Overview

Our Memorandum of Understandings (MOUs) with China, Germany, Japan, Spain and Ukraine include posting a special language advisor to Alberta.

Language advisors help:

  • support and develop language and cultural programs
  • advise teachers and schools on a variety of topics related to language and cultural programs
  • organize, plan and support professional development sessions, educational exchanges and school partnerships
  • support departmental missions between Alberta and the country they are from

Some advisors also administer language proficiency exams, such as the German Deutsches Sparchdiplom.

Language Advisors

Chinese advisor

Xianqiang Liu has been the Special Language Advisor for Chinese language and culture at Alberta Education since December 2019.

Prior to his placement in Alberta, Dr. Liu was an Associate Professor at Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU). He received his Doctor of Literature from Peking University’s Department of Chinese Language and Literature. Dr. Liu has extensive experience in teaching Chinese as a second and/or foreign language. He worked in BLCU from 2002 to 2019. He taught Chinese in Xinjiang from 2004 to 2005, and at Georgia State University as a Hanban teacher volunteer from 2014 to 2017.

In addition to his teaching experience, Dr. Liu has also published several articles in linguistics and second language teaching research. His focus is mainly on bilingual language studies and pedagogy in Chinese as a second language.

Programs and resources

Contact the Chinese language advisor

German advisor

Andreas Meckes has been the German Language Advisor at Alberta Education since August 2015. His position is co-sponsored by the Central Agency for Schools Abroad in Bonn, Germany.

Born in Fürth, Bevaria, Andreas graduated from Erlanger University in 1993. He was an Academic Secondary School teacher for German, French and Spanish and was also the head of the French department in Höchstadt, Germany from 2009 to 2015. For 7 years, Andreas was a German and French teacher at the German School “Colegio Aleman Juan Hoffman” in Marbella, Spain between 2002 and 2008. During his stay in Marbella, he also co-wrote the French curriculum for German schools in Spain and Portugal for grades 9 to 12. Before moving to Alberta, Andreas taught at private schools in Toronto in 2008 and 2009 with French and Spanish languages.

Programs and resources

Contact the German language advisor

Japanese advisor

Yoshifumi Murakami has been the Special Language Advisor for Japanese language and culture at Alberta Education since May 2017.

Yoshi has extensive experience teaching Japanese and conducting teacher training programs in Mongolia, Vietnam, Egypt, Hungary, and Japan. His teaching experience covers a wide range of levels from language schools to high school and university. Yoshi has also authored several research paper and books. In addition to his role as an advisor (sponsored by the Japan Foundation) with Alberta Education, he is also involved in Japanese language education support across Canada.

Programs and resources

Contact the Japanese language advisor

Spanish advisor

Rodolfo Fernandez has been the Special Language Advisor for Spanish language and culture at Alberta Education since September 2015. He has been a language teacher, teacher trainer, and a language advisor in Spain and the United States for many years.

Programs and resources

Contact the Spanish language advisor

Ukrainian advisor

Nataliya Nayavko has been the Special Language Advisor for Ukrainian language and culture at Alberta Education since August 2017 and has been a second language teacher in Ukraine for over 20 years. She was a methodologist at the Town Educational Department and a teacher trainer of second language acquisition since 2007. Nataliya has previously studied at George Mason University and University of Maryland.

She was the national winner of Eurasia/South Asia Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program in 2008 and helped develop the new Ukrainian state school curriculum.

Nataliya is an ambassador of the eTwinning Plus Program and coordinates international educational and exchange projects.

Programs and resources

Contact the Ukrainian language advisor

Contact

Chinese language advisor

Connect with the Chinese language advisor:

Hours: 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)
Phone: 780-644-3063
Toll free: 310-0000 before the phone number (in Alberta)
Email: Xianqiang.Liu@gov.ab.ca

German language advisor

Connect with the German language advisor:

Hours: 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)
Phone: 780-422-0536
Toll free: 310-0000 before the phone number (in Alberta)
Email: andreas.meckes@gov.ab.ca

Japanese language advisor

Connect with the Japanese language advisor:

Hours: 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)
Phone: 780-415-6165
Toll free: 310-0000 before the phone number (in Alberta)
Email: yoshifumi.murakami@gov.ab.ca

Spanish language advisor

Connect with the Spanish language advisor:

Hours: 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)
Phone: 780-422-0664
Toll free: 310-0000 before the phone number (in Alberta)
Email: rodolfo.fernandez@gov.ab.ca

Ukrainian language advisor

Connect with the Ukrainian language advisor:

Hours: 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)
Phone: 780-422-3245
Toll free: 310-0000 before the phone number (in Alberta)
Email: nataliya.nayavko@gov.ab.ca

International Education Services

Connect with the International Education Services:

Hours: 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)
Phone: 780-427-2035
Toll free: 310-0000 before the phone number (in Alberta)
Email: intl.ed.sec@gov.ab.ca

Address:
Main Floor, 44 Capital Boulevard
10044 108 Street
Edmonton, Alberta  T5J 5E6