14th Annual Graduate Student Symposium: “Connecting Through Language”

The learner-centeredness of TBLT has allowed for individualization of second language (L2) instruction mediated by needs analyses and learner internal syllabi (Long, 2015). Ample evidence confirms the effectiveness of tailored instruction developed in line with such individual factors as learner interests, cognitive styles, and motivation (e.g., Papi, 2018; Wesche, 1981). Motivation, in particular, has been shown to shape the reasons why learners choose to study an L2, the effort they put into learning, and how they assess their progress (Ellis, 2015); motivation can also serve as a catalyst that pushes learners to actively engage in their L2 development (Dörnyei, 2005; Gardner & Lambert, 1972; Taguchi, Magid, & Papi, 2009). Yet, little is known about if/how motivation affects L2 instruction in the workplace and which of its elements may improve/hinder the learning process. Dörnyei’s (2005) L2 Motivational Self System explores motivation through the ought-to L2 self, the ideal L2 self, and the L2 learning experience. Determining learner attitudes towards their L2 self and motivation may allow for the identification and provision of any needed support, positively affecting the learners’ willingness to engage and sustain L2 study. For teachers, this knowledge may positively affect the kind of instruction they provide and how they go about ensuring individualization of L2 teaching. To investigate the underlying elements of motivation that L2 English learners enrolled in a workplace language program bring to their language training, 40 high-beginner newcomers to Canada completed an online questionnaire and some were interviewed (n=10). While the questionnaire probed the participants’ beliefs and attitudes about language learning and identity, the follow-up interviews were conducted to determine underlying sources for the elements established in the questionnaire. Results highlight the elements underlying the learners’ motivational self systems, providing insight into their learning profiles and ways that motivation can impact their L2 learning. Pedagogical implications are discussed.

This study investigates the learning motivations of two groups of language learners in Canada: English Second Language (ESL) and Korean Foreign Language (KFL) learners. Participants were 34 adult ESL learners from two Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) classes and 20 KFL learners from a Canadian University Korean language class. A questionnaire modelled after one by Liu and Su (2016) was used to measure seven multi-item scales including the ideal L2 self (Dörnyei, 2005), intrinsic motivation, international orientation, instrumentality, motivated behaviour, learning experience, and the role of teachers. Statistical analyses revealed that five of the seven multi-item scales used to measure motivation were similar among both ESL and KFL groups. Only one of the seven motivation multi-item scales revealed a significant difference: ESL learners reported much higher rates of motivation due to instrumentality than KFL learners. A qualitative question on the questionnaire, “Are there any other reasons why you are learning Korean?” also revealed alternative motivations for KFL learners, such as pop-culture. Possible reasons for these differences are discussed and pedagogical implications are suggested, including the potential for fostering connections between foreign language classes and businesses where the foreign language is used. Suggestions for future studies are recommended, including incorporating these alternative factors and conducting similar studies with other foreign language classes.

This study investigates the role of language learners’ vocabulary knowledge in reading comprehension in English as a Second Language for Academic Purposes (EAP). Although many factors influence reading comprehension, vocabulary knowledge is arguably the most influential (Laufer & Sim, 1985; Stæhr, 2009; Stahl, Jacobson, Davis, & Davis, 1989). Vocabulary knowledge is a good predictor of a learners’ language proficiency (Meara, 1996), and it is vital that researchers explore and understand how much vocabulary a language learner should know to read effectively. However, this does not mean that understanding all the words in a text will be enough for learners to comprehend the idea or details the text conveys. My research aims to answer the following questions: How does vocabulary difficulty in an academic text affect the reading comprehension of learners, and to what extent does their vocabulary knowledge correlate with their reading comprehension? Do language learners already know enough high-frequency words to cope with the academic reading? This ongoing mixed-method study follows the Explanatory Sequential Design (Creswell, 2015), in which quantitative data and analysis are supported by qualitative data and analysis. Phase one is comprised of a reading diagnostic test including two multiple-choice reading comprehension tasks, a high-frequency vocabulary task, and a multiple-choice cloze exercise. Phase two is focused on a qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews to explain the results of the quantitative analysis. The study’s results are expected to help EAP instructors to predict texts difficulty level; efficiently choose language forms to be taught; reduce course failures; improve course retention; and provide empirical validation of a reading diagnostic test in an EAP learner population.

