Dear EAL Professionals,

It has been five months since our last newsletter!  We have been working hard behind the scenes to (re)launch a Teacher Exchange Network for like-minded EAL professionals to share common challenges and successes in the field of Adult EAL teaching. 

Tell Us!
English Online Inc has received funding from October 2011 until March 2012 as a follow up to the Community of Practice initiative that was started last year in Manitoba.  To better understand the community, we have created an anonymous survey. Your responses will help us know more about professional needs and interests and more about Communities of Practice that are currently active.

Click here to complete the Survey.

Join Us!
We will coordinate news of activities though Teacher Exchange Network (T.E.N.). We hope EAL professionals will join and follow this social network which will act as a central location to connect with a broader network of EAL professionals and hear about exciting Community of Practice projects and events happening in and around our province, country and world!

Help Us Welcome Natalia!
Natalia Aleko has been hired to work on this initiative a few days a week, read more about her here.  Natalia will be trying to connect with as many EAL professionals as she can before the end of December to get them involved.  Help her connect with you in your staff room during a break or lunch time, at a staff meeting, or workshops.  If you need more information, would like to set up a meeting or receive a personal call, please contact Natalia directly at naleko@myenglishonline.ca, telephone 1-204-946-5140 (x.15) or toll free in Manitoba: 1-877-335-7489.

Communities of practice
a brief introduction
This brief and general introduction examines what communities of practice are and why researchers and practitioners in so many different contexts find them useful as an approach to knowing and learning.

Building Communities of Practice
In this article Oliver Serrat from Asian Development Bank (ADB) addresses common characteristics of communities of practice.

Exploring Communities of Practice
In this presentation Paul Vieira defines community of practice and designs a plan to nurture CoPs.