Revisiting the Meaning of Practices of Language Choice And Language Use in Multicultural Canadian Schools

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to talk about practices of language choice and language use within social institutions and their implication for education in multilingual communities. In particular, this paper outlines issues that are part of an ongoing project designed to examine the way new immigrants use, among other things, language to navigate the Canadian school culture. My purpose in reading this paper today is to solicit ideas about how some of the research endeavors around language use can be investigated and analyzed. In this regard, this paper does not offer any study results as the study is still in its initial stages and research data is yet to be gathered and analyzed. I present this paper also taking into consideration the events of September 11 that add complexity to the way immigrants, especially those from the Middle East, are to be viewed. There is veiy little doubt that the events of September 11 have led to a re-evaluation of perspectives about people of Arab descent - including those bom in Canada and the United States. In this vein, it is possible that new questions about immigrant students need to be formulated and new issues examined.