NEW DIRECTIONS

Yvonne has always been dedicated to helping Langley become an inclusive community. At age 16, she worked with representatives of the community to establish a Youth Centre in Langley, transforming a barn into a safe community centre. The barn eventually became Langley Community Services, providing Services to youth, seniors, and newcomers to Canada. Yvonne has continued to contribute to the community, working without remuneration as President of two non-profit Societies in Langley and Aldergrove. In 1989, Yvonne established New Directions to continue her vision, maintaining a focus on disadvantaged client groups. Over 24 years, her leadership established programs such as Essential Skills in the Workplace, Women’s Bridging, YES for Youth, LINC and ELSA for Newcomers to Canada, and Parole 2000. The success of New Directions is directly related to the building of teams who share Yvonne’s commitment to ethics, innovation and accountability.

Corinne has been teaching at New Directions since 2001. She has taught ELSA Level 1 to Level 3 as well as an interactive conversation class and is currently teaching a LINC 4 class. Prior experience includes teaching the elementary grades in public schools. She has a B.Ed degree from UBC, a TESL Certificate from TWU and a B.C. College of Teachers Professional Certificate. Corinne enjoys meeting people from around the world and helping newcomers acquire English skills so they feel comfortable in their new community.

Maureen graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of British Columbia, as well as obtaining her TESL 2 certificate from the University of the Fraser Valley. She has taught LINC levels one through five in her years at New Directions. Maureen is currently teaching a LINC 4/5 class at the Aldergrove New Directions location in which she strives to bring the highest quality our LINC program can deliver to this growing community. She enjoys working with newcomers to help them become more confident and independent in the community.

Janice Campbell achieved her B.A. (Hons) from Brock University and MCS from Regent College. She completed her TESOL Diploma from VCC. Janice has been teaching ESL for 18 years and has taught ELSA/LINC since 2013 at New Directions. She has taught classes at a variety of levels from LINC 1 to LINC 8 and recently she was teaching Stage 2 Language Instruction at the Open Learning Centre. Her classes are vibrant and full of relevance to today's world and labour market! Janice is also involved in a number of community initiatives including Working Groups for the Langley LIP; she has been an advocate for incorporating a broad range of community speakers in the LINC classroom especially online during COVID.

Melissa lived in Japan for over 10 years where she began teaching EFL at a young age. She completed a Bachelor of Arts with a split major in English and Anthropology at the University of Southern Queensland in Australia. Melissa also recently completed her M.A. TESOL at Trinity Western University. She has experience working with all ages and also spent many years teaching Business English to corporate clients. Melissa loves teaching because she likes working with people and learning about different cultures!

Harvinder completed her education in the UK and immigrated to BC in 1996. After completing her TESL and BC Career Development Certificates she joined the New Directions family in 2014. She has also taught LINC for the Peoples Law School and Parenting after Separation for the Boys and Girls Club of BC. Harvinder also completed the English for the Workplace and Job Club Leadership Training.

Anita graduated with a B.A. in English from Trinity Western University in Langley. She went on to obtain her TESL Certificate from Vancouver Community College. She has taught different levels of ESL over the years, but has found her passion in working with the lower levels. Anita has been teaching LINC Pre-Lit - 2 classes since joining the New Directions team in 2016. She loves being creative in helping newcomers build confidence, form friendships and interact in the community as they acquire basic English skills.

Patti pursued teaching English as a Second Language, because she has always been interested in the stories of new comers to Canada. Further to her BA in Speech Pathology, she completed her TESOL certification in 2015 from the University of the Fraser Valley. She began working with New Directions in November of that year. While finishing her certification, she volunteered at English Studies for Life in Canada for 3 years. Interaction with her students is the highlight of her day.

Rebecca is a Teaching and Program Assistant at New Directions. She actively engages the students one on one by offering insight and encouraging participation. Rebecca has helped teach the Pre-Literacy class and finds it both challenging and enjoyable. She also takes pride in assisting with the maintenance of the school.

Kendra has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology and a Certificate in TESL, both from the University of British Columbia. She’s been teaching with New Directions since 2018, and is currently teaching the LINC 5 morning class and the LINC 5/6 evening class. She really enjoys getting to know her students and is enthusiastic about helping them meet their goals.