Sexual harassment is significantly prevalent in the hospitality industry (Poulston 2008), and one of the reasons for this is the sexualization of bartenders—especially women bartenders (Folgerø & Fjeldstad 1995; Philaretou & Young 2007). This sexualization is not only a ‘real-life’ phenomenon, but also one that is produced and reproduced through discourse. In accordance with Talbot (2017), who argues that “popular culture is a crucial site for the study of language and gender” (p. 604), I analyse the representation of one fictional bartender from the video game series ‘The Legend of Zelda’. This paper continues on from previous exploratory work that investigated the sexualized representation of bartenders in media. Findings from that study showed that sexuality was tied to class in this text, supporting Ortner’s (1991) argument that “…the working class is cast as the bearer of an exaggerated sexuality, against which middle-class respectability is defined” (p. 177). Following a Feminist Critical Discourse Analytic approach and combining multiple methods, this continuing project draws on van Leeuwen’s social actor analysis, systemic functional linguistics (both verbal and visual), and Daniels’ (2016) ‘sexualization cues’ coding scheme to show not only how Telma is sexualized, but also how sexuality and class are linked in all of the female non-playing characters. This work answers the call by Machin, Caldas-Coulthard, & Milani (2016) for more multimodal work in gender and discourse, as well as the call to be critical of the media we love (Sarkeesian, e.g., 2018) by investigating a very popular and long-running video game series.

The increasing incidence of school shootings in the United States has prompted researchers and policy-makers alike to pose questions about the intentions and actions of school shooters (e.g., Lankford, 2016). However, previous work has been limited in scope, particularly due to a lack of access to perpetrators (i.e., due to their being incarcerated or deceased). In the aim of addressing this problem, this study seeks to access perpetrators’ perspectives via written notes composed shortly before committing their crimes.This study implements an approach combining the analytical methods of Forensic Corpus Linguistics (Coulthard, Johnson, & Wright, 2017; Baker, 2006) and the English for Specific Purposes (ESP) approach to Genre analysis (Swales, 1990) in order to probe the salient linguistic and discursive features represented within school shooters’ written notes. A keyword analysis (Baker, 2006) was conducted to compare a specialized corpus of school shooters’ notes with a larger, general corpus (i.e., SUBTLEXus [Brysbaert & New, 2009]). Subsequently, the emergent key word list drives a secondary phase of analysis applying The ESP approach to genre (Swales, 1990). Specifically, a Move/Step analysis (Samraj & Gawron, 2015; Swales, 1990) provided insights as to the texts’ communicative purpose(s) (i.e., the actions performed by these texts). Findings indicate that there are similarities between individual school shooters’ lexical selections which may be illustrative of shared communicative goals. This study contributes to the ongoing development of Forensic Linguistics methods by uncovering new directions for multidisciplinary work in the study of texts written by violent offenders.

