The evolving linguistic landscape in 21st century classrooms necessitates a re-evaluation of pedagogical approaches, exploring the potential of multilingual writing techniques within TESOL settings. This article draws on my self-study as a TESOL educator navigating contexts and shifting from an English-only approach in the classroom to an openness…

As multi/plurilingual research advances understandings of plurilingual speakers' fluid language use, particularly in multilingual settings, new research methods and pedagogical orientations that address this complex phenomenon are needed. The present study considered the development, reliability, and validity of the Plurilingual and Pluricultural…

"Relief: Observations on Creative Nonfiction as Pedagogy" offers a case study in the possibilities of using creative writing as a pedagogical tool with ESL students. Analyzing the experience, comments, and creative work of a Chinese nursing student named Wei Wan at Ryerson University, the essay explores the benefits of personal writing…

Study-abroad programs tend to assume that their destinations are culturally and linguistically homogenous. However, Western English-speaking destinations, particularly metropolitan cities, have become increasingly culturally and linguistically diverse. Considering such sociolinguistic changes in these destinations, this research examines how…

Previous literature on higher education suggests the inclusion of pedagogy that is linguistically and culturally inclusive in settings with increasing multilingualism, which is the case in Canada. Yet, little is known as to how the implementation of such pedagogy can take place, particularly in language programs. This article reports a…

This study explores the relationship between Core French teachers' beliefs and their instructional practices. In the literature, contextual elements, as well as the compatibility between teacher beliefs and second language teaching approaches such as communicative language teaching (CLT) have been regularly cited as key factors contributing to…

In an age of transnational mobility, there has been a growing recognition of the need for both English and French mainstream classroom teachers to be trained to teach increasingly plurilingual student populations. In this article, I begin by describing the context for an exploratory comparative and collaborative ethnographic action research study…

The objective of this research study is to offer a glimpse into the lives of some newly-arrived students of different racial, linguistic and religious backgrounds as they confront the process of immigration and therefore personal and social displacement within the context of a Toronto inner-city high school. These students carry with them hidden…

An instructional focus on critical literacy (CL) encourages students to become active readers and writers of cultural texts so that they can create their own meanings in order to shape and transform their social conditions (Lankshear & McLaren, 1993; Shor, 1992). It is, however, seldom pursued with English learners (ELs) because teachers…

Mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) can augment second language teaching and learning by taking it into the real world. Authentic communicative situations in conjunction with the cultural artefacts and metalinguistic clues offered by the context can promote active learning; however, as respondents of the study presented in this chapter…

In this article, I draw on an ethnographic case study of one Toronto elementary school, as part of a Canada-wide action research project: Multiliteracy Project (www.multiliteracies.ca). I have explored how Perminder, a grade-4 teacher, developed a multiliteracies pedagogy, drawing on her own and her students' identities and linguistic and cultural…

This article describes creative drama workshops designed to improve the oral facility of immigrant children in Toronto. The aims of the program were: (1) to help the students become less self conscious; (2) to create opportunities for students to develop self-confidence; and (3) to implement evaluative instruments to prove the hypothesis that…

This book consists of a collection of stories written by adults who attend a bilingual ESL (English as a Second Language) program co-sponsored by the Toronto Board of Education and Chinese Information and Community Services. All the writings deal with Chinese culture but the book may be used by people of diverse backgrounds and of varying levels…

This module on the garbage crisis is for intermediate and advanced learners of English as a Second Language. It seeks to inform learners about this issue and to give them an opportunity to direct their concerns about the environment into positive action. The guide uses the problem-posing methodology of Paulo Freire. This methodology has three…