language Training Programs
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Professional Development for teachers and assessors
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Canadian Language Benchmarks
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LINC 1-7 Curriculum Guidelines
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Teaching resources: print, listening tapes, and e-activities
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A data tracking system
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Child minding and transportation assistance
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The TESL conference!
We Need Help Finding Employment.
Who can help us?
We can have our credentials assessed
We can take a Job Search Workshop at one of 62
locations
Our Enhanced Language Training will have work
placement, mentoring, or networking
Our Bridge to Work Training may have preparation for
licensure
We can take Language Training in the Workplace so that
we can improve our opportunities for advancement
Our Pathway to Integration
Programming along the Settlement and Integration Continuum
Short-Term
Intermediate
Language Training
• Literacy
Basic Orientation • LINC/CLIC Levels 1-7
• Using Services
• Occupation Specific
• Canadian culture • Enhanced Language
Training (CLNA)
•Provincial programming
•ESL and FSL
Employment
• Resume Writing
• Job Search
• Job in Related Field
•Job Search Workshops
Long-term
Political Participation
& Civic Engagement
• Citizenship
• Voting
• Volunteering
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Future CIC Language Skills Policy Directions
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Using CLB Levels instead of LINC levels
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A Modernized Approach to Settlement Programming
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Enhanced Assessment System
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Coordinated Language Assessment, Referral, and
Training
The Modernized Approach
• Outcomes - The modernized approach is an outcome based approach, which is designed to support
newcomers by providing:
– language training so they have the language/skills to function in Canada;
– the information they need to better understand life in Canada and make informed decisions about
their settlement experience;
– the required assistance to find employment commensurate with their skills and education; and
– help to establish networks and contacts so they are engaged and feel welcomed in their communities
• Needs Assessment – Newcomers will be assessed to determine services required to meet their needs.
Needs assessment is to begin as early as possible, optimally overseas.
• Planning - All activities will be harmonized through improved coordination and collaboration among the
range of partners.
– Communities develop and implement strategic settlement plans, offering services that respond to
identified needs and regional issues. All stakeholders are involved in planning and carrying out
settlement programming. Best practices shared.
• Performance measurement - Results in terms of outcomes, outputs, and financial resources will be
gathered and monitored to ensure activities continue to achieved expected results and link services to
specific settlement outcomes.
From a Suite of Programs to Single Program with a Suite of
Activities to Achieve Outcomes
From a suite of programs…
… to a single program…
…using a suite of activities and services
that can be combined to achieve outcomes
The Settlement Program
An outcome-based program
Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC)
A. Orientation – Newcomers make informed decisions
about their settlement and understand life in Canada
B. Language/Skills – Newcomers have language/skills
needed to function in Canada
C. Labour Market Access – Newcomers obtain the
Immigrant Settlement and Adaptation Program (ISAP) required assistance to find employment commensurate
with their skills and education
D. Community Connections – Newcomers receive
help to establish social and professional networks so
they are engaged and feel welcomed in their
communities
Host Program (Host)
E. Policy and Program Development - To ensure
effective delivery and achieve comparable settlement
outcomes across Canada
Needs Assessment and Referrals
Information & Orientation
Language/ Skills Development
Labour Market Participation
Community Connections
Support Services
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Vision for a Two-part Assessment System
Part 1: Progress Assessment
Language Portfolios
Purposes
 Measuring program performance
 Motivating and empowering students
 Contributing to a standard curriculum
 Supporting professionalization of teachers
Description
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Teachers and students work together to set goals and compile evidence of student progress
Rooted in the Canadian Language Benchmarks 2000 and based on Manitoba’s Collaborative
Language Portfolio Assessment (CLPA) model
Results facilitate promotion of students from one training level to the next
Unlike a language test, a portfolio approach enables CIC to capture a student’s increasing grasp of
LINC’s non-language content (Canadian civics, values, job search skills, etc.)
Language Portfolios to be used in CLB 1-4
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Part 2: Outcomes Assessment
CLB-Based Language Milestone Test
Purposes
 Providing reliable data to support outcomes analysis
 Motivating students
 Over time, providing proof of language proficiency required for employment, post-
secondary study
Description
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Standardized, made-in-Canada test based on the CLB
Test-takers may not be limited to LINC students
Ultimately, language credential intended to facilitate the flow of newcomers into education/training
and the labour market by providing a recognized, portable credential
A test for this purpose need not assess all levels of proficiency, nor do stakeholders require a wide
variety of “language credentials”
Provisionally, milestones have been set at CLB 4 and 8.
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Vision for a Two-Part Assessment System
CLB
1
Levels
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
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Portfolio
Existing
Assessment
Tools
CLB-Based
Language
Milestones
Test
SAM TASKS
EXIT TASKS
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*Portfolio use for CLB 1-4, with the intent to cover settlement themes found in the LINC Curriculum, and to include SAM
(Summative Assessment Manual). Exit Tasks will continue to be used for CLB 5-7.
* CLB-Based Language Milestone Test to be delivered at CLB 4 and 8 .
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Coordinated Language Assessment and Referral System
• Strategy 2 of COIA Strategic Plan:
– Language assessment and training system: Build on existing services to
develop and implement a comprehensive language assessment, referral and
training system that assists newcomers to become competent in English or
French as quickly as possible.
• An advisory committee has been created by the two COIA government partners
(CIC and MCI) to advise on implementation of the new CLARS.
• Provides advice to the government partners on the development of the overview,
protocols, and standards for a coordinated language assessment and referral
system in Ontario.
• Consultations for input are being scheduled throughout Ontario
• Decisions on the implementation of CLARS will be made by CIC and MCI
Benefits of CLARS
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Consistency: Newcomers across Ontario will be assessed in the same
way using common standardized tools and practices.
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Increased access to language assessment (greater assessment
capacity, convenient locations, better access)
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Better promotion and outreach: Increased knowledge of training
programs both provincial and federal
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Newcomers, employers, and the community have increased
understanding of language skill levels
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Coordinating federal and provincial language programs will assist
newcomers navigate the settlement pathway.