March 2025 Newsletter – Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks

ISSN: 1488-8157 March 2025

Recruitment

We are currently recruiting for various positions! Candidates must be located in or near Canada’s National Capital Region.

Resources

The results of our CLIC national survey are finally here!

Discover the results of our survey conducted among language service providers and key players in the CLIC program. These videos reveal the profiles of instructors and learners, their expectations, motivations and challenges, as well as their perspectives of the CLIC program.

View the results here!

Training

Assessor Calibrations

This winter, we calibrated over 20 CLBPT assessors in Alberta! Calibration is a great PD exercise for certified assessors to engage in practical activities to exchange views and ideas with their peers under the supervision of a certified CLBPT trainer.

The Calibration is available in two versions, one for CLBPT and one for BTC-NCLC. If licensed CLBPT and/or BTC-NCLC assessment centres feel their team could also benefit from this training, contact us at [email protected]!

PBLA Training

To address frequently asked questions around Portfolio Based Language Assessment (PBLA) training, we have created a new chart that outlines the difference between the IRCC and the self-led Intro to PBLA courses to clarify expectations around these courses.

Passeur culturel Training

Do you know what it means to be a “Passeur culturel”? The Passeur culturel is a key mediator who makes cultures accessible and understandable, serving as a bridge between groups with different lifestyles. They facilitate exchanges and enrich intercultural interactions. We offered this new training on January 31 and February 17, 2025 which totaled 14 hours (in French only). It was offered online with the support of qualified trainers for CLIC program instructors. It consisted of a theoretical and practical component to provide a complete experience for participants. A certificate was issued to participants upon successful completion of the training.

ELBP Lead Teacher Training

ELBP Lead Teacher training for CLIC instructors is underway. This training is designed to strengthen leadership, provide practical tools and enriching exchanges to help instructors best support their colleagues and learners. It is typically offered once a year between January and March. CLIC programs wishing to find out more can contact [email protected].

Webinars

On February 7th we presented a Tutela Webinar: Effective Feedback Practices.

The recording is available on Tutela.ca under past events.

This webinar:

reviews the principles of effective feedback and how they can be implemented in the PBLA classroom.
gives participants the chance to practice giving effective feedback on learner writing samples.

Upcoming webinars (only offered in French for CLIC practitioners):

March 6, 2025, from 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM (EDT): “Interculturalisme vs Multiculturalisme” on Microsoft Teams. This webinar will shed light on the differences and implications of these two approaches in the educational and social context. The facilitators, Myriane Ouellette and Lisa Breau, are professionals in the field and will lead this session.
March 20, 2025, 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM (EDT): Explore the new National CLIC Curriculum Guidelines and learn how to effectively implement them in your lesson planning and teaching practices.
March 27, 2025, 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM (EDT): Discover the innovative CLIC Courseware and see how this user-friendly tool can simplify your daily tasks as a CLIC instructor.
March: date and time to be confirmed: Prototype pour le développement de contenus d’apprentissage sur les enjeux et cultures autochtones – Guide pour le personnel instructeur CLIC. This workshop aims to equip instructors with the tools and knowledge to integrate Aboriginal perspectives into their courses, while fostering a better understanding and inclusion of Aboriginal cultures in Canada. We hope this prototype will serve as a valuable guide to a respectful and informed andragogical approach. More information coming soon!

CLIC practitioners can register to any of these webinars by emailing: [email protected].

Conferences

27th Metropolis Canada, Toronto, ON – March 13-15, 2025.

Attendee: March 13, 14 and 15, 2025.

Presenter: Évaluation du projet TRF : Le CNCLC et le soutien aux communautés francophones en situation minoritaire.

Community News

With the recent launch of the National LINC Curriculum Guidelines, a series of four webinars have been hosted on Tutela through January to orient LINC instructors and administrators on how to use the tool.

Click below to access the recordings:

The NLOC project is excited to launch 75 eLearning units across CLB 3 to 5 on the Avenue.ca course builder by the end of March 2025, with some appearing in early March. Click here to view the latest status of digitizing NLOC eLearning units on Avenue.ca.

We recently conducted benchmarking for the College of Veterinarians of Ontario (CVO). This work provides a clear blueprint of the language requirements (both English and French) needed to work safely as a veterinarian in Ontario, based on Canada’s national language standards: Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) and Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC). We would like to thank the College of Veterinarians of Ontario and all veterinarians participating in the research for their time and input.

Sector News

The settlement and integration sector, including federally funded language training, is undergoing significant change, as announced by Immigration Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) over the course of the past several months through various announcements.

We are adapting and, with support from IRCC, we will continue to provide resources and training to the CLB and NCLC community during this transition period and beyond. Ensuring the ongoing existence of reliable national language standards and supporting the CLB and NCLC community of practice continues to be our mandate.

We look forward to sharing the details of our upcoming activities on our website and on LinkedIn early in the new fiscal year.