Abstract
Second language education in Canada is experienced by diverse populations in different ways across the country. English language learners (ELLs) comprise a significant number of those enrolled in second official language programs, and they are supported to varying degrees according to province or territory. Canada is renowned for its pedagogical approaches to integrated language and content learning, and recent research continues to explore this tradition, tracking both successes, such as the development of twenty-first-century literacies and multilingual pedagogies, and challenges, such as the exclusion of ELLs from mainstream official language classrooms.
The majority of Canadian students learn French as a second language in Core French classes. Several studies underscore the challenges faced by teachers who lack sufficient linguistic or methodological background or, in some cases, support, leading to less than satisfactory student performance and high attrition rates. The introduction of the Common European Framework of Reference and language portfolios has created a shift in some regions to adopt an action-oriented pedagogical approach with greater learner autonomy.
Work in progress includes research on identity and investment, innovative and inclusive pedagogical approaches, and resistance to monolingual teaching norms. The problem of ELLs’ low success rates in high school is being addressed by efforts to support teacher professional learning at preservice and in-service levels. The integration of transformative multilingual and multimodal practices that draw on the full range of students’ repertoires (in school, at home, and in the community) is seen as key for the future.
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Notes
- 1.
In Canada, second language education refers to instruction provided to students in a language other than their first language. Second language programs are offered in a range of languages including both official languages.
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Early, M., Dagenais, D., Carr, W. (2016). Second Language Education in Canada. In: Van Deusen-Scholl, N., May, S. (eds) Second and Foreign Language Education. Encyclopedia of Language and Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02323-6_27-1
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