Communication plays an essential role in human life. We as human beings communicate with each other to deliver messages, to know each other, to perceive our feelings, and resolve the problems (Bernadet & Safitri, 2016). However, in an effective and healthy communication style, many factors are involved (O’Brien, 1985). Especially for people with different cultural backgrounds, communication breakdowns or cross-cultural conflicts can easily happen because of the lack of knowledge about other people’s norms, attitudes, and more importantly about the appropriate use of the target language in different situations. This case study presents one of my cross-cultural experiences which happened between me and one of my Canadian neighbors upon my arrival in Canada. By drawing on different but related theories to my case such as Face-Negotiation Theory, Politeness Theory, Speech Acts Theory, Expectancy Violation Theory, Identity Negotiation Theory, and Communication and Cross-Cultural Adaptation Theory (Gudykunst, 2005), I have analyzed why this cross-cultural breakdown happened and what main reasons are behind or involved in creating this conflict. My findings show that the lack of communication competence was the main reason which caused this cross-cultural conflict. The findings through analyzing my case may provide some pedagogical implications for EFL/ESL teachers and students, and for new immigrants who may not be familiar with different cultural differences and some unintended conflicts which may happen unexpectedly when they arrive in a host country.

Keywords: cross-cultural conflicts, communication competence, theories of cultural variability in communication

The proposed presentation focuses on the multimodal behavior of university mathematics instructors in a recurrent classroom scenario: an instructor asks a question, students attempt to answer the question and miss the mark, the instructor responds to these attempts. The study follows Hiippala’s (2014) call for more theoretically-founded empirical studies of multimodal genres and uses an analytical framework, which combines rhetorical genre studies (RGS) (Artemeva & Freedman, 2006; Bakhtin, 1986; Miller, 1984) and multimodal analysis (Mondada, 2007; Norris, 2004), with the purpose to identify and investigate repeated patterned interactional instructor behavior, or a genre, developed in response to a recurrent classroom scenario. Twenty-five excerpts containing the described scenario were selected from seven mathematics lectures video-recorded at three universities in three countries and compared with twenty-five excerpts that did not include that scenario. Instructor behavior in both corpora was investigated for recurrent patterns, or typified actions. The findings indicate that the proposed analytical framework can be productively used for the investigation of habitualized (Berger & Luckmann, 1966, p. 53) behavioral patterns, which develop in response to recurrent classroom scenarios and convey similar meanings, and that such patterns (or genres) span different national contexts (cf. Artemeva & Fox, 2011).

Western education systems commonly have three interconnected goals for public education: character development aimed at civic participation, intellectual pursuit, and economic pursuit (Noddings, 2016; Westheimer, 2015). This study employs a corpus-assisted discourse studies approach (Mautner, 2016) to examine educational ministry documents from every province and territory in Canada to explore 1) how each of these goals is discursively constructed within and across these texts; and 2) how both students and teachers are discursively constructed within and across these texts. The collected texts are similar in nature, with foci on outcomes, knowledge and skills, and producing citizens who contribute to the economy. Previous analysis of these text’s mandate statements (2018) revealed a pattern in how the statements are constructed—that is, supportive learning environments with high expectations in which students develop knowledge and skills lead to a contributive citizenship and economic growth for a strong/prosperous province/society. Initial analysis of the corpus (209,832 tokens) has revealed that students are mentioned 4.18 times more than teachers. Collocate analysis of students and teachers shows learning as the top collocate attributed to both, with notable differences including achievement, needs, and assessment for students, and professional, support, and development for teachers. While further analysis is underway, this work echoes relevant critical discourse analytic (CDA) research in nations including the US (Rogers, 2011; Woodside-Jiron, 2011), UK (Mulderrig, 2011, 2012), and Singapore (Lee, 2015; Lim, 2014), and adds to the small body of education-focused CDA research in Canada (Stack, 2016).

