Speaker: Sheila Scott, Professor, OLBI/uOttawa

Date: Tuesday, March 3, 2020
Time: 1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Location: Julien Couture Resource Centre - 70 Laurier Avenue East, Room 02 (map)
Language of presentation: English

Abstract:

Language immersion programs have shown themselves to be viable options for minority languages in different contexts. In Canada, French Immersion has been available for over a generation at the primary and secondary levels. At the University of Ottawa, our Immersion program offers students the opportunity to continue developing their French language skills in a variety of disciplines at the post-secondary level. I believe that the model that we have developed here at the University of Ottawa, Canada's only bilingual university, could be applied to other countries where an official minority language is offered in an immersion context at the primary and secondary level, but not yet at the tertiary level. Universities should be exploring together the possibility of offering this type of program to students who are keen to continue developing their language skills so as to become future bilingual employees in their respective fields. In my presentation, I describe initial steps towards making this a viable option for Irish Gaelic, a minority language which would benefit from developing a professional workforce with greater fluency in the Irish language.

Speaker: Michel Candelier, Emeritus Professor, Le Mans-Université

Date: Friday, November 22, 2019
Time: 1pm - 2:30pm
Location: 157 Séraphin-Marion, Alex Trebek Alumni Hall
Please note that this presentation will be given in French.

Abstract:

Les approches plurilingues de la didactique des langues, dans leur grande diversité actuelle, ont en commun de proposer des démarches didactiques qui prennent en compte le plurilinguisme existant de l’apprenant. En Europe, sous l’influence du Cadre européen commun de référence pour les langues, cette prise en compte s’appuie volontiers sur une conception de la compétence plurilingue et interculturelle selon laquelle cette dernière constitue un ensemble complexe, dans lequel les compétences relatives aux diverses langues du répertoire en devenir des individus ne sont pas isolées les unes des autres, mais au contraire en interaction constante. Le répertoire linguistique de chaque apprenant, à une étape donnée de son développement, constitue alors à la fois la concrétisation de sa faculté de langage dont il faut encourager l’usage et un point d’appui capital pour toute autre acquisition langagière.

Élaboré au tournant du siècle, le concept d’« Approches plurielles des langues et des cultures » a permis de fédérer des approches qui, avant même les théorisations relatives à la compétence plurilingue et interculturelle, établissaient des liens entre les langues et entre les univers culturels et ont donné lieu à de nombreuses réalisations didactiques. Il s’agit en particulier de « l’éveil aux langues », « l’intercompréhension entre les langues parentes », la « didactique intégrée des langues » et « l’éducation interculturelle ». Un cadre de référence commun à ces approches a été élaboré au Centre européen pour les langues vivantes de Graz (Conseil de l’Europe – cf. http://carap.ecml.at/).     

L’exposé soulignera le caractère transversal des approches plurielles, qui permettent d’établir des ponts entre les divers apprentissages linguistiques, y compris ceux relatifs à la langue de scolarisation principale et à ses usages dans l’enseignement des disciplines. Il fera le point sur la diffusion actuelle de ces approches dans divers pays, et fournira quelques pistes orientant vers les réalisations variées auxquelles elles ont donné lieu, en termes de curriculum, de formation des enseignants et de matériaux pour la classe.

Speaker: Laura Ambrosio

Date: Thursday, October 31, 2019
Time: 1pm - 2:30pm
Location: 70 Laurier Avenue East, Hamelin Hall, Room 509
Language: French

Abstract:

Apprentissage en milieu communautaire (AEC) à l’université : un modèle utile pour développer les compétences langagières des migrants sur le lieu du et pour le travail.

La réflexion proposée est basée sur la pédagogie de l’intégration de l’apprentissage en milieu communautaire (AEC) qui s’aligne, par ses valeurs et ses retombées, aux suggestions et pratiques des experts du Centre européen des langues vivantes (CELV) dans leurs projets visant à répondre ou correspondre aux besoins, situations, pratiques et ressources potentielles pour l’intégration et formation linguistique des travailleurs et surtout des migrants dans différents pays de l’Europe.