Zeigfried, a certified teacher of English Language from the University of Cambridge in England, possesses over a decade of experience teaching ESL to adults internationally. Originally hailing from the central part of the Philippines, he embarked on his teaching journey in China, instructing English as a Second Language to university students in North China. Following that, he spent four enriching years in Hanoi, Vietnam, teaching English to both Vietnamese adults and elementary school children. For Zeigfried, teaching English is a true passion, not only because he helps second language learners improve their language skills but also because it allows him to connect with people from diverse corners of the globe.

Now settled in Canada, Zeig joyfully reflects on his journey: "I used to go to the world to teach English, but now the world comes to me." This new phase allows him to continue his teaching career while embracing the multicultural experiences that come to him in his Canadian home.

Mike has been teaching for the Open Learning Centre at New Directions since August of 2019. He took his TESOL course in 2019 as well, and has wholeheartedly been enjoying teaching here. At the Open Learning Centre Mike teaches our stage two students at CLB levels 5-8. He hopes to continue helping newcomers in Canada with their English for many years to come.

She was born and educated in the UK. She immigrated to B.C. with her family and their cat and dog in 2006. She teaches morning and afternoon LINC 1/2 classes. She really enjoys being a teacher at New Directions because she meets many, many interesting people. She loves helping students to learn English and she really likes hearing students laughing and singing in her class. She especially likes learning from the New Directions students a she likes to learn about their cultures, families, traditions and skills. During our time of teaching online Rose has been very creative in her teaching techniques for keeping her students interested and safe.

Shrawani graduated from the MA TESOL program at Trinity Western University (TWU) in Dec. 2022. Equipped with two other master's degrees (MBA from the University of Pune and M.Sc Ed from the University of Edinburgh), Shrawani aims to scaffold English language learning that can be useful in real-world tasks whether it is for academics, professional development, or settlement English programs. Her professional teaching experience over 12 years in India, teaching MBA graduate students, high school children, and training teachers, combined with her 18 months of experience in coaching and teaching academic skills to MBA students at TWU allows her to adapt to students of multicultural communities and varied age-groups with diverse work experiences. Shrawani loves to take her Saturday LINC class at New Directions to live events like Global Fest in July and on field trips like Fort Langley in August.

Her endeavour is to combine her teaching experience with learners' life experiences as she believes “An effective language learning process transpires when the learners can take what they learn within a learning space and expand it into their daily lives as colleagues, parents, friends, and individuals voicing their opinions and emotions, sharing cultural anecdotes, discussing challenges, and finding solutions.”

Everyone calls her Ruby. She has a PhD (English) from a prestigious university in India. She earned a PGCTE (Post Graduate Certificate in Teaching English) and is also TESOL Canada certified.Ruby has presented her research papers in universities in Dubai and Canada on Communication skills. She has a rich experience of around 20 years of teaching ESL in India. She is enjoying every bit of her experience teaching English to ESL learners at New Directions. Ruby believes: "A successful teacher should enjoy people, show enthusiasm and excitement in the classroom, and be positive...".

Shari has lived in Langley since she was 3 years old. She has previously worked for Court Services and after having her two daughters she began doing after-school pick up for a local Taekwondo school. Shari started with new Directions in 2008 and is currently the Client Service Coordinator which includes looking after all administrative duties. When she is not at work she is assisting as an Assistant Coach in softball or going for walks with her dog.

Everyone knows her as Lalu. She moved to Canada from a refugee camp in Thailand in 2007. In 2018, she became a Canadian citizen. Currently, she is working at New Directions as a Program Assistant and a Wait-list Coordinator. Lalu helps students with registrations and places them in their classes. She loves working with people because, as she was a refugee herself, it is a wonderful feeling to help others who are new to the community and especially welcome other refugees.

Graciela holds a Bachelor Degree in Graphic Design from Autonomous Metropolitan University in Mexico. She was working for prestigious corporations in Mexico before coming to Canada. Presently, she is a Project Assistant at the OLC office where she is applying the Kaizen System through out the organization. Graciela enjoys a team-work environment, sharing tasks and assignments in a highly efficient manner. She continually strives to improve her own skills while delivering customer satisfaction to our students.

