Surrey teacher recognized for helping students connect with Punjabi language and culture

For more than a decade, Sarbdeep Kaur Johal has helped Surrey students read, write and speak Punjabi. Now, the Queen Elizabeth Secondary teacher and children’s author has been recognized with a Heritage Defender Award at the 2026 Darpan Extraordinary Achievement Awards, honouring her contribution to cultural preservation and her belief that language can bridge generations, identities and communities. Johal was nominated by her colleague, Gurpreet Kaur Bains, a teacher at L.A. Matheson.

“This award felt like recognition not only of my journey, but of the value of linguistic and cultural authenticity,” said Johal. “To me, the award represents everyone who cherishes and takes pride in their mother tongue and cultural heritage.”

She was raised in a family of educators, but she credits her mother’s resilience as her biggest influence. Her mother arrived in Canada without speaking any English and learned it “one word at a time.”

Her path to teaching Punjabi was not planned. While working as a teacher on call at a high school, she covered a Punjabi 12 class and realized she still had a strong connection to the written language.

“I did not want to see the Punjabi program struggle in the high school system due to a lack of teachers willing and qualified to teach Punjabi 12,” Johal said. “That was when my journey as a Punjabi teacher began.”

Most of her students were born in Canada, and their spoken Punjabi varies widely because they come from different regions of Punjab and hear different dialects at home. Instead of treating that as a problem, Johal has students compare words and expressions from their own families.

“These conversations often create an engaging and enjoyable learning environment,” she said. The bigger challenge is writing, which she said takes consistency, practice, and ongoing exposure.

The payoff often shows up at home. Parents regularly thank her when their children can read Punjabi and grow closer to their elders, especially their grandparents. One Grade 12 student wrote a short story in Punjabi about her grandfather’s journey with dementia and how it changed their relationship. Punjabi was rarely spoken in her home, but writing about her grandfather (Baba Ji) in the language deepened their connection.

That connection between generations is at the heart of her work. Johal often tells her students that elders are “walking libraries.”

“If we have the language skills to communicate with them, we gain access to the knowledge, wisdom, and experiences that have been passed down from one generation to the next through spoken stories and conversations,” she said.

To make that happen, she partners with GenConnect, a non-profit that works to bridge the gap between generations. Elders visit her classes to share their experiences, and students share their own perspectives in return.

“It becomes a two-way learning experience in which both generations connect, learn, and grow together,” Johal said.

The Heritage Defender Award was one of 10 honours presented at the 16th annual Darpan Extraordinary Achievement Awards, which recognize people whose accomplishments and leadership are making a difference across British Columbia and beyond. The Heritage Defender Award recognizes Johal’s contribution to cultural preservation.