TESL Ontario announces Scarborough student winner of province-wide creativity contest celebrating learning English as a Second Language

TORONTO, Oct. 24, 2011 /CNW/ - A Scarborough student, Kathy Song, is the winner of a province-wide, multi-category creativity contest designed to capture the spirit of ESL education, the Teachers of English as a Second Language of Ontario (TESL Ontario) today announced. Song is an ESL student with Polycultural Immigrant and Community Services in Scarborough, who won the grand prize for an essay.

The creativity contest is a highlight of ESL Week, an annual celebration of ESL education and learning that has the support of several communities, thousands of ESL educators, students, and many learning institutions and school boards across Ontario. ESL Week is currently taking place and runs until October 30, 2011.

"Ontario has so many talented ESL students and educators, and we designed the creativity contest to showcase those talents, while at the same time capturing the spirit of what it is like to experience learning English as a second language," says Renate Tilson, executive director, TESL Ontario. "What makes this contest so inspiring is it brings together diverse cultures and languages, and ethnicities."

First place winners from other contest categories include:

• Blog: Kristin Myers (instructor, SPEAC International Language Institute) - Toronto
• Photo/Collage - Group Entry: Luz Yurani Torres Garcia, Fatemeh Alikhani, Akram Mehr-Ostvar, Mary Gibson, Navdeep Singh (students, Caledon Community Services) -- Bolton, Ontario
• Poetry: Maria Crapsi (instructor, YMCA Immigrant Settlement Services) - Hamilton
• Poster: Anindita Modak (student, Malton Neighborhood Services) - Mississauga
• Short Story: Alexandre Hebert (student, ESSO YMCA Learning and Career Centre) - Sarnia
• Video: Valeeta Bennett (student, London Language Institute) - London

All individuals involved with learning and teaching ESL in Ontario were invited to participate in the contest. The award for the grand prize winner is $500. All winners will be honoured at the President's Reception at the TESL Ontario Annual Conference in Toronto. The winning submissions are published on the TESL Ontario website and can be viewed at: http://www.teslontario.org/esl-week-contest-winners/.

ESL Week has been declared by 49 communities across Ontario including: Toronto, Kingston, Ottawa, Barrie, Belleville, Brighton, Brockton, Brockville, Burlington, Ajax, Amherstburg, Aurora,  Callander, Clarington, Cornwall, Elliot Lake, Englehart, Fort Erie, Fort Frances, Georgina, Goderich, Gwillimbury, Kenora, Kirkland Lake, Markham, Markstay-Warren, Midland, Milton, Newmarket, North Bay, Oakville, Oshawa, Parry Sound, Penetanguishene, Pickering,  Port Colborne, Port Hope, Quinte West, Rainy River, Saugeen Shores, Shelburne, Smooth Rock Falls, Stratford, St. Charles, St. Thomas, Whitby, Whitchurch-Stouffville, Windsor and York Region.

A regular feature of ESL Week is the TESL Ontario conference, which is taking place October 27-29, 2011 in Toronto. The conference - Language Learning: A Focus on Success -- is the largest conference of its kind in Canada, hosting more than 1,500 delegates. The conference brings together ESL educators from the public and private sector, academics, researchers, teacher trainers and representatives from both the federal and provincial governments. The conference offers a variety of workshops, plenary speakers, research symposia and a panel discussion on a current ESL topic.

TESL Ontario is the association and certifying body for non-credit adult ESL instructors in Ontario. TESL Ontario represents more than 4,400 ESL professionals working in elementary and secondary schools; colleges and universities; private schools; and LINC and ESL sites across the province. The organization has developed expertise in areas of teacher accreditation, and professional and curriculum development. For more information, visit www.teslontario.org.

For further information:

Shannon Skinner
Public Relations, TESL Ontario
416-576-8809
[e-mail]

Renate Tilson
Executive Director, TESL Ontario
416-593-4243 ext. 203
[e-mail]