Paul Kei Matsuda has written about the divide between US composition and applied linguistics, which he attributes to an institutionalization of the division of labour between applied linguistics and composition in the early 1960s. Therefore, when language concerns resurfaced in composition in the early 2000s, this division of labour led to a…

Canada's social and educational policies have always involved immigrant settlement and English/French bilingualism. Research on writing in second languages emerged in the 1980s from graduate programs of education and applied linguistics at major universities in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and Vancouver, particularly done by scholars investigating…

Writing is an important skill for children's academic success, underlining the need for effective ESL writing instruction in the elementary classroom. However, there is a paucity of research on elementary ESL writing instruction in Canada. Specifically, we have little understanding about the pedagogical practices in this context. To fill this gap,…

This article describes the process whereby MacEwan University modified an existing EAP course, consisting of broad reading and writing topics, into an ESP course with a more targeted focus on relevant nursing-related themes to better serve the unique literacy needs of internationally educated nurses (IENs). Differing from the existing EAP course,…

This Perspectives article proposes a renewed vision of teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) through a translanguaging (TL) stance, grounded in critical sociolinguistic inquiry and embodied practice. A TL theory of language asserts an activist agenda to dismantle mono/lingualism, inviting a more dynamic and expansive view of…

Plurilingual approaches to pre-service teacher education hold promise for critical engagement with linguistic, cultural, and racial diversity in equity-supportive ways. Employing critical action research, we as teacher educators implemented an equity-oriented plurilingual approach across three literacy methods courses for pre-service elementary…

Linguistic identity is deeply embedded in how individuals identify within groups and cultures (Gee, 2000; Sachs, 2005). The contexts of English as a second language (ESL) teaching in Quebec and ESL teachers' range of linguistic repertoires provide an interesting landscape for considering issues of identity, equity, and acceptance (De Costa &…

The 2020 outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic imposed emergency remote teaching on adult English as a second language (ESL) programs globally, creating unprecedented challenges not only for language learners but also for instructors. Immense difficulties were produced in the collision between a biological hazard (the novel coronavirus) and the…

Literacy in a first language or in additional languages involves a set of complex cognitive, social, and linguistic skills that develop over time. However, pedagogical materials for low-proficiency English as an additional language (EAL) learners tend to target low-level literacy skills only, such as responding to fact-based questions. Materials…

This study set out to explore English for academic purposes (EAP) student perceptions of their experiences at a university in western Canada. A qualitative approach was used, with 17 students completing a questionnaire toward the end of their EAP program, and one of those students taking part in an interview approximately one year later. Data from…

A strong willingness to communicate (WTC) in a second language is associated with successful language learning. ESL learners with high levels of WTC will seek opportunities to interact in meaningful communication in English. Engagement in meaningful communication is necessary for language learning as it increases access to comprehensible input,…

The issue of whether, when, and how to respond to learners' oral errors is something every teacher has to consider. Early studies of teachers' feedback practices consisted of observations of how they managed this complex process (e.g., Lyster & Ranta, 1997). Beginning with these descriptions, a large body of research on types of oral…

This exploratory study examined the spontaneous use of gestures occurring in general as well as the corrective behaviour of two English for academic purposes (EAP) teachers at a Canadian university. Data were collected by way of an interview, lesson observation, and a stimulated recall session. Prior to the observation, each teacher was…

Corrective feedback (CF) is an important part of effective instruction, and a rich body of research has investigated how best to implement various CF strategies and approaches. Researchers have increasingly become aware of individual differences that have an impact on the effect and effectiveness of CF. One area of individual difference that has…

This study examined and compared different written corrective feedback techniques used by English as a second language (ESL) teachers in three different educational contexts and levels (primary, secondary, and college) in Quebec, Canada. In particular, it examined whether there were any differences in the types of errors made, the kind and degree…