Nous présenterons un petit guide, ainsi que le travail effectué en groupe d’experts pour enrichir un « compendium » permettant de mieux identifier et cibler les compétences linguistiques à développer pour une éducation professionnelle de qualité, inclusive et plurilingue, ciblée sur les connaissances, les habiletés et les attitudes, linguistiques et culturelles, souhaitables pour une cohésion et intégration sociale des travailleurs, dans un monde de mobilité et migration accrues.

Speaker: Angel Lin

Date: Thursday, September 19, 2019
Time: 1pm - 2:30pm
Location: 100 Laurier Avenue East, Room 114
Language: English 

Abstract:

From the 1960s to the new millennium, different terms have arisen in diverse research traditions and educational contexts where teachers and researchers are interested in exploring and researching ways of helping learners to learn language and content at the same time. These terms include content-based instruction (CBI), immersion, sheltered instruction, language across the curriculum (LAC), writing across the curriculum (WAC), content and language integrated learning (CLIL). Common to all these traditions, however, is the monoglossic and monolingual assumption about language and literacy. In this presentation, I will provide a review of these traditions and assumptions and outline recent work that leads towards translanguaging and trans-semiotizing as a breakthrough from these monoglossic/ monolingual assumptions. I will describe the philosophical shifts underpinning this intellectual movement and its educational implications.

Speaker: Randy Appel

Date: Thursday, September 12, 2019
Time: 1 pm-2:30 pm
Location: 70 Laurier Avene East, Hamelin Hall, Room 509
Language: English

Abstract:

Dr. Appel’s research talk explores corpus approaches to linguistic inquiry and the usefulness of corpora in various areas of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research. Methodological issues in corpus studies will be discussed, as well as related methods that can be used to push the field forward and improve methodological rigor, particularly through increased corpus comparability in studies adopting Contrastive Interlanguage Analysis (CIA; Ganger, 2015). Through a review of his recent publications, Dr. Appel will highlight how corpora can be used to address various issues second language (L2) English learners face when attempting to gain proficiency in the target language. Main areas of focus in this research talk include the role of formulaic sequences (i.e., repeated multiword structures, such as on the other hand and the fact that) in L2 English writing, methods of improving the identification of psycholinguistically valid and pedagogically useful formulaic sequences, lexical assessments of L2 English speech, and the role of the first language in L2 acquisition and use.

Date: May 3, 2019
Time: 1 pm - 2:30 pm
Location: 60 University, Simard Hall, Room 125
Language: French

Abstract:

La perspective actionnelle de l’enseignement du FLS identifie l’apprenant comme un acteur social qui cherche à interagir avec des locuteurs de la langue cible dans des contextes de vie réelle. Ainsi, les objectifs linguistiques sont intimement liés à des objectifs paralinguistiques d’ordre fonctionnel, culturel et inter-relationnel au service d’un vivre ensemble.
Le théâtre est quant à lui un art de la parole en action qui offre de nombreuses pistes d’apprentissage de la langue, de la culture et de l’expression artistique elle même.

Au cours de ce forum-atelier, nous examinerons ensemble comment l’enseignement du FLS peut s’harmoniser aux techniques théâtrales. Nous explorerons l’apport de l’expérience théâtrale en FLS selon trois approches: le théâtre (lu, joué, regardé), l’art dramatique (drama) et le théâtre de l’opprimé de Augusto Boal (théâtre invisible, théâtre forum).

Date: April 16, 2019
Time: 12:30 pm – 2 pm
Location: 70 Laurier Avenue, E., Hamelin Hall, Room 509
Language: English

Abstract:

Integrating information from outside sources is a key requirement for academic writing in many disciplines, and for this reason we have seen a rise in the use of integrated writing tasks, which require test takers to refer to at least one written or aural outside source in the production of their own texts. Such test tasks require students to understand the source text, analyze the assigned writing topic, select appropriate information from the source text, and organize source ideas and their own opinions into a cohesive text. These task requirements pose significant challenges for second language (L2) writers, and previous research has shown that L2 writers are more likely than first language (L1) writers to use source information inappropriately by not citing sources or relying too much on the language of the source text. In this talk, I will share findings from a research project designed to explore the specific challenges students faced in an EAP program in order to develop specific pedagogical materials to help address those challenges. In Phase 1 of the project, we collected students’ source-based essay exams and analyzed the following aspects in these essays: (1) language used to refer to source information, (2) accuracy of source information presented in the essay, and (3) purpose for the inclusion of source information. We also interviewed EAP students and their instructors to get a better understanding of their perception of students’ challenges in integrating source information appropriately. In Phase 2 of the project, we examined the effectiveness of the pedagogical materials we designed to address the challenges identified in Phase 1. From an instructor perspective, I will discuss the implications of the findings for EAP programs. From an assessor perspective, I will discuss the challenges that integrated writing tasks pose and how they might be addressed.

