The Author
Nancy Callan teaches English as a Second Language in Vancouver.
She has taken language, linguistics and education courses at: Carleton University in Ottawa, Mount St. Vincent University in Halifax, University of Winnipeg, University of Mannheim (Germany), University of Manitoba and University of Western Ontario. Her degrees include B.A., B.Ed., and P.B.C.E.(TESL).
Nancy is fluent in English, French and German and has basic knowledge of Mandarin, Spanish and Russian. She has traveled across Canada twice by car and lived in the following Canadian cities: Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, London, Winnipeg and Vancouver.
What you see above is Nancy testing out one of the jigsaws from her books. Each book is thoroughly tested by a number of instructors, in classes ranging from CLBA benchmark 1-5.
The teacher's role is more that of a facilitator in these student-centred jigsaw lessons, as she circulates among groups to check comprehension and assist with pronunciation and intonation. With 5 minutes prep on the part of the teacher, students have up to 3 hours of 4-skills based materials that transform the classroom into a hub of communicative, cooperative activity.