Language Barrier: It’s Effect to New Immigrant Students in Canada
An Essay Submitted By:
Rosell G. Quimpan
Submitted To:
Mrs. Karen Hadwen
Instructor
April 15, 2018
Abstract
This essay will tackle and explore the effect of language barrier towards new immigrant students in Canada. This paper will look for both positive and negative effect in different aspects. The information obtained in this paper was based on researched articles, Government of Canada website, opinion and views of Immigration and Refugee Citizenship Commission Minister through his speeches, social media posts, and readings about migration.
The concepts of multicultural education, my experience as an Immigrant, and the parable story in the book Is Everyone Really
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Equal by Ozlem Sensoy and Robin DiAngelo inspired me to do the research about this topic. The information is not limited only to language but to the whole population of immigrants who are in one way of another affected by the language barrier. Introduction Canada is a unique country with a diverse population.
According to Statistic Canada, in 2016, Canada had 1,212,075 new immigrants who had permanently settled in Canada from 2011 to 2016. These recent immigrants represented 3.5% of Canada’s total population in 2016. The majority (60.3%) of these new immigrants were admitted under the economic category, 26.8% were admitted under the family class to join family already in the country, and 11.6% were admitted to Canada as refugees. For the first time, Africa ranks second, ahead of Europe, as a source continent of recent immigrants to Canada, with a share of 13.4% in 2016. Asia (including the Middle East) remains, however, the top source continent of recent immigrants. In 2016, the majority (61.8%) of newcomers were born in Asia. More than one in five Canadians are Foreign-born. It is about 7,540,830 foreign-born individuals who came to Canada through the immigration process, representing over one-fifth (21.9%) of Canada’s total population. (Statistics Canada, …show more content…
2016.) Immigration to Canada can be either on a permanent basis or temporary in nature, such as to visit, study or work. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is responsible for overall management of Canada’s immigration system and handles large volumes of permanent and temporary resident applications across its extensive global processing network. With both temporary and permanent immigration, applicants are screened to protect the health, safety and security of Canadians. Through temporary and permanent resident immigration streams, Canada selects foreign nationals whose skills contribute to Canadian prosperity, as well as family members. Canada’s humanitarian tradition and international obligations are also upheld by welcoming refugees, and other people in need of protection, to the country. When foreign nationals are selected to immigrate to Canada as permanent residents, IRCC works with provincial and territorial partners, as well as service provider organizations, to help them settle into Canadian society and the economy through a number of different settlement services. (Government of Canada, 2017) Body of the Essay Language is the method of human communication, either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words in a structured and conventional way. Any nonverbal method of expression or communication. (dictionary, google. 2017) Communication plays an important role in our lives. It is a way to understand and be understood by other people. Language as a human communication can be learned but certain circumstances can hinder this learning including migration. English is the standard language in Canada. Immigrants who came from different countries in which English is not the first language find it difficult to speak and deliver the word in “Canadian” accent. Without a doubt, this difficulty can create series impacts specially to students. Language barrier creates isolation. Many young people may know some English but do not speak it in classrooms for fear of being ridiculed by peers and criticized by teachers. (Thomas S. et. Al Brown, M., McDavid J., 1998). People often believe that immigrants do not do as well as native-born students." (Educating Immigrant Students, p 147.) Language barriers can disconnect moral support. Since immigrant students do face even more disadvantages then non-immigrant students they need even more support from home and from school to help them succeed in the classroom. Missing the support of friends, family and extended social circles is a big factor for most migrants. Those who come from societies where traditional support structures within communities are strong can find that they feel lost, alienated and disorientated when moving to a Western country where individualism is often prized over family. (Educating Immigrant Students, p 147.) Language barrier can create emotional stress. According to John Schumann, a second language acquisition professor from the UCLA Department of Applied Linguistics, many second language learners are afraid that they do not have a strong enough command of the language to express themselves and worry that they will be ridiculed if they try to communicate with others using the new language. Language barrier delays oral language development. According to Helen Pinnock, Senior Education Adviser at Save the Children UK, children are approximately 12 years old before they fully master their native language. Before this point, children are not able to pick up a second language as quickly as older children or adults. Children who begin learning a new language before they completely understand their first language have difficulty expressing abstract concepts or ideas in the second tongue. Ultimately, it is difficult for a child to succeed as a language minority student without having a solid foundation in his first language. Language barrier lowers parental involvement.
Parental involvement is often much lower among language minority families. These parents may be uncomfortable about coming into the classroom to talk with the teacher because they are not fluent themselves, so they might not be fully aware of how their child is performing in the classroom. Language minority parents cannot always help their children with homework, so homework assignments may not always be completed satisfactorily. (Elsworth, 2017.)