In Canada, heritage language speakers struggle to maintain and transmit their culture and language to their offspring, while others gradually assimilate into the majority languages that are English and French (Guardado, 2017, 2002; DeMelo, 2014; Bayley & Bonnici 2009; Carlino, 2008). While there are many sociolinguistics studies focusing on intergenerational transmission and/or language maintenance (Fishman 1991, 2001; Spolky, 2012; Pauwels, 2016), those who have focused on the role that music or songs can play in helping transmit and maintain minority languages have exclusively involved endangered languages such as Sami (Ridanpää, 2016), Mayan (Cru, 2017; Cru, 2018), French (Mattern, 2006) and Gaelic (Macintyre, Baker & Sparling, 2017), rather than heritage languages such as Spanish in Canada.This interdisciplinary case study will be conducted with Colombian-Canadian families in Gatineau, Quebec, to gain a better understanding of the role that Spanish-language songs may play in intergenerational transmission and maintenance of Spanish. Participants will include four parents (first-generation Spanish speakers) and two adult children (second generation Spanish speakers) for a total of six participants. Data collected through semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire will be transcribed, coded and thematically analyzed Dörnyei, 2007; Pauwels, 2016). This research will demonstrate how Spanish speakers use songs for language transmission and maintenance in their families and will query the connections between song selection and cultural identity. Findings from this study may have implications for language transmission and maintenance of other heritage languages and could possibly have pedagogical implications for heritage language programs.

A growing body of research has focused on Lexical Bundles (LBs) – defined by Wood (2015) as “combinations of three or more words which are identified in a corpus of natural language” (p. 45) – in different academic disciplines, due to their role in discourse and pedagogy. However, no study to date has investigated the use of LBs in introductory university textbooks in Computer Science. To address this gap, a corpus derived from eight textbooks that are commonly used in this register, was compiled. WordSmith Tools 6.0 (Scott, 2007) was used to identify the most frequent lexical bundles and generate their concordance lines. The functional taxonomy developed by Biber, Conrad and Cortes (2004) was adopted as an analytical framework for this study. Results show that a total of 59 LBs fulfill the identification criteria set by the researcher. The analyses reveal that, of all bundle types, 71 % are referential, 15% are discourse organizers and 14 % are stance bundles. Within the referential bundles, code reference emerges as a new functional sub-category. In addition, tangible framing attributes and code/text references are the most dominant sub-categories within the referential bundles. The findings are also compared with those of previous studies, and their implications for pedagogy and research are discussed.

While the average Canadian spends around 850 hours a year playing videogames (“Videogaming in Canada”, 2013), we only spend around 300 hours a year in reading (“NOP World Culture Score”, 2005). This discrepancy is insightful; it shows there is a preference towards spending free time on gaming. Gee (2005) argued that gaming may have many positive effects in learning a second language due to the cognitive complexity of the average videogame. This is a perceived strength, as vocabulary research suggests that the more cognitively engaging a source of input is, the more likely learning takes place (Laufer & Nation, 2012). Additionally, videogames could be an attractive source for input, as they can be authentic and motivating; elements often lacking in the foreign-language learning context (Dörnyei, 1994). Studies have investigated the lexical profile of books (Nation, 2006), songs (Tegge, 2017), movies (Webb & Rodgers, 2009a), and television (Webb & Rodgers, 2009b). However, there have not been any studies inquiring into the profiles of videogames. A corpus of videogames was constructed for this study. A total of 10 games were reviewed, across five genres: Interactive-Movie, Role-Playing, Action-Adventure, Life-Simulation, and Survival. Profiles were developed using AntWordProfiler to view the number of word families a learner is required to know in order to reach adequate comprehension (i.e., 95 and 98% lexical coverage). Results indicate large variability across genres, more so than books and movies. This variability suggests videogames may be more prescriptive to whom it benefits. Implications regarding incidental vocabulary learning are further discussed.

