OSE Bilash
Contact
Phased Post Retirement-Faculty, Faculty of Education - Secondary Education Dept
- obilash@ualberta.ca
Overview
About
Dr. Olenka Bilash has been on the frontier of several new fields of practice in education: immersion bilingual pedagogy, Aboriginal language education, and Heritage/International languages. Through her publishing career she has helped to develop the foundation needed to sustain these fields. More recently, Dr. Bilash has taken to more frontier work by exploring the impact of study abroad teacher professional development programs. By designing, instructing and managing programs for teachers of English from Japan, Korea and China and maintaining relationships with their school jurisdictions she has been able to trace change and transformation in individuals, classrooms, resources, leadership and policy. Influences of cross cultural work on Canadian facilitators is also being explored. References to Bhabba, Bourdieu, Freire, Maturana and Varela, and Vygotsky are central.
Selected Honours and Awards
2010
Canada's 3M Teaching fellow
2010
International and Heritage Languages Association created an award entitled the Dr. Olenka Bilash Leadership award
2009 Appointed to 16-person advisory board for UNESCO's Linguapax
2009 Julia Cardinal Memorial Award for contribution to Cree Language Education, Keheewin Reserve, Alberta
2008 Designer and Consultant for ASCD Collaborative Practice award, Southern Alberta
2005 Alberta Government Centennial Medal for contribution to Ukraine-Alberta International relations
2005 Designer of Hokkaido’s ESL Teacher Professional Development program – awarded best professional development program in Japan
2003 Acknowledgement for contribution to Cree Bilingual Program in Northern Lights School Division
1999 Stephen A. Freeman Award for best published article in a second language journal in 1998 on "Planning for Writing Instruction in a Middle-years Immersion/ Partial Immersion Setting"
Grants
Individual and team grants have been awarded from SSHRC, CIDA, Alberta Learning, Hokkaido Board of Education, Japanese Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Consulate of Japan, Kangwon Board of Education (Korea), as well as University funding sources. I currently am a co-PI on a SSHRC-funded project ($50,000) with Drs. Bischof, Cheng and BAsu from Computing Sciences. The four of us have also applied for another SSHRC and an NSERC this year.
Research
Primary Research Interests:
Second language education, teacher education, alternative education, professional development, qualitative research methodology, change
Teaching
Courses Taught
EDSE 401 Developing Oral Language competency
EDSE 451 Integrating Theory and Classroom Practice in the Advanced Professional Term
EDSE 468 Curriculum and Teaching for Secondary School Second Language Majors II
EDSE 469 Curriculum and Teaching in Secondary School Second Language II
EDSE 501 Developing Oral Language
EDSE 501 Conference Seminar, Innovative Practices in the Secondary Classroom
EDSE 502 Second Language Teacher Thinking
EDSE 502 Innovative Approaches to teaching Spanish as a Second Language
EDSE 502 Cross cultural Explorations on SL teacher preparation programs
EDSE 511 Research Design in Secondary Education
EDSE 512 Research Project in Secondary Education
EDSE 569 Issues and Approaches in Second and Foreign Language Literacy Development
EDSE 602 Factors that influence successful first year Second Language Teaching
EDSE 602 Factors that influence good second language teaching
EDSE 602 Advanced Level Guided Individual Study in Secondary Education
EDSE 607 Action Research Practicum
EDSE 669 Curriculum and Resource Development in Second Languages
Courses
EDSE 468 - Curriculum and Teaching for Secondary School Second Language Majors II
Prerequisites: Introductory Professional Term and *24 in the Major subject area. Successful completion is expected prior to being granted permission to commence EDFX 450.
Scholarly Activities
Research - Publications
Selected Research Studies and Publications
Refereed Articles
Bilash, O. and Shi, W. (under review) Immigrant Graduate Students Compete for Academic Opportunities
Bilash, O. and Brookes, M. (under review) The emergence of a learning community - what it took in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
Bilash, O. (under review) Increasing use of the Target language in FL classrooms: Lessons from Japanese Teachers of English TBLT
Bilash, O. and Kobel, I. (2011) The influence of 15 years of Canadian Professional Development Seminars on Teachers’ Thinking and Practice in Ukraine.
Ojok-Acii, W., Bilash, O. and Fournier, B. (2010). Child Soldiering: A Call to Western Curricular Thinkers and Practitioners. Journal of Interdisciplinary Education, 9 (1), 64-79.
Bilash, O. and McKay-Carrier, L. (2010). Messengers of Hope in Reversing the Language Shift. Journal of Interdisciplinary Education, 9 (1), 107-124.
