Language and Content in Context: Toward a Social Ecology of Language in Immigrant Education

Abstract

For many adult immigrants to Canada and other countries, learning a new language may form only a single aspect of much more immediate projects of educational and personal adaptation. In acknowledging the broader context of their work, however, how can language educators begin to conceptualize the relationships between language and content teaching in ways which are responsive to the dynamic characteristics of both individuals and the community? This article examines the social and political context of the language and content issue and introduces an environmental framework which facilitates analysis of the shape of an approach relative to its instructional intent and its situation within the continuum of language contexts existing in the community.