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Is AI our “second brain?” On Artificial Intelligence and uncertainty in the mid-October issue of TYSN

 

October 2025 Vol 7 Issue 10

Tell Your Story Newsletter 

Teaching the English language to economic immigrants and internationally trained,  second language academics

Let us help you succeed in English!

Welcome Mid-October, 2025!

A social media posting I noticed last week reminded me that there are barely 80 (effective today, only 77 days) left in 2025 and until we are a quarter of the way through the 21st Century!

These are sobering thoughts and, as the old adage says, “time flies.” As we draw closer to the end of a year filled with much uncertainty, global conflict and chaos, we may feel (on  the tails of Canadian Thanksgiving) more worry and exhaustion than gratitude.

In “Article One” in this issue, I discuss a recent article from American resident supervisor, Rhea Tibrewala, on how some young undergraduates at Harvard University cope with great uncertainty in their personal and professional lives by turning to Artificial Intelligence (AI). In some cases, AI becomes their “second brain.” She cautions us about this trend.

In “Storytellers’ Corner,” I share “A Road Sign in Wales,” a much simpler “guffaw” you may recognize from Facebook, but which may still tickle your funny bone. Translation woes appeal to those who are learning a second (or third or fourth . . .) language, like some of my ESL/EFL students!

And in “Shop News,” I share some of the latest accomplishments of colleagues in my writers’ group, aka “Saskatoon Freelancers’ Roundtable,” and of a friend who manages a mental health program that offers genuine (human) support to those who struggle–and not AI or a digital one.

With Canadian Thanksgiving just over, the annual question returns: What are you thankful for, good reader?

I have been feeling very thankful lately for the life and service of primatologist, conservationist and animal welfare advocate, Dame (Dr.) Jane Goodall, who died on October 1st at the age of 91.

As most of you know, she dedicated much of her life to changing scientific understanding of the similarities and differences between humans and animals, and, in particular, to championing the endangered and maligned chimpanzees of Tanzania.

I have felt grateful to her lately for speaking the following “last words” in an interview made for posthumous release:

“In the place where I am now, I look back over my life. I look back at the world I’ve left behind. What message do I want to leave? I want to make sure that you all understand that each and every one of you has a role to play. You may not know it, you may not find it, but your life matters, and you are here for a reason.  . . . I want you to know that . . . your life does matter, and that every single day you live, you make a difference in the world. And you get to choose the difference you make.

I want you to understand that we are part of the natural world. And even today, when the planet is dark, there still is hope. Don’t lose hope [or] you will become apathetic and do nothing. And if you want to save what is still beautiful in this world . . . then think about the actions you take each day. Because, multiplied a million, a billion times, even small actions will make for great change . . .

I just hope that you understand that this life on Planet Earth isn’t the end. . . . I want you to know that your life on Planet Earth will make some difference in the kind of life you find after you die. . . As we destroy one ecosystem after another, as we create worse climate change . . . we have to do everything in our power to make the world a better place for the children alive today, and for those that will follow . . . Don’t give up. There is a future for you. Do your best while you’re still on this beautiful Planet Earth.”

My belated Thanksgiving wish for all of you, good readers, is that this season will give you time to renew or re-establish hope for our beleaguered and “beautiful Planet Earth,” and to renew love for the family and/or friends who share it with you.

I also wish that you will find meaning and purpose in your work; and that you will feel grateful for the blessings that still grace our lives, even in these challenging times.

Happy October.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth

Principal

Storytelling Communications

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IN THIS ISSUE:

 ARTICLE ONE: Is AI our “second brain?” On AI and uncertainty, with Rhea Tibrewala

STORYTELLERS’ CORNER:

A road sign in Wales

SHOP NEWS

ABOUT US

www.elizabethshih.com

Article One: Is AI our “second brain?” On AI and uncertainty, with Rhea Tibrewala 

It will surprise no sentient being, these days, to say we’re living in uncertain times. “Uncertainty” abounds in our daily lives (as Jane Goodall’s remarks reflect) and one of the most salient ways we feel uncertain is in our relationship to technology–notably Artificial Intelligence (AI).

For creative entrepreneurs, we have reason to be worried that AI is now considered a “second brain” by many college-age students and for some still younger children, too.

In a moving article in the October issue of “Psyche” magazine, Harvard University tutor (a Lowell House residential supervisor and a communications’ strategist with more than 10 years of experience), Rhea Tibrewala, describes and warns us of what having AI as a “second brain” involves.

She reports that many undergraduates are using AI to filter their human-to-human interactions, to “help them feel more in control” of their relationships—not just to “help with an English essay, to summarize readings, outline syllabi” and other practical tasks. ChatGPT has become a source for advice on breakups, friendships and family turmoil.

AI has become an emotional companion to these undergraduates, as they “write” difficult messages to loved ones, as they process grief.  AI is no longer simply “a productivity shortcut” but also “an active participant in their emotional lives.” These young students have become what Tibrewala calls “cultural pioneers” (what we used to term “guinea pigs”) of the role AI will have in our world. The way students use AI to handle identity, intimacy, ambition, ambivalence and uncertainty are, she says, an “early glimpse” at how people will relate to these tools in the not-too-distant, future.

Some of these students see that “you can’t let your critical thinking atrophy” when using AI for academic purposes. But when students allow such tools to infiltrate their daily thoughts, so it becomes part of how they learn, reason and feel–AI can indeed become a “second brain.”

The reduced processing time for AI feedback (users marvel at “how rapidly AI changes”),  ChatGPT and other platforms now respond to our prompts or queries nearly instantaneously. Tibrewala warns that “leaves little or no time for human analysis, in-between.”

Students aren’t just using AI, but learning “how to live and think alongside it,” as an “extension of their own thinking.” Alarm bells for some of us have started to ring.

Some students go further, using AI as a personal therapist; or to adopt a persona of a famous mentor they follow online, with advice on how to deal with the uncertainty, pain and suffering of their lives. (More bells begin to ring . . . .)

Consider the tragic case of 16-year-old Californian, Adam Raine, reported on CBC radio (and elsewhere), who earlier this year planned and died by suicide, directed by ChatGPT, which had advised him on the method for over a month. (His parents , unaware of his obsession, are now suing OpenAI, for its lack of guiderails and mitigation processes.)

AI can “listen,” remember and respond “with emotional resonance that blurs the line between assistance and intimacy,” writes Tibrewala. So a “large language model” can resemble a friend and trusted advisor. That’s worrisome, when it is NOT sentient or capable of emotion, such as empathy. What  some undergraduates now consume comes from a line of predictive output, scraped over millions of sources online, void of any real knowledge or emotional sentience, itself.

And yet, AI offers a sense of “self-congruence” with it, so users feel it is similar and familiar to themselves, which makes its interactions feel comforting and natural (not machine-like).

But AI can affirms one’s assumptions, instead of challenging them as a friend or therapist would. Is there any surprise that there’s a cost to this artificial “comfort?”

Tibrewala reminds us that the chaos of the COVID-19 Pandemic forced classes online, required hours and hours of screen time and regular exposure to algorithm-driven feeds that replaced unstructured time and real-world conversation.

Students’ rapid adoption of tech necessitated by Pandemic times created what Tibrewala calls a “formative period,” that continues to shape how youth engage with the world. AI now is forcing a major shift in how generations under 30 or 35 learn how to think, focus and relate. Even their concept of selfhood  is “digitized.”

AI tools can offer quick access to knowledge and an external perspective, but Tibrewala argues that they also “make it easier to skip the friction that helps foster growth.” She writes: “If every doubt can be instantly soothed, or every decision readily made by (apparently) obliging machines, what happens to the messy, contradictory process of wrestling with uncertainty . . . ourselves?”

Youth may be teaching us, by their example, that we all have to put boundaries around what we allow AI to infiltrate and what remains off-limits.

One woman whom Tibrewala encounters is a young screenwriter who uses ChatGPT extensively, multiple times daily, as a therapist to cope with all of the uncertainty of ADHD, discussing things as crucial as medication effects and neurodivergent thought patterns. This is private, intimate knowledge.

