Drawing on ethnographic data, this article chronicles a Japanese queer immigrant's English learning experiences in a metropolitan area in western Canada. Informed by sociocultural theories and identity-centred approaches to Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research, I highlight the significance and interconnection between social identity,…

This article presents the results of an analysis of ethnographic data collected in three second language mathematics classrooms in Canada. The elementary school classes consisted of a group of indigenous students, a group of new immigrant students and a class in a French immersion programme. The focus of the analysis was on the sources of meaning…

This study responds to scholarship that has examined "folk concepts" of (non)nativeness through the lens of imagined ideals of the native speaker, by proposing a framework that integrates both ideals and habits. We operationalize these concepts by drawing from the theoretical notions of chronotope, scale, and habitus. Using data from…

Do French-Canadian (FC) minorities in New Brunswick and Ontario remain as committed as majority Francophone Quebecers in developing their vitality within Canada's bilingual belt? FCs constitute host communities for interprovincial migrants of FC and English-Canadian (EC) background who can bolster or weaken the vitality of FCs. How FCs and ECs…

Explicit sociolinguistic instruction in language classrooms has become more widely accepted than ever, but the understanding and teaching of Canadian culture remains a controversial issue, particularly as Canadian culture becomes increasingly diverse. The degree to which Canadians are perceived to exhibit characteristics such as…

Many studies have explored the difficulties faced by foreign language learners when they begin the learning journey from survival to advanced level. Most of these investigations, however, tend to focus on what makes the road to fluency strewn with obstacles and challenges; no significant attention has been paid to what makes the journey…

This article will examine the sociopolitical language contexts that exist in institutions of Canadian post-secondary education, through investigating how government policies affect the consumption and teaching of language in writing classrooms. A survey of Canadian multiculturalist policy, multilingualism, and post-secondary education in terms of…

In Canadian public primary schools, newcomer West African refugees like other ethnic immigrant students are a visible minority group, often referred as Linguistic and Culturally Different (LCD) students. In the province of British Columbia, newcomer immigrant students are subjected to a battery of tests, as soon as they enroll in the primary…

This article discusses the implications and complexities of Canada's multicultural policies for aboriginal students in its post-secondary education systems. The author, a Pakistani-Canadian multicultural educator, interviewed an Aboriginal-Canadian multicultural educator, to discuss the cultural differences, divisions, and resistances between…

Dissents with Virginia Sauve's argument that "culture is not about content, but about the making and remaking of relationships." The article argues that there is a strong knowledge basis for any culture and that stereotypes of other cultures evolve from knowledge of how people act and talk. The article concludes that Canadians must share…

The seminar reported on was convened to discuss the findings of a study by Calvin J. Veltman on minority language usage past the first immigrant generation. Veltman discovered that minority languages in the United States are following the patterns of previous immigrant languages: while first generation newcomers speak their native language and…

This article discusses the relationship between theory and methodology in qualitative research, arguing that theory informs the questions that researchers ask, the assumptions they make, and the approaches they use. It outlines the six principles of critical research theory and discusses its application to the language learning of immigrant women…

Compares heritage (ethnic) language programs with English as a second language programs in Canada. Differences in motivation and attitudes are cited among some ethnic groups who are eager to learn English for everyday communicative purposes, but are not interested in spending much time in heritage language classes. (SL)

Discusses the shifting population of Quebec Province; the cultural, social, and political issues regarding the province's low fertility rate; and how these affect immigration policy. Along with policies encouraging immigration, Quebec encourages enrollment of immigrant children in French-speaking schools. (SLD)

Comments on the distinction that Lisa Taylor, in a previous article, makes between "cultural diversity" and "cultural difference." The article notes that when new Canadians arrive in Canada, their point of reference is their own culture. The journey for new Canadians toward cultural integration into Canadian society is a…