Cho, H., Bilash, O., & , D. Gulas-Bomok (2010, Spring 2010). Homestays in second Language Learning: Find me a match. Notos, 10 (1), 39-45. Edmonton, Canada: Alberta Teachers' Association.
Cho, H., & Bilash, O. (2010, Spring 2010). Homestays in an age of glocalization. Notos, 10 (1), 46-53. Edmonton, Canada: Alberta Teachers' Association.
Harries, K., & Bilash, O. (2010, Spring 2010). Student teachers' perceptions of the support and challenge received during second language practica. Notos, 10 (1), 3-12. Edmonton, Canada: Alberta Teachers' Association.
Kastelan-Sikora, K., & Bilash, O. (2010, Spring 2010). Beginning Second Language Teachers - What are their needs and how can we help them? Notos, 10 (1), 19-29. Edmonton, Canada: Alberta Teachers' Association.
Mckay-Carriere, L., & Bilash, O. (2010, Spring 2010). Bringing elders back into teaching Cree. Notos, 10 (1), 30-38. Edmonton, Canada: Alberta Teachers' Association.
Bilash, O., & Bedrij, R. (2009). Navchann'a chytann'a v Kanadi: potreby zakhidnoi diaspory v navchal'nykh resursakh ta rol' Ukrainy (Ukrainian language literacy in Canada: needs of western diaspora in learning resources and the role of Ukriane). Teoria i praktyka vykladann'a ukrains'koi movy iak inozemnoi, Vypusk 4, 212-225. Lviv, Ukraine: Lviv, Vydavnychyi, LNU imeni Ivana Franka.
Bilash, O. and Xu, I. (2009) What makes a good second language textbook? Notos, 9 (2) 4-20.
Breckenridge, Y. & Bilash, O (2009). Selection skills and authentic texts: Results of a questionnaire and think-aloud protocol. Notos, 9 (1), 4-20. Edmonton, Alberta: Alberta Teachers Association.
Bilash, O. and Noerenberg, H. (2008) Does a good teacher automatically a good teacher educator make? – a dialogue about transitions. Notos, 8 (1) 7579 words.
Bilash, O. & Kang, J. (2007). Living well in a changing world: What Korean teachers say about a study abroad. In Journal of Educational Thought, 41(3), p.295-309.
Bilash, O. (2007) Scaffolding activities to develop the four skills Notos, 7 (2), 12-23.
Bilash, O. (2007). Rozrobka navchal'nykh resursiv ukrayins'koyu movoyu dlia uchniv 4-6 klasiv: trudnoshchi ta uspikhiv (Developing Ukrainian language resources for grades 4-6 - lessons from Canada). Teorija i praktyka vykladanna ukrajinskoji movy jak inozemnoji. Zbirnyk naukovyh prac', 2 (2), 239-257. Lviv, Ukraine: Ivan Franko University of Lviv.
Bilash, O. (2007) Scaffolding activities to develop the four skills Notos, vol.7 (2), 12-23.
Bilash, O. (2006) "What teachers do with what they have learned in language and pedagogy study abroad progams: A case study of Hokkaido, Japan." Canadian Review of East Asian Studies, vol. 2 (1), 84-93.
Books/Book Chapters/Monographs/Proceedings
Bilash, O. (2010). Identifying and Motivating Stakeholders for the next decade of English education in Hokkaido.. Proceedings: Proceedings of the 10th Anniversary of HTEP (p. pages). Sapporo, Japan: Hokkaido Board of Education.. (62,400 words)
Bilash, O., & Kobel, I. (2010). The influence of 15 years of Canadian Professional Development Seminars on Teachers’ Thinking and Practice in Ukraine.. Proceedings: Proceedings of the First Bi-Annual Conference on Canadian Studies. (p. pages). Chernivtsi, Ukraine: University of Chernivtsi.
Bilash, O. (2006). RLS in a Cree community in Canada. In Empowerment Through Language And Education : Cases And Case Studies from North America, Europe, Africa And Japan edited by A. Wiedeman and B. Smieja. Peter Lang: Frankfurt
Reports
Bilash, O. (2011) Coaching for oral competency in second language programs. Edmonton Regional Learning Consortium. Edmonton.
Bilash, O. (2010) Hope: Aboriginal Language Use in Canada. Linguapax, Unescocat. Barcelona.
Bilash, O. (2010) Identifying and Motivating Stakeholders for the next decade of English education in Hokkaido. Proceedings: Proceedings of the 10th Anniversary of HTEP (p. pages). Sapporo, Japan: Hokkaido Board of Education (62,400 words)
Bilash, O. (2010) Report of the Hokkaido Teachers of English Program 2010
Bilash, O. (2009) Report of the Kangwon Teacher Education Project 2009. Alberta Learning.
