Students' perceptions of their intercultural communicative competence following intercultural encounters with language assistants : a multiple case study

Le programme des langues officielles, Odyssée, existe depuis plus de 40 ans, mais aucune recherche empirique connue ne s'est penchée sur son impact sur les apprenants de L2—le plus grand nombre d'acteurs impliqués. Pour combler cette lacune, cette étude s'est penchée sur la perception qu'ont les apprenants de L2 en anglais de leur compétence en communication interculturelle à la suite de rencontres interculturelles avec des assistants en langues officielles. Une approche d'études de cas multiples a été utilisée pour recueillir des données quantitatives et qualitatives auprès d'un assistant en langues (n=1) et des apprenants d’anglais L2 (N=124) dans deux écoles secondaires de la province de Québec, situées dans une communauté semi-urbaine et rurale. L'objectif principal de cette étude était d'examiner comment les rencontres interculturelles avec des assistants en langues pourraient façonner les dimensions cognitives et affectives de la compétence communicative interculturelle des apprenants. Elle a également examiné comment les facteurs sociodémographiques pouvaient influencer les résultats. Les principaux résultats révèlent que les participants des deux écoles ont estimé que l'apprentissage avec l'assistant de langue a façonné leurs attitudes et connaissances interculturelles, mais pas dans la même mesure. Cette étude souligne l'influence potentielle des facteurs sociodémographiques sur les attitudes et les connaissances interculturelles des participants ainsi que le rôle que l'assistant de langue a pu jouer dans la formation des connaissances interculturelles des participants. Enfin, cette étude suggère que l'intersection de la compétence interculturelle et de la recherche sur les assistants de langues est un domaine d'enquête important et que les programmes de langues officielles au Canada bénéficieraient de recherches supplémentaires dans cette direction.The official languages program, Odyssey, has existed for over 40 years, yet no known empirical research has investigated its impact on L2 learners—the largest number of stakeholders involved. To address this gap, this study looked at English L2 learners’ perceptions of their intercultural communicative competence following intercultural encounters with official language assistants. A multiple case study approach was used to collect quantitative and qualitative data from a language assistant (n=1) and English L2 learners (N=124) at two secondary schools in the province of Quebec, located in a semi-urban and rural community. The primary objective of this study was to examine how intercultural encounters with language assistants might shape the knowledge and affective dimensions of learners’ intercultural communicative competence. It also considered how sociodemographic factors might influence the results. Main results reveal that participants in both schools felt that learning with the language assistant shaped their intercultural attitudes and knowledge, but not to the same degree. This study highlights the potential influence of sociodemographic factors on participants’ intercultural attitudes and knowledge as well as the role the language assistant may have played in shaping participants’ intercultural knowledge. Finally, this study suggests that the intersection of intercultural competence and language assistant research is an important area of inquiry and that official languages programs in Canada would benefit from further research in this direction

Community involvement in the site-selection process : a matter of citizen participation-the Manitoba Hazardous Waste Management Corporation

14 p

Conflict between Russia and its Neighbors since 1992: The Cases of Belarus and Ukraine

Russia’s recent aggressions against Georgia and Ukraine have sparked intense discussions among journalists, scholars, and policymakers. However, these debates have not produced a universally accepted, theoretically grounded and empirically reliable explanation for the recurrence of conflict between Russia and its post-Soviet neighbors. While many studies have dealt with the causes of great power expansionism and the security policies of less powerful states, no theory has yet been developed to capture the intrinsically interactive nature underlying conflict behavior of unequal neighbors. To make a first step into this direction, this paper develops and tests two competing positions on variance in conflict between unequal neighbors: Autocratic Imperialism and Geopolitics. The paper develops these two positions by first conceptualizing unequal neighbors as a theoretically distinct form of state dyad, and, second, applying on unequal neighbors existing paradigms of international relations theory. The paper then derives hypotheses from these positions, which it then tests by using structured and focused comparison as well as congruence analysis on two cases of unequal neighbors: Russia and Belarus as well as Russia and Ukraine, both from 1992 to 2014. The paper finds that both positions fail these tests, albeit Autocratic Imperialism more so than Geopolitics. The concluding discussion of the conceptual and empirical problems that each position encountered yields some important hints towards the construction of a middle-range theory that would explain the conflict behavior of unequal neighbors in a more valid and reliable way

Turning heritage into hope: strategies for a midlife denomination

https://place.asburyseminary.edu/ecommonsatsdissertations/1570/thumbnail.jp