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Educational topics and academic and cultural adaptation to graduate study in Canada. Explores key questions in contemporary educational discourses, issues of culture, language and identity, and develops advanced academic literacy through intensive reading and writing.

Variable units: 3, 4, 5.

The purpose of this course is to provide an opportunity to explore major trends and issues in second/foreign/additional language education theory and practice. Through readings, class discussions and presentations, the focus is on current understandings of different aspects of second language instruction and debatable issues prominent in language teaching research. Students will consider these questions in relation to educational contexts they are familiar with and additional languages they teach or intend to teach.    

Graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis.

This course is intended for students admitted in the MEd in Teaching Languages in Global Contexts Program. The purpose of the course is to explore teaching and learning from a variety of perspectives and develop inquiry skills related to topics of interest in language education. The topics include teacher dispositions, inquiry, reflective practice, building caring classroom communities & democratic classrooms, student/teacher/curriculum relationships, culture in the classroom, and models of best practice. Graduate students will observe teaching and learning practices in diverse classrooms in B.C. schools where children and youth come from a multitude of language backgrounds.

Until COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, fieldwork observations will occur remotely. When in-person instruction resumes, TLGC students will be permitted to physically visit classrooms to observe teaching and learning and conduct fieldwork inquiries.

The purpose of the course is to inquire into teaching and learning from a variety of perspectives, expand on practices/topics in Education 811 Field Work I and connect theoretical understandings in language instruction and teaching practice. Topics include critical thinking, reflective practice, narrative inquiry, identity and culture in the classroom, equity and social justice in education, beliefs informing practice, language instruction, and models of best practice. Students will have the opportunity observe language instruction in post-secondary and private institutes/programs or, in some instances, public schools.   

Until COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, fieldwork observations will occur remotely. When in-person instruction resumes, TLGC students will be permitted to physically visit classrooms to observe teaching and learning and conduct fieldwork inquiries.

A survey of major theories of Second Language Learning (SLL) to date, including the conceptualizations of language, learning and the learner, and their applications and implications in second/additional language teaching and learning in various contexts over time and today.

Course activities will be structured for participants to consider recent formulations of learners as agents as well as subjects of culturally constructed, socially imposed worlds. Participants will examine a number of ethnographic descriptions of the experiences of learners in a variety of communities, noting in particular their use of diverse mediations/tools, including language. Participants will consider these ideas in relation to their own educational communities and develop plans for research activity in those sites. Equivalent Courses: EDUC713

816-5 Developing Educational Programs and Practices for Diverse Educational Settings

820-5 Current Issues in Curriculum and Pedagogy

823-5 Curriculum and Instruction in an Individual Teaching Speciality

830-5 Implementation of Education programs

833-5 Social and Moral Philosophy in Education

836-5 Equity Issues in Language, Education and Society

854-5 Teachers as Agents of Change

855-5 Multicultural and Race Relations Education: Policy Development and Program Implementation

711    Special Topics

The examination is graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis.

The Comprehensive Examination in the last term consists of the development and presentation of a project that synthesizes the knowledge and experiences students obtain throughout the program.

If there are students interested in completing an MA degree, they may consider the following pathway. Such students may request a transfer to another Masters program in the FOE after successfully completing the first 3 terms in the Teaching Languages in Global Contexts program provided they have prepared an 8-10 page research proposal approved by a faculty member interested and available to supervise them. If their request is successful, they will need to take a research methods course prior to embarking on their own research under the guidance of the said faculty member.