Name: Fortifying Futures: Volunteer Pathways for Language Learners
Start: 2026-05-01T15:15:00-0700
End: 2026-05-01T16:00:00-0700

Fortifying Futures: Volunteer Pathways for Language Learners

Friday May 1, 2026 3:15pm - 4:00pm PDT

S1620

This panel examines how classroom‑based volunteering can serve as a meaningful developmental pathway for language learners seeking future roles in education. In a TEAL landscape marked by rapid change, access barriers, and shifting learner demographics, volunteering creates space for learners to strengthen their language proficiency, workplace readiness, and emerging pedagogical identities through authentic participation in instructional environments. These practices align with the 2026 conference theme Rooted and Relevant: EAL Approaches in a Changing World, emphasizing flexible, learner‑centered approaches that respond to current sector challenges.
Our focus is on learners who have limited access to full‑time language programming, including graduates of settlement‑language programs, temporary residents such as CUAET visa holders, and Stage 2 learners navigating fragmented or constrained educational pathways. Their experiences illustrate how volunteering can bridge structural gaps, foster confidence, and support career exploration within Canadian educational contexts. The session’s objectives are to: demonstrate how volunteering enhances language development, communication skills, and learner confidence through situated practice; illustrate how classroom volunteering supports workplace competencies and early pedagogical awareness for learners pursuing education‑related career pathways; and provide instructors with strategies for identifying, mentoring, and integrating learner‑volunteers in ways that benefit both volunteers and classroom communities.
The panel includes multiple perspectives: one presenter examines language‑learning gains associated with classroom volunteering; another highlights how volunteering builds workplace readiness and community connections; a third discusses how volunteer engagement nurtures interest in education careers and supports foundational teaching skills. The chair synthesizes these insights, situates them within broader TEAL sector shifts, and facilitates discussion on practical implications for instructors and programs. Participants will leave with evidence‑informed strategies for leveraging learner‑volunteer strengths, fostering inclusive community‑rooted practices, and responding to sector challenges in ways that remain both rooted in learner needs and relevant to evolving TEAL contexts.

Speakers

Karla Hiltermann

LINC Instructor, Volunteer Support, Archway Community Services

Karla is a LINC Instructor and Volunteer Support person at Archway Community Services. She enjoys wearing both hats at once, encouraging graduates from stage one language classes to volunteer in stage one classes as a way to increase fluency and gain Canadian workplace experience... Read More →

Yuki Yamazaki

Archway Community Services

Sarah-Ann Wijngaarden

LINC Instructor, Archway Community Services

Sarah-Ann Wijngaarden has had the joy of working as a LINC Instructor at Archway Community Services in Abbotsford, BC since early 2023. She has supported instructors and learners in the Literacy level up to CLB 4, but currently works in-person supporting one and teaching two Literacy/CLB... Read More →

Jessy Singh

Archway Community Services

Friday May 1, 2026 3:15pm - 4:00pm PDT
S1620

LINC, Equity Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)

BC TEAL 2026 Annual Conference

Karla Hiltermann

Yuki Yamazaki

Sarah-Ann Wijngaarden

Jessy Singh

Attendees (8)

Get help with the event

BC TEAL 2026 Annual Conference

Karla Hiltermann

Yuki Yamazaki

Sarah-Ann Wijngaarden

Jessy Singh

Attendees (8)

Sign up or log in to save this to your schedule, view media, leave feedback and see who's attending!

Get help with the event