Language issues in the reception of migrant populations
2020-2021 Faculty of Education International Symposium Series
Mar 31, 2021 — All day
Even today, and despite significant progress in this area, the reception of migrant populations remains a live issue. Among the challenges to be met, the place given to languages of origin and to knowledge already present is a major issue. This symposium offers the opportunity to cross the Franco-Canadian perspective on this subject, on the way it is approached and discussed.
Description
The Education and Languages (EducLang) research group of the Faculty of Education of the University of Ottawa and the Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire de Recherche en Didactique, Éducation et Formation (LIRDEF) of the University of Montpellier, invite you to a symposium on the language issues associated with the reception of migrant populations.
This event, moderated by Francis Bangou, associate professor at the University of Ottawa and Brahim Azaoui, lecturer at the University of Montpellier, will take place in virtual mode on March 31, 2021, from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm (EDT).
Program
10:00 am to 10:05 am
Welcome to the virtual room
10:05 a.m. to 10:10 a.m.
Welcome message from the symposium leaders
10:10 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.
Opening Remarks
Richard Barwell, Dean, Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa
Francis Bangou, Associate Professor, Director of the EducLang Research Group, University of Ottawa
10:15 a.m. to 10:20 a.m.
Opening Remarks
Muriel Guedj, University Professor and Director of LIRDEF
Jean-Paul Udave, Director of the Faculty of Education, University of Montpellier
10:20 a.m. to 10:35 a.m.
Presentation: Narrative language as a mediator and decolonizer of the recognition of knowledge and potential: an exploratory avenue for the inclusion of migrants
Bénédicte Gendron, University Professor, LIRDEF, Paul Valery University, UM3
In the face of the challenges posed by the phenomenon of migration, education can be an asset for migrants, if the achievements and qualifications obtained before their departure are recognized. However, a 2019 report by the European Union shows that the limited recognition of qualifications is the main obstacle encountered by nearly one in eight immigrants, often cited before the lack of language skills, discrimination, restrictions on the issuance of visas or the weak social network. The device and process of recognition and validation of prior learning appears as an exploratory track for the inclusion of migrants, a facilitator of integration. In this paper, we propose to approach this device from the point of view of the narrative language that it mobilizes as a mediator and decolonizer of the recognition of knowledge and potential. In this context, the question of the "resource", from knowledge to skills, available to the migrant and the accompanying person (from the educator to the trainer) to work towards his or her integration in a perspective of taking into account his or her potential (versus what he or she lacks) is also raised. It will question the training of the socio-educational actor in emotional capital, positive psychology and its empowering pedagogy to work towards this re-birth.
10:35 am to 10:50 am
Presentation: Integrated didactics and pedagogical issues: a Canada-France intersite research
Carole Fleuret, Full Professor, Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa
The heterogeneity of school populations remains a reality in Western societies. This modification of the student landscape calls for an undeniable didactic renewal that aims at recognizing the languages and cultures of immigrant students. Our research is part of what Candelier (2008) calls plural approaches, which refer, in particular, to pedagogical situations where several languages are present; this moves us away from a more traditional approach where only the language of schooling is recognized. These approaches also make it possible to deconstruct the univocal legitimacy of the latter in order to implement a bottom-up didactic approach (Chiss, 1997) which makes it possible to consider this heterogeneity as a pedagogical resource in its own right. It is against this backdrop that we conducted a longitudinal cross-site Canada-France study. In this paper, we will highlight, from the partial data collected, the issues that are inherent to the classroom context.
10:50 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
10 minute break
11:00 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.
Presentation: Towards a didactic of French for students in Francophone Canada: some examples of current research
Joël Thibeault, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa
An increasing number of researchers are currently emphasizing the importance of enhancing the plural linguistic repertoire of learners when teaching them the language of the school. In this paper, we will present some of the research we are currently conducting that allows for such a valorization, among other things. The first one, focused on the field of writing didactics, aims at describing the reading strategies that elementary school students in French immersion in the Canadian Prairies deploy when they engage in reading bilingual children's books. The second, rooted in the didactics of grammar, aims to document the reported practices of teachers in Ontario and Quebec who take advantage of learners' plurilingualism by teaching them the linguistic machinery on which French is based. The presentation of these two ongoing research projects will, in fact, reveal the plurilingualisms that characterize students in different francophone contexts in Canada and, thus, laconically address their consideration in the development of a contextualized didactic of French.
11:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Presentation: The plurilingual teacher: professional profile and support
Rita Peix, PRAG, PhD, Faculty of Education, University of Montpellier
The didactics of plurilingualism is not a kind of "addition" that would be grafted in a more or less marginal way to the didactics of languages, on the contrary it crosses it. Starting from the observation that the practice of plurilingual teaching can generate a certain pedagogical insecurity, the research focuses on the role of the teacher as an agent playing a key role in the implementation of school programs. The presentation presents initial findings on the knowledge, skills and abilities of the school teacher that appear to be more specific and necessary for the development of students' plurilingual competence. Finally, the study makes proposals in terms of support and evaluation of trainee school teachers preparing for bi/plurilingual teaching.
11:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Plenary: questions, synthesis and perspectives
Joël Thibeault and Frédéric Torterat (University Professor, Faculty of Education, University of Montpellier)
Closing remarks
Francis Bangou and Brahim Azaoui
Brahim Azaoui
Host
Brahim Azaoui is a lecturer in foreign and second language didactics at the Faculty of Education of the University of Montpellier, attached to the LIRDEF.
Francis Bangou
Host
Francis Bangou is an Associate Professor and Associate Dean of Governance and Student Affairs in the Faculty of Education (University of Ottawa). He is a researcher in second language didactics (French and English) and directs the Language and Education Research Group (EducLang).
Richard Barwell
Full Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Education
Richard Barwell is a full professor and Dean of the Faculty of Education (University of Ottawa). He is a researcher in mathematics didactics and more specifically in the role of language in the learning and teaching of mathematics.
Carole Fleuret
Full Professor
Carole Fleuret is a full professor in the Faculty of Education (University of Ottawa). Her research focuses on second language didactics, pluriliteracies and plurilingualism. She is also interested in different models of reception services for newcomers.
Bénédicte Gendron
Professor
Bénédicte Gendron is a University Professor of Education. Trained in the United States in Mindfulness (MBSR and ACT) after a Post-Doctorate at the University of California, Berkeley in Education, and Dr. in Economics of Education and Human Resources and Dr. in Psychology and Neuropsychology, she specializes in training and development of people and is a member of the consortium on Goleman's emotional intelligence. Her work focuses on the posture of the pedagogical and managerial supervisor, on "empowering" leadership to promote the development of the "emotional capital" of each individual and to work towards a "Good Life" at school and at work. She created at UM3, the Master 2 REFE Responsable, Evaluation, Formation et Encadrement: 'Emotional Capital, Mindful Management and Benevolence'.
Rita Peix
Professor
Rita Peix has taught from kindergarten to university. A dual French-Spanish national, she is a teacher of Catalan and cross-border studies. She is responsible for training in French-Catalan bilingual education in public elementary school and for the thematic research community Languages of schooling and linguistic diversity at INSPE (Perpignan site), University of Montpellier. She is the author of the book Enseignement du catalan et plurilinguisme (2015), and leads a research group on innovation and training in the teaching and learning of reading and writing in two languages in collaboration with the Direction des services départementaux de l'Éducation Nationale des Pyrénées Orientales.
Joël Thibeault
Adjunct Professor
Joël Thibeault is an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Ottawa and an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Regina. His research interests include the teaching and learning of grammar in a minority francophone context, the use of children's literature in the teaching of language conventions, and the integrated didactics of French and English. In this regard, he has received a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada that will allow him to carry out a major research project on the integrated teaching of French and English grammar.
Frédéric Torterat
Professor at the Université de Montpellier
Professor at the University of Montpellier (LIRDEF, Faculty of Education), Frédéric Torterat works on language acquisition and socialization of young children, particularly in contexts of social vulnerability. At the same time, his work focuses on the professionalization of workers in the fields of education, social work and socio-cultural activities, which he examines in terms of discourse and representations. A member of the European Early Childhood Education Research Association, he is coordinating two books and has coordinated several journal dossiers on these issues, following numerous articles in journals such as Enfance, Le Langage and L'Homme, Discours et Recherches & Éducations. In addition, he has been deputy director of the LIRDEF since 2017.