Yet the same student won’t share with AI her “most emotionally layered writing,” because she sees that “it just doesn’t get nuance.” The young woman worries that she’ll inadvertently “train a system that will commodify the work she is hoping to create.”

What we now see in AI is not only a technological shift, but a deeply psychological one, too, where we allow it participate in our thoughts. More than giving us assistance, it is externalizing our internal dialogue, shaping, by machine, our most intimate thoughts: “AI is entering the space where we [fundamentally] figure things out,” Tibrewala says, and (I add) can intrude on how we do so.

She says this may not be inherently good/bad, but it’s NEW and some youth are adapting to it with little or no self-awareness, not staying conscious about the risks of becoming overly dependent on AI.

While so many professionals worry about being fluent with technology (for the positive aspects of using it as a “second brain), Tibrewala says it’s more likely the ability “to remain grounded in what we hold on to—the parts of thinking that make us who we are” (our first and best brain) that may be the most important skill to maintain!

Amidst all of the uncertainty the world is reeling from, Tibrewala writes “what students” and often other adults “are asking of AI isn’t so different from what they ask of me.”

“I sit with [students] through the in-between moments – the murky thoughts, the uncertainties, the things they aren’t ready to say out loud. I ask questions that let them hear themselves more clearly and help them go from feeling to understanding. Increasingly, AI is stepping into this role too, not because it’s smarter or wiser, but because it’s available.”

She continues that AI seems to “respond without judgment or fatigue. And . . . like any good sounding board, it helps you feel like you’re not thinking alone. . . .I still believe there’s something irreplaceable about the human relationships students form in college,” she asserts, “quiet hours spent unravelling the hard things, face to face. But I also see the appeal of this new, frictionless  companion.”

And in these times of both external and internal uncertainty, where AI passes between the two and can interfere with both, Tibrewala warns about its use as a “second brain” (bold emphasis is mine):

“[W]hat kind of presence do we want [AI] to be? The more these students and the rest of us turn to AI for comfort, reflection or advice, the easier it becomes to bypass the slow, messy and deeply human work of connecting – both with others and with ourselves. AI may not replace these relationships entirely, but it could displace them in some ways, making it easier to retreat inward, rather than reaching out.

That’s why the question matters. When students knock on my door, I’ll keep listening – the old-fashioned way. Sometimes they’ll seek my voice, sometimes an AI’s.”

“If we’re thoughtful, maybe there’s room for both.”

And now it’s your turn: What do you make of current young adult dependence on AI to cope with uncertainty, loss and other human experience? What will result from humans (of any age) using AI as a “second brain?”

Please share your responses with me; I’d be delighted to share them (if you wish) in another issue of “TYSN.”

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STORYTELLER’s CORNER . . . . 

STORYTELLER’S CORNER: Words, Stories, Riddles and Jokes on Writing and Editing . . .

From Facebook: “A road sign in Wales”

While carpooling with a friend one recent evening, she and I were both unsure of where a turnoff existed to enter the adjacent freeway. My friend observed that in many cities (“Saskatoon included”), “The more important the directions, the smaller the size of the sign!”

Road signage–signage of any kind–in many English speaking countries and cities can be problematic as you (my readers) and I have often laughed at, in this space!

My cousin, Colleen Brown, a talented interior designer based in Stratford, Ontario, recently shared a classic case of “signage snafu” over Facebook.

The story features a bilingual “Road sign in Wales” (i.e. posted in English and in Welsh, as is common practice in that western county of England):

“No entry for heavy goods vehicles.

Residential site only.”

Below was what the Highway’s Department official thought was equivalent  statement in Welsh:

“Nid wyf yn y swyddfa

as hyn o bryd. Anfonwch

un rhyw waith i’w gyfieithu.”

Now, preparing this sign, like most urban signage, had involved some planning. An official of the region’s Highway’s Department had emailed their English version to the department’s Welsh translator.

After receiving their reply from the Welsh translator, the English official proceeded to have the sign made and readied for installation. All’s well and good, they thought.

But not so fast! A few weeks later, Welsh-speaking and reading drivers started complaining to the Highway’s Department that the sign’s translation into Welsh had been botched!

They cited the second portion of the sign as saying this:

“I am currently out of the office. Please submit any work to the translation

team.”

Do you have a story, riddle or joke on any aspect of  communications? Please share it with me; I’d be delighted to use it in an upcoming issue. 

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SHOP NEWS:

PROMOTIONS and SHARING . . . 

I’m delighted to congratulate my fellow writers and other creatives of “Saskatoon Freelance Writers’ Roundtable” this month . . . .

We have much to be thankful for–and we know it!

The always dedicated freelance journalist, copywriter, creative writer, and all-around book enthusiast, Ashleigh Mattern, has shared that she’s turned a major corner in her recovery from cancer!

Ashleigh’s energy has returned and she looked and sounded great at our October meeting. Working as hard as ever, she’s  hungrily preparing website marketing for clients of Vireo Productions.

Congratulations, Ashleigh!

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Fellow co-founder of our group, Julie Barnes, has successfully completed one term and plunged into the next of her degree in interior design, through Yorkville University (Toronto).

Julie shared that she continues to read intensively and drawing designs for the coursework of her degree.

As her fellow creatives, we are excited to see what doors will open, as she works towards the completion of her degree.

Congratulations, Julie!

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The wonderful news continues to flow, from member Dawn Loewen, one of a very few Editors Canada-certified professional editors, nation-wide.

Dawn has shared that she has secured a part-time permanent, senior science editor’s position with the Victoria-based science communication company, “Talk Science to Me.”

With an extensive background in academic science, Dawn is fully qualified for, and delighted to support, the company’s work. They’re lucky to have her.

Congratulations, Dawn!

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On September 25th, member Ashlyn George was inducted at the “Hospitality Saskatchewan Awards of Excellence” as a “Tourism Builder.”

This award recognizes the many years Ashlyn has dedicated to telling the stories of Saskatchewan communities, businesses and people that have shared their ideas and stories with her.

The “Tourism Builder,” as the social media posting says, “honours individuals who have dedicated their life’s work to tourism, making a lasting impact on the industry.” That Ashlyn has received this award while still in her 30s, speaks volumes of her dedication to the field.

You can read more of her trailblazing work on her Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/ashlyn.george8

Congratulations, Ashlyn!

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Photographer and graphic designer Tara Kalyn, another regular at Freelancers’ Roundtable, shared the great news that she has sold some of her recent photos on Pexels, where she markets several of her favourites.

Tara’s  also recently been selected by another client as their local wedding photographer, in light of her years of experience working in that challenging niche.

Congratulations, Tara!

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Outside of our creatives’ group, my wonderful friend,  Tracey Mitchell, continues to influence survivors of our mental health community with empathy, wisdom and insight.

Tracey coordinates the “Peer Support Program” for clients with mental health issues, for the Saskatchewan Health Authority. Tracey shares some words that one client of the program shared, abut her experience:

” ‘Your world opened up my world wider than I knew it could be,’ said the client, who lives with mental health challenges, to their peer supporter.”

Tracey provides some further information about the program: As it did for the survivor above, Tracey writes, ” ‘peer support’ is meant to expand people’s sense of hope, belief in recovery, and to offer additional support for moving toward what the person wants in their life.

[Peer support] differs from other supports and services available to those living with substance use and mental health challenges, because it is provided by people with shared lived experience of similar challenges.”

Activities might include being accompanied by a peer supporter to a casual appointment, or to enjoy a recreational activity. 

To find out more about this program and how to connect to it in the eight Saskatchewan communities where it is offered,  Tracey invites readers to visit the Peer Support  page of the Saskatchewan Health Authority.

Thank you, Tracey, for your  outstanding service, as the program vastly improves survivors’ lives!

In light of the “uncertainty” and challenges discussed in “Article One” this month, such genuinely human and sentient, “peer support” is more needed now than ever!

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There are always new writers, editors, entrepreneurs, programs and businesses to promote in Saskatchewan.

Please write me to share your stories . . . .