Mehdi has been a passionate English teacher for 24 years. He came to Canada as a student in 2021 and obtained Academic Excellence Award after the completion of his Master of Education program at Thompson Rivers University. He completed his TESOL program at ISS Language and Career College of BC, and he holds a B.A. in English Literature from his home country, Iran. He has developed versatile programs to address multiple needs of students at different levels and ages. He has honed his instructional skills to create engaging and effective learning experiences for the purposes of teaching ESAL, EAP, ELA, EFL, and business English. His journey in education has been shaped by a commitment to active learning, experiential teaching methodologies, and learner-centred teaching philosophies. His passion is to assist people achieve success on their own.

Mehdi is a welcome addition to the New Directions English Language School team, where he is teaching at both Aldergrove and Langley Open Learning Centre sites, along with a labour market focused afternoon class.

After initially volunteering at New Directions in order to participate in the community that helped many of her family members, Angie accepted the position as a Program Assistant. Concurrently, Angie is studying to pursue a career in psychology in hopes of aiding, and supporting individuals who need counselling. As a refugee herself, she knows firsthand what it is like to enter a new country and feel unsure of her new environment. Working as a Program Assistant enabled her to help clients feel supported and welcomed to the community. Angie enjoys the new encounters with each person, as it reminds her that there is unity in diversity and inclusion.

Margaret graduated as an adult student from the University of Fraser Valley with a Bachelor degree in Sociology and History. Subsequently, she completed a TESL Certificate program which gave her the opportunity to work as an ESL Tutor for adults. Having grown up in an immigrant family and speaking German as her first language, Margaret enjoys working with Newcomers to Canada and can easily relate to them and understand the challenges facing families as they come to a new culture and learn a new language. As the New Directions Community Events Coordinator, her goal is to reveal the many diverse aspects of our local community to the students by inviting guest speakers to the school and planning a variety of field trips.

Growing up in Baghdad, the capital city of Iraq, Farah acquired a bachelor’s degree in Dentistry from the University of Baghdad. Then, while gaining much experience in Dentistry, she proceeded to practice as a Dental Surgeon for over 20 years. In November 2013, after working both in Iraq and Oman as a dentist, Farah moved to Canada where she studied at VCC and obtained a Dental Assistant Diploma. More recently, she has obtained her PBLA and CLB Bootcamp certificates. Farah has volunteered at different organizations that help Newcomers in all aspects of life to assist them in the process of integration and settlement in their new community. As a volunteer, she joined New Directions School at the beginning of 2019, helping the Arabic-speaking students in their English studies. At the end of 2019, Farah joined New Directions School as the Child Care Coordinator. She loves her work at New Directions because she gets to meet people from different countrie

Judy is originally from Seoul, South Korea, where she studied English Literature and English Education. After moving to Langley, she took courses in sociology, religious studies, and psychology at Trinity Western University as well. She has been teaching English for three decades and has taught a range of different courses that prepare students for a variety of English exams, such as IELTS. She is a first generation immigrant and has experience working as a community support worker, therefore she is familiar with the process and also the barriers that newcomers face when they arrive in Canada. Judy is teaching in person and online at New Directions, with LINC 4 to 7 classes. In her free time, Judy enjoys painting, gardening, writing poems, and playing golf.

Amena holds a bachelor's degree in English Language and Literature from Kabul Education University in Afghanistan. She then pursued her Master's Degree in TESOL from a prestigious university in Afghanistan and has more recently obtained her PBLA and CLB Bootcamp certificates. With six years of experience teaching English as a Foreign Language and English for Academic Purposes in both public and private sectors in Afghanistan, Amena, an ESL learner and an immigrant to Canada herself, fully understands the challenges of learning a new language and integrating into a new community. At New Directions English Language School in Langley, she is committed to helping her students overcome these challenges. In her own words, "Teaching is an art. Don’t just instruct students; create an environment where they can truly learn. Every student has the potential to learn, and I aspire to make a meaningful impact on each of their lives.

Selin's journey began with observing her father, who was an ESL teacher, and being influenced by her elementary school teachers. In high school, she first saw herself as a teacher while playing the role of one. Since then, she has envisioned working with immigrants. As an ESL student herself, she personally experienced and understood the hardships of living in an English-speaking country.

She graduated from Mars Hill University in North Carolina in 2018 with a B.A. in TESOL and a minor in Psychology. Recently, she earned her M.A. in TESOL from Trinity Western University in Canada. She is passionate about guiding others on their learning paths and is grateful to have found that opportunity at New Directions.