Settlement Language Training Sector Pro Spotlight

Dr. Geoff Lawrence: Keeping the Human at the Centre of Language Learning

Interviewed by Rob McBride, Executive Director, Avenue Canada Solutions

Introduction

Dr. Geoff Lawrence is a professor at York University whose work spans applied linguistics, English language teaching, teacher education and technology-mediated language learning. He began his English language teaching career in LINC and has continued to engage with newcomer language education as both a practitioner and researcher. In this Sector Pro Spotlight, he talks with Avenue Canada’s Rob McBride about a rapidly changing language-learning landscape, the promise and limits of AI, digital literacy in newcomer settlement, teacher preparation, and why pedagogy and human connection still need to lead technology.

A Hub for Language Education

Rob

Geoff, can you describe your work at York University and the part of the university where you teach and conduct research?

I work in York University’s Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics. I teach in the Linguistics and Applied Linguistics graduate program, working in the applied linguistics field. I also work in our credit ESL program and our TESOL certificate program. We are a relatively small faculty group, but I think we have become a real hub for research and practice in English and additional language teaching/learning and teacher education. We are establishing a distinctive identity as a centre for both research and teaching in language education.

Geoff

A Pivotal Moment for Language Teaching

Rob

You have taught technology-mediated language teaching and learning for more than a decade. How do you see the landscape changing now?

Quite dramatically. I was talking about this with my graduate students recently. I feel we’re at a pivotal moment in language education, and in many ways it reflects what is happening in society more broadly. After the pandemic, technology became much more normalized in education and certainly in language education. Now we are dealing with the rapid emergence of generative AI tools and platforms, and they are challenging established ideas about teaching, learning, academic integrity, and the roles of teachers and learners.

We need to reflect critically on who we are as teachers and what the role of the language teacher is, particularly in post-secondary and adult-learning contexts. These tools are pervasive and are being used in ways we are only beginning to understand. At the same time, a great deal of responsibility for regulating AI use is being downloaded onto teachers. Often they have not been trained for that role, they don’t have enough time, and they are not compensated for this huge additional responsibility. I see the tension in the teachers who come into my classes: How do I use these tools ethically? What should I allow? What should I be cautious about? It really is a pivotal period for language teaching and learning.

Geoff

Researching AI in English for Academic Purposes

Rob

You have just begun a new research initiative on AI in English for Academic Purposes. What are you hoping to learn?

We are trying to better understand how teachers and students in post-secondary EAP contexts are actually using AI tools, and what their perceptions and beliefs are about those tools. The goal is to map the territory more concretely rather than assume we already know what is happening.

It is a multi-phase project over three years. We are planning classroom observations and interviews with teachers and students. We want to understand the perceived benefits and affordances, but also the limitations, from both perspectives. We have only just started the project, so we have not published findings yet, but the aim is to build a much clearer picture of what AI use really looks like in these learning environments.

Geoff

From LINC Classroom to Research

Rob

Please tell me about your experience in newcomer settlement language training during your career?

Sure. I started my English language teaching career in LINC after completing my TESOL certificate. I taught in LINC for about three years and later came back to it in the college sector. I have also researched technology and different approaches in LINC classrooms. So I have been involved in settlement language training both as a practitioner and as a researcher.

Geoff

Rob

That gives you a useful perspective on digital skills in settlement. Is technology now about more than simply supporting language instruction?

Absolutely. Technology is continually shaping the way we communicate with one another. This has been happening for decades, but communication is now so routinely technology-mediated that it makes no sense to treat technology as something separate from language use or teaching and learning.

In settlement and newcomer language education, technology is crucial. Developing critical digital literacies is also crucial because learners come with very different experiences and levels of comfort with technology. Digital tools can be an enormous resource, but learners also need opportunities to build the skills and confidence to use them effectively and critically in everyday communication and participation.

Geoff

Preparing Teachers for Technology-Mediated Learning

Rob

Are TESOL teacher-preparation programs doing enough to prepare new teachers to teach with learning technology?

I think we have often been slow to take this up. At York, in our graduate applied linguistics program, we’ve integrated a course specifically in technology-mediated language teaching and learning over the past ten years. I believe TESOL programs are likely addressing technology, but it has often been treated as something separate from teaching methodology. I think it needs to be fully integrated.

Technology is changing the nature of language use itself. We also need to prepare teachers to work with multiliteracies because communication is no longer simply text. We communicate through images, video and other multimodal formats. Those areas need to be more fully developed in TESOL preparation and language teacher development. The challenge, of course, is that teacher education programs have limited time. They need to address methodology, theory, sociopolitical issues and many other areas, so deciding how much time to devote to technology is difficult. But it increasingly has to be part of the core conversation rather than an add-on.

Geoff

Start with Pedagogy, Not the Tool

Rob

You and Avenue Canada share a strong interest in the annual CALICO [Computer-assisted Language Learning Consortium] Conference. What technology innovations seem most promising to you right now?

I would actually reframe this question. Rather than asking, “What is the most promising technology innovation and how can we teach with it?” I would start by asking, “What pedagogical approach makes most sense in a specific context, and how can technology support it?” Looking at the issue from the pedagogical perspective is key.

I think AI tools have enormous potential in language education. The challenge is understanding their affordances in particular teaching and learning contexts and making sure they do not encourage dependency and excessive ‘cognitive offloading’. We want students to learn. The technology should support that learning, not take over the language-learning process for them.

I also think virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed-reality environments continue to have a lot of potential. They always have. The challenge has been the infrastructure, platforms, teacher education, and the cost required to make them practical in a classroom. As those technologies become more accessible, their possibilities for language learning become very interesting.

Geoff

Keeping the Human Feel

Rob

What final thought would you leave with educators working in newcomer settlement language training?

For me, at this point in time, I feel the key remains the relevance and the essential role of the teacher. My students, colleagues and I have been talking for years about what language teachers contribute in educational landscapes that are changing so dramatically. And a consistent response is that teachers play a crucial role.

A LINC student once said to us during a research project that we need to “keep that human feel” in education. This has stayed with me. Teachers need to identify what they uniquely bring to these technological ecosystems, what humanity they bring, and how they can maximize that benefit for students and for learning. Technology will continue to evolve, but keeping the human at the centre of language teaching and learning is essential.

Geoff

Closing Reflection

Nancy Van Dorp’s career demonstrates something she continues to encourage in the instructors she supports: learning technology expertise develops gradually.

From an early conversation about educational technology at a TESL Ontario conference to training instructors, mentoring teachers, developing digital learning materials and eventually taking on the role of Distributed Learning Manager, Nancy has continued to build her expertise one stage at a time.

That same principle informs her advice to educators today. Keeping pace with technological change doesn’t require mastering every new tool as soon as it appears. It requires curiosity, continued learning and a willingness to keep moving forward.

As AI creates another period of rapid change in education, Nancy’s message remains decidedly human: technology should complement good teaching, not replace it. The goal is to give educators the confidence to use technology effectively so they can help their learners develop the language and digital skills they need to succeed in Canada.