Conference Agenda
| Session | ||
Language-in-education (part 3)
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| Presentations | ||
Language-in-education policies and sociolinguistic hierarchies: What do we know and where do we go from here? The objective of this three-part panel is to provide a critical overview of language-in-education policy research across Canada. Studies have shown that state policies can (re)produce linguistic hierarchies by creating inequitable sociolinguistic and educational conditions for minoritized learners through, for example, denying minority-language students the ability to maintain their multilingualism in school (e.g., Kim et al., 2020; Kubota & Bale, 2020) and mastering the official language as a prerequisite for social integration for newcomers (Calinon, 2015; Haque, 2014). While multilingual education models contribute to unsettling linguistic hierarchies through inclusive educational principles that aim to preserve minority-language learners’ identities, knowledge and sociocultural practices, these models do not address Canada’s colonial history and the ways state and situated policies may disadvantage minoritized learners based on social differentiation factors such as race (Haque & Patrick, 2015). This panel aims to bring together different scholarly perspectives on language-in-education policies in Canada’s provinces to explore the potential of research in fostering transformational change. Calinon, A. S. (2015). Légitimité interne des politiques linguistiques au Québec : le regard des immigrants récents. Minorités Linguistiques et Société / Linguistic Minorities and Society, 5, 122–142. Haque, E. (2014). Multiculturalism, language, and immigrant integration. In J. Jedwab (Ed.), The multiculturalism question: Debating identity in 21st century Canada (pp. 203-224). McGill-Queen’s University Press. Haque, E., & Patrick, D. (2015). Indigenous languages and the racial hierarchisation of language policy in Canada. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 36(1), 27–41. Kim, H., Burton, J. L., Ahmed, T., & Bale, J. (2020). Linguistic hierarchisation in education policy development: Ontario’s Heritage Languages Program. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 41(4), 320–332. Kubota, R., & Bale, J. (2020). Bilingualism—But Not Plurilingualism—Promoted by Immersion Education in Canada: Questioning Equity for Students of English as an Additional Language. TESOL Quarterly, 54(3), 773–785. Presentations of the Symposium “C’est un peu incompréhensible” : Francisation and the paradox of excluding to include For decades, the province of Québec has striven to balance its interest in promoting immigration with its interest in strengthening the status of the French language (Ministère de l’immigration, de la diversité et de l’inclusion du Québec, 2015). A major policy project that serves this objective is francisation, a program promoting the learning and use of French by speakers of other languages (Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration du Québec, 2024). This presentation draws on data from an institutional ethnography exploring the professional experiences of francisation professionals in Québec. It will show that while these individuals often see their work as serving to draw new speakers into the French-speaking community, they are frequently doing so in an environment that is pushing those same individuals out. As a result, it will demonstrate that contradictions between provincial policy and teachers’ perception of their professional obligations constrain and complicate teachers’ efforts to support newcomers’ French learning. Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion du Québec. (2015). Ensembles nous sommes le Québec. https://cdn-contenu.quebec.ca/cdn-contenu/adm/min/immigration/publications-adm/politiques/PO_ensemble_quebec_MIDI.pdf Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration du Québec. (2024). Programme québécois d’apprentissage du français—Offre de services de Francisation Québec. Language Assessment and Citizenship: Validity and Authenticity Standardized language tests for Canadian citizenship often fail to reflect the authentic communicative competencies needed for civic participation, disadvantaging marginalized immigrants (McNamara & Shohamy, 2009). This study uses content and lexical analysis to examine the validity and authenticity of these assessments to support educators in preparing learners for the test and meaningful civic engagement. I analyzed CLB-4 (CEFR A2–B1), Canada’s citizenship benchmark, against civic competencies like media interpretation and political discussion, which CEFR places at C1–C2, revealing limited construct validity. The Canadian guide’s vocabulary exceeds expected proficiency and focuses on transactional language, neglecting broader civic engagement raising authenticity concerns and revealing misalignment with the language skills needed for civic participation (Bonotti & Willoughby, 2022). I propose specialized assessments aligned with the practical language demands of civic life, alongside instructional approaches that affirm multilingual identities and empower participation. This reframing promotes a more equitable and socially relevant model of citizenship language assessment. Bonotti, M., & Willoughby, L. (2022). Citizenship, language tests, and political participation. Nations and Nationalism, 28(2), 449–464. Shohamy, E., & McNamara, T. (2009). Language Tests for Citizenship, Immigration, and Asylum. Language Assessment Quarterly, 6(1), 1–5. Les politiques linguistiques québécoises comme instruments de pouvoir : impacts sur les parcours d’apprentissage du français des personnes immigrantes Au Québec, les recherches sur l’apprentissage du français par les personnes immigrantes portent surtout sur les aspects pédagogiques du français langue seconde (Canut et Delahaie, 2022). Des enjeux sociaux tels que les facteurs structurels et institutionnels sont peu documentés pour analyser les défis auxquels ces personnes sont confrontées. Par exemple, le stress ou la réticence que peuvent ressentir certain·e·s apprenant·e·s face aux politiques linguistiques québécoises. Cette communication présente des résultats préliminaires issus de 24 entretiens individuels et d’un groupe de discussion réunissant quatre immigrant·e·s adultes. En mobilisant une approche interdisciplinaire croisant sociologie de l’éducation et sociolinguistique critique, nous analysons comment les politiques linguistiques agissent comme instruments de pouvoir structurant les expériences quotidiennes de ces personnes. Nous nous intéressons également aux effets potentiels de ces politiques sur les dynamiques d’apprentissage, notamment aux formes de contre-productivité ou de désinvestissement (Darvin et Norton, 2015) que certain·e·s apprenant·e·s peuvent développer dans l’apprentissage du français. Canut, E. et Delahaie, J. (2022). Français langue d’intégration: français pour s’intégrer : Le dispositif MigraFLE dans les Hauts-de-France. Le français aujourd’hui, 217, 79-89. https://doi.org/10.3917/lfa.217.0079 Darvin, R. et Norton, B. (2015). Identity and a model of investment in applied linguistics. Annual review of applied linguistics, 35, 36-56. | ||