Language barriers invites academic failure. In 2008, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) conducted research across 26 countries showing that over 50 percent of students who dropped out of school did not speak the language in which they were being educated. According to the Kids Count Data Center, the number of children ages 5 to 17 who speak a language other than English at home increased from 9.5 million in 2000 to nearly 12 million in 2015 (a 25 percent increase). Language barriers can have long-term negative effects on a student's academic performance. (Elsworth,2017).
However, the teacher’s role in shaping, molding, and nurturing young minds plays a significant role in the classroom. That is, teacher should connect and invest relationship to students in a certain level to encourage learning in the
classroom. The following are the researched suggestion from different resources that might help in dealing with new immigrant students. One, schools should recognize the multitude of languages being spoken in the classrooms and offer adequate workshops to teachers. Two, teacher should make adjustments to instructional strategies, evaluation systems, and classroom management to involve immigrant students actively. This would in turn ensure that teachers were exposed to dealing with difficulties that may arise in multi-lingual classrooms. Teachers who have not been offered classes on BI-lingual education may treat minority children differently because of their inability to relate to them. Children quickly realize this and are often intimidated in the classroom. (Educating Immigrant Students. P.147). Three, Motivating kids through support systems both inside and outside of the classroom. Different supports can offer variety of help to new immigrant students such as imposing reading activities that higher grade students teach reading to the lower ones. Fourth, learning and understanding cultural difference. Immigrants from all over the world came from different nationalities and culture. The getting-to-know-you moments might help students to feel they are valued and their culture were valued. Personally, I feel this way when I had my observation and classroom orientation at grade II level. The teacher asked how is number can be pronounced in my language. I felt honored to share my language to the class as they repeated the words I say in my language. That was the coolest experience I have. References Thomas, S. et. Al Brown S., McDavid J (1998) Language Barriers in the Classroom. Retrieved from http://ematusov.soe.udel.edu/final.paper.pub/_pwfsfp/00000153.htm Government of Canada (2017) Annual Report to Immigration and Refugee Citizenship Commission. Rerieved from https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/health-care-system/reports-publications/health-care-accessibility/language-barriers.html#a3_2 Elsworth, S. (2017). Do Language Barriers Affect Student Performance in School? Retrieved from https://classroom.synonym.com/language-barriers-affect-student-performance-school-5911.html Sensoy O. and DiAngelo R (2017). Is Evryone Really Equal. An Introduction to Key Concepts in Social Justice Education. New York. 2017.
It also shows some more common ideas, like how all families have secrets, and in just a short time, someone’s life can be turned upside down and they have to find the best way to stay strong for themselves and their families. The most important thing I learned from this book, is how some people in other cultures find life to be very difficult when they are trying to do what is best for their family. Anita kept saying America is the ‘free country’ and I couldn’t agree more. So many people want to come here for so many different reasons, and it makes you realize that if our country is so great that people from all over the world want to move here, we are very lucky to be so highly thought
parents may not have an education or language skills to help their child with their homework
Approximately 250 000 people from various areas around the world enter Canada each year, as opposed to the 2000 that go to Iceland. People migrate seeking a better life and for more opportunities. Not all places can provide what people want or even need. Comparison will be made between Canada and Iceland, including the number of immigrants received every year. Canada has a drastically larger number of immigrants than Iceland. Many reasons contribute to this increased amount of immigrants, including Canada providing universal health care, access to education, and having decent weather. On the other hand, Iceland has very few hospitals for the average citizen, a lack of diversity, and unbearably cold winters. In addition, migration, whether
Every year, over 250,000 people make Canada their new home. Attracted by its education system, economy and universal healthcare system, there are few other places in the world like it. All Canadians are guaranteed equality before the law and equality of opportunity, regardless of where they are from. However, some might argue that Canadian policy has not been put into practice as well as it should be. Is the concept of true equality a far-fetched idea? It seems that Canada has taken great measures to promote the integration of immigrants socially, but can the same be said for their integration economically? Politically? To judge whether or not Canada has been successful at promoting the integration of immigrants in these realms, a deeper understanding of Canadian policy must be considered.
Teachers help us expand and open our mind by giving us skills throughout students’ early life to help students when they are older. By learning information from teachers, students become better people, in a couple of ways. Besides inquiring knowledge from their teachers, students learn to work with one another, open their mind to other peoples’ thoughts and ideas, respect one another, and learn different techniques for life’s issues.
Throughout the last three decades, increasing numbers of Asians have migrated to Canada from all over the Asian continent. Currently, 44% of the Vancouver area population is of Asian descent (Statistics Canada, 2001). Immigrants commonly occupy skilled job positions that the host nation is unable to fill with its own citizens, and thus they offer many advantages to their receiving country. In a nation with a declining birthrate, such as Canada, their contribution can play a major role on multiple levels. The immigrants themselves often enjoy a greater earning potential than they did in their native country, which can be advantageous for those who wish to send money back home to support their families.