Date: March 29, 2019
Time: 1 pm - 2:30 pm
Location: 70 Laurier Avenue, E., Hamelin Hall, Room 509
Language: English

Abstract:

In this talk, we will provide an overview of the history and development of Kurdish language varieties in four countries: Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey. Then, language policies of these nation-states, particularly with respect to Kurdish, will be critically evaluated. We will illustrate that although Kurdish speakers continue to demand positive language rights the nation-state ideology of one nation equals one language perpetuates assimilating language management practices throughout Kurdistan.

Date: January 25, 2019
Time: 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Location:70 Laurier Ave. E.,Room 509 - Hamelin Building
Language: English

Abstract:

For the past decade, the complex dynamic systems theory (CDST) approach to describing second language learning has presented our field with one conundrum after another. On the one hand, a dynamic systems approach offers a compelling story of development, rooted in messy variability that seems true to the nature of learning as people experience it. On the other hand, there is a gap between the promise of CDST and its research products so far. Why? The difficulty lies not just in conceiving the world in dynamic terms is itself complex, but also that methodology to study dynamic systems in the second language arena is in need of further development. This presentation will review a series of problems and solutions to the methodological challenges presented by a dynamic approach. The focus will be on changing the view of how individual difference concepts, including language anxiety, perceived competence and willingness to communicate, work together in real time. This work is challenging not only the way research is done, but also the nature of the research questions allowed in the field. At the moment, however, thinking about dynamic systems in second language development is well ahead of rigorous, empirical descriptions of those systems. However, as this problem is being solved, new and informative insights in both teaching and research are emerging.

Date: December 2, 2018
Time: 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Location: Johnson Room in the Alex Trebek Hall
Language: French

Abstract:

Dans un domaine en constante évolution, entre MOOC, ateliers courts, échanges de pratiques, formations diplômantes ou autoformation, comment la formation continue peut-elle être envisagée? Comment envisager son développement professionnel en tant qu’enseignant ? En tant que responsable de centre comment accompagner et impliquer nos collègues dans leur parcours et assurer un enseignement de qualité ?

Date: October 19, 2018
Time: 13:00– 14:30
Location: 129 Louis Pasteur, Room LPR 286
Language: Bilingual

Abstract:

Recently, Web 2.0 and mobile applications have become an endless source of new technological tools that integrate Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR). Their use in learning environments has led to a growing interest by researchers whose studies demonstrate the effectiveness of these new tools in relation to acquiring L2 pronunciation, to developing oral proficiency in general, and to providing instantaneous individualized feedback (Strik et al. 2009, 2012; Cucchiarini & Strik, 2013, Liakin et al. 2015, 2017).

In this presentation, we will first examine different types of implicit and explicit corrective feedback that ASR-based applications can provide and will discuss their impact on the acquisition of L2 pronunciation in light of SLA findings (Lyster 1998, 2004; Ellis et al., 2006; Lee & Lyster, 2016 among others). Second, we will report the results of our action research on the use of three different ASR-based tools in two university-level French pronunciation courses, with specific reference to learners’ perceptions of the utility of different types of automatic corrective feedback provided by these applications.To conclude, we will offer avenues of discussion and practical suggestions for the effective and sensible integration of ASR-based applications in the teaching and learning of L2 pronunciation, in and beyond the classroom.

Date: March 9, 2018
Time: 13:00 – 14:30
Language:  English

Abstract:

The focus of this presentation will be on existing and new research into the role of noticing of corrective feedback (CF), defined as “utterances that indicate to the learner that his or her output is erroneous in some way” (Nassaji & Kartchava, 2017, p. ix). Centering on theoretical and empirical findings about the noticeability of feedback, the talk will report on several original studies that have investigated ways to augment noticing of errors in the language classroom (e.g., CF training, use of nonverbal/paralinguistic cues, learner beliefs).