Studies have investigated the culturally-bound characteristics of active listening across several disciplines, including business, education and medicine (e.g. Lamiani, 2008). This research is valuable particularly in multicultural and multilingual medical consultations as it provides evidence that active listening training is being used as one means of improving doctor-patient relationships (May, 2007). In general, previous research has relied on standardized questionnaires that measure participants’ perceptions of physicians’ traits (e.g. empathetic, caring, etc.) during clinical encounters (e.g. Fassaert et al., 2007). However, research trends have shifted towards investigating similarly structured interactions in other domains using multimodal analysis, which can provide a more comprehensive gestalt of textual, verbal, and non-verbal factors characteristic of different communicative genres. Still, there is a dearth of research regarding the extent to which specific factors pertaining to active listening are present in doctor-patient interactions. The present study evaluates multimodal active listening performances of non-native English-speaking medical graduates, who are recent economic immigrants to Canada, during Objective Structured Clinical Interviews against ideal models of active listening behaviours. Verbal manifestations in these videos were then classified according to pre-established textual categories, while non-verbal behaviours were classified according to eye contact, hand gesture type, and head movement. Results indicate that non-native speakers’ active listening behaviours differed from the baseline video set in a number of verbal and non-verbal areas, the ramifications of which could impact perceptions of doctors’ indifference regarding patients’ health experience. Explanations for the findings and research and pedagogical applications will be offered.

Hundreds of thousands of people immigrate to Canada each year and often they need to enter the workforce even if they do not have a high level of proficiency in either of the official languages (Kustac, 2012). Workplace language training programs often focus on transactional language (language for the purpose of completing a task) (Holmes, 2005). This makes it possible for employees who are not fluent in the language to complete the tasks they need to carry out at work. The Refugee and Immigrant Supports to Employment (RAISE): EmployMENTOR – Workplace Retention & Language Training Service Delivery Improvement (SDI) project aims to aid newcomers to Canada in the development of their language skills and other skills that will help them adapt to the Canadian workplaces (Ottawa Community Immigration Services Organization, 2017). This study aims to conduct an environmental scan to discover what existing workplace language materials are available for newcomers. Existing literature researching workplace language training and the wants and needs of newcomers to Canada has also been explored. Based on the findings from the environmental scan and guided by the existing literature,14 potential topics for developing workplace language materials are presented in this poster. These topics can be further expanded on or combined to make an L2 workplace language curriculum.

How does one move forward in life without leaving their mother tongue behind? Collecting lived experiences from the homes of Yogad families in Toronto, this poster presents the findings from an Appreciative Inquiry (Cooperrider & Whitney, 2005) on the domestic linguistic practices that contribute towards heritage language maintenance. Explored through the narratives of migrant parents, several interviews were conducted detailing their daily interactions in the vernacular, linguistic strategies, and known resources that allow them to use Yogad (a Philippine indigenous dialect) despite having English as a dominant language in their host country – resulting in migrant children who continue to be active and/or receptive in the mother tongue. As migration remains to be an economic factor in the issue of language endangerment (Holmes, 1992 as cited in Grande, 2008), data from this study intends to validate the role of familial instruction in preserving home languages (Soehl, 2016), strengthen the position of Intergenerational Language Transmission (Borland, 2006) within migration studies, as well as concretize a set of home-based linguistic practices that can be adapted by other minority language groups in Canada.

Motivation is an assumed force effective at individual-level; the work motivation in work place is a classic management issue. This case study investigates the work motivation of a Canadian who worked in South Korea through multiple in-depth interviews. The analysis of the interviews with the consultant applies two sets of theories: Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory and Self Determination Theory to test which one suits the intercultural context of this case better. Since both of the two theories look at the intrinsic and extrinsic factors of work motivation at the same time, this study categorizes all the factors into these two classes and test them by two theories accordingly.

Keywords: work motivation, work place, two-factor theory, self-determination theory, cultural differences

