Z Score,T Score, Percential Rank and Box Plot Graph
I Am Canadian, Eh?: Perceptions of People in Canada, Shira Packer & Dana Lynch
1. I AM CANADIAN, EH?
How Canadians Are Perceived in Reality
TESL Ontario Conference, Toronto, Oct. 27th-29th, 2011
Shira Packer & Dana Lynch
spacke@yorku.ca dlynch@yorku.ca
York University English Language Institute
Toronto, ON
NOT FOR REPRODUCTION OR CIRCULATION
WITHOUT THE EXPLICIT PERMISSION OF THE AUTHORS
2. Warm-up Question!
Think about all the people you’ve met in
Canada.
What are 5 personality traits that you
immediately think of to describe them?
(Keep in mind, personality traits are those that
describe the way that people act, not look.)
3. Agenda
• Research question
• Influencing literature
– Social and cross-cultural psychology
– SLA
• Methodology & survey questions
• Data analysis & results
• Limitations
• Possible implications
• Discussion
4. Research Question
How do
(1) native-born Canadian postsecondary students’ and recent
graduates’ (CBs) perceptions
AND
(2) non-native-born Canadian postsecondary students’ and
recent graduates’ (NCBs) perceptions
(3) of people living in Canada
DIFFER? (if at all)
TO ANSWER OUR RESEARCH QUESTION, WE CONDUCTED AN ONLINE SURVEY!
6. Social & Cross-Cultural Psychology
• Katz and Braly & follow up studies (1933 onwards)
– 100 Princeton undergrads
– List traits of 10 social and ethnic groups
• Acculturation & Adaptation (Berry & Sam, 1980)
=cultural changes resulting from intercultural encounter
7. Social & Cross-Cultural Psychology (cont.)
• Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions (1980)
1. Power Distance
2. Individualism
3. Masculinity
4. Uncertainty Avoidance
5. Long-term Orientation
• Five-factor model of personality (McCrae & Costa, 1987)
1. Conscientiousness
2. Openness to experience
3. Neuroticism
4. Agreeableness
5. Extraversion
8. Second Language Acquisition
• Social identity, investment, and language learning
(Bonnie Norton, 1995)
• Language as access to learner’s social identity and social
world
• Towards a better understanding of academic
acculturation: Second Language Students in
Canadian Universities (Cheng & Fox, 2008)
• Factors which affect acculturation in Canadian EAP
• Autobiography of Intercultural Encounters (Language
Policy Division, Council of Europe, 2009)
9. Methodology
• Consent and research ethics
– Rec’d consent from York’s Office of Research Ethics
• Platform
– Survey Monkey online survey tool
• Outreach
1. Video: http://vimeo.com/18546862
2. Email
3. Facebook:
a) Page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Perceptions-of-People-in-Canada-Survey/191190387561278
b) personal messages
c) status updates
4. Twitter
11. Adjective Ranking Question
Think about all the people you’ve met in Canada.
What are 5 personality traits (characteristics or
adjectives) that you think of to describe them?
1. ____________
2. ____________
3. ____________
4. ____________
5. ____________
12. Likert-scale Question
To what extent do you agree with the following statements,
where 1 represents strongly disagree and 5 represents strongly
agree:
People in Canada are…..
