AIM (Accelerative Integrated Methodology) for language learning

Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN)

Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) is seeking expertise in the design of a gesture based French-as-a-second-language course for adults in order to offer pilot training to a group of departmental employees.

The purpose of the ACAN is to state the Government of Canada’s intention to award a contract to:

AIM Language Learning

904 – 140 East 14^th street

North Vancouver, BC

V7L 2N3

However, before awarding a contract, the Government would like to offer other suppliers the opportunity to demonstrate that they are capable of meeting the requirements set out in the ACAN by submitting a statement of capabilities during the fifteen (15) calendar day posting period.

If other potential suppliers submit a statement of capabilities during the fifteen (15) calendar day posting period and demonstrate that they meet the requirements set out in the ACAN, the Government will initiate the full tendering process either through the Government Electronic Tendering Service or by traditional means to award the contract.

If no other supplier submits a statement of capabilities that meets the requirements set out in the ACAN on or before the closing date, a contract will be awarded to the selected supplier.

Background

The objective of this ACAN is to implement a contract for the design of French-as-a-second-language learning material for adult learners in the public service, based on the AIM (Accelerative Integrated Methodology) language learning approach, which is a gesture based approach to learning languages.

The main objective of the AIM (Accelerative Integrated Methodology) for language learning is to provide an authentic learning experience, which is achieved through scaffolding techniques that use story-telling, gestures, active collaboration and repetition. The use of high-frequency vocabulary, introduced with gestures and contextualized in stories, drama, songs and dance, allows students to rapidly achieve levels of oral and written proficiency rarely seen with conventional methods.

Many studies have shown that gestures are a positive enhancement to the acquisition of language and to retention of information. Some key points include:

• Gestures help students rapidly internalize language. AIM’s gesture approach is multimodal and stimulates several areas of the brain at once;
• Acquisition is faster and more deeply embedded;
• Gestures pass directly from sound to meaning, without the need for translation; and
• Syntax and grammar are also simultaneously presented visually, kinaesthetically and editorially.

In this unique, never-before-seen manner, the students acquire these concepts rapidly as well.

AIM Kits are approved by the Ontario Ministry of Education and are Trillium Listed as they are proven to accelerate authentic language development.

Context

The Borbey-Mendelsohn Report published in 2017 explains: «Blueprint 2020 articulated the vision of a modern, flexible, committed and diverse workforce. In this context, it is important to review and update our approach to official languages to ensure that it is well aligned with the everyday reality of federal public servants and reinforces the inclusive vision of Blueprint 2020». This report proposed that “measures be taken to enhance employees’ access to effective French or English second language courses that are tailored to their learning needs and to empower employees to participate in such courses” (p. 21).

With an increasingly diverse public service, the challenges of language learning have increased. The government’s language learning programs have not been re-examined over the last fifteen (15) years. Although much of the learning material is still useful in the classroom, some of it is outdated, and the methodology traditionally used cannot answer all the challenges of the increasingly complex language-learning environment.

The challenges are not solely the result of a diverse public service. They also arise from an increasingly diverse workforce in the language schools under the Government of Canada’s standing offer. Teachers have different educational backgrounds, level of experience and approach to language learning. The increased diversity creates some challenges in the harmonisation of the language training delivery.

By introducing a new, proven gesture-based methodology, that can be learned and facilitated by many teachers, ESDC is providing to language learning educators a common approach that is highly effective and can be learned by nearly any teacher, regardless of their background and level of experience.

The AIM approach to language learning is accessible to most teachers, in the sense that:

• The gestures are natural, intuitive and teachers say they are very easy to learn;
• One only needs to learn as much as will be taught in the next class;
• Each day, it reviews all that students were taught in the previous classes. It’s simple, scaffolded and designed to be easy and repetitive;
• The teacher very quickly becomes proficient especially if s/he teaches more than one language class a day;
• Teachers say that the use of gestures will open up communication that they never believed possible and have never before experienced; and
• Makes teaching less exhausting and definitely more rewarding.

Currently, the College@ESDC is piloting a Holistic French Learning Program with Indigenous Learners. This pilot program aims at bringing adult Indigenous learners from an XXX to a BBB proficiency level in French as a second official language, through an action based, holistic methodology, centered around the oral tradition. This pilot project is ideal to introduce the AIM approach to language learning, which is based on a gesture-based holistic approach. 

