It is with a great sense of loss that the ESL Community acknowledges the passing of Mary Ashworth, Professor Emerita in the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia. On January 20th she left us to mourn, and to carry on the magnificent work she has begun.

She was known for being an eloquent and tireless educational activist who pioneered an English as a Second Language teacher training program in Western Canada.  Perhaps no other Canadian educator had as profound an influence in the field – locally, nationally, and internationally.

Mary was born June 3, 1923, in England and after World War II, during which she served her country in the WAAF, she decided to emigrate to Canada. She spent the first year in Toronto where she lived with a Canadian family while working as a secretary in an office of the CPR.

After visiting British Columbia, she decided to stay and make her new home in Vancouver. Eventually she attended Normal School and began her long and illustrious teaching career. During her years (1955-1967) teaching in Vancouver schools, both elementary and secondary, she witnessed first-hand the plight of non-English speaking children in the classrooms of the time. She completed her B.Ed and M.Ed degrees through Night School, Correspondence courses and Summer School. While she was teaching English at Point Grey Secondary School, she was invited by the Faculty of Education at UBC to “fill in” for a year at the Department of English Education. They never let her go!

After two years of a summer course to train teachers in the methodology of ESL taught by Dr. AV. P Elliott from the University of London, the Dept. of English Education initiated Education 478, an undergraduate course designed to teach the methodology and practice of ESL. Mary was the professor who developed and taught this course, which grew from a single undergraduate course to in time become full Master’s and Doctoral degree programs.

Aside from her teaching at UBC, she was a sought-after speaker across the country and beyond. She conducted workshops and delivered keynote addresses at numerous conferences both in North America and much further afield.  She sat as the chairperson for several professional planning committees and acted as a consultant to school boards, provincial departments of education, and Aboriginal groups grappling with the need to be competent in English while preserving their own language and culture.  She found time to apply her learning for two summers with Project Overseas [a Canadian Teachers Federation initiative], one in Uganda in 1966 and one in Ethiopia in 1969.

Her lifetime of achievement is extraordinary.  She played a vital role in British Columbia, Canada, and internationally, in research, development, and instruction related to English as a Second Language, teacher training, and multicultural education.  She wrote and published several books, (two co-authored) on teaching English to immigrant children.  Her first book, Immigrant Children and Canadian Schools, published in 1975, described what was happening across Canada for immigrant children. This was the first book to be published since 1918 and the facts and ideas contained in it provided a road map for new public policy and practice. She also contributed dozens ofchapters and articles in other publications.

Mary Ashworth spent her career championing acceptance of and diversity in Canada’s social and educational systems by helping to shape the attitudes of future ESL teachers.  She was an outspoken advocate for the language rights of immigrants and on Canadian language policy and pedagogy.  Her perspective in writing and speaking always portrayed her passion, comprehensive understanding of the issues, solid data, and an infectious sense of humour.

In 1988, then City of Vancouver Mayor, Gordon Campbell, united with the municipality of Richmond to declare the week of March 14 to 20 as “ESL and Mary Ashworth Week”.  A conference entitled, “ESL in the 90’s: Multicultural Education and Policy” was dedicated to Professor Ashworth for her work as a pioneer in the field of ESL teacher training in British Columbia.

Mary was known among her peers as the grande dame of ESL, a term of endearment that reflected perhaps more than any other, the deep respect and admiration for her accomplishments.  The list of awards and distinctions bestowed upon her is a long one indeed. This and her books are noted below.

However, what makes her most noteworthy to all those who had the great privilege to come in contact with her in one way or another, is not the list of books or awards, significant as that is, but rather it is the ‘personal touch’ she always managed to provide. Always encouraging yet practical, she was full of energy and ideas. How could anyone leave her classroom or office without being inspired? Those of us lucky enough to have had the opportunity to work and learn with her, were only too pleased to be tugged along in her inspiring wake. 

Mary passed away peacefully on January 20, 2009, at her beloved home facing St. Mary’s Lake on Saltspring Island, B.C.

Chronology:

• 1955-67 Elementary and Secondary teaching in Vancouver
• 1960 B.A. UBC
• 1967  M. Ed. UBC
• 1967-1988 Professor at UBC
• 1988 Professor Emerita [UBC]

Awards:

• 1980 - Honorary lifetime membership – BC TEAL
• 1980 - Honorary lifetime membership – Alberta TESL
• 1988 - TEAL ’88: Conference in honour of retirement: Proceedings published by OISE Press: Multicultural Education and Policy: ESL in the 1990s
• 1989 - Made a Fellow of Ontario Studies in Education
• 1990 - Award of Merit as an outstanding alumnus - UBC Alumni Association
• 1992 - Award of Distinction from UBC – Alumni Association
• 1992 - TESOL World Award – for outstanding service to the profession
• 1993 - L.L.D. (honoris causa) UBC
• 2000 - Honorary Member of TESL Canada
• 2001 - L.L.D. (honoris causa) St. Mary’s University, Halifax
• 2002 - L.L.D. (honoris causa) York University, Toronto
• 2003 - Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal

In addition:

• The TEAL Charitable Foundation established a scholarship in her name, the TEAL Mary Ashworth Scholarship, to support a graduate student’s attendance at a TESOL International Conference.

Publications:

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