In this thriving time period, Canada admitted countless immigrants and refugees from other nations. This second wave of immigrants contributed to Canada’s exponential population increase, alongside baby boomers. Canada was also introduced to many cultures and religions conveyed overseas by newcomers from Asia and Europe. This symbolized the start of Canada’s worldwide recognition of a multi-cultural country. As the coveted land for foreign citizens, Canada did not completely welcome every person who applied for citizenship. Under that desirable façade, the Canadian government somewhat welcomed and admitted immigrants with a comparatively hospitable attitude, however, once the immigrants arrived in Canada, they were left alone by the government to fend for themselves. Similar to the treatment of the government, immigrants were not completely welcomed by the Canadian mainstream society after settling in Canada.
Mixed race individuals have a long history within the world, particularly within Canada; and are a by-product of the continuous globalization and interaction of different ethnic groups caused by the influx of immigration to most Western countries. Consistently discussed within the media, the mixed race demographic of Canada is steadily expanding, and have admittedly created a more prominent emphasis on the importance of recognizing their demographic. The mixed race population within Canada has an influentially beneficial role within the nation, as is seen through their influence within history, Canada 's demographics, and media.
Thomas; Collier. ( 2002). A national study of school effectiveness for Language Minority Students' Long-Term Academic Achievement. Escholarship.org. Retrieved April 10, 2014 from http://escholarship.org/uc/item/65j213pt#page-312
According to the 2011 Census, 57.8 percent of Canadians are anglophone and 21.7 percent of Canadians are francophone(2013, p.3). For example, Graham Fraser, who is Canada’s Commissioner for Official Languages, said, 450,000 Canadian-Ukrainian immigrated in Western Canada in 1951. The third-generation people use to speaking English and French as their dominant language(Quoted in Baluja and Bradshaw, 2012). Thus, other languages use by immigrants in Canada have usually disappeared by third generation. This is why institutionalized multilingualism is
Banting noted that some Canadians fear multiculturalism will bring, “…challenges to historic cultures, anxieties about Islam, and fears about insecurity,” (797). As people migrate from one cultural or religious backgrounds, maintaining the identity of the host country becomes difficult. Young children born interact with the immigrants and they could easily emulate foreign cultures thereby putting the historic cultural identity of Canadians at risk of erosion. Winter Elke warned that multiculturalism is changing to give too much preference to the immigrants thereby risking it to become a minority affair (638). Therefore, the relationship between national the majority of Canadians and immigrants need rethinking. Erosion of other cultures as immigrants introduce new ways or adapt to the cultures of the host county (Canada). Furthermore, education of the immigrants could face challenges if they experience difficulty settling in Canada. Given that immigrants later work in Canada, the human resource sector faces a new challenge of managing a diversified workforce, which can create headache for Canadian employers. Banting indicated that there is, “a strong sense that multiculturalism policies have “failed” a reaction that is strongest perhaps in the Netherlands, but is felt in many other countries as well,” (797). Such assertions only fuel resentment towards
The academic disadvantage was a delay in learning the English language. The crowded classroom had thirty to thirty-five students who came from a variety of Latin American nations. As a result, I used to speak Spanish with them. I didn’t want to make mistakes using incorrect words. Also...
The United States Education System is unique in international comparison because of its goal to ensure that every student receives a high-quality education. It tackles a wide range of major issues to guarantee that every child receives the same educational opportunities, but none have been more challenging than the issue of language barriers. In the United States alone, English language learners are considered to be “one of the fastest-growing populations within the educational system” (Elsworth). The government, state education boards, public/private schools, teachers, parents, and students face the difficult obstacles that language barriers have set. To help minimize the effects of language barriers
Teachers serve as the guiding force in a student’s life. They are responsible for molding a student’s personality and shaping his/her mental orientation. Teachers deeply impact our lives and direct the course of our future. One cannot deny the influence of teachers in one’s life. In fact, it would not be an exaggeration to say that, till a certain age, out life revolves around our teachers. They are our constant companions, until we grow old enough to come out of their shadow and move ahead on our own.
Playing an integral part in our society, Canada is known for the multiculturalism that is encouraged within the various types of religions and cultures. This has given the citizens of Canada a push for our society to grow as a whole. Canada is a multicultural country in many aspects and with that being said, this means Canada is populated with a large number of immigrants. This gives us a variety of concepts such as maintaining first languages to help students with English, barriers that are set due to first languages, but also the strong support that is given to the citizens of ethnic first languages. Given these statements, there are personal experiences that are relatable through this piece.