Tasks

The Service Provider must:

1. Design and develop a kit of beginner learning material for public servants based on the gesture-based AIM approach that meets the following criteria:  

   The work involves designing and developing adult language learning activities based on the AIM approach to learning languages:

• The learning material must be developed following a gesture-based approach to language learning;
• Target audience is adult public servants;
• Target audience speaks English as the first official language (but not necessarily their mother tongue);
• Adult education activities will develop oral, reading and written proficiency in accordance with the AIM approach; and
• Themes covered in the learning activities must pertain to the public service work environment and cover topics like (but not limited to):
  • Meetings, meeting management, etc.
  • Negotiations, budget, etc.
  • Projects (analysis, planning, development, roll out, reporting, lessons learned, etc.)
  • Management, supervision, team engagement, etc.
  • IT services (technology, computers, etc.), cyber security, etc.
  • Reports, briefing notes, etc.
  • Presentations, communications, etc.
  • Administrative work (filing documents, scheduling, returning calls, taking messages, booking meetings, etc.)
  • Business travel
  • Learning, training, education, career development, etc.
  • Work-Life balance, health, exercise, etc.
  • Information management, privacy, data collection, etc.
  • Service excellence, client services, on-line services, etc.
  • Respect, harassement, etc.
  • Emotional intelligence, etc.
  • Leadership, accountability, etc.
  • Procurement, contract, acquisitions, etc.
  • Official languages, etc.

The activities designed must conform to the basic principles of adult education:

• The learning is experiential and utilizes background knowledge: adults have much life experience that they can use to serve their learning experience;
• The learning is relevant to current roles: learning activities must be directly relevant to their life to maintain interest and motivation;
• The instruction is problem-centered: adult learners typically do not enjoy learning for the sake of learning. They appreciate when what they learn is relevant, practical and useful to solve concrete problems and situations.

The activities designed must follow a holistic approach, where all dimensions of a being are challenged and stimulated and learning is not solely an intellectual activity.

2. Collaborate and consult with ESDC’s learning specialist that will act as the SME (subject matter expert) during the design and development of the project.

3. Submit learning activities developed to the ESDC learning specialist in charge of the project on a monthly basis for review. The specialist will return the activity with comments to the designer for document finalization purposes. 

4. Make modifications and/or corrections as required and at ESDC’s request to any of the adult education activities created.

Term of contract

The contract will be executed between March 2020 and December 31, 2020 for the specific requirements of this contract.

Estimated contract value

The total amount of the contract is $104,930.

Intellectual property

Intellectual property rights will belong to AIM, which will give a 10-year license to ESDC for the use of the designed learning material.

Submission of statements of capabilities

Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and who agree to meet the requirements set out in the Advance Notice may submit a statement of capabilities in writing to the contact person identified in the Notice on or before the Notice expiry date. The statement of capabilities must clearly establish that the supplier meets the requirements specified in the Advance Notice.

The training materials do not contain any protected documents or personal information. Accordingly, this work does not entail any security risks.

Minimal Essential Requirements

The service provider must demonstrate the following:

• Recent* and significant** experience in designing and developing gesture-based French-as-a-second-language training materials;
• Recent* and significant** experience in delivering gesture-based French-as-a-second-language courses to groups;
• Recent* and significant** experience in designing and developing French-as-a-second-language assessments;
• Recent* and significant** experience in assessing French-as-a-second-language proficiency level;
• A Bachelor’s degree in education, literature, linguistics or any other relevant field.

  * Recent – within the last 5 years

**Significant – minimum 3 years of experience

Exceptions to Government of Canada regulations

Section 6 of the Government Contracts Regulations and Part 10.2.1 of the Treasury Board Government Contracting Policy set out four exceptions that permit the contracting authority to set aside the requirement to solicit bids, including, more specifically:

d. “only one person or firm is capable of performing the contract.”

Rationale for the pre-selected supplier

No other service provider offers an accelerated internationally recognized gesture based method to language learning. All other service providers offer French-as-a-second-language education based on conventional teaching methods, including reading, writing and oral communication, without the gesture-based approach. Only AIM Language Learning has developed extensive learning material to teach second languages with a gesture based approach.

AIM language learning currently offers a series of four (4) kits* of learning material called Jeunesse en action. For the purpose of this contract, the equivalent of a beginner kit (based on the structure of the AIM language learning program) will be developed, aiming at bringing adult learners from XXX to AAA level of proficiency in French, according to the Public Service Canada’s standards.

*Definition of kit - a kit of learning material, in the AIM approach, includes a program guide, a whole-class activities book, a partners activities book, an assessments activities book and some posters.

The deadline for accepting statements of capabilities is:

March 9^th, 2020 EST

Questions and statements of capabilities must be emailed directly to:

Jean Bérard

Procurement Specialist

NC-SOLICITATIONS-GD@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca