{"title":"K-12 ESL Writing Instruction: Learning to Write or Writing to Learn Language?","authors":"Subrata Bhowmik","doi":"10.18806/tesl.v39i2/1376","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18806/tesl.v39i2/1376","url":null,"abstract":"Writing is an important literacy skill for K-12 students’ academic success. For English as a Second Language (ESL) children, developing writing skills involves both learning English and learning to write. This makes ESL writing instruction challenging as teachers have to strike a balance between teaching writing as a literacy skill and as a tool for students’ English language development. Recent research has identified that in-service teachers in K-12 settings lack requisite training in L2 writing, resulting in various challenges in the ESL writing classroom. One such challenge for them is to determine whether the focus of writing instruction should be to teach students how to write (learn-to-write) or to utilize writing as a tool to help students develop the English language (write-to-learn language). Eliciting the theoretical orientations of both learn-to-write (LW) and write-to-learn language (WLL), this article suggests that the LW and WLL approaches are not mutually exclusive for teaching ESL writing. Based on a review of recent research, the paper discusses a systemic functional linguistics (SFL)-informed genre-based writing pedagogy as well as teaching and learning activities that integrate both LW and WLL principles into ESL writing instruction in the elementary classroom.","PeriodicalId":45904,"journal":{"name":"TESL Canada Journal","volume":"13 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135695409","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Taylor Boreland, Heather Lotherington, Brittany Tomin, Kurt Thumlert
{"title":"The use of digital tools in French as a Second Language teacher education in Ontario","authors":"Taylor Boreland, Heather Lotherington, Brittany Tomin, Kurt Thumlert","doi":"10.18806/tesl.v39.i2/1375","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18806/tesl.v39.i2/1375","url":null,"abstract":"This article discusses a 2021 survey of French as a second language (FSL) teacher candidates (TCs) in Faculties of Education in Ontario whose practice teaching experiences were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, pivoting them into remote FSL teaching and learning. The survey, which formed a component of a larger mixed method SSHRC-funded research project1, was designed to capture the varied practice teaching experiences of FSL teacher candidates in order to ascertain symmetries and asymmetries in their preferred digital practices, devices and tools for social communication, and for French language teaching and learning. Survey respondents (N=17) from different teacher education programs in universities across Ontario provided a picture of scattered and fragmented approaches to FSL digital pedagogies and hinted at a persistent reliance on traditional FSL pedagogies in the classroom. Digital preferences for teaching and learning were, interestingly, not parallel, and were anchored in common educational tools and platforms that reaffirmed teacher-centred approaches to FSL rather than more innovative, learner-centred, and agentive language teaching and learning. The survey results raise an important question: Has FSL teacher education adequately moved with the communicative changes wrought by socio-technical change and related pedagogical innovations?","PeriodicalId":45904,"journal":{"name":"TESL Canada Journal","volume":"25 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135833688","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Taylor Boreland, Heather Lotherington, Brittany Tomin, Kurt Thumlert
{"title":"The use of digital tools in French as a Second Language teacher education in Ontario","authors":"Taylor Boreland, Heather Lotherington, Brittany Tomin, Kurt Thumlert","doi":"10.18806/tesl.v39.i1/1375","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18806/tesl.v39.i1/1375","url":null,"abstract":"This article discusses a 2021 survey of French as a second language (FSL) teacher candidates (TCs) in Faculties of Education in Ontario whose practice teaching experiences were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, pivoting them into remote FSL teaching and learning. The survey, which formed a component of a larger mixed method SSHRC-funded research project1, was designed to capture the varied practice teaching experiences of FSL teacher candidates in order to ascertain symmetries and asymmetries in their preferred digital practices, devices and tools for social communication, and for French language teaching and learning. Survey respondents (N=17) from different teacher education programs in universities across Ontario provided a picture of scattered and fragmented approaches to FSL digital pedagogies and hinted at a persistent reliance on traditional FSL pedagogies in the classroom. Digital preferences for teaching and learning were, interestingly, not parallel, and were anchored in common educational tools and platforms that reaffirmed teacher-centred approaches to FSL rather than more innovative, learner-centred, and agentive language teaching and learning. The survey results raise an important question: Has FSL teacher education adequately moved with the communicative changes wrought by socio-technical change and related pedagogical innovations?","PeriodicalId":45904,"journal":{"name":"TESL Canada Journal","volume":"80 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86237110","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Exploring the Vocabulary Makeup of Scripted and Unscripted Television Programs and Their Potential for Incidental Vocabulary Learning","authors":"Hesamoddin Shahriari, Masoud Motamedynia","doi":"10.18806/tesl.v39.i2/1374","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18806/tesl.v39.i2/1374","url":null,"abstract":"The present study investigated the lexical demands of scripted and unscripted television programs. To that end, two corpora consisting of 286 episodes from 14 different programs, both scripted and unscripted, were analyzed. The results indicated that the 1,000 most frequent word families, plus proper nouns, marginal words, transparent compounds, and acronyms, were required to reach 90% coverage in both scripted and unscripted programs. Furthermore, knowledge of the 2,000 most frequent word families accounted for 95% coverage in the unscripted programs, while, to reach the same threshold in the scripted programs, a vocabulary size of the 3,000 most frequent word families was needed. Regarding 98% coverage, vocabulary knowledge of 4,000 and 6,000 word families was required for the unscripted and scripted programs, respectively. A corpus-driven investigation was also conducted to explore the potential of both types of television programs for incidental vocabulary learning. Accordingly, the results showed that both types of programs may hold relatively great potential for learning words from the 2,000- to 3,000-word levels and might have some potential for the incidental learning of mid-frequency words (i.e., 4,000- to 9,000-word levels). Implications for using both types of television programs in language learning and teaching processes are discussed.","PeriodicalId":45904,"journal":{"name":"TESL Canada Journal","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90917175","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Word from the Editors","authors":"Antonella Valeo, F. Faez","doi":"10.18806/tesl.v39i1/1374","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18806/tesl.v39i1/1374","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45904,"journal":{"name":"TESL Canada Journal","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78584935","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Between Waves: LINC Instructors’ Perspectives on Pandemic Teaching","authors":"D. Detwyler","doi":"10.18806/tesl.v39i1/1370","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18806/tesl.v39i1/1370","url":null,"abstract":"The 2020 outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic imposed emergency remote teaching on adult English as a second language (ESL) programs globally, creating unprecedented challenges not only for language learners but also for instructors. Immense difficulties were produced in the collision between a biological hazard (the novel coronavirus) and the power-inflected social structures that organize language teaching in different locales. In this paper I explore some impacts of the pandemic on three instructors in the single largest adult ESL program in Canada, Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC). Grounded in an account of the historical origins and development of the LINC program, a reflexive thematic analysis of instructor responses to vignettes of resonant challenges identified three major issues that were intensified by the pandemic: navigating digital inequities, balancing the teaching of digital literacies and language teaching in an accountability framework, and managing boundaries and expectations. These results are contextualized in the larger conversations around LINC and adult ESL programming globally, and some implications and new directions for the post-pandemic landscape now visible on the horizon are also considered. \u0000L’éclosion de la pandémie globale COVID-19 a imposé d’urgence l’enseignement à distance sur les programmes d’enseignement de l’anglais langue seconde (ALS) partout dans le monde, créant ainsi des défis sans précédent pour les apprenants de langues et leurs enseignants. Des difficultés considérables ont résulté de l’intersection explosive entre un danger biologique (le nouveau coronavirus) et les structures sociales basées sur le pouvoir qui organisent l’enseignement des langues dans plusieurs endroits. Dans cet article, j’explore certaines répercussions de la pandémie sur trois enseignants dans le plus grand programme d’enseignement de l’ALS aux adultes au Canada, le programme CLIC (Cours de langue pour les immigrants au Canada). Basée sur un récit des origines historiques et du développement du programme CLIC, l’analyse thématique réflexive des réponses des enseignants à des vignettes illustrant des défis évocateurs a identifié trois enjeux majeurs qui ont été intensifiés par la pandémie : naviguer les inégalités numériques, assurer l’équilibre entre l’enseignement des littératies numériques et l’enseignement de la langue dans un cadre responsable et gérer les limites et les attentes. Ces résultats sont contextualisés dans une discussion plus large sur le programme CLIC et les programmes d’enseignement d’ALS aux adultes autour du monde. Certaines implications et nouvelles directions pour le contexte postpandémie, désormais visible à l’horizon, seront également discutées.","PeriodicalId":45904,"journal":{"name":"TESL Canada Journal","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83787258","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Reconceptualizing the Writing Practices of Multilingual Youth: Towards a Symbiotic Approach to In- and Out-of-School Writing","authors":"S. Bhowmik","doi":"10.18806/tesl.v39i1/1372","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18806/tesl.v39i1/1372","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45904,"journal":{"name":"TESL Canada Journal","volume":"75 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79475946","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
S. Douglas, M. Landry, Christine Doe, Liying Cheng
{"title":"English for Academic Purposes Student Reflections: Factors Related to Their Additional Language Socialization at a Canadian University","authors":"S. Douglas, M. Landry, Christine Doe, Liying Cheng","doi":"10.18806/tesl.v39i1/1373","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18806/tesl.v39i1/1373","url":null,"abstract":"This study set out to explore English for academic purposes (EAP) student perceptions of their experiences at a university in western Canada. A qualitative approach was used, with 17 students completing a questionnaire toward the end of their EAP program, and one of those students taking part in an interview approximately one year later. Data from the questionnaires and interview were transcribed and descriptively coded, with the codes gathered into salient themes. Thematic analysis identified benefits related to developing academic writing and speaking skills, boosting confidence levels, fostering EAP friendships, providing a transition period, and learning about local culture. However, the analysis also revealed the need for improvements in overall teaching and learning experiences, reading and listening skills development, and sociocultural content. These findings point to the importance of conceptualizing EAP with a wide range of outcomes related to linguistic, academic, social, cultural, and personal growth to support students’ additional language socialization in a postsecondary context. The findings also highlight areas for curriculum renewal and revision and underscore the role these programs can play in building on students’ strengths as they develop their overall competence in an additional language to achieve the goals that matter to them. \u0000Cette étude avait pour objectif d’explorer les perceptions d’apprenants de l’anglais sur objectifs académiques (AOA) de leur expérience dans une université de l’ouest du Canada. Une approche qualitative a été privilégiée et 17 apprenants ont complété un questionnaire vers la fin de leur programme d’AOA, un de ces apprenants ayant également participé à un entretien un an plus tard. Les données des questionnaires et de l’entretien ont été transcrites et codées de manière descriptive et les codes ont été regroupés par thèmes saillants. L’analyse thématique a identifié des avantages liés au développement del’écriture académique et des compétences orales, à la promotion des niveaux de confiance et des amitiés dans le cadre du programmes AOA, à l’établissement d’une période de transition et à l’apprentissage de la culture locale. Cependant, l’analyse a également révélé le besoin d’améliorer les expériences globales d’enseignement et d’apprentissage, le développement des compétences de lecture et d’écoute ainsi que le contenu socio-culturel. Ces résultats soulèvent l’importance de conceptualiser l’AOA en termes d’un large éventail de résultats liés à la l’épanouissement académique, social, culturel et personnel afin de soutenir la socialisation des apprenants dans leur langue additionnelle et dans un contexte postsecondaire. Les résultats soulignent également les opportunités de renouvellement et de révision des curriculums et font ressortir le rôle que ces programmes peuvent jouer en s’appuyant sur les forces des apprenants tandis qu’ils développent leur compétence globale dans une langue additionnelle af","PeriodicalId":45904,"journal":{"name":"TESL Canada Journal","volume":"20 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85350612","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Workplace Writing Experiences of EAL Professionals","authors":"C. John","doi":"10.18806/tesl.v39i1/1371","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18806/tesl.v39i1/1371","url":null,"abstract":"A review of the literature on English second language (L2) writing skills reveals a need for more research on the workplace writing