Abstracts
Abstract
This article addresses findings of a study focused on the schooling experiences and social and cultural adaptation of international students who have come to Canada to learn English and obtain an Ontario Secondary School Diploma. Nonnative speakers of English and noncitizens of Canada, they are brought to Canada by relatives or recruitment agents who depart after installing them with host families with whom they have had virtually no previous contact. Respondents, mostly professional educators and focal students, describe considerable sacrifices the youths’ parents have made in the hope that acquisition of “legitimate” English will give their child access to global citizenship and a secure future. Adult respondents emphasized how many early study abroad students experience difficulties with second language socialization, with a significant minority considered “at risk” for academic failure. Testimony from educators described adaptation issues, including: loneliness and disorientation, stresses from pressure to succeed academically, and inadequate homestay conditions. Students’ responses revealed considered decisions resulting from strategic weighting of options and choices. Respondents found differing and inconsistent policies and protocols among educational providers and lack of adequate oversight to be key explanatory factors for the issues confronting secondary-level international students.
Keywords:
- international students,
- early study abroad,
- secondary education,
- superdiversity,
- interculturality
Résumé
Cet article traite des résultats d’une étude pilote axée sur les expériences scolaires et l’adaptation sociale et culturelle d’étudiants internationaux venus au Canada pour apprendre l’anglais et obtenir un diplôme d’études secondaires de l’Ontario. N’étant pas de langue maternelle anglaise et n’ayant pas la citoyenneté canadienne, ils sont généralement amenés au Canada par leurs parents ou des agents de recrutement qui repartent après les avoir installés dans des familles d’accueil avec lesquelles ils n’ont eu pratiquement aucun contact préalable. Les répondants, éducateurs professionnels et étudiants focalisés pour la plupart, décrivent les sacrifices considérables que les parents de ces jeunes ont fait dans l’espoir que l’acquisition d’un anglais « légitime » permette à leur enfant d’ccéder à la citoyenneté mondiale et à un avenir sûr. Les répondants adultes ont souligné que beaucoup d’étudiants étrangers qui viennent faire leurs études secondaires au Canada éprouvent des difficultés de socialisation en langue seconde, et qu’une minorité importante d’entre eux sont considérés comme étant « à risque » d’échec scolaire. Les témoignages des éducateurs ont décrit des problèmes d’adaptation spécifiques, notamment : la solitude et la désorientation, le stress lié à la pression de la réussite scolaire et des conditions d’hébergement inadéquates. Les réponses des étudiants étaient plus nuancées en ce qui concerne les problèmes d’adaptation, révélant des décisions réfléchies à la suite d’une pondération stratégique de leurs options et de leurs choix. Les répondants ont désigné les divergences et inconsistances des politiques et protocoles des prestataires de services éducatifs et le manque de supervision adéquate comme facteurs explicatifs clés des problèmes auxquels sont confrontés les étudiants étrangers du secondaire.
Mots-clés :
- étudiants internationaux,
- études secondaires à l'étranger,
- enseignement secondaire,
- superdiversité,
- interculturalité
Appendices
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