Date: February 2, 2018
Time: 13:00 – 14:30
Location: TBD
Language:  French

Abstract:

In the multilingual context of Belgium, my doctoral research analyses the role of emotions, motivation and attitudes in language learning. Based on a large socio-affective questionnaire completed by nearly 900 pupils, I compare two educational contexts (CLIL/non-CLIL) and two target languages (English/Dutch) at two instruction levels (primary/secondary education).

Date: Friday, January 19, 2018
Time: 14:00 – 16:00 (presentation for 1h30 + cocktail)
Location: MHN 509

Abstract:

The Language Management Interdisciplinary Research Group (GRIGL) is proud to present its new project, a website that reports on the Canadian School of language planning (www.uottawa.ca/clmc). The site offers the following content: political and institutional foundations, linguistic history of Canada, legislative framework and judgments, language rights, demolinguistic statistics, official languages ​​governance and the international perspective.

Date : November 28, 2017
Time : 14:30 – 16:30
Location : FSS 5028

Abstract:

The President of the Public Service Commission will present the most recent report examining the official languages approach where he made recommendations for changes to better reflect the day-to-day reality of public servants and better align with the vision set out in Objective 2020 with respect to inclusion. Please familiarize yourself with the report before the meeting.

Date: Friday, November 24, 2017
Time: 2:00 – 3:30 pm
Location: French Embassy in Canada, Ottawa
Language:  French

Abstract:

Dans les dernières décennies, l’enseignement de la production écrite en langue seconde a sans doute fait l’objet de moins de développements pédagogiques que celui des autres modes d’activité langagière. Et pourtant, les besoins sont bien là : l’apprenant étant un acteur social à part entière, il est amené tôt ou tard à rédiger différentes sortes d’écrits en langue cible : écrits personnels, administratifs, universitaires, professionnels, etc. Comment peut-on l’y aider ? Quelles pratiques de classe privilégier ? Afin d’apporter des éléments de réponse à ces questions cruciales pour tout enseignant, nous nous appuierons sur les analyses théoriques des disciplines qui ont l’écriture et/ou le texte pour objet en nous demandant notamment ce qui fait la spécificité de l’écriture en langue seconde. A la lumière de ces travaux, nous ferons des propositions pédagogiques pour entraîner les apprenants à réviser eux-mêmes leurs textes et en améliorer l’organisation et la cohésion.

Date: 8 novembre 2017
Time: 13:00 – 14:30
Location: 161 Louis Pasteur, Colonel By (CBY) Room C206
Language:  English

Abstract:

The talk will first briefly review some of the research data and methods that have been used to track development in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) studies. In the second part of the talk, I will narrow down the focus to data and methods in learner corpus research (LCR). Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies will be compared, as will the methodological issues that each approach entails. I will then plead for the use of mixed-method research approaches as they are key to more fine-grained descriptions of and explanations for developmental patterns found in learner corpora. In the third part of the talk, I will illustrate how such mixed-methods can take place concretely by presenting an ongoing research project on the acquisition of L2s (English and Dutch) in immersive and non-immersive settings. This 5-year multidisciplinary research project aims to assess Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in French-speaking Belgium by gaining insight into the interplay between linguistic, cognitive, socio-affective and educational aspects of CLIL.

Date: October 13, 2017
Time: 13:00 – 14:30
Location: 136 Jean-Jacques Lussier pièce VNR (Vanier) 1050
Language:  French

Abstract:

L’écriture s’est vu transformée au 21ème siècle grâce, en grande partie, au Web. En effet, cette ère a su faciliter le copier-coller et fournir aux étudiant un accès presqu’illimité à une quantité colossale d’informations et ce en tout temps et à toutes les étapes du processus d’écriture. L’écriture à l’ère du Web 2.0. nécessite ainsi la mobilisation de nouvelles stratégies tels les stratégies de créacollage numériques (SCN). Les SCN permettent aux étudiants de mobiliser leurs compétences informationnelles, rédactionnelles et de référencement documentaire. Par contre, une pauvre utilisation de ces stratégies peut verser dans le plagiat, volontaire ou non, d’où l’importance de former les étudiants à l’utilisation des SCN afin de s’assurer que ces derniers produisent des travaux académiques ne contrevenant pas aux politiques de leur établissement en terme d’intégrité académique. Cette présentation exposera les résultats préliminaires d’une recherche menée auprès d’étudiants universitaires afin de vérifier leur utilisation des SCN.