As a professional genre, research articles (RAs) play a key role in the construction and communication of disciplinary knowledge (Bazerman, 1988; North, 2005; Swales, 1990). In producing RAs, scholars in different disciplines follow different discourse conventions in presenting their arguments. Thus, to be successful in producing academic genres in a given discipline, a writer must acquire a metacognitive awareness of how argumentation is distinctively shaped in the discipline (Hyland, 2004; Namdar & Shen, 2016). Research investigating the specific norms of argumentation in different disciplines could support the development of discipline-specific pedagogies for programs in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and English for Academic Purposes (EAP). To this end, my proposed presentation will describe a research study that compared argumentation in the fields of environmental science and medical science. The study employed Toulmin’s (1958) Structural Model of Argument in analyzing a corpus of recent research articles published in the journals Lancet (medical science) and Environmental Health Perspectives (environment science). The analysis focused on the following features of the articles in the corpus: the presentation of knowledge claims, the research data, and the types of reasoning. The results of the research could inform pedagogical approaches aimed at helping students in ESP and EAP programs to better understand the conventions of argumentation in different science disciplines and to apply their understanding in their academic reading and writing.

In our multicultural world, there are many people who live in-between cultures and languages. The world is becoming smaller and humans interact over both cultural and linguistic borders. This case-study is about people who are caught in-between and those who find themselves in a culture they do not recognize, surrounded by a language they do not understand or have yet acquired. The analysis is conducted on a short movie called Arrival (1957). This drama portrays an immigrant Italian family that went to Canada and the mingled feelings of hope and despair that characterize their life in a strange land. The aim of this analysis will be to explore how it is to be caught between two cultures and languages, as well as dealing with feelings of nostalgia and maintaining ones’ identity in adapting to the new culture. The main theoretical concept at the basis of this case study will be that of identity and I will describe some of these intercultural communications and examine them through the lens of Ting-Toomey’s Identity Negotiation Theory, Gudykunst’s (1998) Anxiety and Uncertainty Management Theory, Kim & Hubbard’s (2007) How to Understand ‘‘The Other’’, among other theoretical perspectives. The aim of the study is to understand different approaches of dealing with other cultures, in the context of immigration, and to understand the reason behind those actions.

Newcomers to Canada who are not native speakers of English or French (i.e., L2) face challenges in the workforce due to insufficient language proficiency (Kustac, 2012). Language courses geared to help newcomers often do not provide workplace-specific linguistic support (Murphy, 2010), suggesting a need for occupation-specific language training. When available, this training is delivered in face-to-face settings, without the use of language learning technology. Yet, the use of technology has been shown to be advantageous for L2 learning in general (Stockwell, 2007) as well as for newcomers learning language in the workplace (Ally et al., 2007). These benefits are prominent in technology-mediated research demonstrating improvements in L2 learners’ pragmatic development, comprehension and cultural understanding (Yanguas, 2012). However, research that assesses the utility of technology developed for a particular group of learners following a particular curriculum is lacking (Plonsky & Ziegler, 2016).This study is part of a larger project tasked with developing a 10-module blended curriculum for language learners employed in customer service. The goals of this research were to assess the effectiveness of one module (on greetings and requests) hosted on a technology-based platform. The utility of this platform was assessed by two groups of end-users: newcomers of high-beginner English proficiency employed in customer service (n=5) and their language trainers (n=5), who, following module testing, were interviewed regarding the content, and overall usability of the module. Results confirm the benefits in providing instruction that meets the participants’ language needs, ensuring opportunities for individualized task-specific training required for the workplace.

Book reviews play a significant role in academic discourse especially in humanities and social sciences. Effective book reviews summarize and critically evaluate the content, quality, meaning, and significance of a book and its scholarly thoughts and ideas. Key to the writing of an effective book review is the use of appropriate transitional discourse markers that signal different moves such as description and evaluation moves. This study examined the use of genre specific multiword units in a corpus of 500 book reviews published in 19 top-tier internationally renowned journals in applied linguistics. AntConc software was used for data analysis. Data analysis, which involved qualitative analysis of the raw list of multiword units obtained from AntConc. Results of this phase of analysis produced a list of 40 multiword units (4-5 words). In the second phase of the study, a corpus of applied linguistics research articles was used to develop a list of book review keywords. Some of the book review key words were then used to identify more genre specific multiword units in the book review corpus. Findings have pedagogical applications in academic writing.

