Updated Standards Guidelines for COVID-19

OVERVIEW OF STANDARDS

Name of Standard

Details of Eligibility

Professional Standard One

The Professional Certificate: Standard One is intended to recognize ESL/EFL educators who have completed an undergraduate degree and a Standard One TESL Canada recognized TESL training program.

The Professional Certificate: Standard One may be granted upon presentation of certified evidence of:

1) Completion of an undergraduate degree at an accredited post-secondary institution, and

2) Completion of a TESL Canada Recognized TESL Training Program which includes:

a) A minimum of 100 hours of theory and methodology and

b) A supervised practicum of a minimum of 20 hours (10 hours of observation and 10 hours of teaching under the supervision of an instructor certified at a minimum of TESL Canada Professional Certificate: Standard One, Two, or Three with at least 2,000 hours of adult ESL/EFL classroom experience or equivalent.)

c) Up to half of the practicum teaching hours may be completed in online synchronous* and asynchronous** environments, with no more than 25% of the total teaching hours completely online asynchronously***.

d) Up to 50% of the total hours of classroom observation be permitted to be done through recorded footage of in-person adult ESL classes selected from TESL Canada’s recommended list or recordings of similar quality.

Note: Item (2) may be part of an undergraduate or graduate degree.

Professional Standard Two

The Professional Certificate: Standard Two is intended to recognize ESL/EFL educators who have completed an undergraduate degree and a Standard Two TESL Canada recognized TESL training program.

The Professional Certificate: Standard Two may be granted upon presentation of certified evidence of:

1) Completion of an undergraduate degree at an accredited post-secondary institution, and

2) Completion of a Standard Two TESL Canada Recognized TESL Training Program which includes:

a) A minimum of 250 hours of theory and methodology and

b) A supervised practicum of a minimum of 50 hours (30 hours of observation and 20 hours of teaching under the supervision of an instructor certified at a minimum of TESL Canada Professional Certificate: Standard One, Two, or Three with at least 2,000 hours of adult ESL/EFL classroom experience or equivalent.)

Note: Item (2) may be part of an undergraduate or graduate degree.

Professional Standard Three

The Professional Certificate: Standard Three is intended to recognize ESL/EFL educators who have completed a Master’s/Doctoral degree in TESL or equivalent with a demonstrated background in adult education from a Canadian institution which is a member in good standing of Universities Canada, and a minimum of 50 hours in a supervised adult ESL/EFL classroom practicum.

The Professional Certificate: Standard Three may be granted upon presentation of certified evidence of:

1) Completion of a Master’s/Doctoral degree in TESL or equivalent from a Canadian institution which is a member in good standing of Universities Canada ,

2) Demonstrated background in adult education, and

Completion of a minimum of 50 hours in a supervised adult ESL/EFL classroom practicum (30 hours of classroom observation and 20 hours of teaching under the supervision of an instructor certified at a minimum of TESL Canada Professional Certificate: Standard One, Two, or Three with at least 2,000 hours of adult ESL/EFL classroom experience or equivalent.) Up to half of the practicum teaching hours may be completed in online synchronous* and asynchronous** environments, with no more than 25% of the total teaching hours completely online asynchronously***.

Up to 50% of the total hours of classroom observation be permitted to be done through recorded footage of in-person adult ESL classes selected from TESL Canada’s recommended list or recordings of similar quality.

1) The requirements of Professional Standard One or Two,

2) Completion of a Master’s degree or PhD in a related field at an accredited post-secondary institution.

PRACTICUM

The requirements for the practicum portion of the program:

Until December 31, 2023, in order to qualify for TESL program certification, all of the required in-class hours may be completed in online synchronous environments with the expected teaching modalities (see below).

Teaching in an online synchronous environment must include some of the following teaching modalities:

Teacher-centred lectures/explanations
Student-centred activities such as pair and group discussions and tasks delivered through a breakout room function
Screen sharing of various media
Using audiovisual technology (e.g., for listening and watching comprehension activities)
Using the digital whiteboard and annotation tools
Providing feedback in real time
Classroom management (e.g., giving floor, managing class interaction, elicitation)
Using external polling and assessment tools (e.g., Kahoot!)

* Online synchronous teaching environment are web-conferencing platforms (such as Zoom, Adobe Connect, Google Meet, Blackboard Collaborate, YouSeeU, Big Blue Button) or 3D Virtual Worlds (such as Second Life or VirBELA), where instruction requires participation of learners in real time.

Teaching in an online asynchronous environment (no more than 25%) must include some of the following teaching modalities:

Moderating an online discussion board
Creating learning objects and assessments and uploading them to an LMS
Providing asynchronous feedback on written work or recorded videos
Creating and posting pre-recorded lessons using video or multimedia presentation tools
One-on-one conferencing with students regarding aspects of their work

** Online asynchronous environments are Learning Management Systems (LMS, such as Moodle-based LMS like Edulinc, Edmodo, Brightspace, Blackboard, Canvas, Google Classroom).

TESL Canada is currently offering a "provisional certificate" if candidates are not able to obtain a practicum at the present time. The provisional certificate can be upgraded to a full certificate once practicum hours are completed.