But for now, this is a wrap for mid-October!

ABOUT US:

Between 2011 and December 2018, Elizabeth Shih Communications chronicled the stories of B2B marketing and communications on the Prairies and across the country.

Effective January 1, 2019, I rebranded as “Storytelling Communications.” I now help economic immigrants and internationally trained (non-native speaking) academics to communicate more clearly in English–both in writing and by speaking–so they can better succeed in Canadian workplaces, marketplaces and academic settings.

Interested in learning more? Please contact me through my CASL-compliant website (www.elizabethshih.com).

After I receive your message, I’ll be pleased to discuss projects with you!

Please visit my website for more information (www.storytellingcommunications.ca).

 

 

 

Posted on

Re-launching a suite of English language services in the September issue of TYSN!

September 2025: Vol 7 Issue 8

Tell Your Story Newsletter (TYSN):
Teaching English as a Second Language to economic immigrants
and non-native English-speaking academics
Let us help you tell your story!

IN THIS ISSUE:
ARTICLE ONE: On international literacy month:
Re-launching a suite of English language services
STORYTELLERS’ CORNER:
Fun with oxymorons at the “museum” (by John Atkinson)
SHOP NEWS
ABOUT US

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Welcome mid-September, 2025!

Although last week, weekend (and yesterday) included some trying days of 30 degree heat and humidity, we have also had days with cool autumnal air that have helped many (me included) to begin another academic and program year. I hope September has begun well for you, good readers, as I enjoy reading your updates on Facebook and Linkedin.

This month, I am publishing a simple article about my services that reflects a recent “deep dive” into entrepreneurial strategy, through which I am relaunching my teaching and editing as a “suite of English language services.” This “suite” appeals to one new sector of clients for my ESL classes (English-as-a Second Language); and also returns to include more editing for training academics (doctoral and postdoctoral candidates) in the Humanities, Social Sciences and in Education.

Details follow in this month’s “Article One,” below.

And “Storytellers’ Corner” returns in this issue with some fun “museum”-based  oxymorons from John Atkinson, the witty literary cartoonist of “Wrong Hands”  fame.

I recall that local writer and long-time woman leader (of “Women in Leadership for Life”), Linda McCann, has blogged on the “promise” that comes with the month of September, each year:

“It’s a time to reflect on the desires of our hearts and the longings of our souls, as we consider the months ahead . . . .

September has always held a special promise, even in the most challenging times.

It brings the anticipation of a harvest, the start of a new school year, reconnections with friends and fresh opportunities for learning.

It’s also a time to walk in nature, savouring the changing colours, scents and
sounds of this abundant season.”

Good readers, whether you’re criss-crossing the globe on business or personal ventures (hello, Debra Marshall, in Tuscany!) . . . or whether you’re at home, already deeply engaged in both the “challenges” and “opportunities” of the new program year, I wish that each of you will feel the blessing of the “abundance” of this month.

Happy September, 2025.

Sincerely,
Elizabeth

Principal,
Storytelling Communications
www.elizabethshih.com

 

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Article One: On international literacy month: Re-launching a suite of English language services at “Storytelling Communications”

A valued, UK-based curriculum supplier that I use, “One Stop English,” reminded me recently that September is “International Literacy Month.”

This designation is apropos, as I continue to teach economic immigrants who want classes in English as a Second Language (ESL) to improve their literacy in English. And we all know that literacy is key to securing better jobs, promotions, or–if students are entrepreneurs–larger contracts.

As I share below, I’m effectively re-launching my English language services this month by, on one hand, deepening my ESL offerings; while on the other, bringing back a former service of academic editing:

  • In the ESL arena, I continue to teach adults who are non-native speakers of English, but with increasingly customized classes on pronunciation, accent modification, oral presentation skills and idiomatic expression. These learners may be economic immigrants, internationally educated academics or students, or other career holders.
  • After teaching immigrant newcomers ESL for nearly five years (since my certification in 2021), I have recently returned to editing academic documents in the Humanities, Social Sciences and Education. Both non native- and native-English speaking academics (graduate and post-doctoral candidates) write publications that almost always improve by being closely edited from a second pair of eyes!

Why am I returning to edit written English, given the recent incursion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into  the fields of writing and editing?

  • The need for human engagement on matters like ethical thinking and ethical research, as well as on nuances like consistent voice and precision, require more urgent engagement now than ever.
  • This work involves teaching students how to write separately from their applications of AI, so that human brains (and ultimately, the degree-granting institutions that train them) will still have value and relevance in our culture.
  • Most of us don’t want to be overthrown by non-sentient automatons, and I believe we must fight against that approach to AI directly. (On this, I am less optimistic than Ethan Mollick was in his 2023 study, Co-Intelligence: Living
    and Working with AI.)

  • The urgent need for human thinkers, writers and editors is evident in the challenges of using AI well: consider Amanda Guinzburg’s recent exposé on the lies and smoke-blowing that repeatedly occurred when she prompted ChatGPT to analyze and summarize her own writing:

https://amandaguinzburg.substack.com/p/diabolus-ex-machina

  • Another reason I return to editing in the Humanities, Social Sciences and Education (last offered in 2021) is that I wrote and edited extensively as a graduate student before the ascension of AI. Over two-and-a-half degrees, I submitted more than 70 essays, four of which were published in peer-reviewed journals, long before we’d heard of “ChatGPT.” I have since kept an “oar in those waters” by reading others’ scholarship.

  •  From that history, I’ve become familiar with the editing conventions of the Modern Language Association (MLA), the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) and, more recently, with the American Psychological Association (APA). Furthermore, four years of marking piles of undergraduate essays from MA- and PhD-level Teaching Assistantships have left a strong impression.
  • (As a footnote, outside of Academia, I also edit English documents for entrepreneurs. Since 2011, I have written and edited my own blog postings and this newsletter, soon entering its 15th year. So I can edit documents for non-academic writers, like entrepreneurs.)

I have met several university-based, doctoral and post-doctoral candidates who have expressed an interest in working with an editor, in the Humanities, Social Sciences and Education.

Do you know others? Please connect them with me! Besides that editing work, I’d love to meet more economic immigrants and internationally educated, non-native English speakers who want to improve their English (ESL) and for whom (along with me) every month will become an “International literacy month.”

For more detail, please visit my “services” page and my Linkedin profile at www.linkedin.com/in/shihelizabeth  .

Sometimes “deep-dives” into entrepreneurial strategy can sound murky. So here’s my elevator pitch for this “suite of English language services”:

“I am a versatile and well-trained teacher of English as a Second Language (ESL) who teaches non-Native English speakers (including economic immigrants and academics) to improve their speaking through grammar, pronunciation, accent modification, idiomatic expression and conversation skills.

I can also support doctoral and post-doctoral candidates in the Humanities, Social Sciences and in Education by editing their work for formal publication or submission (e.g. articles, theses, books and career applications). Through my editing, these clients will better publish their knowledge that will make every month a human ‘literacy month’ in our community and beyond.”
. . . .

And this September . . .

As I edit this issue of “Tell Your Story Newsletter,” the afternoon sun is setting; and prairie wind has begun to blow outside my window. The bustle of commuters in the street below grows hushed; and the noise of cars dissipates, leaving stillness and quiet.

Good readers, as our daylight hours shorten and we prepare to return indoors full time, I hope you’ll pause from September’s hectic pace to feel the freshness of autumn’s breath; and to store the vivid colours of her landscape in your minds.

And now it’s your turn: Have you changed or relaunched the services (or products) you sell, this season? Please share your developments with me for another issue of “Tell Your Story Newsletter!”

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STORYTELLER’s CORNER . . . .

STORYTELLER’S CORNER: Words, stories, riddles and jokes on Writing and Editing . . .

This month: fun with oxymorons at the museum (by John Atkinson)

The English cartoonist and humourist, John Atkinson, has shared his knowledge of literary history and authors through his website, wronghands1.com.

Some years ago, my book-loving aunt, who lives in British Columbia, sent me over Facebook a cartoon featuring Atkinson’s love for wordplay that appeared in The Globe & Mail.

