Category Archives: Identity

Considerations for fostering students’ sense of self in the foreign language


Written by - Bruno Drighetti, Canada

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Abstract

It is a common concern among second-language (L2) learners to feel that their identity changes when speaking a foreign language compared to their mother tongue (L1). To some extent, this is a natural process and relates to the new possibilities of viewing the world offered by the new language; on the other hand, it can be an issue if learners do not feel like themselves or feel like a less interesting version of themselves, as shown in the presented analyses. In this scenario, instructors have an essential role in promoting alternatives that can contribute to the learners’ comfort in the second language and help their L1 identity show in their L2. Given the importance of this matter,  Continue Reading →

Categories:
Identity, Language
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The language I love or my love language?


Written by - Kanika Verma, Canada

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कोस-कोस पर बदले पानी, चार कोस पर वाणी (Kos-kos par badle paani, chaar kos par vaani). The English translation of this famous Hindi idiom is: In India, the taste of water changes after every mile & language after every four miles. This rhyming poetic aphorism reflects the diversity of languages and dialects in India (Narayan, 2017), where citizens experience multilingualism almost unconsciously in their daily lives. I was born and raised in India, a country of 22 scheduled languages with official status (not including English), around 400 languages spoken by a million or more people each (Gopinath, 2023), and thousands of recognized dialects and identified mother tongues. Most children are multilingual before beginning primary school,  Continue Reading →

Categories:
culture, Identity, Language
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Anxiety during the Silent Period: Anxiety of the unknown specifically for temporary and refugee claimant students


Written by - Ricardo-Martín Marroquín, Canada

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Abstract  

This article focuses on the importance of supporting all English language learners, specifically those who endure an added level of stress due to their immigration journey. In this article, I will raise awareness by pointing out the importance of not only being aware of temporary/visa/no status students but also to be more compassionate while teaching them. Moreover, recent numbers such as the number of newcomers, visa students, and study permits will be shared, and the topic of anxiety will also be discussed, with the intention to best support students who are hoping to stay in Canada but do not necessarily have the permit to do so.

 

 

The reason for this article is to promote empathy and allow for greater support for newcomers,  Continue Reading →

Categories:
ESL, Identity, Language, Refugees
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Diversity, equity, and inclusion: Dialoguing with TESL Ontario members


Written by - By Rebecca Schmor & Nisa Akdemir, Canada

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Abstract

This article reports and comments on findings from a TESL Ontario membership survey and synchronous dialogue session inquiring about challenges and opportunities related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in English Language Teaching classrooms and workplaces. The findings reveal that TESL Ontario members have most frequently experienced ageism and ethnic and cultural discrimination in their interactions with colleagues and students. Member suggestions for enacting DEI principles and practices at work and in class included engaging in self-directed learning activities, linguistically inclusive teaching practices, and formal professional development opportunities.

Introduction

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) have become buzzwords within and beyond the field of language education, reflecting the ongoing need for social change,  Continue Reading →

Categories:
culture, DEI, Identity, Uncategorised
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EAP teacher identity negotiation and its impact on our teaching practice: Research insight from the public college system in Ontario


Written by - Plamen Kushkiev, Canada

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Rationale for research into EAP teacher identity

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) pre-sessional/pathway classes are a popular course offering at private and public institutions in Ontario (Kushkiev, 2022) as Canada ranks amongst the most popular study destinations for English language learning (Languages Canada- Bonard Research Report, 2021). Around 40 % of Canadian ESL and EAP programs are offered by institutions in Ontario (Languages Canada, 2020). International and domestic students opt to complete an EAP program as a pathway into their college or university studies without the need to write internationally administered English language proficiency tests to meet the admissions requirements of their institution of choice.

Due to the lack of a national or provincial institutionalized accrediting body similar to the British Association of Lecturers in English for Academic Purposes (BALEAP),  Continue Reading →

Categories:
EAP, Identity, Teaching
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Multimodality-enhanced teaching: Fostering global citizenship and intercultural competence in ELT


Written by - Heejin Song & Jacqueline Ng, York University, Canada

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*For images, please see the PDF version of the article. 

Introduction 

This article showcases multimodality-enhanced learning tasks that embrace learners’ linguistic and cultural diversity as an asset to advance their oral communication skills, promote global citizenship (UNESCO, 2018), and cultivate intercultural competence (Byram, 1996) in a university English communication course. Drawing upon Cummins’ (2009) transformative multiliteracies pedagogy and García’s (2009) translanguaging that highlight affirming diversity and acknowledging a fluid flow of ‘languaging’ (Swain, 2006) in transnationals’ language learning as a source of empowerment in teaching, we exemplify two innovative multimodal projects called My Cooking Show and Plurilingual and Intercultural Expression Corner. These projects invited learners to activate and share their prior cultural and linguistic knowledge base with the aim of developing their cross-cultural and cross-linguistic awareness,  Continue Reading →

Categories:
culture, Curriculum, ESL, Experiential, Identity, Language
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The Native Speaker Myth and re-storying oneself within a disempowering discourse


Written by - Ivana Stanisavljevic, Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, Canada