Click here to view the recording

Date: September 29, 2017
Time: 13:00 – 14:30
Location: 136 Jean-Jacques Lussier, Room VNR (Vanier) 1050
Language:  English

Abstract:

The language of public spaces has served for years as data for applied linguists studying local language policy, the spread of English, the use of minority languages, and identity expression, for example.  Inspired by such linguistic landscape research, language teachers and researchers are now exploring the affordances of spatialized approaches to learning in virtual spaces and target language contexts.  Of course, interest in the language of public spaces in Canada predates current international linguistic landscape research, but has the linguistic landscape in Canada been used pedagogically in French courses in the United States?   I will address this question with results from an analysis of linguistic landscape images of Québec in beginning-level French textbooks in the United States from 1960 through 2010.  I introduce the study as a textbook analysis, research that serves as a basis for critical reflection and action directed toward improving language learning materials (Gray, 2013; Weninger & Kiss, 2015).  After explaining the pedagogical interest in linguistic landscape images of Québec, I will outline the quantitative and qualitative methods used to find the images in the 65 textbooks in the sample, interpret the role of the language in constructing meaning in the 29 linguistic landscape images identified, and assess their role in the pedagogical tasks in the textbooks.  The study reveals how language used in LL images can contribute to meaning and pedagogy as well as illustrating how a systematic textbook analysis can reveal knowledge and practices in the field as a first step toward improving them.

Click here to view the recording

Date: September 28, 2017
Time: 12:00
Location: Roger Guindon Hall
Room 3248
451 Smyth Rd, Ottawa
NOTE: This location is not on the uOttawa Main Campus but there is a free shuttle bus to it
This forum is co-hosted by the School of Rehabilitation Sciences and the Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute
Language:  English

Abstract:

The extant literature on bilingualism and children with DS will be reviewed and unpublished longitudinal data on the bilingual development of 16 children and adolescents with DS presented. The ecobiological model of bilingualism (Kay-Raining Bird, Trudeau, & Sutton, 2016) will be used to frame a discussion of how best to facilitate bilingual development in those with developmental disabilities.

Date: September 25, 2017
Time: 5:30 pm
Language: Presentation in English

Abstract:

This study conducts a critical discourse analysis on English language Western social media such as Facebook through the “eyes of Japanese EFL university students”, focusing on thematic issues specifically related to the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. The main research participants are Japanese EFL students studying at the University of Aizu, Fukushima, Japan, who all have personally experienced the disaster in 2011. The study shows three main implications:

1. The overall linguistic diversity and sociolinguistic practices of social media participants should be better understood through the notion of “linguascape” rather than the traditional terms such as “mono/bi/multilingualism and codeswitching/codemixing” because of the social media users’ recontextualization of varied transnational flows of linguistic, cultural and semiotic resources circulating across the current globalization.
2. Understanding locally challenging yet globally controversial issues such as the Fukushima nuclear disaster through “the linguascape of social media” may open up the ways where EFL students in Japan negotiate their linguistic and cultural differences and similarities through critical eyes and open-mindedness in order to become “socio-culturally conscious” globally mobile citizens.
3. As opposed to anecdotal and negative ideologies mainly circulating across the Western social media, the study offers a better real-life understanding of the Fukushima nuclear disaster from the perspectives of local residents, while seeking to contribute to the Fukushima revitalization initiatives and programs in Japan.

