scholarly journals Responding to diversity: a review of recent education policy and language curriculum reform in Ontario

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Devon Franklin
Keyword(s):  
Education Policy ◽  
Multicultural Education ◽  
Curriculum Reform ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Minority Population ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Language Curriculum ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
School Programs ◽  
Racial Ethnic

The province of Ontario continues to be the destination of more than 50 percent of all immigrants to Canada (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2009). With a large visible minority population, as well as linguistic and faith-based diversity, there is increasing pressure on the education system to ensure that all students have the opportunity to thrive academically and develop personally (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2009; Canadian School Boards Association, 2007; Muj & Hamdan, 2013). This study uses classical content analysis to test the 1997 and 2006 versions of the Ontario language curriculum for Grades 3 and 6 against the James Banks’ model for ensuring racial, ethnic and cultural diversity is reflected in school programs. This model is essential for assessing the degree to which the curriculum document itself reflects the priorities set-out by the Ministry of Education in Ontario, and whether these priorities align with the principles of multicultural education. Keywords: Multiculturalism, education policy, multicultural education, language education, diversity

scholarly journals Responding to diversity: a review of recent education policy and language curriculum reform in Ontario

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Devon Franklin
Keyword(s):  
Education Policy ◽  
Multicultural Education ◽  
Curriculum Reform ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Minority Population ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Language Curriculum ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
School Programs ◽  
Racial Ethnic

The province of Ontario continues to be the destination of more than 50 percent of all immigrants to Canada (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2009). With a large visible minority population, as well as linguistic and faith-based diversity, there is increasing pressure on the education system to ensure that all students have the opportunity to thrive academically and develop personally (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2009; Canadian School Boards Association, 2007; Muj & Hamdan, 2013). This study uses classical content analysis to test the 1997 and 2006 versions of the Ontario language curriculum for Grades 3 and 6 against the James Banks’ model for ensuring racial, ethnic and cultural diversity is reflected in school programs. This model is essential for assessing the degree to which the curriculum document itself reflects the priorities set-out by the Ministry of Education in Ontario, and whether these priorities align with the principles of multicultural education. Keywords: Multiculturalism, education policy, multicultural education, language education, diversity

scholarly journals Level of English in Colombian Higher Education: A Decade of Stagnation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge E Benavides
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Teacher Training ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
English Language ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Language Education ◽  
The State ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Language Education Policy ◽  
Training Methodology

This article analyzes the results of the Saber Pro, the state exam for students completing higher education, during 2007–2017 concerning the English language section. This analysis uses the reports and databases from the Instituto Colombiano para la Evaluación de la Educación (ICFES) repository and explains the policy in its historical context. The results warn of a quite worrying picture between the goals established by the Ministry of Education and the final achievements. The level of English of future Colombian professionals is not only very low but also without improvement from its beginnings in 2007 to 2017. As a conclusion, it would be necessary to review, from the universities’ perspective, the language education policy and propose bottom-up structural alternatives that allow a sustained impulse in teacher training, methodology, and curricular and pedagogical organization.

scholarly journals Exploration of Teacher Agency in the Implementation of the ESP Language Education Policy in a Chinese University

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 302
Author(s):  
Shiping Deng
Keyword(s):  
Education Policy ◽  
Curriculum Reform ◽  
National Curriculum ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Teacher Agency ◽  
Effective Teacher ◽  
Language Education Policy ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Chinese University ◽  
Hidden Agenda

This case study investigates language teacher agency in the context of ESP curriculum reform in a Chinese university. Data collected from classroom observations and semi-structured interviews with both teachers and students from five ESP classes are analyzed by conducting a thorough thematic analysis. It is revealed that instead of following the national curriculum and institutional requirements, language teachers as policy arbiters make their own implicit policies which are creating spaces for their own discourses, and in this sense, they are “adjusting” the curriculum policy rather than “implementing” it. Teachers’ academic background, their views on the nature of language learning, their profound distrust of the efficacy of ESP courses, and students’ explicit performance are the main causes of teachers’ actual resistance to the policy. Unlike previous studies of teacher agency, an analysis of students’ needs and implicit discourses indicates that teachers’ agency excised through their hidden agenda may turn out to be a defense of their unwillingness to change, to the detriment of students’ academic performance. This study then suggests that policymakers should notice the negative side of teacher agency and stresses the necessity of a bottom-up survey on teachers’ ideologies in the implementation of a language education policy, and argues that creating spaces for negotiating and adjusting the policy at the instructional level, and offering effective teacher education programs are the key to the enactment of the national curriculum.