Bilash, O. (2008) Report of the Kangwon Teacher Education Project 2008. Alberta Learning.
Bilash, O. (2008) Report of the Hokkaido Teachers of English Program 2008.
Bilash, O. (2008) Report of the Guangxi-NAIT Mission 2008. Northern Alberta Institute of Technology.
Bilash, O. (2008) Report of the China TESL Project 2008.
Bilash, O. (2007) Report of the Kangwon Teacher Education Project 2007.
Bilash, O. (2007) Report of the Hokkaido Teachers of English Program 2007.
Bilash, O. (2006) Report of the Kangwon Teacher Education Project 2006.
Bilash, O. (2006) Report of the Hokkaido Teachers of English Program 2006.
Bilash, O. and Wood, M. (2005) Preparing for Languages Initiative – what stakeholders need to know. Edmonton Regional Learning Consortium (multi-media)
Bilash, O. (2005) Report of the Hokkaido Teachers of English Program 2005.
Bilash, O. (2005) Characteristics of High School Students Registered in Ukrainian Language Arts. Canada-Ukraine Foundation-Alberta Education
Non-refereed articles
Bilash, O (2007, Winter 2007). Are you a good heritage Language Teacher? How would you know?. IHLA Newsletter, 5 (2), 6-17. Edmonton, Alberta: IHLA.
Bilash, O (2007, September 6, 2007). IHLA Newsletter. Using Stories in Heritage Language Class, 5 (1), 6-7. Edmonton, Alberta: IHLA.
Bilash, O (2008, Winter). How much English is used in your HL community?. IHLA Newsletter, 6 (2), 6-12. Edmonton, Canada: International and Heritage Languages Association.
Bilash, O (2008, Spring 2008). IHLA Newsletter. On Leadership, 5 (3), 2-5. Edmonton, Alberta: IHLA Newsletter.
Bilash, O (2008, Fall). Self Introductions. IHLA Newsletter, 6 (1), 5-12. Edmonton, Canada: International and Heritage Languages Association.
Bilash, O (2008, Spring). The Value of reading Aloud in Heritage Language Development. IHLA Newsletter, 5 (3), 9-12. Edmonton, Alberta: IHLA.
Bilash, O (2009, Spring). Improve your classroom practice through action research - Become a researcher of your own instruction. IHLA Newsletter, 6 (3), 8-22. Edmonton, Canada: International and Heritage Languages Association.
Bilash, O. (2009, Fall 2009). Reflection - a key to professional growth. IHLA Newsletter, V11 (1), 5-13. Edmonton, Alberta: International and Heritage Languages Association.
Bilash, O. (2010, Spring). IHLA Newsletter. International Mother Tongue Day - 2010, VII (3), 6-21. Edmonton, Alberta: International and heritage Languages Association.
Bilash, O. (2010, Winter 2010). Leadership means Action. IHLA Newsletter, VII (2), 5-15. Edmonton, Alberta: International Heritage Languages Association.
Bilash, O. (2010, Winter). Developing Heritage Language Literacy: Cracking the code vs reading with understanding. IHLA Newsletter, 8 (2), 11. Edmonton, Alberta: International and Heritage Languages Association.
Bilash, O. (2010, Fall). Internet Homework assignments for Heritage Language Speakers and Learners.. IHLA Newsletter, 8 (1), 8-18. Edmonton, Alberta: International and Heritage Languages Association..
Selected Presentations
National
Bilash, O. (2010) Intersection of language, culture and identity. Ukrainian Canadian Congress National Congress. November, 2010
Bilash, O. (2010). Identifying and Motivating Stakeholders for the next decade of English education in Hokkaido. Conference celebrating the 10th Anniversary of HTEP. Sapporo, Japan: Hokkaido Board of Education.
Bilash, O. and Ojok, A. (2009). Child Soldiering. National Global Youth Forum. Edmonton, Alberta.
Bilash O. & Bedrij, R. (2009) Second Language Literacy and Resources in Ukrainian. Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers Conference. Edmonton, Alberta.
Bilash O. & Kang, J. (2009) Cross-cultural Connection through an intercultural professional development experience of foreign language teachers. Canadian Society for the Studies of Education. Ottawa, Ontario.
Bilash O. (2009) Site-based Professional Development: successes and challenges, drivers and barriers. Canadian Association of School Superintendents. Calgary, Alberta.
Bilash, O. and Shi, W. (2007) Levelling the Playing Field: providing an infrastructure of support to help immigrant graduate students compete for academic opportunities, Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, Edmonton, Alberta.