Date: March 3, 2017
Time: 13:00 – 14:30
Location: 129 Louis pasteur, Room LPR286
Language:  English

Abstract:

There are many studies that have shown that L1 and L2 words can be learned incidentally through reading (e.g., Nagy, Herman, & Anderson, 1985; Waring & Takaki, 2003). Research has also shown that L1 and L2 vocabulary can be learned incidentally through listening (e.g., Elley, 1989; van Zeeland & Schmitt, 2013). Several studies have investigated second language (L2) incidental vocabulary learning through watching videos (e.g. Sydorenko, 2010; Winke, Gass, & Sydorenko, 2010).   However, the videos used in most studies have been relatively short, and included a variety of learner-centered video genres such as lectures and educational series. This research is valuable as it provides evidence that L2 incidental vocabulary learning can occur through watching video. However, it is unclear whether full-length television programs, which are perhaps the most likely type of video to be watched by L2 learners, contribute to incidental vocabulary learning. In this talk I will discuss two recent studies that have investigated the extent to which L2 words might be learned through watching a full length BBC documentary (Peters & Webb, in preparation) and watching 10 episodes of a television program (Rodgers & Webb, under review). The pedagogical and research implications of the findings will be discussed in detail.

Screencast of the presentation

Date: February 10, 2017
Time: 13:00 – 14:30
Location: 129 Louis-Pasteur, Room LPR 286
Language: Bilingual

Sponsored by: GREL

Abstract:

Within the framework of this forum, we will present an overview of our recent research projects at OLBI and share the results of three projects on children bilingualism and multilingualism. I begin with a case study of a young bilingual child who undergoes shifts between active and passive bilingualism, illustrating psycholinguistic and socialization aspects of language attrition and reactivation/relearning phenomena in minority-majority language contexts. I then continue with a mixed-methods study (questionnaires and follow-up interviews) of households with bilingual and multilingual children, focusing on family language policy and school language choice as two interconnected variables with a differential impact on the number of languages a child understands and speaks. We will conclude with a discussion of the importance and the impact of the terms “mother tongue”, “first language” and “native language” within the context of Canadian bilingualism and of a globalised world, within which plurilingual and translingual practices and values are increasingly recognized and encouraged. This serves as a backdrop for a study of language background profiling of incoming students at elementary schools across several Canadian provinces.

Date: Friday, December 9, 2016
Time: 10:00 to 11:30
Location: 157 Séraphin Marion, Alex Trebek Alumni Hall, Room 116
Language: Presentation in French
Sponsored by: French Embassy in Ottawa

Abstract:

Plusieurs limites de l'enseignement-apprentissage des langues en situation de classe ont été identifiées dans les années 1980 à 2000, elles faisaient ressortir le paradoxe d'un enseignement visant l'apprentissage de la communication tout en proposant des situations d'enseignement-apprentissage dont la force communicative était faible. Ces limites peuvent également s’appliquer à l’apprentissage des langues en perspective actionnelle. Nous montrerons en quoi le passage à une approche socio-interactionnelle et l’introduction de tâches ancrées dans la vie réelle peut permettre de dépasser ces limites et de donner plus d’authenticité à la pratique communicative, d’une part, et à la situation d’enseignement-apprentissage, d’une part.

Date: Friday, November 18, 2016
Time: 1:00 – 2:30
Location: 136 Jean-Jacques Lussier, Room VNR (Vanier) 1050
Language: English presentation followed by a bilingual discussion
Sponsored by: Interdisciplinary Research Group in Languages and Technology (GRILT)

Abstract:

This presentation is the actualization of experimentation with a novel way to apprehend the complexity of the interrelationships between teacher education and Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) with the ontology of Gilles Deleuze & Felix Guattari (1987). This experimentation will be guided by the following question: How might teacher education in CALL live? However, the goal of this presentation is not so much to provide answers but rather to open of space to think differently about teacher education in CALL and maybe see things that we did not see before.

Screencast of the presentation

Date: Thursday, November 10, 2016
Time: 1:00 to 2:30
Location: 800 King Edward Avenue, Room STE (Site) 5-084
Language: English presentation followed by a bilingual discussion
Sponsored by: Interdisciplinary Research Group in Languages and Technology (GRILT)
This forum is offered jointly with the Tamale seminars. 

Abstract:

MyAnnotator is a R&D collaborative project between Applied Linguists (Hamel & Slavkov, OLBI) and Computer Scientists (Xiao, Carleton & Inkpen, SITE) which aims at the development of a Natural Language Processing (NLP) based Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) tool to support the provision of Written Corrective Feedback (WCF) in language teaching and learning. MyAnnotator offers teachers a multilingual, customizable environment to annotate language learners' texts and comes with comprehensive statistical features that students can retrieve. The presentation will highlight the motivation for the development of such a tool while a beta version of MyAnnotator will be demonstrated.