Under the title “Oxymoron Museum,” Atkinson’s cartoon shares his knowledge of the thoroughly self-contradictory terms that often populate museum exhibits. (An oxymoron, for anyone who wonders, is “a figure of speech that combines two usually contradictory terms in a compressed paradox” [Oxford Concise Dictionary of Literary Terms]).

Oxymorons can tickle our funny bones because their very self-contradictory meanings are so illogical as to be absurd.

In his cartoon (that regrettably, I can’t repost here, due to copyright), Atkinson has found the following cases of oxymorons in museum exhibits, like Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) and many others. Do these ring a bell?

recent past
lost discoveries
new artifacts
civil war
neoclassic
virtual reality
individual collection
permanent loans
private exhibits
current history
extinct life
restored ruins
authentic models
primitive advancements
silent alarm
wireless outlets

Atkinson has collected some similarly irreverent summaries of “100 well-known works of literature, from Anna Karenina to Wuthering Heights” in his book, Abridged Classics: Brief Summaries of Books You Were Supposed to Read but Probably Didn’t (Harper Collins, 2018).

For instance, Atkinson describes the plot of Shakespeare’s Macbeth as “Old ladies convince a guy to ruin Scotland!”

Having requested Abridged Classics from our local library, I hope to share more of Atkinson’s bookish wit in future issues!

Do you have a story, riddle or joke on any aspect of English language or communications? Please share it with me; I’d be delighted to use it in an upcoming issue.

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SHOP NEWS:

 

Thanks go this month to both long-term and recent mentors with whom I’ve discussed entrepreneurial strategy (Monica Kreuger and Adele Kulyk), as well as to colleagues and friends who have returned from holiday or summer pursuits to gather again over a BBQ and conversation (Beth and Joanne Brimner, Heather De Sandoli, Martha Fergusson, Sharon Wiseman).

When the bells of many churches in our community stopped ringing years ago, and when many in our society question the relevance of any form of religious observance, I am glad to celebrate the 100th anniversary of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian (Saskatoon), where folks of all ages or generations, ethnicities, languages, socio-economic positions and vocations now gather to celebrate.

The very thoughtful and dedicated Rev. Roberto De Sandoli leads members and dedicated leaders including Al Ireland and Patti Polowick, Laura Van Loon, Martha and Dean Fergusson, Christel Jordaan -Schlebusch and Dewald Schlebusch, Kirk Ready and Heather Shouse, Beth Brimner, Anne and Terry Drover, Doug and Vickie Drover, Sharon Wiseman, Charles and Laura Roy, Heather DeSandoli with the IT support staff, organist Paul Suchan and Director of Music, Naomi Piggott-Suchan, alongside numerous others, who gather weekly to serve each other and our community.

That community includes the grassroots Indigenous mission of Native Circle Ministry, on 20th St. W.; and the Micah Mission of Saskatoon’s corrections-related ministry, to whom we were first connected by our Emeritus minister, Rev. Jim McKay.

This year, I’m pleased to help with St. Andrew’s communications, alongside the discerning administrator, Vickie Drover; to assist in leading the children’s time with the ever-talented and energetic Martha Fergusson; to discuss cultural, vocational, family and many other considerations with the brilliant and spirited Beth Brimner.

Organized religion is never perfect and can challenge–and sometimes hurt–us deeply. But I do feel that St. Andrew’s strives to be relevant to our surrounding community, which is essential to its meaning and future, as a century-old program (not place) of worship.

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In other news, I appreciate the kind messages and calls that have followed the memorial service for my late mother, Bernice, on August 23rd.

Special thanks again for the service to Rev. Roberto De Sandoli, eulogists Laura Van Loon and Adriana Van Duyvendyk, friend and supporter, Dani Van Driel, musician and soloist, Naomi Piggott-Suchan, The IT team, Heather De Sandoli and Adam (for live-streaming and recording the service), MaryAnn Lyle (for support with catering), Luella Moore (at reception) and to the staff of the Saskatoon Funeral Home for assistance with the delivery of my late mother’s urn and subsequent interment.

While I was so moved to see every attendee on August 23rd, notably long-time friends Erin Watson and Nadeem Jamali, Mrs. Yen Fung and Angela Fung Jamieson,  I want especially thank Rev. Jim and Mrs. Lillian McKay, their daughter Emily, and many-year mentor, Monica Kreuger, for their deep kindness and support.

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A thank you also goes out this month to Sharon Wiseman and to Dr. Leslie Widdifield-Konkin, who referred a literacy student to me, with whom I worked between late June and last month. The work was timely and meaningful and involved the expertise of both women, which I greatly appreciate.

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I continue to appreciate the legal counsel of Ben Nussbaum and legal assistant, Ingrid Atkinson, for their work on letters probate for my late mother’s estate.

Friends have sometimes described the year that follows the passing of an elderly parent as drudgery. But I’m grateful for the referral to Ben and Ingrid by a decade long mentor, wonderful friend and extraordinary community leader, herself, Monica Kreuger.

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There are always new people, programs and businesses to promote in “Shop News.” Please write me to share your stories.

But for now, this is a wrap for mid-September!

++++++

ABOUT US:

Between 2011 and December 2018, Elizabeth Shih Communications chronicled the stories of B2B marketing and communications on the Prairies and across the country.

Effective January 1, 2019, I rebranded as “Storytelling Communications,” and further pivoted services this month:

“I am a versatile and well-trained teacher of English as a Second Language (ESL) who teaches economic immigrants and non-Native English speakers to improve their speaking through grammar, pronunciation, accent modification, idiomatic expression and conversation skills.

I can also support doctoral and post-doctoral candidates in the Humanities, Social Sciences and in Education by editing their work for formal publication or submission (e.g. articles, theses, books and career applications). Through my editing, these clients will better publish their knowledge that will serve our local community and beyond.”

Interested in learning more? Please contact me through my CASL-compliant website (www.elizabethshih.com).

After I receive your message, I’ll be pleased to discuss projects with you! Please visit my website for more information: (www.storytellingcommunications.ca).

 

Posted on

Can reading literature teach us language? Some thoughts in the mid-August issue of ‘TYSN’

August 2025 Vol 7 Issue 8

Tell Your Story Newsletter (TYSN):

Teaching English as a Second Language to Economic Immigrants

Let us help you tell your story!

 

Welcome Mid-August 2025!

And just like that, the spring and much of summer 2025 have passed like the steady current of the South Saskatchewan River, under one of our city’s many bridges.

Summer is often called “festival season” in Saskatoon. As some of these festivals indicate (such as Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan; Saskatoon Fringe Festival; and Word-on-the-Street), summer is definitely a time for leisure reading and performance!

As you know, in the current economy and tariff-ridden times, independent booksellers continue to struggle to compete with conglomerates like Amazon, Indigo and Barnes & Noble.

But our locally owned stores far better support Saskatchewan authors (Turning the Tide, Peryton Books, Pages of Passion Bookstore, Westgate Books and McNally Robinson).

These independent booksellers are the ones to offer community readings by local writers, staff recommendations and consultations for reading, all in distinctive and personalized settings.

These stores are a lifeline for authors and readers alike,  because reading fiction can help us to learn languages, history and gain other knowledge, as well. My friend, the novelist Lesley Bens, once said that the best way to learn history was to read well-researched biographies of those who lived in a particular era and region. And where better to find a good biography than at an independent bookstore or (more rarely) at a library that houses books, in-person?

Now with developments in AI intensifying our practice of learning digitally, we can educate ourselves as “independent scholars” or readers–even apart from our country’s school and university system.

I have met people, by sharp contrast, who proudly claim to have read no more than five books in their lifetimes! Although they’re likely exaggerating, their grasp of the English language is (needless to say) inadequate. (One had a degree in political studies but could not define a noun!)

In this month’s issue, the celebrated Turkish-English novelist, Elif Shafak, “pushes back on the idea that people no longer read novels” and reminds us what we gain by reading fiction, in particular.

