May 22, 2025

Please join us and guest host Ruba Kallab on Thursday, May 22nd, at 4PM (MST).

What if language learning could also be a path to healing? In this session, Ruba Kallab draws on real stories, brain science, and practical classroom strategies to explore how trauma shapes the way adult ESL learners engage with language, and how teachers can make a meaningful difference.

Through personal insights, current research, and hands-on examples, Ruba invites us to reimagine our roles not just as instructors, but as trusted adults who help foster safe, compassionate, and empowering learning spaces. Grounded in trauma-informed practices and the realities of diverse classrooms, this session will unpack how small shifts in teaching can make a big impact.

Topics for discussion will include:

1. How can trauma-informed teaching help us see our role as more than just language teachers, maybe as people who help students feel safe and supported?
   
2. How can we create supportive assessments that truly show what students know, without adding pressure or bringing up past painful experiences?
   
3. How do we respond when a student shares something deeply personal or painful? What is our role in that moment, and what isn’t?

Please email DonnaClarke@Immigrant-Education.ca for the ZOOM link to this session.

ATESL Chapter: Provincial