• Friendly • Modest • Easygoing
• Peaceful • Funny • Patient
• Helpful • Hardworking • Outgoing
• Polite • Self-confident • Generous
• Selfish • Boring • Cold
• Respectful • Cooperative • Afraid
• Loyal • Optimistic • Individualistic
• Competitive • Dissatisfied • Reliable
• Open-minded • Materialistic • Intelligent
• Caring • Risk-taking
13. Respondent Background Info
Sample Size:
n= 299 (Ss who completed survey)
CBs = 130 (43.48% of responses)
NCBs = 169 (56.52% of responses)
15. Canadian Post-Sec Institutions Represented
1. Acadia University 29. Kwantlen Polytechnic University
56. Trent University
2. Algonquin College of Applied Arts 30. Langara College
and Technology 57. Université de Montréal
31. Laurentian University
3. Athabasca University 58. Université de Sherbrooke
32. McGill University (11)
4. Aurora College 59. Université du Québec à Chicoutimi
33. McMaster University
5. Bishop's University 60. Université du Québec à Montréal
34. Medicine Hat College
6. Brandon University 61. Université Laval
35. Memorial University of
7. British Columbia Institute of Newfoundland 62. University College of the Fraser Valley
Technology 36. Mohawk College of Applied Arts 63. University of Alberta (6)
8. Brock University and Technology 64. University of British Columbia (6)
9. Canadian Mennonite University 37. Mount Royal University 65. University of Calgary
10. Canadore College of Applied Arts 38. Mount Saint Vincent University 66. University of Guelph
and Technology 39. MTI Community College 67. University of King's College
11. Cape Breton University 40. Nipissing University 68. University of Lethbridge
12. Capilano College 41. North Island College 69. University of Manitoba
13. Capilano University 42. Northern Alberta Institute of 70. University of New Brunswick
14. Carleton University Technology 71. University of Northern British
15. Centennial College of Applied Arts 43. Nova Scotia Community College Columbia
and Technology (various campuses) 72. University of Ontario Institute of
16. Collège universitaire de Saint- 44. OCAD University Technology
Boniface 45. Queen's University (14) 73. University of Prince Edward Island
17. College of New Caledonia 46. Redeemer University College 74. University of Regina
18. College of the North Atlantic 47. Ryerson University 75. University of Saskatchewan
19. Concordia University 48. Seneca College of Applied Arts 76. University of Toronto (UofT) (36)
20. Crandall University and Technology 77. University of Victoria
21. Dalhousie University (10) 49. Sheridan College of Applied Arts 78. University of Waterloo
22. École polytechnique de Montréal and Technology 79. University of Western Ontario
23. Fanshawe College of Applied Arts 50. Simon Fraser UniversitySimon (Western)
and Technology Fraser University 80. University of Windsor
24. George Brown College of Applied 51. Sir Sandford Fleming College of 81. Vancouver Community College
Arts and Technology Applied Arts and Technology
82. Wilfrid Laurier University
25. HEC Montréal 52. Southern Alberta Institute of
Technology 83. York University (119)
26. Humber College of Applied Arts 84. Yukon College
and Technology (10) 53. St. Lawrence College
27. Huron College 54. St. Thomas University
28. Keyano College 55. Thompson Rivers University
19. Adjective Ranking Question
Think about all the people you’ve met in Canada.
What are 5 personality traits (characteristics or
adjectives) that you think of to describe them?
1. ____________
2. ____________
3. ____________
4. ____________
5. ____________
26. CB & NCB E-Interview Sample Quotes
(+ experiences)
CB NCB
“I walk in, wait in line and see that the “When i came to Canada many people in
tellers are pleasant . . . That person University helped me to adapt to the
took the time to look into my eyes environment and to reduce the
and make a connection even though culture shock.”
she didn’t ‘need’ to. She didn’t seem
to be worried about the long line “My very first day at york . . . Just as I
behind me and whatever else she came to my residence people were
had to get done that day.” there to help. Everyone was a
complete stranger yet so friendly. . . .
“I was walking through my grocery store The people helping me did the heavy
one day with my mom and we saw a lifting of my things, yet they seemed
man accidentally bump into a girl . . . to enjoy it. I was a positive
The girl explained about the man experience cause coming from a
saying sorry, and the friend just different continent a different culture
said, “oh, yeah, we have to say this was not expected. It did
‘sorry’ here, it’s a Canadian thing.”” represent the typical friendly and
nice nature of Canadians.”