And in “Shop News,” I thank various folk in my entrepreneurial network who have helped me by suggesting titles for reading and strategies for teaching language (ESL) through literature.

And beyond those I mention there, I send thanks to  mentors, colleagues and students whose meetings and/or postings on Linkedin, Instagram and Facebook share their reading and learning with others.

As we approach the wistful “dog days of summer,” good readers, I urge you (and me!) to read some more riveting fiction, with the value and refreshment it can bring to us–body, mind and spirit.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Shih

Principal

Storytelling Communications

www.elizabethshih.com

IN THIS ISSUE:

ARTICLE ONE: Can reading literature teach us language?

SHOP NEWS

ABOUT US

Main Article: Can reading English literature help to teach you the English language? Elif Shafak weighs in . . . . 

In this newsletter that is devoted to local entrepreneurship and, in particular, to English language learning (ESL/EFL), I’m delighted to share that even in these digital days when social media and other distractions have reduced our attention spans, Canadians continue to read books of fiction.

A poll from the reliable BookNet Canada (a not-for-profit that tries to address systemic challenges in the publishing industry),   cites that in 2024, 78% of Canadians read at least one book. Only 247 out of 1247 respondents (i.e. under 20%) reported not reading (or listening to) fiction.

Earlier, in 2007, Ipsos Reid (in a survey for CanWest News Service and Global Television) reported that 69% of Canadians had listened to an audiobook in the past year.

Last May (2025), by contrast, the Turkish-English novelist, Elif Shafak, noted–and then disputed–the perspective that reading fiction in the UK is a dying activity.

In The Guardian, she wrote, “A recent YouGov [public opinion] poll [in 2024] found that 40% of Britons have not read a book in the last year.” This surprising statistic, Shafak says, might be taken as evidence for the “prophecy” of the late American novelist, Philip Roth, who wrote in 2000 that ” ‘The literary era has come to an end.’ ”

Roth believed that the mental habit required to read literature was disappearing. People in the 21st-Century, he said, would soon lack the concentration and solitude needed to read novels.

(Britons’ apparently dwindling interest in fiction reflects nothing about their simultaneous reading of history, politics, economics and international relations through newspapers and magazines such as The Guardian, “The Economist,” The London Review of Books, and many more.)

It’s tempting to believe pessimists like Roth. For instance, Shafak acknowledges that polls show the “average time . . . a person [in the UK] can focus on one thing has dropped in recent decades from approximately 2.5 minutes to about 45 seconds.” Yikes.

But she cautions that not all surveys reflect a full cross-section of English readers. Shafak wants “to push back on the idea that people no longer read novels.” There are still 60% of Britons who had read at least one novel in the 2024 YouGov survey.

She writes: “The same YouGov poll shows that among those who read, more than 55% prefer fiction. Talk to any publisher or bookseller and they will confirm it: the appetite for reading novels is still widespread. That the long form endures is no small miracle in a world shaped by hyper-information, fast consumption and the cult of instant gratification.”

And at literary festivals and gatherings in the UK (e.g. at Hay-on-Wye), Shafak writes, “there are noticeably more young men attending … It seems to me that the more chaotic our times, the deeper is our need to slow down and read fiction. In an age of anger and anxiety, clashing certainties, rising jingoism and populism, the division between ‘us’ and ‘them’ also deepens. The novel, however, dismantles dualities.”

These effects of reading fiction help us to develop true literacy, in the form of diverse, well-reasoned and defensible thought in our communities.

For this reason, I  am always happy to introduce my ESL students to fiction written in English, such as on literary websites like “english-e-reader.net.” Yes, Stephen King stories are there, but so are titles from Joseph Conrad and George Orwell. Having a common literary text to analyze provides a concrete (not abstract) way for students to learn to listen, speak, read and write better.

And it works! Literary resources spark cognition and creativity in students (of all ages). Several weeks ago, after earlier wondering how to reach a native-speaking youth who lacked English writing skills, I was relieved to witness this truth unfold.

Virginia Woolf once wrote: “The art of writing has for a backbone some fierce attachment to an idea.” Literature remains our richest source of good, useful, mind- and life-enhancing ideas.

So I contend the best and kindest way to teach English literacy (listening, speaking, reading and writing) is to read and discuss novels (fiction). When one can read a literary text closely (as if one were to write a review or essay on it), the mechanics of the English language turn from abstractions into hands-on tools, so that suddenly language feels grounded and usable, even to a novice.

Furthermore, the book continues to live, since book culture is still growing, including by our consumption of ebooks and audiobooks (often read by famous actors like Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Juliet Stevenson and Richard Armitage, to name only a few).

We also find that the culture of promoting literature may “hook” more readers. For instance, the American novelist Ann Patchett films charming video reviews of fiction over TikTok (complete with pets), out of the independent store, Parnassus Books, in Nashville, Tennessee:

https://www.tiktok.com/@parnassusbooksnashville/video/7531049374407806239

And the network, “Goodreads” (a popular website, long called “Facebook for readers”), sees novelists as diverse as Anne Lamott and Elizabeth George writing reviews, ranking and recommending novels, as well as other genres.

The popularity and usefulness of these resources suggest that our reading of fiction is anything but dead.

“We live in an era where there is too much information but not enough knowledge,” writes Shafak. “For knowledge we need books, slow journalism, podcasts, in-depth analyses and cultural events. And for wisdom . . . we need the art of storytelling. We need the long form.”

“The art of storytelling [is] older and wiser than we are,” Shafak says (which spurred me to rename my business “Storytelling Communications” six years ago).

“Reading novels—long-form stories about other people”, Shafak concludes, “teaches us to become human.”

And what could be more fundamental to teaching literacy and the English language than that?

And now it’s your turn: How often do you read fiction? What would you say has it taught you?

Please write in; I’d be delighted to hear back from you. 

_________________________________________________________________

SHOP NEWS: 

I’m glad to share this month that I have been working (for the first time) with a youth who is a native speaker, but also a literacy student, thanks to a referral from the community.

Reading young adult fiction like Quebecois Roch Carrier’s “The Hockey Sweater” and other titles with my student has proven that reading literature (student and teacher) together is the best and kindest way to teach English literacy.

It may sound (and is) indirect, but when a student finds a good “fit” with a  literary text, that book or short story becomes a very powerful vehicle for learning. (Does anyone remember being enraptured in high school by W.O. Mitchell’s Who Has Seen the Wind?)

Special thanks are therefore due to retired teacher, Sharon Wiseman, whose experience teaching literacy students from K-12 has been invaluable to me, as has been her awareness of relevant, young adult fiction.

Thank you, Sharon, for sharing your insights and  advice with me on how to teach youth!

Although teaching adults ESL/EFL remains my focus (and where my training lies), supporting native speakers who are learning to become more literate is also very worthwhile. It supports the next generation of  (youth) readers in our community, regardless of race, class, gender and education level.

+++++

On another note altogether, for many years I’ve used this space also to thank colleagues and friends who have helped me navigate SK’s senior healthcare system for my aging mother, who passed away nearly four months ago.

I’m delighted to share that I’m gradually recovering from caregiver’s burnout and look forward to my mother’s memorial next week, as a time when friends and family can say “good-bye.”

For his support in leading this service, I thank Rev. Roberto DeSandoli, Teaching Elder at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian, for attending to even minute details of the memorial service with compassion and care;

Thank you to Dani Van Driel, who shepherded two parents through their last years, and so has been an insightful, faithful and very  helpful friend;

My aunt, Liz Barker, of Penticton, BC, has corresponded with me during trying times in everyday life, and despite her own heavy caregiving duties;

Laura VanLoon has kindly agreed to provide a eulogy  when my family and I lack the strength to do it. Laura thereby continues to honour my mother’s life by helping all of us to lay it to rest;

Rev. Jim and Mrs. Lillian McKay have shared the most reassuring and supportive of phone calls during days of busyness and challenges, on both sides;

Beth and Jo-Anne Brimner,

have offered friendship that has brightened some dreary days, based on shared faith and laughter;

Lesley Bens generously and graciously hosted a visit to her beautiful garden  this month, even when she has long shouldered the failing health of several close family members;

With her skills as a novelist and reader, Lesley also shared with me an 8th-century prayer of St. Alcuin of York that I had not read, but which has become an anchor for my mother’s memorial service.

