SAHLA 2024 Languages Education Symposium
‘Languages Learning for Culture, Communications & Careers’.
Saturday June 22, 2024, 9am – 3:30pm
Skyline Room, DoubleTree Hilton Hotel, 2120 – 16 Avenue NE Calgary
Keynote Speaker: Honourable Rajan Sawhney, Minister of Alberta Advanced Education
AGENDA
9:00 am – Registration / Breakfast
9:30 am – Symposium Opens. Host: Michael Gretton, Coordinator, SAHLA
Welcome from SAHLA – Michael Embaie, President, SAHLA
9:40 am Session I Workshop
Update on using AI safely and effectively for languages teaching and learning.
Vincent will provide AI updates and its significant progress since the last SAHLA symposium in 2023
AI is the only topic that he has to adapt and change a couple of times within a school
semester for the first time in his career. He will share his experience in developing course
curriculum, leveraging AI as part of the learning process. Depending on AI cost, he hopes to
provide relevant updated AI demonstrations.
Presenter: Vincent Chiew, Ph.D., P.Eng.
Vincent has over 30 years of experience in various global industry sectors. He has also been
teaching, facilitating, accrediting, certifying, mentoring, advising, partnering, and coaching in
academia for about 20 years. Since the last SAHLA symposium 2023, he has used AI to teach
and taught AI to children, adults, corporations, government, seniors, professors, teachers, law
enforcement, essential service providers, and AI experts.
10:50 am Session II Workshop
PWIM – Picture Word Induction Model
The versatile mini foldable booklet and its application in a language classroom.
Designed for cross grade collaborations. More session details to be shared soon.
Presenter: Birgit Mau, Instructor, Calgary Board of Education; SAHLA Director.
12:00 pm lunch.
12:15 pm SAHLA Keynote Address: Michael Embaie, President SAHLA
Michael Embaie was born in Eritrea (East Africa or Horn of Africa) and came to Canada in 1983.
Michael has a Bachelor and a Master of Social Work Degree with specialization in Policy and
International Social work from the University of Calgary. Michael completed the Canadian
Immigration and Refugee Law program, and as a result is a licensed regulated Immigration
Consultant in Canada. Michael completed a graduate course (Diploma) in International Law and
Protection of Refugees at York University, Toronto, Ontario. Michael worked for the federal
Government of Canada, Department of Immigration and Refugee Board for 25 years as Chief of
Research and Documentation Centre for the Prairie Region (Alberta, Saskatchewan and
Manitoba); and as a Tribunal Officer and Dispute Resolution Officer for Western Canada.
Michael has been teaching graduate and undergraduate courses as a Sessional Instructor at the
University of Calgary, Faculty of Social Work & Dept. of Sociology for 17 years. Michael also
worked for the United Nations for seven years as a Resettlement Consultant & Training Expert.
12:30 pm Keynote Speaker: Honourable Rajan Sawhney, Minister, Alberta Advanced Education
Rajan Sawhney was sworn in as Minister of Advanced Education on June 9, 2023. She
previously served as the Minister of Trade, Immigration and Multiculturalism, the Minister of
Transportation and the Minister of Community and Social Services.
Prior to her service as an elected official, Mrs. Sawhney worked in the oil and gas industry for
over 20 years in a variety of roles in economics and business development and served as the
Vice President of Business Development for Fracture Modeling Inc.
Born and raised in Calgary, Mrs. Sawhney is a proud mother of 4 and has been married to her
husband, Gurpreet Sawhney, for 30 years. Mrs. Sawhney is also a University of Calgary alumna
where she earned a degree in Economics and Political Science as well as an MBA.
Rajan Sawhney was first elected as the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Calgary-North
East on April 16, 2019 and was elected the Member for Calgary-North West on May 29, 2023.
1:00 pm Session III Workshop
What does curriculum mean to you?
Presenter: Marie Gailer, Principal, Calgary German Language School
“There is no subject so old that something new can’t be said about it.” – Dostoevsky
The expectations for what will be taught and what students will do in a program of study. It’s
the gathered information that has been considered relevant to a specific topic. www.1ude.edu
Curriculum is not solely dependent on a textbook or specific philosophy of teaching. It’s a cycle
as to what will be taught which is in direct correlation with the objective, or mission statement
for the school. It is an evolution of subject matter. Marie Gailer is Principal of the Calgary German Language School. She has been in education for over 30 years and has taught preschool-adults in the USA, Mexico, Germany, Austria and Canada. She has taught in public school, university, community programs and private schools throughout her career and has developed and reviewed curriculum for different programs. She states that it’s exciting to be part of a collaborative and creative process.
2:00 pm Session IV Workshop
Community Language Schools Panel Session. Schools Overview, challenges and solutions
Principals from 5 different language schools will share some highlights about their schools.
-Wenshan Zhang, Yu Feng Chinese School
-Luigi de Somma, Calgary Italian School
-Luna McDonald, Calgary Japanese Community School
-Selam Aron, Eritrean (Tigrinya) Language & Cultural School Centre
-Serhan Tarkan, Turkish Canadian Cultural Association (TCCA) Language School
10 minutes maximum each school presentation:
- Purpose & overview of school. What year school was first established. School location, # of
students, teachers & volunteers. Grade levels taught, # of classes. - Roles & responsibilities at school (principal, teachers, volunteers, parents & students).
- Brief overview of school curriculum & classroom teaching and learning activities.
- Language school operations, budget & overhead costs (facility rental & instructors’
honorarium). Funding/fundraising activities. - School collaboration with country of origin; And collaboration with other language schools in
Calgary, or schools in other cities or provinces. - School successes and challenges.
Questions and answers.
3:30 pm – Closing remarks / Symposium close
SAHLA wishes to acknowledge ALBERTA EDUCATION for its conditional grant support.
Alberta Education conditional grant funding support is essential to SAHLA and our community
language schools. SAHLA’s 45 schools represent nearly 600 teachers and principals, and over
7,000 students in the teaching, learning and development of international languages education.
Alberta Education support greatly helps SAHLA to lead, coordinate and deliver professional
development programs and activities, curriculum development support, CBE classroom facility
rental support and teaching resources support for community language schools, principals,
teachers, students and parents.