Date: Friday, October 7, 2016
Time: 1:00 to 2:30
Location: 60 University, Room SMD (Simard) 129
Language: French presentation followed by a bilingual discussion
Sponsored by: Post-Secondary Immersion Research Group (PSIRG)

Abstract: 

Au Canada, alors que l’immersion au primaire et au secondaire fait l’objet de nombreuses études et recherches, elle est pratiquement inexistante au niveau universitaire. L’offre est limitée à quelques établissements, dont l’Université d’Ottawa. Le Régime d’immersion en français, le plus important au Canada, sert de point d’ancrage pour cette présentation basée sur le collectif « Immersion française à l’université : Politiques et pédagogies ». Cette présentation s’articulera autour des trois niveaux d’analyse de l’immersion au niveau universitaire : macro (politiques linguistiques et aménagements pour l’immersion universitaire en français), méso (les dispositifs d’immersion en français au niveau postsecondaire dans les universités canadiennes et particulièrement celui de l’Université d’Ottawa) et micro (l’immersion de l’intérieur : témoignages des différents acteurs de l’immersion à l’Université d’Ottawa). Nous terminerons par des recommandations pour le succès de la mise en œuvre de dispositifs d’immersion.

Date: Friday, September 25, 2015
Time: 1:00 to 2:30
Location: 139 Louis Pasteur Street, Room LPR 286
Language: Presented in English only
Sponsored by: Language Management Interdisciplinary Research Group (LMIRG)

Abstract:

There has been robust debate within political science and applied linguistics alike about the legitimacy and viability of language rights as a strategy for resolving language conflicts in society. This paper introduces a political-economy approach as elaborated by Bale (2015), Holborow (2015), and Ricento (2015) to rethink the potential of language rights.

Screencast of the presentation

Date: Friday, October 16, 2015
Time: 1:00 to 2:30
Location: 139 Louis Pasteur Street, Room LPR 286
Language: Presented in English only
Sponsored by: Language Assessment Research Group (LARG)

Abstract:

Grading is one of the most challenging aspects of assessment for teachers as it is a complex decision-making process that requires them to make professional judgments. Various factors determine this process, such as the grade-level at which teachers teach (Randall & Engelhard, 2009), the assessment training they receive (Brookhart, 1993), and the subject matter they teach (McMillan, 2001). Further, teachers tend to consider confounding factors such as effort, work habits and achievement when assigning grades (Guskey, 2011; Yesbeck, 2011). This is discrepant with measurement recommendations that grades should be based solely on students’ academic achievement. Brookhart (1993, 2004) suggests that this discrepancy is a symptom of a validity problem that can be best framed by Messick’s (1989) framework. Such framing entails exploring teachers’ interpretation of what a grade represents, how they think about grade use and consequences, and what values they place on grades. Despite the importance of grading in the interface between assessment and teaching/learning, only a few studies on grading have been conducted in language assessment, and even fewer within the Asian context where non-achievement factors are valued (Cheng & Wang, 2007). This study employs a survey design with mixed mode analysis to address this research gap. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 350 Chinese English language teachers. First, the questionnaire measures the extent to which teachers consider different factors and use different assessment methods to determine grades. Second, it provides three grading scenarios to explore the meaning and values associated with grades assigned by the teachers, and finally, it gathers demographic data about the participants. These findings together shed light on understanding the validity of teachers’ grading where non-achievement factors are valued and highlight the influences of the social and educational values on teachers’ grading decision-making within the Asian context.

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Date: Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Time: 1:00 to 2:30
Location: 70 Laurier Avenue, Room MHN 145
Languages: Presented in French only
Sponsored by: Interdisciplinary Research Group in Languages and Technologies (IRGILT)

Abstract :

Au cours des 10 dernières années, un corpus de recherche qualitative en France et en Europe récolté dans les classes de français a permis d’établir des liens entre les langues et les cultures présentes dans la salle de classe afin de soutenir l'apprentissage des langues (DVD "comparons nos langues", récompensé par le label européen de l'innovation dans l'enseignement de la langue). Ces activités ont également permis un travail sur les représentations des langues à l'école et a consolidé la sécurité linguistique des élèves.