Can-Do descriptors – Realigning English Language Curriculum at Higher Education Institution to CEFR

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 84
Author(s):  
Erda Wati Bakar
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Language Curriculum ◽  
English Curriculum ◽  
The Common ◽  
The University

The Common European Framework of Reference for Language (CEFR) has become the standard used to describe and evaluate students’ command of a second or foreign language. It is an internationally acknowledged standard language proficiency framework which many countries have adopted such as China, Thailand, Japan and Taiwan. Malaysia Ministry of Education is aware and realise the need for the current English language curriculum to be validated as to reach the international standard as prescribed by the CEFR. The implementation of CEFR has begun at primary and secondary level since 2017 and now higher education institutions are urged to align their English Language Curriculum to CEFR as part of preparation in receiving students who have been taught using CEFR-aligned curriculum at schools by year 2022. This critical reflection article elucidates the meticulous processes that we have embarked on in re-aligning our English Language Curriculum to the standard and requirements of CEFR. The paper concludes with a remark that the alignment of the English curriculum at the university needs full support from the management in ensuring that all the stakeholders are fully prepared, informed and familiar with the framework.

An empirical study on multimodal discourse analysis of college English teaching in the context of new media

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Shuting Cao ◽  
Rui Chen ◽  
Haiyuan Liu ◽  
Ruolin Shi
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
New Media ◽  
Curriculum Reform ◽  
English Education ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
College English ◽  
English Teaching ◽  
Multimodal Discourse Analysis ◽  
Multimodal Discourse

The main goal of college English education is to cultivate the students’ language ability of listening, speaking, reading and writing, and to promote the formation of individualized learning and autonomous ability of college students. At present, the new curriculum reform in our country has put forward a new educational requirement to college English teaching, which requires the innovation of college English teaching idea, and under the background of the development of new media, it proposes to use new media equipment to carry out teaching activities. However, college English education in our country is influenced by examination-oriented education mode, and the traditional education method is still used, which is not good for college students to improve their comprehensive quality of English. In view of this development situation, the Ministry of Education of China Based on the development of new media, a multimodal discourse analysis approach to college English education is proposed to enhance the level of College English teaching.

Rethinking Language Education policy in the Context of Multilingual/ Multicultural English

2021 ◽  
Vol X (2) ◽  
pp. 49-53
Author(s):  
Aicha Rahal ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Education Policy ◽  
Language Policy ◽  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Influential Factors ◽  
World Englishes ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Language Education Policy ◽  
Global English

Globalization has brought about a phenomenal spread of English. This spread has led to the emergence of the newborn varieties which has created serious challenges to language teaching pedagogy and language education policy. Bangbose (2003) has clearly pointed to this issue, stating “as researchers in world Englishes, we cannot consider our job done if we turn a blind eye to the problems of educational failure or unfavorable language policy outcomes” (as cited in the Council of Europe, 2007, p. 31). It seems that there is a mismatch between the advances that happened in the field of applied linguistics and language education policy. This paper focuses on language education policy in the context of global English because it is considered one of the influential factors in the gap between English lingua franca reality and English as a native language. First, it gives a brief overview of the recent situation with regard to English and shows the recent reality of multilingual English and its multifarious aspect (Rahal, 2018 & 2019). It also discusses the conceptual gap in language education policy. It points to the conceptual gap between the sociolinguistic reality of English and the language education policy that is still oriented towards English as a native language. Then, the paper points to the need for a language policy that includes linguistic diversity.

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