BC TEAL 2026 Annual Conference

This workshop presents an innovative English Language Support program designed for internationally trained skilled-trade professionals seeking Canadian certification or prior learning recognition. Operating at the intersection of English language development, occupational context, and assessment literacy, the program demonstrates how deeply contextualized instruction can lead to rapid and lifechanging outcomes.

Participants will examine an Integrated Dual-Expert Model that pairs a certified EAL instructor with a Red Seal Certified trades instructor. The session illustrates how language decoding, trade-specific content, and exam deconstruction are intentionally aligned to support learners navigating high-stakes certification examinations. Attendees will analyze how this model accelerates English development while improving test performance and workplace confidence.
 
The program is grounded in four learning theories: English for Specific Purposes, Situated Learning Theory, the Cognitive Apprenticeship Model, and Scaffolding and the Zone of Proximal Development. Language instruction occurs exclusively within authentic trade tasks, while exam literacy is explicitly taught through deconstruction of mock certification exam questions and assessment structures. Learning is scaffolded using Moodle-based trade-specific courses, one-to-one coaching, as well as some small-cohort instruction.
 
Participants will leave inspired by success stories and a practical instructional framework for integrating language, occupational expertise, and exam preparation. They will gain strategies for designing authentic EAL tasks, supporting learners who are facing high-stakes testing environments, and collaborating effectively with subject-matter experts. The session offers a replicable model for EAL programs seeking relevance and measurable impact in a changing workforce.

Generative AI (GenAI) tools such as Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT are becoming increasingly capable of offering detailed, pedagogically useful feedback on student writing, particularly in areas such as grammar, diction, clarity, organization, and academic style (Alnemrat et al., 2025; Gjorevski et al., 2025; Hyland, 2025; Ofgan, 2024; Yin, 2025). This Ed Tech Jam session demonstrates how Copilot can serve as a practical support tool for teachers working with EAL learners in EAP contexts. 
During the session, the presenters will use a sample student essay and showcase Copilot’s capabilities by prompting the AI tool to: 1) Distinguish whether the student text appears human‑ or AI‑generated. 2) Apply two rubrics, one teacher‑provided and one AI‑generated, to assess the sample student essay and justify the scoring. 3) Provide targeted feedback on grammar, diction, and clarity. 4) Comment on content development and organizational effectiveness. 5) Check APA citations and reference formatting. 
The presenters will also discuss pedagogical strategies for integrating Copilot into feedback workflows, including using AI for formative feedback, preliminary assessment, or initial comments that are reviewed and refined by the teacher in a complementary hybrid fashion.
Participants will have hands‑on opportunities to try Copilot for the five tasks above and explore additional prompts of their choosing. They will also share questions and insights related to AI feedback reliability and responsible classroom integration.
This hybrid human‑AI approach especially supports large‑class essay marking, accelerates formative feedback, and assists less‑experienced teachers. Participants will leave with a set of adaptable prompts and a clearer understanding of Copilot’s strengths, limitations, and potential for enhancing feedback practices in EAP writing classes. 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The presenter showcases an experiential, TESOL Canada–accredited micro-credential for Business English course design. Participants discover how real workplace tasks and AI trends inform curriculum development through Kolb’s experiential cycle and UDL principles. Attendees leave with interactive strategies to align Business English teaching with current workplace communication demands.
This practice-oriented workshop introduces the Teaching Business English Certificate (TBEC), an experiential micro-credential program that equips English instructors to design business English courses aligned with authentic workplace communication tasks and emerging AI influences. Grounded in Kolb’s experiential learning theory (Kolb, 1984) and Universal Design for Learning, TBEC emphasizes learning by doing. Instructors engage in the full cycle of concrete experience, reflection, conceptualization, and experimentation, ensuring that classroom activities mirror real job tasks like business emails, presentations, and meetings. By aligning training with labour-market needs, the program ensures relevant, job-ready skills; unlike traditional degrees, micro-credentials focus on specific, industry-demanded competencies that translate directly to improved workplace performance (Zukowski, 2025).
The workshop clearly models TBEC’s approach. The presenter guides participants through adapting a workplace scenario into a lesson plan: attendees experience a sample business communication task and collaboratively reflect on the language and soft skills involved. Using UDL principles, the session demonstrates how to design inclusive course materials that are “accessible, inclusive and challenging for every learner” (CAST, 2024). For example, participants see how multiple means of engagement and expression can support diverse learners in a business-English context. The session also addresses current AI trends in workplace communication (e.g. AI writing assistants) and discusses how these can be incorporated ethically into course design, so instructors stay ahead of technological shifts. Throughout the workshop, interactivity and reflection are emphasized: participants brainstorm course ideas, evaluate alignment with learning outcomes, and exchange feedback.
By the end, attendees will have gained a framework and practical techniques for designing Business English curriculum that is experiential, inclusive, and tightly connected to the evolving communication needs of today’s workplaces.
 
References 
CAST. (2024). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines 3.0. CAST.
Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Prentice Hall.
Zukowski, S. (2025, April 3). Microcredentials: Empowering modern learners & employers. The EvoLLLution.