Thank you, Lesley!

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And thanks to you, good readers, for continuing to read and reflect on this mid-month newsletter, so many (14) years in production.

As always, I’m grateful to receive your comments and suggestions for future issues!

There are always new people to thank and new  stories to share: please send me yours for future issues!

But for now, this is a wrap for mid-August!

__________________________________________________________________

ABOUT US:

Between 2011 and December 2018, Elizabeth Shih Communications chronicled the stories of B2B marketing and communications on the Prairies and across the country.

Effective January 1, 2019, I rebranded as “Storytelling Communications.”

I have since helped economic immigrants to secure better jobs or gain larger contracts by improving their language skills; and I help major companies write their legacy stories.

Interested in learning more? Please contact me through my website:

(www.storytellingcommunications.ca).

After I receive your message, I’ll be pleased to discuss projects with you!

Please visit my website for more information (www.storytellingcommunications.ca).

++++++++

Published by www.storytellingcommunications.ca – Storytelling Communications – Fifth Ave. North. Saskatoon, SK, Canada. S7K 5Z9  Copyright © 2025. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please click below.

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Want to feel more calm? Here are seven ways, in the mid-July issue of ‘Tell Your Story Newsletter’ (TYSN)

July 2025 Vol 7 Issue 7

 

Tell Your Story Newsletter (TYSN):
Teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) to Economic Immigrants
Let us help you tell your story!

Welcome Mid-July 2025!

“ ‘Summertime, and the livin’ is easy,’ ” Dubose Heyward wrote in a novel that
became the libretto of George and Ira Gershwin’s opera, “Porgy and Bess.”
But these days, many entrepreneurs and professionals find summertime
anything but “easy.”

True, the weather is warmer (sometimes requiring air conditioning . . . ). But
bills still need to get paid, deadlines met, and both of those may compete with
any “holiday” plans we try to make.

With that awareness, in the “Main Article” this month addresses
entrepreneurial/professional wellness: I visit suggestions from the blog of
former Google marketing executive, Jade Bonacolta, on how to achieve
greater calm in your working life (and beyond).

Whether you’re an entrepreneur or you hold an 8:30 am to 4:30 pm “day job,”
chances are good that “calm” isn’t a default position for you. And what
about after hours? Bonacolta’s ideas address and bridge both in helpful ways.

And in “Shop News,” I thank various folk in my entrepreneurial network
who have helped me to see beyond apparent limits on my vocational horizon,
to achieve both sociability and productivity, rigour and calm.

So, while the ” ‘livin’ ” during our beloved summertime months may not
actually be “easy” (as Heyward wrote), it can become easier if we develop
habits or strategies that increase our self-care.

I wish you time, good readers, to refresh your body, mind and spirit this
summertime.

Sincerely,
Elizabeth Shih

Principal
Storytelling Communications
www.elizabethshih.com

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IN THIS ISSUE:
MAIN ARTICLE: Seven Habits for Calmness (with former Google
executive, Jade Bonacolta)
SHOP NEWS
ABOUT US

++++++++
MAIN ARTICLE:  Seven Habits for Calmness (with former Google
executive, Jade Bonacolta)

With the awareness that the “livin’” of summertime sometimes does not feel
“easy” for my readers and me, I initially felt skeptical when first laying eyes
on a recent blog posting from former Google marketing executive, Jade Bonacolta.

The blog title, “The Quiet Rich,” (I thought) would pertain more to financial
drive for “riches” than to entrepreneurs “quiet” or calm. I suspected she’d
argue ways to (unconsciously) contort our minds into a proverbial pretzel to
squeeze from it every ounce of earning capital.

But I persisted in reading . . . . and was pleasantly surprised. Bonacolta writes
about entrepreneurial wellness but with insight that reflects her own life
experience. She and B2B Influencer, Canadian-born Colby Kultgen, are like-
minded correspondents who don’t simply download their content from AI!

Here are some highlights from Bonacolta’s recent posting on “seven habits to
bring more calmness in your life,” but with further (and complementary)
insights from me. (Please know that I never use AI to write, but instead to
revise and edit my own copy):

1. Arrive everywhere 10 minutes early
By setting your clock ahead by 10 minutes (metaphorically speaking), we
avoid running late. Why does this matter? Lateness forces our nervous system
into “fight-or-flight mode.” That means we’re stressed before we even get to
the appointment or meeting. (Consider also–contract or job interviews, where
timeliness is crucial!)

Bonacolta recommends building in a “10-minute cushion,” so you’ll be
prepared, present, more relaxed (and, I add, professional)! Also, to any
caffeine junkies among my readership, remember that it’s never good to
arrive late to meetings, but also with fresh coffee in hand (i.e. your peers may
wonder why you have time to line up at Starbucks, when you’re late to meet
them).

2. Use a shutdown ritual
Bonacolta says to end every workday the same way: “clear your desk, close
your tabs, and write down tomorrow’s top three tasks.”

She argues that it’s healthy to keep a mental boundary between your work
and your personal time: “Your brain knows when work is truly done, which
means you can actually relax in the evening instead of carrying mental
residue home.”

This is a great idea, but one not many entrepreneurs implement. Remember
that Parkinson’s law says “work expands to fill available time.”

So couldn’t enforcing a “shutdown ritual” around 5:00 pm make us more
effective earlier the next day?

Evenings spent reading for leisure and relaxing with yoga and/or music, etc.,
can boost our productivity for the next workday.

3. Learn to say “no” to overwork

When your work-plate is full, Bonacolta says to refuse further projects,
regardless of how attractive they sound. A correlative of this is that (unless
we’re newbies) we should hold out for better quality projects, instead of
giving in to lesser ones, simply to pay our bills.

If we prospect actively, larger projects will ensue—they may just take a bit
more time to arrive.

But if we say “yes” to projects that don’t fulfill our goals, we clog our
schedules with work we don’t like, and end up overworking.

So learning to say “no” to overwork (which includes the wrong work) frees
us to say “yes” to the niche projects we actually want and deserve.

Bonacolta writes: “Calm people protect their bandwidth fiercely. They
understand that every ‘yes’ is a ‘no’ to something else. Master this, and you’ll
never feel overwhelmed by commitments again.”

4. Remember the 40%/60% rule

When it comes to working with others, she writes to “listen more than
you talk. In every conversation, ask interesting questions that let the other
person speak 60% of the time.”

Speaking purposefully for your 40% of the time, “removes the pressure to
always have something clever to say. Plus, people walk away thinking you’re
brilliant—not because you talked, but because you made them feel heard.”

5. Make optimal use of your morning start
Bonacolta recommends blocking the first “90 minutes” of your morning, for
your most important task—and before answering emails and texts!

She writes: “Your brain is sharpest in the first few hours after waking. Calm
people use this prime time for meaningful work, not reactive email ping
pong. They get their biggest win done before most people have had their first
cup of coffee.”

I’d recommend that those first 90 minutes include 15 for “morning pages,” as
pioneered by professional writer, Julia Cameron, in The Artist’s Way (1992).
When we lay bare our unconscious thoughts onto paper (i.e. remnants of
dreams, groggy thoughts and ideas), we free our minds to function more
alertly for the time (and day) that follow.

6. Take a “Non-Sleep Deep Rest” (NSDR) pause, every day
Listen to a “non-sleep deep rest” meditation for 10 minutes every day to
boost your energy. Bonacolta likes this 10-min YouTube video from Andrew
Huberman.

She likens this rest to “a power nap for your nervous system. It’s more
restorative than scrolling social media and more energizing than caffeine.
Even 10 minutes can reset your entire day.”

7. Set healthy boundaries
Take one vacation every quarter (even if it’s just a long weekend away). Put
your “out-of-office” email responder on “and don’t check email until you’re
back” Bonacolta writes.