27. CB & NCB E-Interview Sample Quotes
(- experiences)
CB NCB
“I was at work and someone and “Even though Canadians generally
someone asked for my assistance on seems to be acceptance of
a project . . . I was really confused, others, deep down the heart, they
but I suppose because I wasn’t very do not really understand others.”
perky they interpreted me as being
cold. This is typical of seme general “I do not really informed of
bad things I’ve experienced in political, historical, and any general
Canada—being scared to offend knowledge about Canada and
someone else to the point of being Canadians. It is hard to mingle and
overly nice and worried, which makes mix without knowing of these things
me feel uncomfortable.” especially about North American
entertainment industry and sports.”
“. . . many Canadians seem to have an
impenetrable wall that keeps them
from showing others who they really
are”
28. Limitations of Study
• Sample size (n=299)
• Sample of convenience
• Significant York U and other urban
representation
• CBs and NCBs are heterogeneous groups
• Our video may have promoted positive
responses
• Respondents with frequent social media
access may be more likely to respond
29. Possible Implications
1. CBs may experience “inflated” self-
perceptions for specific character traits
2. NCBs may be well-acculturated, but potential
exists for further social integration and
classroom acculturation of NCBs
3. Canadian content curriculum development
30. Discussion Questions
1. How, if at all, do you address Canadian culture in
your classroom and/or at your institution?
2. To what extent do you feel that your students
(and/or students at your institution) have an
“accurate” understanding of Canadian
culture/perception of Canadians?
3. To what extent can ESL instructors and administers
assist acculturation?
31. Works Cited
Berry, J. W. & Sam, D. L. (1980). Acculturation and adaptation. In J.W. Berry, Segall, M. H., Kagitcibasi, C.
(Eds.), Cross-cultural psychology: Social behaviour and application (Vol. 3, p. 291-326). Needham
Heights: Allyn and Bacon.
Cheng, L. & Fox, J. (2008). Towards a better understanding of academic acculturation: Second Language
Students in Canadian Universities. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 65(2), p. 307-333.
Council of Europe (2009). Autobiography of intercultural encounters. Language Policy Division.
Katz, D., & Braly, K. W. (1933). Racial stereotypes of one hundred college students. Journal of Abnormal
and Social Psychology, 28, 280-290.
McCrae, R. R., & Costa, R. T., Jr. (1987). Validation of the five-factor model of personality across
instruments and observers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 81-90.
Norton, B. P. (1995). Social identity, investment, and language learning. TESOL Quarterly, 29(1), p. 9-31.
Paunonen, S. V., Jackson, D. N., Trzebinski, J., & Forsterling, F. (1992). Personality structure across
cultures: A multimethod evaluation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 62(3), 447-456.
Schumann, J. (1976). Social distance as a factor in second language acquisition. Language
Learning, 26, p. 135-143.
Intro ourselves and YUELI, title tie into conference themeImpetusShira: in a Pre-MBA classroom, discussion abt cross-cultural communications sparked disagreements abt what Canadians are like. How many times has Canadian personality come up in your classroom, with students making surprising comments abt Canadians? Abt behaviours, personality traits, and so onWe decided to . . . .We’re gonna warm you up with a question.......
2) TO THE AUDIENCE: Think about all the people you’ve met in Canada. What are 5 personality traits (characteristics or adjectives) that you think of to describe them? Personality traits are those that describe the way that people act, not look.3) The reason why we asked you this question is...............
DANA
Paraphrase: How do group 1’s and group 2’s perceptions of group 3 differ?
