Learning Language for Work and Life: The Linguistic Socialization of Immigrant Canadians Seeking Careers in Healthcare

Abstract

This article discusses research on ESL for the workplace, identifying gaps in the existing literature and promising directions for new explorations. A qualitative study was conducted in one type of program for immigrant women and men in Western Canada seeking to become long-term resident care aides or home support workers. The study examined the linguistic and social processes at work in the education and integration of immigrant ESL speakers into the workforce and the broader community; the issues participants in such programs face; and the insights that can be gleaned for understanding language socialization in this context. Of particular interest was the contrast observed in one such program between the focus on medical and general English language proficiency, as well as nursing skills, and the actual communication requirements within institutions with large numbers of staff and patients who do not speak English, and who, in the case of the elderly, may also face communication difficulties associated with ageing, illness, and disability. Implications for future research and curriculum development are discussed.

The Impact of Language and Skills Training on Immigrants's Lives

“…Eastmond (1993) examined how women's participation in the work force affects roles and relationships at home. Duff et al (2000) examined workplace language learning and performance in terms of interpersonal and intercultural negotiation among caregivers and residents. They also viewed immigrants' adaptation to a new language and culture and the appropriation of new skills, practices, and identities as an ongoing process of socialization mediated through language and interaction with others in the target community.…”

“…So too is nonverbal communication and other strategies for communicating with residents with a variety of conditions (e.g., dementia, Alzheimer's disease, aphasia) affecting their speech or hearing. Thus developing a range of practical communication strategies proved essential during the practicum experience and in participants' ongoing work in this field, a point we explore in greater depth elsewhere (Duff et al, 2000). As Yin reflected:…”

“…This was part of a larger study that examined the experiences of a total of 20 participants in Home Support (HS)/Resident Care Attendant (RCA) programs in one immigrant settlement agency in Western Canada at various points in their program: before, during, and after its completion (Duff, Wong, & Early, 2000). Whereas Duff et al describe the experiences of individuals during and immediately following their programs and practicum in terms of language socialization processes, the present study focuses on individuals who completed programs one to two years earlier and examines employment and settlement issues in more depth (see also Wong, 1998).…”

Affordances and constraints: Second language learning in cleaning work

“…Newly arrived migrants experience a double socialization into the workplace, because they need to learn a new language and culture in addition to the practices of the new work environment (Li 2000). So far, workplace-oriented language learning research has mostly focused on discipline-specific discourse practices in professions that require higher education, such as engineering, law, medicine and nursing (Duff 2008: 265;Duff et al 2000;Mertz 2007;Sarangi and Roberts 1999). However, as Angouri (2014: 4) emphasizes, it is relevant to explore also blue collar workers who are not yet fluent in the company's working language.…”

‘Language is only a tool’: Japanese expatriates working in China and implications for language teaching

“…Even in English-dominant countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, immigrant workers do not necessarily use English in the workplace; rather, they often use their native language or learn other immigrants' languages for workplace interaction (Block 2007;Duff et al 2000;Goldstein 1997;Harper et al 1996;Whiteside 2007, 2008;Norton 2000). Indeed, frequent reference to English as an international lingua franca in scholarly and educational contexts reinforces the truth effect of this assumption.…”