experiences of L2 professionals employed in English as an additional language (EAL) contexts. Through a semi-structured interview and a think-aloud activity, this study gathered qualitative data with the aim of gaining insight into the workplace writing practices, challenges, and strategies of five EAL professionals with developing workplace writing skills, employed in Toronto. The data were initially analyzed using a thematic analysis technique, and upon further exploration, three factors were identified as influential in the development of the participants’ workplace writing skills: motivation, awareness of the role of self, and awareness of the role of others. \u0000Une revue de la littérature sur les compétences d’écriture en anglais langue seconde (ALS) révèle la nécessité de mener davantage de recherches à propos des expériences d’écriture dans le milieu de travail des professionnels ayant appris l’ALS et qui travaillent dans des contextes d’anglais en tant que langue additionnelle (ALA). En utilisant des entretiens semi-dirigés et des activités de réflexion à haute voix, cette étude qualitative avait pour objectif de mieux comprendre les pratiques, défis et stratégies d’écriture en milieu de travail de 5 professionnels ALA, ayant des compétences d’écriture en développement et travaillant à Toronto. Les données ont été initialement analysées suivant une technique d’analyse thématique. Des analyses plus approfondies ont mené à l’identification de trois facteurs d’influence dans le développement des compétences d’écriture en milieu de travail chez les participants : la motivation, la conscience du rôle de soi-même et la conscience du rôle des autres.","PeriodicalId":45904,"journal":{"name":"TESL Canada Journal","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80953419","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Building ESL Learners’ Digital Literacy Skills Using Internet Memes","authors":"H. Nguyen, W. Chambers, Marilyn L. Abbott","doi":"10.18806/tesl.v39i1/1368","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18806/tesl.v39i1/1368","url":null,"abstract":"Digital literacy skills are crucial twenty-first-century skills that are required for the successful use of technology and active engagement in today's world. However, there is a lack of effective resources and guidelines for developing English as a second language (ESL) learners’ digital literacy skills. Due to their increasingly important and influential role in contemporary society, Internet memes hold great potential for language teaching and learning, particularly given their infectious nature. Internet memes are digital compositions that convey concepts and ideas via a variety of media types, including image, text, audio, and video. In this article, we describe the characteristics and value of memes as a digital resource and explore the ways in which memes can be used to enhance ESL learners’ digital skills. Pegrum et al.’s digital literacies framework provides the lens to both examine memes and inform the development of a detailed guide that teachers can use when selecting appropriate memes for use in the ESL classroom. We also provide an exemplar task for using memes to build intermediate ESL learners’ language and digital literacy skills based on the guide and include links to some useful websites for meme resources and meme-related activities. Les compétences en littératie numérique constituent des compétences cruciales du 21e siècle qui sont essentielles pour utiliser la technologie avec succès et s’engager activement dans le monde d’aujourd’hui. Cependant, il existe un manque de ressources efficaces et de lignes directrices pour développer les compétences en littératie numérique des apprenants de l’anglais langue seconde (ALS). En raison de leur rôle important et croissant dans la société contemporaine, les mèmes de l’Internet représentent un grand potentiel pour l’apprentissage et l’enseignement des langues, particulièrement à cause de leur nature contagieuse. Les mèmes sont des œuvres numériques qui transmettent des concepts et des idées à travers des types variés de médias, y compris l’image, le texte, l’audio et la vidéo. Dans cet article, nous décrivons les caractéristiques et la valeur des mèmes en tant que ressources numériques et nous explorons leurs utilisations potentielles pour promouvoir les compétences numériques des apprenants. Nous utilisons le cadre des compétences numériques de Pegrum et al pour examiner les mèmes et soutenir l’élaboration d’un guide détaillé sur lequel les enseignants pourraient s’appuyer pour sélectionner les mèmes appropriés pour une classe d’ALS. Nous présentons également une tâche modèle, basée sur le guide, pour l’utilisation des mèmes dans la promotion des compétences langagières et de littératie numérique d’apprenants intermédiaires d’ALS. De plus, nous suggérons des liens de sites web utiles contenant des ressources sur les mèmes et des activités liées aux mèmes.","PeriodicalId":45904,"journal":{"name":"TESL Canada Journal","volume":"34 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89445811","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}