RASCALS' Roundtable

In this episode of RASCALS’ Roundtable, we sit down with Louisa Hadley, president of the Dawson Teachers’ Union, to talk about precarity, and with David Turpie, a CEGEP teacher who’s lived to tell the tale. From long commutes and unpredictable schedules to burning questions about permanence, this episode exposes the challenges and resilience of Quebec’s non-permanent teachers. 
 
🎧 Topics include: 
- The mental and financial cost of precarity 
- Why continuing education teachers face the biggest inequities 
- What unions are fighting for 
- David’s biking, juggling, multi-CEGEP journey 
 
📲 Follow the precarity experience: @ppducvm on Instagram 
🔗 Learn more at dtu.qc.ca or via the Dawson Teachers’ Union Facebook page 

AI is here—and it’s not going anywhere. In this episode of RASCALS’ Roundtable, we tackle the question that’s on every teacher’s mind: How do we keep students from cheating with AI... and how do we start using it ourselves? 

• Marie-Gervaise Pilon shares strategies to prevent plagiarism by fostering trust, designing smarter assignments, and understanding the real reasons students cheat. 
• Robyn Jaquays walks us through the teacher side of AI—from using it to polish CVs and lesson plans, to turning ChatGPT into your unofficial teaching assistant. 

It's practical, provocative, and packed with ready-to-use tips. 

🔗 Connect with our guests: 
📲 Marie-Gervaise Pilon 
Instagram/Threads/X: @marshmallowsadz 
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mgpilon-blewitt 
📘 Publication: Preventing Plagiarism and Cheating in the Age of Artificial Intelligence 

📲 Robyn Jaquays 
Email: [email protected] 
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/robyn-jaquays-06b4181a 
📘 Publications available on request: 
Optimiser l’enseignement professionnel avec ChatGPT 
Integrating ChatGPT into Education: A Guide for Teachers 

Mise à Niveau isn’t just a course—it’s a lifeline. In this episode ofRASCALS’ Roundtable, Rebecca Peters walks us through how she helped create a course for true beginners in English, built with an ECQ grant and a dream team of CEGEP collaborators. Then, Julia Golden shares how she repurposed the Moodle version of the course to fit the reality at a college where it wasn’t officially offered. Two different strategies. One powerful message: no student should be left behind.

They come from across the country with a suitcase and a sense of adventure—but are they ready for the classroom? In this episode of *RASCALS’ Roundtable*, we follow the language monitor program from two angles: Alexandra Demers trains new assistants for life in cégeps, while Meredith Lees is designing hands-on materials to help them succeed. Whether you're supervising, mentoring, or just wondering what your Odyssey assistant actually does—this one’s for you. 

In this episode of RASCALS’ Roundtable, we go undercover—well, almost—to bring you three honest, unfiltered takes on Québec’s revised curriculum for CEGEP English second language courses.

We reached out across the province and asked teachers to share their thoughts. What we got were three very different perspectives: one sees possibility, one wants precision, and one’s somewhere in between. From creative reinvestment to the mystery of “le monde anglophone,” nothing is off the table!

This week on RASCALS’ Roundtable, we’re joined by Paige Delaney, a passionate high school ESL teacher who’s already putting the new devis into action.

We talk:
✔️ Why oral interaction isn’t just speaking—it’s ping-pong
✔️ What reinvestment really looks like outside the classroom
✔️ Why high schools may be ahead of the curve
✔️ How plurilingualism, CEFR, and student identity are shaping a new kind of ESL teaching

Paige brings a thoughtful and practical lens to the devis conversation—one rooted in real student needs, real communication, and a belief that language learning doesn’t happen in isolation.

🎧 Whether you’re still trying to decode the devis or looking for ways to make reinvestment feel less like a worksheet and more like a conversation, this episode is for you.

Now streaming on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.
📲 Follow us on Instagram @rascals_roundtable and let us know what’s working in your classroom!

What if the key to student success isn’t more grading... but more collaboration?

In this episode, we meet two CEGEP teachers who are giving tutoring a major glow-up. Becky McKnight from Cégep St-Jean is piloting a bold new program that places paid tutors inside the ESL classroom, offering real-time support and creating a dynamic new role somewhere between peer and TA.

Then, we welcome back Joy Blake from Cégep de Granby, who shares her innovative for-credit tutoring course, where advanced students earn credits while mentoring those in lower levels. The result? Happier students, more empowered tutors—and waiting lists to get in.

We talk program design, admin buy-in, budget models, and the magic that happens when educators think outside the box—and trust students to rise.

🎧 Whether you're looking to revamp your own tutoring system or just need a little inspiration, this episode is packed with practical ideas and a whole lot of heart.

