Toward Quality ESL Education

Abstract

IntroductionESL learners have established a strong presence in Canadian education. Of the 1.8 million immigrants who arrived during the 1990s, 17% were schoolaged children between 5 and 16 (Statistics Canada, 2003). Further, many Canadian-born children and youths are raised in immigrant households, contributing to the 10.5% of the population with home languages other than English or French (Statistics Canada, 2002). As immigrants tend to concentrate in large urban areas, with 94% living in metropolitan centers (Statistics Canada, 2003), major urban school jurisdictions have experienced drastic increases in their populations of students with an ESL background. For example, between 1986 and 1996, ESL enrollment in British Columbia schools soared 334% (Dwyer & Steel, 1997). In the Calgary Board of Education, the number of identified ESL students has accelerated from 6,803 in the increase of 259% (Calgary Board of Education, 1998. What is more, the reported figures are in all likelihood conservative, because there are no standardized procedures for identifying and assessing ESL learners in schools (see Table 2).Despite the increased ESL student population in Canadian schools, school boards have not provided adequately systematic responses to the need for quality ESL services. Through the media, ethnocultural communities and advocates have consistently expressed their concerns about the failure of school boards to provide explicit, structured ESL instruction, and about jurisdictional buck-passing among the various levels of government ("Language Funding Misses Mark," 2003;Crowson, 2000;Duffy, 2003;Nikiforuk, 2004;O'Connor, 2004;Paul, 1999;Simons, 2002;Tsang, 2003; Editorial, 1996). Several studies have also warned of such concerns as marginalization (Sinclair & Ghory, 1987), high dropout rates (Derwing, DeCorby, Ichikawa, & Jamieson, 1999;Gunderson, 2004;Watt & Roessingh, 1994, 2001, and poor academic performance of ESL learners (Grayson, 2004;Latimer, 2000;Ngo, 2001).In response to the challenges of educating ESL learners, the Coalition for Equal Access to Education 1 -a Calgary-based umbrella organization of community agencies, groups, and individuals-initiated the Toward Innovative Vision for Quality, Equitable ESL Education project (the Innovative ESL Education project). Supported by the project coordinator, the lead consultant and the advisory committee, a team of facilitators consulted parents; community members; service-providers; educators, trustees, and administrators from school boards; and provincial and federal officials in 18 round-table discussions and a symposium in the 2002-2003 school year. This collaborative effort aimed (a) to engage relevant stakeholders from the community, education, and government sectors in ESL issues; (b) to facilitate in-depth, focused learning and discussion of ESL challenges and strategies in specific jurisdictions; and (c) to promote cross-sectoral dialogue and collaboration to articulate a common vision for ESL learners and to develop strategies for effective ESL educati...

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