She continues: “Calm people understand that rest isn’t earned—it’s required.
They schedule recovery like they schedule important meetings. Because they
know burnout is just deferred stress coming due with interest.”

Given the pace of tech companies like Google, Bonacolta knows whereof
she speaks. Her seven tips are predicated on the insight that “the most
stressed people I know are constantly reacting to life. The calmest people . . .
are prepared for it” (my emphasis).

Calmness isn’t a personality trait you’re born with. It’s a skill you can
develop by practicing good habits.

She concludes that these seven habits “might seem small, but
they compound. Each one removes a little friction from your day, a little
clutter from your mind. Stack them together, and you’ll be amazed how much
more peaceful your life becomes.”

Bonacolta recommends starting with just one of the above seven habits at the
start of a new week. Why not start first by arriving by “10 minutes early” to
your office or meeting? She says it’s the one tip out of the seven above that’s
“easiest to apply and which will have the biggest immediate impact.”

And now it’s your turn: Have you applied the “10 minutes early” tip to
increase the calm in your day?

What about the others? Please share your experience; I’d be delighted to
hear from you.

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SHOP NEWS:

 

My renewed gratitude goes out this month to the two women entrepreneurs who co-founded (with me) our writers’ group–Saskatoon Freelancers’ Roundtable–more than 10 years ago last spring!

Thanks to Julie Barnes of Julie Barnes Creative Services who writes insightful and evocative articles for “Saskatoon Home Magazine” and for the CBC, is an agent for professional musicians, and (amongst many other things) finds time for philanthropy in our community.

Julie’s friendship and generous spirit are fortifying; it is a joy to be in her presence.

She has recently begun a Bachelor’s Degree in Interior Design from Yorkville University (online, from Toronto), which local writers in our group know will only deepen her insights in the field.

Best of luck, Julie, and we hope still to see you occasionally at the Saskatoon Freelancers’ Roundtable that you helped us to co-found!

My other co-founder of this writers’ group is, Ashleigh Mattern of Vireo Creative (a website design company). Vireo designs those websites while also providing online marketing content for thriving business owners.

Ashleigh creates that content, while also finding time to read voraciously, write and publish fiction, lead literary workshops and promote writers’ retreats in our community (and that’s not an exhaustive list!).

Ashleigh has pressed “pause” on a few of those activities during the past year, while undergoing surgery and treatment for cancer.

But she remains the positive and enthusiastic friend and colleague that we all know and care for.

The “Roundtable” is rooting for you, Ashleigh, and we hope to see more of you after treatment ends, this fall.

++++++++

Thank you this month also goes to my colleague and friend, Sharon Wiseman, who has shared her advice on teaching literacy skills to youth who occasionally enter my ESL practice.

Sharon’s knowledge of pedagogical methods and experience teaching youth have enhanced my teaching strategies, for which I’m very grateful.

++++++

It was amazing recently to see my long-time friend, Tracey Mitchell, peer support worker for Mental Health and Addictions Services in Saskatoon and community leader, par excellence. 

Tracey works tirelessly to improve the quality of life of many in Saskatoon, including through youth leadership training, efforts to preserve the environment,  commitments to feminism, human rights, food security and sustainability and more.

It’s inspiring to be in Tracey’s presence and I’m grateful to her for sharing ice cream on a Saturday afternoon in high summer! (And btw, “Giggles” ice cream stand at 8th St. and Broadway Ave has delicious pistachio–and other–ice cream. Give them a try this summer, if you’re an ice cream lover or foodie! And no, I’m not a paid affiliate of “Giggles,” but happen to think that ice cream should have its own category on Canada’s Food Guide!)

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As a part of outreach at my church, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian (YXE), Reverend Roberto DeSandoli and members are striving to create a community hub with other groups that will offer local assistance to the unemployed, homeless and marginalized, often in Saskatoon’s downtown core.

Critics who scoff at the irrelevance of churches/faith groups in our community should take a further look, here! But like all volunteer organizations, the challenge remains to engage new and diverse contributors, so that long-time supporters do not burn out.

While my schedule is often fully booked, I plan to contribute when I can to ESL/literacy readiness services.

Please reach out to me if you would like to get involved or learn more (shih.ea@gmail.com)

+++++++

Teaching ESL to economic immigrants can only occur when one has a quiet and calm meeting space.

For that, I’m especially grateful to the staff of the Saskatoon Public Library, who actively support newcomers by sharing meeting space and digital resources (free Wi-Fi!).

Library staff have helped some of my students to download apps that improve their English skills (e.g. “Hoopla,” “Libby” and “Mango Languages”) and audio books, as well.

While the atmosphere at some branches is sometimes contentious (as sites for some of the city’s marginalized people seeking relief), staff strive to keep meeting spaces quiet and conflict-free, so patrons are free to learn.

Thank you, to the staff of the vibrant public library branches of Saskatoon!

++++++++

There are always new  entrepreneurial and related success stories to celebrate.

Please send me yours to share in future issues!

But for now, this is a wrap for mid-July!

++++++++

 ABOUT US:

Between 2011 and 2019, Elizabeth Shih Communications chronicled the stories of B2B marketing and communications on the Prairies and across the country.

Effective January 1, 2019, I rebranded as “Storytelling Communications.” I have since helped economic immigrants to secure better jobs or gain larger contracts by improving their language skills; and I help major companies write their legacy stories.

Interested in learning more? Please contact me through my website

(www.storytellingcommunciations.ca).

After I receive your message, I’ll be pleased to discuss projects with you!

++++++++

Published by www.storytellingcommunications.ca – Storytelling Communications – Fifth Ave. North. Saskatoon, SK, Canada. S7K 5Z9

Copyright © 2025.
Posted on

On the value of diversity from Paul Avellino and Arlene Dickinson in this month’s issue of “Tell Your Story Newsletter”

June 2025 Vol 7 Issue 6

Tell Your Story Newsletter (TYSN):

Teaching English-as-a-Second Language to Economic Immigrants

Let us help you tell your story!

 Welcome Mid-June, 2025!

As I prepare this issue of “Tell Your Story” Newsletter, my readers will know that Northern Saskatchewan has already endured a terrible forest fire season. Twenty-three active wildfires were counted last week and 258 over the season so far, well ahead of the average of 147 fires over the past five years.

The Canadian Red Cross has registered evacuees from more than 3,700 homes and from more than 10,500 acres of at-risk land in our beleaguered province.

More urban-based Saskatchewanians have watched with worry, noting the frequent air quality advisories and warnings and knowing how much worse conditions both evacuees and firefighters have faced (some of the latter coming from Europe and Australia to help us). Thank you to them!

Last Saturday, after many parched weeks, we received the grace of some steady rain: what firefighters, farmers and river-boat captains (on our beloved South Saskatchewan River) wouldn’t do, for some more of the same!

Yet, not disregarding these challenges, the month of June (with the official start of summer) marks what we often call the “good weather” in our province! Glorious flowering trees  have flourished.  Busy gardeners are overseeing seedlings, bedding plants and perennials, longing for more heat and rain.

I keenly anticipate generous gifts of plums, berries, zucchini, cucumber, tomatoes and potatoes from the gardens of friends this summer, some of whom read this newsletter!

Yesterday was Father’s Day and I hope each you you found time to spend with your (or someone else’s–lol) father, grandfather or other family members on that gorgeous, sunny day.

Recently, I opted to shorten “Tell Your Story Newsletter” to focus on one article (instead of two), to reduce reading time for you (and to free myself to engage in memoir writing, on-the-side.) But please know that occasional snippets of word stories and jokes may still sometimes return, under the moniker of “Storytellers’ Corner!”

This month, I visit two high-achieving entrepreneurs’ reflections on diversity, a concept democratic countries like Canada must daily fight for, given the state of world politics:

American tradesman-turned-professional gardener, Paul Avellino, and beloved Canadian celebrity investor, Arlene Dickinson, have weighed in on Facebook and Linkedin, respectively. I share their gripping commentary in full-length, because it reminds us of why we must make a stand to preserve democracy, in a world beset by violence and chaos.

