In Conversation with Tara Holmes
Gail Kingwell
Sit down with Tara Holmes to explore her career in the ESL field and several themes emerge. She has an interest in exploring different ways of looking at the world, has never tired of the puzzle posed by language learning and teaching, has a desire to work with colleagues to create environments where learners can flourish, and she expresses an ongoing discomfort with the status quo – constantly searching for better ways of teaching or organizing programs. She recounts highlights of her career in terms of ‘we’ not ‘me’- feeling privileged to have worked with so many wonderful people – teachers, learners and others.
Her career choice was motivated by a desire to travel and explore the world – and to find a job which she thought would support her while she figured out what she wanted to do when she grew up! Her teaching career began at the Language Institute of Japan, where teachers taught small classes of adult learners for 50 contact hours a week. Teachers and learners lived together at the Institute and when they were not teaching, teachers hosted small groups of learners in discussions about culture and world events. Thus, began the exploration of other world views.
Returning to Canada to teach at Mount Royal College in Calgary entailed a big adjustment. The learners were immigrants under intense pressure to become contributing members in Canadian society. They were in ESL classes for short periods of time and had goals beyond learning English. And there was less opportunity to establish the relationships that Tara feels are crucial to teaching and learning. Still intrigued with the puzzle, Tara began a Masters program at the U of C where people were exploring the connections between language, thought and the learning potential in exploratory talk. She became convinced that well planned, intentional small group work was crucial to language learning – and this became the focus of her thesis.
She moved on to a position with the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) – coordinating the School of Languages – courses in ESL and everything from Arabic to Conversational Mandarin. While at the CBE she worked with colleagues and community partners to implement many creative programming initiatives. Programs addressed the needs of women moving into the world of work, assisted women to make a transition from home to community by providing an initial period of tutorials in homes, and provided academic upgrading for young marginalized immigrants with limited educational backgrounds. One program was accepted for entrance to SAIT and Korean teachers came to improve their English and to learn about new teaching methods.
At the same time Tara worked to craft a vision for a coordinated ESL program that provided clear pathways for learners. One mechanism that emerged to unite the somewhat fragmented menu of programs was an assessment framework. And this was Tara’s entrance into the world of the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB).
Since leaving the CBE, Tara has moved on to establish a successful private consulting business, participating in many local, provincial and national initiatives related to the CLB – as well as other projects relating to ESL and the settlement of immigrants in Canada. She is an acknowledged expert on the CLB and has worked with teachers across Canada to develop deeper understanding of applications of the CLB in the classroom. She has been an ATESL representative on the CCLB Board and is a trainer for the CLBPT.
She is currently working on her PhD at the University of Calgary, using the lens of hermeneutics and critical theory to explore the transition experience of immigrant professionals in Alberta. She continues to challenge the status quo, asking questions about what we as ESL professionals are really doing, how we are working in common enterprise with learners to create welcoming classrooms and communities in which newcomers can thrive. Does she know what she wants to do when she grows up? She can hardly wait to finish her PhD so she can go off to travel and explore the world. Japan anyone?
We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time.
Eliot, T.S. (1936) From: Little Gidding. Collected Poems: 1909-1962. Faber and Faber Limited. London. UK. p 214.