This on-going study investigates the representation of refugees, accused of or charged with a crime, in Canadian news and interpretations of these news by readers with different cultural backgrounds. Constructed around the theoretical concept of “othering” proposed by Edward Said (1978), the question to be answered is whether refugees are prone to bias by readers as much as by news writers. The significance of the research lies in its methodological innovation in the investigation of refugee discourses in media, that is, the study will employ a mixed-method design (Creswell, 2015) in which quantitative textual analysis of news articles will be followed and explained by qualitative analysis of the reader’s perception and interpretation of the news. The data is comprised of two corpora (collections of electronically encoded texts) of news articles about refugees and non-refugees respectively in criminal context. The articles are being gathered through the Canadian Newsstream database and retrieved from both national and regional newspapers published in Canada. Upon the completion of data collection, corpus linguistics quantitative techniques (i.e. word frequency rate, keyness, collocation) will be applied to examine the two sets of data in terms of linguistic features (Baker, 2006). Subsequently, a small group of international students, immigrants, and Canadians will be asked to read two news articles from each corpus. Their interpretations will be explored through interviews. It is expected that the research will contribute to the studies of media language by highlighting the effect of human interpretation in the construction of meaning (discourse) by news writers.

Despite rapid advancements in information and communication technologies for the purpose of language teaching and learning for majority languages, indigenous languages still face challenges incorporating these technologies as a pedagogical tool. To fill this gap, this study aims to produce text-to-speech-alignment from recordings of Mushkegowuk (Swampy Cree) language traditional stories previously collected and transcribed by Dr. Doug Ellis during the period of 1950 to 2010 along the Coast of James Bay. The text-speech-alignment consists of combining two language modalities, written and oral, and determining which segments of audio correspond to words and/or phonemes in the transcription (cf. Littell et al., 2018). However, this process of alignment raises questions about how to establish a relationship between analytical categories that are particular to each modality. That is, the boundaries of a printed word/phrase/sentence/paragraph found in the written text may not correspond to the matching spoken word/utterance/turn in the audio recordings. Thus, this study aims to explore the initial challenges faced during the text-speech-alignment process and to propose a template that captures and preserves the linguistic features of each modality. To achieve this goal, I will use multimodal annotation tool ELAN (cf. Crasborn & Sloetjes, 2014) used in language documentation to combine the written text and corresponding sound files. By producing the text-to-speech-alignment the existing audio material will be made available to teachers, learners, and to the community. Using a text-to-speech technology in a community-based research project, I expect to facilitate the use of technologies for teaching, learning and revitalization of the Cree language.

An indicator of employability is the results of the Test of Workplace Essential Skills (TOWES). The Workplace Essential Skills (WES), reading, document use, and numeracy, are foundational skills required to learn the technical skills needed for most occupations (Essential Skills Research Unit, 2015). TOWES generates three sets of results in the form of competency levels, one for each WES. The competency levels range from level 1 (the lowest) to level 5 (the highest) (Essential Skills Research Unit, 2015). Level 3 is when technical skills can be acquired to gain stable employment (Statistics Canada & OECD, 2003). As a result, there are a plethora of training opportunities for workers who have attained level 3. However, for those who score level 1, there are few options for improving their WES (Murray, 2010). Developing appropriate instructional support to improve WES can increase employment (Arriagada & Hango, 2016). To address this gap in training, I have created TOWES level 1 preparation materials for a blended classroom setting (Gruba, Carndenas-Claros, Suvorov & Rick, 2016) in the form of online tasks and face-to-face mini-lessons. In this symposium, I would like to present my evaluation of the usefulness of the tasks. Using Bachman and Palmers’ (1996) model of usefulness, I have found the online tasks to be high in reliability, authenticity, interactiveness, and impact. It is practical for classroom settings that have access to computers or tablets and the internet. It was also found the construct validity of the tasks could be improved.