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It was in high school that I started toying with the idea of pursuing teaching as a career. Having not known much about what I needed to pursue for this career path initially, I assumed my plan to earn a university degree in literature would be enough. When I found out that teacher’s college was a necessity as well, I was somewhat surprised. I wondered, what about teacher’s college would make me a teacher per se, was not simply knowing the subject matter that I would be teaching enough? This is a topic which I continue to ponder to this day: What makes a teacher? To be more precise, what makes a competent teacher? Is knowing the subject matter simply enough or is there something more?  Continue Reading →

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ESL, Identity, Language, Teaching
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An ESL immigrant teacher’s insight into languages


Written by - Lana F. Zeaiter, McGill University, Canada

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As a recent immigrant to Canada, I involuntarily find myself in between-situations, driven by a set of choices that diverge me away while preserving bits and pieces of my natural habitus (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1977). As a native speaker of Arabic and an ESL teacher who mainly spoke English and French back home, I never realized how liberating it is to be given the choice to use Arabic, my mother tongue, until that choice was no longer an option. When I was still in Lebanon, I barely used Arabic, except with family and friends. Despite being one of the most complex languages to learn globally (Wahba et al., 2014), speaking Arabic is considered unprestigious in Lebanon. The Lebanese context clearly distinguishes between standard and prestigious languages.  Continue Reading →

Categories:
culture, ESL, Experiential, Identity, Language, Reflection, Teaching
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Identity in undergraduate L2 writing: A juxtapositionof academic voice and internal voices


Written by - By Gulnigar Baham, Humber College (Kansai Foreign Languages University), Canada

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Abstract
Despite mounting research on the potential that cultivating self-identity affords students, it is often forgotten in most academic contexts, whether in instruction or assessment, that L2 writers have an L1 identity. In all avenues of higher education, researchers agree that multiple, complex, and simultaneous identities of students are advantageous for their advancement in academic writing (Cohen, 2011; Cummins, 2001; Leki, 2008); however, institutional practices, persisting social conventions, and student-teacher relationships (or lack thereof) place a greater pressure for L2 undergraduate students specifically. International and immigrant/generation 1.5 undergraduate students arrive in their new settings with their L1 knowledge base and are often expected to forego rhetorical strategies of their L1, as well as their linguistic and cultural repertoire,  Continue Reading →

Categories:
Curriculum, EAP, ESL, Identity, Language, Uncategorised, Writing
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Possibilities in decolonizing English language learning


Written by - By Munjeera Jefford, York University, Canada

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Abstract
Racism in education has a long 500-year history with colonial roots that situates knowledge production as a Western prerogative. Colonizers intentionally created an educational system based on Eurocentric epistemologies that promoted White supremacy. Pieterse & Parekh (1995) argue that in the 20th century, capitalism and industrialization enabled global oppression and resurgent nationalism which undermined social justice initiatives. Over the last thirty years in Canada, despite increasingly diverse students, inclusive curricula, and equity policies from elementary schools to universities, the teacher and administrator workforce has remained racially homogenous. Learning English has become an intrinsic part of a global post-colonial legacy in which many continue to perceive the ideal educator to be White males. Currently, microaggressions among ESL teachers and exclusion in decision making reflect ongoing racism.  Continue Reading →

Categories:
culture, ESL, Identity, Lingua Franca column, Other, pedagogy, Research, Teaching, Uncategorised
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Nurturing Reflection and Networking: The Reflective Teaching Journal


Written by - Dana Di Pardo Léon-Henri, Laboratoire ELLIADD – Pôle Contexte, Langage, Didactique (CLD), Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France

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Abstract
Teaching is said to be “the profession that eats its young” (Halford, 1998, p. 34). Unfortunately, this is often the reality and norm associated with many performance-based careers today. Experienced teachers would agree that performance in the classroom begins the very moment you step in front of a classroom full of students. Those teachers, who are ill-equipped for the task or not ready to perform and respond to student needs in an efficient and satisfactory manner, will be faced with many obstacles. This article considers the needs of teachers and how they can learn to cope with the issues related to teaching, in order to better prepare for and respond to the various challenges, while building resilience and striving to enjoy long and fruitful careers in education.  Continue Reading →

Categories:
Identity, Journal, Other, Professional Development, Reflection
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Exploring Multilingual International Students’ Identity-related Experiences through Pictures


Written by - Vander Tavares, Sheridan College and York University, Canada

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Abstract
This paper shares findings from an investigation connected to a larger research study which sought to holistically understand multilingual international students’ socio-academic and linguistic experiences at a university in Ontario. In here, the focus is placed on the students’ identity-related experiences in light of post-structuralist theory in applied linguistics. By drawing on interviews and participant-generated photography, this study seeks to link theory and experience, and to illustrate some of the complexity, diversity, and subjectivity of identity and identity-related experiences for multilingual international students for whom English is an additional language.

Background
Canadian universities and colleges have experienced a rapid increase in the number of international students over the last decade. International students contribute to the diversification of their host academic communities in multifaceted ways.  Continue Reading →

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Identity, Journal, pedagogy
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