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Date: Friday, November 27, 2015
Time: 1:00 to 2:30
Location: 139 Louis Pasteur Street, Room LPR 286
Languages: Presented in English and French
Sponsored by: University Immersion Interdisciplinary Research Group (UIIRG)

Abstract:

In this bilingual interactive workshop, I will present and prompt discussion surrounding a study on the relationship between manifest anxiety and perceptions of English and French language competence among Anglophone, Francophone, and mixed‑heritage education students at Saint Jean Campus (University of Alberta). Participants assessed their language competence differently in English and French. Francophone and mixed‑heritage students felt equally competent in the two languages, but Anglophone students reported much higher language competence in English. Manifest anxiety and self‑assessments of language competence were related only among the Anglophone group, with high levels of manifest anxiety associated with both low self‑assessments of French language competence and high self‑assessments of English language competence—the two being correlated with each other. Implications for practice in second language learning and Francophone and Anglophone minority and majority linguistic environments will be collectively discussed and explored.

Date: Friday, January 29, 2016
Time: 1:00 to 2:30
Location: 136 Jean-Jacques Lussier, Room VNR 1050
Languages: Presented in English and French

Abstract:

Language test validation involves the collection of qualitative and quantitative evidence to support the claims and decisions made on the basis of test scores. Best practice in the field of language assessment dictates that regular validation activities are carried out to ensure useful and ethical practice. In this talk, I will briefly outline various theoretical approaches to language test validation, and discuss the hybrid approach to test validation that is being undertaken at Language Testing Services at OLBI. I will then present some of our current and future validation projects.

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Date: Friday, March 18, 2016
Time: 1:00 to 2:30
Location: 136 Jean-Jacques Lussier, Room VNR 1050
Language: Presented in French only
Sponsored by: Interdisciplinary Research Group in Languages and Technologies (IRGILT)

Abstract :

Nous partons du constat que l’usage du numérique pour soutenir l’apprentissage des langues officielles par les migrants a majoritairement été étudié en contexte de classe, dans une perspective didactique. Nous proposons de contribuer à la réflexion en nous intéressant à la disposition des populations migrantes à utiliser le numérique pour soutenir leur apprentissage des langues officielles, tant en salle de classe qu’en dehors, dans une approche sociocritique du numérique.

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Date: Friday, April 1, 2016
Time: 1:00 to 2:30
Location: 136 Jean-Jacques Lussier, room VNR 1050
Language: Presented in English only

Abstract:

Recent research on language motivation emphasizes the central role of the self and the importance of taking a temporal perspective on the dynamics of motivational systems. Research suggests that students engage more intensely in language learning to the extent that they have self-relevant goals and/or enjoy the process of mastering a new language. These orientations are fostered when learners feel that they have a sense of autonomy, competence, and relatedness with other people in their learning environment. Drawing from two longitudinal studies of university-level language learners, this research examines the dynamics of self-determined motivation over the duration of a language course to examine the hypothesized causal link between feelings of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, on the one hand, and self-determined orientations and engagement, on the other hand.  Consistent with expectation, autoregression analyses indicated that greater perceived competence at the beginning of the semester predicted more self-determined motivation by mid-semester.  Contrary to expectation, effortful engagement was more predictive of self-determined orientations by the mid-term (than vice versa), although these orientations marginally predicted greater engagement at the end of the semester.  The second study extended this work by assessing whether students who think their teachers support their autonomy, competence and relatedness earlier in the term later report more self-determined motivational orientations and increased intensity of engagement. The results showed that those students who are more self-determined perceive their teacher to be more autonomy-supportive at the midterm, and these perceptions in turn predict more self-determined motivational orientations at the end of the term.  Consistent with the first study, the relations between study variables became stronger and reciprocal over the semester, in line with the notion that the relations between interpersonal and motivational systems stabilized over time.  This study furthers understanding of the interplay between social and psychological systems, and provides insight into ways teachers can foster their students’ self-determination for greater motivation and academic success.

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