Although spring this year began as a season of loss for me (with my elderly mother passing one month ago), I am equally grieved by the nightly news. And yet, I find through the multi-layered nature of grief that slowly, light, love and laughter do seep in.

May the summer that is unfurling around us bring you JOY, good reader. While losses must be faced, I also wish you prosperity in your relationships, in time spent in nature’s diversity, and among the diversity of family, friends, colleagues and newcomers–now and always.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth

Principal

Storytelling Communications

www.elizabethshih.com

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IN THIS ISSUE:

 MAIN ARTICLE: On the value of diversity from Paul Avellino and Arlene Dickinson

SHOP NEWS

ABOUT US

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Main Article: On the value of diversity, from Paul Avellino and Arlene Dickinson

On Facebook recently, my former entrepreneurial coach and valued friend, Deanna Litz (of Powerful Nature Coaching and Consulting, Inc.), shared some philosophy from American farmer, Paul Avellino, aka “The Garden Guinea.” Avellino is a self-described “gardener, writer, chef [and] father.”

Avellino is a former tradesman who took up domestic farming (he prefers the understated term “gardening”) during early Pandemic times. He’s an advocate for growing one’s own food and for living with kindness toward the earth and each other.

Avellino recommends what others call “forest bathing” or time spent in nature, where humans­­–especially in these deeply troubled times–can quickly appreciate the health that comes from ecological diversity. He writes:

“Take a walk through any thriving forest, and you won’t find uniformity­—you’ll find balance through variety. Trees of every kind, fungi laced through the soil, insects, birds, predators, pollinators, and plants that bloom at different times, all playing their part. That’s not an accident. It’s a blueprint.

 

Diversity isn’t something nature tolerates. It’s something it requires to survive.

So when people talk about human diversity like it’s a threat to stability, or when systems are designed to flatten, exclude, and erase—remind them that ecosystems collapse without diversity.

That monocultures breed disease, and closed loops break.

We don’t thrive despite our differences—we thrive because of them. Just like the forest, just like the coral reef, just like the world we’re all lucky [or blessed] enough to be part of.

Diversity isn’t a threat. It has always been the plan.”

Avellino shares wonderful memes, pairing his philosophy and work on Instagram, which I encourage you to visit! . . . . .

AND, also this week, in a more urban register, immigrant investor, entrepreneur, author and pioneering “dragon” on CBC’s “Dragon’s Den,” Arlene Dickinson, shared her insights on our communities’ diversity on Linkedin.

Dickinson wrote about the need we as Canadians have for diversity as part of our cherished sovereignty, and when false but alarming fear and anxiety are stoked by autocratic politicians who fill the media newsfeed (notably in the US and beyond):

“Do we need to feel fear as much as we do, watching the TV news, these days?“ Dickinson asks.

She continues: “In the USA, fear is now the central tool of politics. Immigrants and migrants are being blamed for economic hardship and crime. DEI [Diversity, Equity and Inclusion] programs are painted as dangerous and divisive. Judges, educators and journalists are all being framed as threats and people we should distrust.

In Canada, over 33% of biz owners are immigrants. In the USA, it’s a fact that immigrants commit fewer crimes than citizens born there. Undocumented workers pay more than $20 billion in taxes yearly, including into Social Security (which they don’t even receive). And, by the way, being undocumented isn’t a criminal offense; it’s a civil violation.

These people are contributing to society, not taking from it. They are building America, not destroying it.

But fear is way louder than facts, because we don’t feel facts.

We feel fear. So immigrants become political pawns not because the facts support it, but because fear gives [greedy] people power.

The same fear is being used against DEI. The fact is that diverse teams make better decisions, build more trust, and outperform homogeneous ones.

Transgender athletes are another manufactured threat. Fewer than 10 transgender athletes are competing across [more than] 500,000 college student-athletes in the USA, but somehow, they’ve become a national crisis. It’s absurd. And it’s cruel.

Democracies weaken with fear. Fear of each other, of our differences, and of imagined threats.

What frightens me isn’t immigration or diversity. It’s how fast suspicion about each other spreads. How easily neighbours become enemies. How many people fall for the lie that inclusion is dangerous?

I’m so proud to be Canadian. Proud that we’re a mosaic, not a melting pot. Proud that we value difference, not sameness. But that only matters if we’re willing to protect it.

Immigrants aren’t the problem.

Black people aren’t the problem.

Women aren’t the problem.

Gay people aren’t the problem.

Trans people aren’t the problem.

The problem is the super elite in power [i.e. autocrats and oligarchs] who believe they’re entitled to control the rest of us. Who weaponize fear to hold on to power and money.

I’m tired of it. I’m tired of fear. I’m tired of seeing each other as enemies instead of as decent humans trying to survive and live with dignity.

There’s real evil in the world for us to fear and focus on. Hezbollah, Hamas, The IRGC-Quds Force, Al-Qaeda, ISIS. The Wagner Group. And I could go on.

We should fear and fight factions like these, not the people who are escaping from horrors in order to save their lives and live in peace.”

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These fighting words from Avellino and Dickinson rewarded me for visiting Facebook and Linkedin last week, when so often social media elicits only doomscrolling, undue anxiety and despair from consumer-readers.

In my work teaching ESL to economic immigrants and newcomers, who Dickinson rightly says make more than one-third of the business owners in Canada–including in Saskatchewan­–I regularly meet diversity and the strength it brings. When I speak to newcomers about values of mutual respect, understanding of each others’ cultures, values like hard work and responsibility,

 And now it’s your turn: What is happening in your family or circle of friends to help to cultivate and recognize diversity–and to oppose the homogenizing forces of the world? 

What tangible things can we do to overpower the injustice of manufactured fear and despair, in our times?

 

Please write in; I’d be delighted to hear from you. 

 

SHOP NEWS:

I ended this month’s “main article” by asking how each of us can outdo the injustice of manufactured fear and despair, in these times.

Some of my colleagues and friends have been answering that, notably through our most recent Federal election in Canada. Falsehoods and fake news of many kinds were  ably exposed and subverted by entrepreneur Silvia Martini and writer Michael Robin, to name but two. Thank you to them.

Thank you also to my long-term friend, writer and former fellow U of English student,  Paula Jane Remlinger, for penning cogent analyses over Facebook on the hateful machinations of Trump and allies who threaten our weary world.

Other “thank yous” go out this month to friends Beth Brimner and Lenore Swystun for reminding me that even–or especially--in such times, we find (and need) JOY.

Joy can exist, even as we oppose the violence of Russia in Ukraine; Israel against Palestine in Gaza; North versus South Korea; China versus Taiwan; Afghanistan (the Taliban versus ISIS and insurgents [NRF]); and Sudan (the Sudanese military versus the paramilitary), to name only a few of our global “hot spots.”

Thank you and congratulations to my South African friend, Christel Jordaan Schlebusch, for pursuing Canadian midwifery certification, when her significant skills and experience are greatly needed in Saskatchewan.

The popular English TV program “Call the Midwife” (viewed here on PBS) depicts some of the extraordinary work of midwives in saving infants, mothers and their families from medical and other risks.

Thank you to two remarkable correspondents whose messages are always heartening, even in trying times and as we all age–English Professor (Emeritus) Bob Calder; and former Managing Editor of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Wilf Popoff.

And thank you, good readers, for continuing to read, share and respond to this monthly newsletter, some 14+ years after I started it as a copywriter and editor, and now as I teach English-as-a-Second Language (ESL).

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ABOUT US:

Between 2011 and December 2018, Elizabeth Shih Communications chronicled the stories of B2B marketing and communications on the Prairies and across the country.

Effective January 1, 2019, I rebranded as “Storytelling Communications.” I now help economic immigrants to get better jobs or secure larger contracts by improving their  English language skills (by my ESL classes). And, when time allows, I also edit memoirs and legacy stories of individuals and major companies.

Interested in learning more? Please contact me through my website (www.storytellingcommunications.ca).

After I receive your message, I’ll be pleased to discuss projects with you!

Meantime, please tune in next month for another issue of “Tell Your Story Newsletter!”