—

📲 Follow us on Instagram @rascals_roundtable

Can video games transform the way we teach English? 🎮📚

In this episode, we explore the power of games in education with two innovators:

🎮 Sophie Marier – Creator of An English Journey Through the Digital World and English Culture, a serious game designed to boost ESL students’ digital literacy and vocabulary through interactive challenges. Backed by research and grant funding, her project proves that gamification can enhance language learning in meaningful ways.

🎮 Simon Côté Massicotte – A former CEGEP teacher who treats video games like novels, analyzing their themes, characters, and storytelling devices in class. His students study games like Doki Doki Literature Club and Disco Elysium just as they would Shakespeare or Orwell—unpacking narrative complexity, foreshadowing, and player engagement.

🔍 What You’ll Learn:
✅ How video games can develop digital literacy and ESL skills
✅ Why serious games are gaining traction in language education
✅ The challenges (and unexpected benefits!) of teaching video games as literature
✅ How Simon’s course went viral on Reddit and what that means for the future of education

📌 Resources & Links:
🔗 Sophie's game on Éductive
🔗 Recommended Video Games for Lit Classes | Disco Elysium | Planescape: Torment | The Wolf Among Us | Her Story | IMMORTALITY

🔥 New link to the pedagogical guide for Sophie's game: https://collections.banq.qc.ca/document/AlnFCk36aWk4c4rIEan7nQ

📢 Join the Conversation!
Tag us on Instagram @rascals_roundtable and tell us: Would you use video games in your classroom? Why or why not?

In this episode of RASCALS' Roundtable, we explore how virtual and hybrid language exchanges are reshaping second-language learning. Join us as we speak with educators who are pioneering innovative ways to make second-language acquisition more engaging and authentic.

👥 Meet Our Guests:
🔹 Nick Walker & Philippe Gagné – Founders of a groundbreaking twinning project that pairs ESL and FSL students from different cégeps to foster authentic, meaningful language exchanges. Their initiative builds on key findings from a study of 974 students across 11 cégeps, conducted by Philippe Gagné & Maria Popica, which revealed that one-third of young ayant-droits actively resist learning French, often citing a lack of real-world applications (Popica & Gagné, 2021). However, students with French-speaking friends demonstrated greater autonomy in the language, underscoring the power of peer interactions in language acquisition.

🔹 Susan Parks – Leader of Tandem Canada, a nationwide virtual language exchange platform that connects students across institutions. She discusses how structured language partnerships build confidence, enhance real-world communication skills, and foster lasting cross-linguistic friendships.

🎧 What You'll Learn:
✅ How virtual & hybrid language exchanges transform second-language learning
✅ The role of peer networks in fostering self-efficacy and autonomy
✅ Research-backed insights on student motivation (or resistance!) in FSL & ESL classrooms
✅ How Tandem Canada and the Twinning Project are bridging language gaps

🔗 Links & Resources:
📄 Gagné & Popica’s research: Read the study

📚 Nick Walker’s resources: Labodanglais.com | EnglishLab.ca

📄 Gagné & Deveau’s research: Read the study

🔗 Tandem Canada platform: ⁠Explore the platform⁠

📹 Tandem Language Exchange Video: ⁠Watch here⁠

Episode Description for Spotify:

🎙️ RASCALS' Roundtable – Episode 2: Virtual Reality in the ESL Classroom 🎶

In this episode, we explore the transformative power of virtual reality (VR) in language learning! Brett Fischer and Danielle Viens are joined by experienced educators Joy Blake, Jennifer Caylor, Luiz Lima, Lyly Lessard, and Rebecca Peters, who share how they’ve integrated VR into their CEGEP classrooms.

Discover how Joy Blake built an extensive VR video library at Cégep de Granby to bring real-world experiences to her students, and learn about Jennifer, Luiz, and Lyly’s innovative Business English simulations using VR at Cégep de Rimouski and Cégep de Thetford. Rebecca Peters also shares how she turned a traditional novel study into an immersive learning journey with VR resources.

Curious to learn more? Contact Joy Blake at [email protected] and check out her videos on the Cégep de Granby YouTube channel: Cégep de Granby: Réalité Virtuelle. For information on Business English VR simulations, get in touch with:

• Jennifer Caylor: [email protected]
• Luiz Lima: [email protected]
• Lyly Lessard: [email protected]

Check out their Business English course: Watch here.

Follow RASCALS' Roundtable on Instagram @rascals_roundtable, and don’t forget to leave a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts!

🎧 Tune in now for an exciting journey into the future of ESL teaching! 🎶