Non-native speakers of Arabic acquire low proficiency levels in Arabic despite studying the language formally in primary and secondary school for 10 years. Several reasons could be attributed towards the low proficiency including parental expectations, curriculum, culture and motivation (Heath, 1990). So far, a vast majority of research in Second Language Acquisition study motivation as a single entity impacting a second language (L2) learners’ ability to acquire the language. However, recent studies on motivation in L2 learners have recognized the complex, dynamics, interdependent nature of motivation making it a system (De Bot et al., 2007). The present study explores the internal and external factors that influence this system of motivation in non-native speakers of Arabic. By combining concepts from Dörnyei’s (2005, 2009) L2 Motivational Self-System and complexity theory, the study takes a metatheoretical approach to viewing and analyzing motivation in second language development as a complex system. Emphasis is placed on the learning experience of the L2 learners to obtain a holistic understanding of their immediate learning environment. By drawing on a mixed method approach (Teddlie & Tashakkori, 2009), it employs surveys and semi-structured interviews with various stakeholders (i.e., university students, school staff, teachers, parents) to help identify the factors that affect L2 Arabic learners’ system of motivation. The results of this study will help establish the overall dynamics of the motivational system, thereby making it easier for teachers and policy makers to design suitable intervention points. It may also inform the development of more effective Arabic language acquisition pedagogy.

As aviation has grown in complexity and aeronautical communications have turned into a globalized and intercultural enterprise, the need to connect the world through effective international radiotelephony (RT) communications has become paramount. However, the language testing policy set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, 2011) does not require native speakers of English to be formally assessed nor accounts for the use of Aviation English (AE) as a lingua franca. This leads to construct underrepresentation (Douglas, 2014; Kim and Elder, 2015) and threatens the validity of inferences drawn from test scores. To explore the competencies required by this multicultural workplace context, this qualitative study utilized Fulcher and Davidson’s (2006) test development framework. First, drawing on a review of theoretical and empirical research on Aviation English, English as a Lingua Franca, Intercultural awareness, and Interactional competence, models of language use accounting for the aviation workplace were developed. Then, a preliminary matrix specifying the constructs was generated. To validate the matrix, 26 focus group discussions were conducted with 128 aviation stakeholders, e.g., pilots, controllers, AE teachers/researchers/examiners from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, triggered by extracts of authentic RT interactions. Data were thematically coded for analysis (Saldana, 2009) with inter-coder reliability at .81. Findings disclose what aviation stakeholders found as most relevant for successful RT communications and confirm the narrow view of proficiency defined by the current ICAO policy. A clearer construct definition will potentially foster positive washback on teaching and learning in this occupational context, and ultimately enhance air traffic safety.

For my case study report I propose to analyze the 2007 “mockumentary” film “Qallunaat! Why White People Are Funny” by Mark Sandiford. This film uses the format of a documentary to make observations and poke fun at “Qallunaat” or non-Inuit (white people) while also revealing through interviews and historical footage the prejudice and injustice faced by Inuit over the last century. Turning the scientific lens onto their white neighbours through the fictitious Qallunaat Studies Institute (QSI), a series of cultural oddities are investigated including Qallunaat greetings with no meaning (“How are you?”), the obsession with property and ownership, and ill-prepared explorers who are “accidents waiting to happen.” These observations are contrasted in the film with examples of Inuit culture where community is central to decision making, and patience and perseverance are a way of life. I will also use a 2013 documentary (Arctic Defenders) as a source of cross-cultural communication and Inuit perspectives, which I intend to analyze through the following theories:

• Hall’s (1959) High-Contextand Low-Contextcultures;
• Hofstede’s (1991)Individualism /Collectivismtheory and Virtue versus Truth theory;
• Trompenaars’ (1994) theory of Universalism versus Particularism and Individualism Communitarianism; and
• Ting-Toomey’s (1999) Identity Negotiation

NOTE: Lisa also submitted an abstract for a group poster