Multicultural perspectives in foreign language education in Canada

Abstract

Abstract. In this paper we aim to paint a picture of Multiculturalism and its effects on education focusing on the subject of teaching foreign languages in one of the world’s most multicultural country, Canada. We examine two provinces, British Canada and Ontario. “Ethnic identities do not take place in Canada, this is Canadian identity.” [8] Canada is a multicultural society whose ethnocultural make-up has been molded over time by immigrants and their descendants. Immigration to Canada began with the French and British colonization in the 17th century, continuing through the 18th and 19th centuries with United Empire loyalists who fled the United States during the American Civil War. After the two World Wars a new, great wave of immigration from Europe brought many new cultures, languages and religious groups to Canada with thousands of Italians, Portuguese, Dutch, Belgians, Greeks, Ukrainians, Poles, Finns and Yugoslavians, among others - and later, even more diversely, from Hungary and Czechoslovakia [11]. These events led to many changes in government policy and the first laws to protect diversity. The Canadian Multiculturalism Act was passed in 1988 proclaiming that all citizens are equal and have the freedom to preserve, enhance and share their cultural heritage [12]. The amount of European immigrants has slowly decreased, the greatest proportion of immigrants now come from Asia and the Middle East, with a significant percentage of newcomers arriving from South and Central America, and the Caribbean, as well as from Africa [10]. Data from the 2011 National Household Survey (NHS) shows that Canada is a country with an ethnocultural mosaic.