Bilash, O. and Kang, J. (2007) Experiential learning in a study abroad program, Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, Edmonton, Alberta.
Bilash, O. (2007) Creating a Professional Learning Community in an undergraduate Class - the key ingredients from the students' perspective, Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, Edmonton, Alberta.
Bilash, O. and Kang, J. (2007) Living well in a changing world: what Korean teachers of English say about a study abroad program in Canada, International Teacher Education Conference. Calgary, Alberta.
Bilash, O. (2005) Get your students to talk – in Aboriginal Language Classes. Northern Lights School Division. La Ronge, Saskatchewan.
International
Bilash, O. ALTs-JTEs and Team Teaching - Toward Cross Cultural Understanding, Hokkaido Board of Education, Obihir, Japan. September, 2010
Bilash, O. ALTs-JTEs and Team Teaching - Toward Cross Cultural Understanding, Hokkaido Board of Education, Takikawa, Japan. October, 2010
Bilash, O. ALTs-JTEs and Team Teaching - Toward Cross Cultural Understanding, Hokkaido Board of Education, Shapporo, Japan. October, 2010
Bilash O. & Kobel, I.. (2010) The influence of 15 Years of Canadian Professional Development Seminars on Teachers’ Thinking and Practice in Ukraine . First Bi-Annual Conference on Canadian Studies. Chernivtsi, Ukraine. February, 2010
Bilash O. & Kang, J. (2008) Belief Change through a Study Abroad teacher Education Program. International Society for the Study of Teaching and Learning. Edmonton, Alberta.
Bilash O. & Shi, C. (2008) Challenges Faced by International PhD Students in transitioning to becoming western academics. International Society for the Study of Teaching and Learning. Edmonton, Alberta.
Bilash O. & Pallard, J. & Palladino, V. (2008) Bridging the Gap between Community and post-secondary Institutions: Successes, Challenges and Solutions. International Society for the Study of Teaching and Learning. Edmonton, Alberta
Bilash O. (2008) Transformation Staircase in adult education. Chung ang University. Seoul, Korea.
Bilash O. 2008 Encouraging student interaction in EFL classes. Kangwon Board of Education, Chunchon, Korea.
Bilash O. (2008) Developing a TALK Curriculum. Keynote address for PolySchool, Seoul, Korea.
Bilash O. (2007) Integrating more student Talk into your ESL lessons. Workshop for PolySchool, Seoul, Korea.
Bilash O. 2007 Applications of KTEP in EFL classrooms. Kangwon Board of Education, Chunchon, Korea.
Bilash O. (2008) ESL teacher education curriculum and BSLIM. Qinzhou teachers college. Qinzhou, China.
Bilash O. (2008) Teaching large sized classes. Guangxi International Business Vocational College. Nanning, China.
Bilash O. (2007) Inclusive education in all walks of life. For parents, consultants and teachers of School #4, Lviv, Ukraine
Bilash O. (2007) A Framework for assessing professional development of teachers. Lviv Catholic University, Lviv, Ukraine
Bilash O. (2006) Communicative Competency. Ivan Franko University, Lviv, Ukraine
Bilash O. (2006) Issues in Teacher Education. Ivan Franko University, Lviv, Ukraine
Bilash O. (2006) Developing Oral Communication. Ivan Franko University, Lviv, Ukraine
Bilash O. (2006) Understanding the Ukrainian Diaspora. Lviv Polytechnic University, Lviv, Ukraine
Bilash O. (2006) Ukrainian Studies in Canada. Ivan Franko University, Lviv, Ukraine
Bilash O. (2006) Language Revival in a Cree Community in Western Canada. Miyazaki International College, Miyazaki, Japan. (co-sponsored by the Canadian Embassy)
Bilash O. (2006) Grants and research - Faculty Development seminar, Miyazaki International College, Miyazaki, Japan.
Bilash O. (2006) Who owns language, and who cares for it? What happens when language is lost? Linguapax Asia, University of Tokyo. Tokyo, Japan.
Kang, J. and Bilash, O. (2006) Living well in a changing world: What Korean teachers of English say about a study abroad program in Canada. International Conference on Teacher Education, Calgary, Alberta.
Bilash O. and Brookes M. (2006) The emergence of a learning community - what it took in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Australian Learning Communities, Brisbane, Australia
Featured Publications
Bilash, O. and Kobel, I.
2011 January;
Ojok-Acii, W., Bilash, O. and Fournier, B.
Journal of Interdisciplinary Education. 2010 January; 9 (1):64-79
Bilash, O. and Shi, W.
Bilash, O.
Bilash, O. and Brookes, M.