Ssh- any measured network of personality traits is more a reflection of the culture’s linguistic network of word-word associations than of a behavioral network of trait-trait associations. In other words, propositions about language are confused with propositions of the world. Fails to explain how such a linguistic network can possibly exist independently of a behavioral network (Jackson & Paunonen, 1980). Rather, the language of a culture evolves to reflect the actual behavior patterns of its members. Rejected by Paunonen, Jackson, Trzebinski, & Forsterling, 1992 where verbal and nonverbal formats of personality were compared across 4 cultural and linguistic groups and very similar patterns emerged between groups. Proving that there are culturally shared meanings associated with such adjectives independent of a common language or cultural heritage. acculturation+= cultural changes resulting from intercultural encounters-in either or both groups-on individual level or group level4 strategies: integration, assimilation, separation, marginalizationDifferent from interculturalism= processes used to interact with cultural distinct individuals and groupsFive-factor model of personality (Tupes & Christal, 1961 Dependability, culture, emotional stability, agreeableness, surgency.Indicates that there are 5 robust factors that have replicated across all culturesConscientiousness, openness to experience, neuroticism, agreeableness, extraversionAof IE – help schools manage cultural diversity-this shows that relevant topics are receiving more attention recently and are even being implemented at the educational policy level. In this document, the council of Europe outlines the importance of intercultural pedagogy. Interculuralism is here defined as = being open to , interested in, curious about and empathetic towards people from other cultures, and using this heightened awareness of otherness to evaluate one’s own everyday patterns of perception, thought, feeling and behaviour in order to develop greater self-knowledge and self-understanding. ….involves intercultural competencies or understanding of cultural knowledge, including behaviours, attitudes, and values, and the interactions of people from different cultures rather than adopting.. Also, intercultural competence allows intercultural citizens to participate in multilingual and multicultural communitiesRelated to successfulness of multicultural societiesSocial distance= differences between language learner group and target language group. Also addressed by bonnie norton as social variables to language learning-the greater the social distance the lesser degree of acculturation taking place, predicting that members of the second language groups will not become as proficient speakers of the target language. Norton- explores the relationship between the individual and social. the role of language as constitutive of and constituted by a language learner’s social identity, giving access to or denying access to powerful social networksCheng and fox- explored the factors which affect acculturation at Canadian universities and the role of EAP in L2 students’ acculturation processAcculturation: used to describe the relationship between L2 students’ cultural adaptation and academic achievement, so that culture is not viewed as behaviours to be acquired but a world view to be discovered in the language and communication of the interlocutors that use the language.
DANADetails about outreach:-we were surprised to get so many NCBs and relatively fewer CBs-why we didn’t use ELI Ss: we wanted to compare apples and apples, one type of postsec student with another-We contacted people viaPersonal & professional email contactsEmailed survey link to York U, York Int’l office, York Linguistics Dept. Listserv, Humber College CE, George Brown College, UOIT, our instructor listserv, U of TorontoPosted to 100s of postsec facebook pagesTweeted survey thru my twitter account
CBs and NCBs2 analyses of this question: # adj. mentions, and weighted rankings of adj.s taking into account whether a student ranked an adj. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 5th
DANAHappy to get so many responses! In our sample, NCBs > CBs, BUT total pop. of CBs > NCBs = assymmetryNote this is a “sample of convenience” (a YORK statistician we consulted suggest we use this term)Difficult to know the absolute size of the population we’re dealing with b/c includes 4 groups:includes current CB postsec SsCurrent non-Cdn-born postsec SsAnd recent graduates, within the last 5 years, for both groups
CBs and NCBs2 analyses of this question: # adj. mentions, and weighted rankings of adj.s taking into account whether a student ranked an adj. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 5th
-CBs: no ties-NCBs: open-minded & kindly – tied for 5th
-Why weighted ranking?-wanted to capture the fact that Ss’ ranked some adj.s more highly than others-The closer to a student’s first choice, the higher the score for the adjective
For CBs: Caring & open-minded tied
Statistically significantRanked Largest to SmallestIf p value is less than 0.05 this indicates significance. If less than 0.001, extreme significance
We didn’t edit for grammar!
- Sample size: recall ours was a “sample of convenience”- About 40% of responses from York U: Is it truly representative of all post-sec Ss in Canada?Statistical significance??? Linguistic limitations of Ss? Do all Ss (CBs & NCBs) have similar understandings of adj.s?Heterogeneity of NCBs:NCBs include people who came to Canada when very young, new immigrants, int’l Ss, and so on
GET DISC. Qs down to 3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Extra QWhat significance, if any, do these results have for your teaching and/or administrative context?
