Abstracts
Abstract
Language use within Canadian postsecondary institutions reflects ongoing neocolonialism and the privileging of European and North American English varieties. This article shares student perspectives of interactions with faculty on themes of language development and linguistic discrimination, discovered in qualitative interviews using Appreciative Inquiry methodology. Participants’ stories reveal both appreciation for supportive practices that facilitate the development of academic language skills and frustration with linguistic discrimination. Practices valued by participants include using simple and clear language, creating a comfortable environment for non-native English speakers, honouring multilingualism, and providing supportive instruction in discipline-specific language. Students also identified experiences of linguistic discrimination that resulted in academic and personal harm. In students’ stories, a tension between encouraging academic language development while avoiding discriminatory practices emerges. Paths forward in navigating this tension while challenging colonial language hierarchies may include integrating pedagogies using an academic literacies framework while also creating space for translingual practices in classrooms and institutions.
Keywords:
- academic language,
- academic literacies,
- linguistic discrimination,
- intercultural teaching,
- translingualism,
- neocolonalism in higher education
Résumé
L’utilisation des langues dans les établissements postsecondaires canadiens reflète le néocolonialisme continu et la préférence des variétés d’anglais européennes et nord-américaines. Cet article présente les perspectives d’étudiants envers les interactions avec le corps enseignant sur les thèmes du développement linguistique et de la discrimination linguistique, découvertes lors d’entretiens qualitatifs utilisant la méthode de l’Interrogation appréciative. Les récits des participants révèlent à la fois une appréciation des pratiques de soutien qui facilitent le développement des compétences linguistiques académiques et une frustration face à la discrimination linguistique. Les pratiques appréciées par les participants incluent l’utilisation d’un langage simple et clair, la création d’un environnement confortable pour les personnes dont l’anglais n’est pas la langue maternelle, la reconnaissance du multilinguisme et la prestation d’information de soutien dans un langage spécifique à la discipline. Les étudiants ont également fait état d’expériences de discrimination linguistique ayant entraîné des préjudices scolaires et personnels. Les récits des étudiants font apparaître une tension entre le fait d’encourager le développement de la langue académique tout en évitant les pratiques discriminatoires. Les voies à suivre pour naviguer cette tension tout en remettant en question les hiérarchies linguistiques coloniales peuvent inclure l’intégration de pédagogies utilisant un cadre de littératie académique tout en créant un espace pour les pratiques translinguistiques dans les salles de classe et les institutions.
Mots-clés :
- langage académique,
- littératies académiques,
- discrimination linguistique,
- enseignement interculturel,
- translinguisme,
- néocolonialisme dans l’enseignement supérieur
Appendices
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