It was my great pleasure to once again be able to attend British Columbia’s annual conference held on April 11^th to 13^th at Langara College in Vancouver. The theme of the conference this year was on intersections in EAL.

The theme was reflected well with all three of the keynotes and many of the presentations throughout the conference. The first keynote, Shelly Johnson (youtu.be/bI_XyVPM2Iw ) spoke about decolonizing EAL curriculum and pedagogy using poignant narratives to drive home the importance of indigenizing higher education.

Tyson Seburn’s keynote (https://youtu.be/zhEJDjmL4Wg) illustrated methods to build inclusivity into curriculum design in ways that celebrate diversity (for a list of materials see: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHy-WmiNNjKxUe8fqHWsAtHj_bbgHoFPEOhBT8Mm5D0/edit ).

Many of the concurrent sessions also explored intersectionality in the classroom from Making LGBTQ+ resources accessible presented by Rowan Furlotte and Kate Ross to reconciliation in the classroom presented by Jimmy Aitken and Cody Hawver. Featured Keynote speaker, Gabriel Diaz Maggioli (https://youtu.be/c6ubeKoRErM), described ways to situate teaching into authentic lessons that built on students own identity that had the audience reflecting on their own classroom environments.

Not only did I learn a lot from the concurrent sessions and keynotes, but I felt the conference planners were thoughtful in weaving into the conference social programming that mirrored the theme. While I love to attend and learn new things, social programs can help you make connections to new people and ideas, too.

BC TEAL has set a high bar in this respect with past conferences featuring a New Orleans’ jazz band, jugglers, and acrobats, and this year was no different. The wine and cheese reception was made even more fun by the inclusion of some funny and astute presentations, while the celebration dinner featured an impromptu pop up dance party. I was also impressed that at the AGM, members brought forth ideas from the keynotes to draft policies supporting inclusion, such as the BC TEAL Respectful Interactions Guidelines Framework.

International and this year the conference hosted guests from a variety of places, such as the Yukon, New York, Ontario, Alberta, and Washington. In addition, through its charitable foundation, BC TEAL, also invited a number of guests from the community and gave out several grants

BC TEAL puts on an excellent conference every year, full of innovative and creative ideas. I was encouraged to see so many people from other provinces, and states at this year’s conference. Next year’s conference promises to be a great event, so mark it on your calendars now!

James Papple is an EAP Manager at YUELI in York University and is a member of TESL Ontario and TESOL international. He is an international presenter and is currently a member of several boards and committees including the ANPC.