Shows research about (Canadian-born and non-Canadian-born) post-secondary students' perceptions of people living in Canada

1. I Am Canadian, Eh?:
A Study on Canadian Cultural Perceptions
TESOL 2013, Dallas, TX
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. Link to Presentation
http://slidesha.re/14c5BqG

3. Warm-up Question!
Think about all the people you’ve met from
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.)

4. Agenda
• Purpose of study
• Research question
• Methodology
• Data analysis
• Implications for ELT

5. The Social Context of SLA
• Language is not an isolated system but part
of daily social communication (Dell Hymes,
1972)
• Sociolinguistic competency as one of the
three main linguistic competencies (Canale
and Swain, 1980)

6. Importance of Acculturation for SLA
• Acculturation & Adaptation (Berry & Sam, 1980)
=cultural changes resulting from intercultural encounter
• There is a direct relationship between
a) a learner’s potential to learn a second language and the
degree of acculturation to the target language group
(Schumann, 1978)
b) academic achievement and acculturation process among
second language post-secondary (Cheng & Fox, 2008)

7. Other Relevant Cultural Theories
• Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions (1980)
1. Power Distance
2. Individualism
3. Masculinity
4. Uncertainty Avoidance
5. Long-term Orientation

8. Current challenges with existing
research
• Ambiguity of Canadian culture
– Immigration
– US influence
– ESL/EAP classroom disagreements
• Lack of acculturation studies

9. Research Question
How do
Canadian-born post-secondary students and
recent graduates’ (CBs’)
and
internationally-born Canadian post-secondary
students and recent graduates’ (IBs’)
perceptions of people in Canada
differ (if at all)?

10. Methodology
Format:
1. Cross-Canada online survey (n=299)
a. Background information questions
b. Unprompted adjective ranking question
c. 30 Likert-scale questions
2. E-interview (n=16)
Social Media Outreach:
1. Video: ttp://vimeo.com/18546862
2. Email
3. Facebook:
4. Twitter

11. Respondent Profile
• CBs = 130; IBs = 169
• 64% female; 36% male
• Represented 84 different post-secondary
institutes across Canada

12. 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

13. 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. ____________

14. ‘Weighted Ranking’ Method of Analysis
The score for each adjective is determined as
follows:
If a S’s… 1st choice 5
2nd choice: 4
3rd choice: 3
4th choice: 2
5th choice: 1

15. Results: Top Adjectives
Average Score per Respondent
2
1.83
1.8 1.68
1.57
Percentage of Respondents
1.6
1.4
1.2 1.05
1
0.83
0.8 0.72 0.75
0.6
0.36 0.4 0.340.37
0.4 0.3
0.2
0
CBs IBs

16. Results: Adjectives with the Greatest
Differences
Adjective Difference in points CB points per IB points per
per respondent respondent respondent
Polite .52 1.57 1.05
Kind .39 0.75 0.36
Caring .25 0.34 0.09
Friendly .16 1.68 1.83
Generous .05 0.23 0.08

17. 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 • Honest
• Respectful • Cooperative • Cold
• Loyal • Optimistic • Afraid
• Competitive • Dissatisfied • Individualistic
• Open-minded • Materialistic • Reliable
• Caring • Risk-taking • Intelligent

18. Results: Are there significant
differences in perceptions?
Overall, no significant differences in perceptions
between CB and IB groups
Overall P-value CB mean IB mean
@ 95% confidence interval (n=130) (n=169)
Positive Characteristics .1409 3.79 3.63
Negative Characteristics .2239 3.01 3.16

19. Results: Extremely Significant
Differences in Perceptions (cont.)
Characteristic P-value CB mean NCB mean
@ 95% confidence interval (n=130) (n=169)
Intelligent <.0001 3.92 3.5
Funny <.0001 3.93 3.44
Caring .0006 3.89 3.48
Hardworking .0009 3.94 3.56

20. CB & IB E-Interview Sample Quotes
Positive experiences
CB IB
“I was walking through my “When i came to Canada
grocery store one day with many people in University
my mom and we saw a helped me to adapt to the
man accidentally bump environment and to reduce
into a girl . . . The girl the culture shock.”
explained about the man
saying sorry, and the friend
just said, “oh, yeah, we
have to say ‘sorry’ here, it’s
a Canadian thing.””

21. CB & IB E-Interview Sample Quotes
Negative experiences
CB IB
“. . . many Canadians “Even though
seem to have an Canadians generally
impenetrable wall seems to be
that keeps them acceptance of others,
from showing others deep down the
who they really are” heart, they do not
really understand
others.”

22. Implications for ELT
1. Sociolinguistic forms of politeness should be carefully
attended to by both language teachers and learners
1. IBs students may have a different understanding of:
a) “intelligent” responses to classroom discussions
b) expectations of work quality and quantity
2. Lessons that explore cultural humour may help IBs adjust to
foreign cultures
1. While there is some evidence of a positive acculturation
process for IBs, potential exists for further social integration;
therefore, the acculturation process should be explicitly
addressed in ELT programs.

23. 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.

24. Link to Presentation
http://slidesha.re/14c5BqG

25. Q&A

26. 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
administrators assist acculturation?

27. EXTRA SLIDES

28. Culture is……
“[the] practices, beliefs, values, symbols and traditions, with
particular ways of understanding the world. Cultures can be
understood as the fixed, inherited features of different national,
ethnic and religious groups…Cultures can also be understood as
dynamic and changing, continually being redefined by
individuals and groups as they interact with others of different
backgrounds or respond to changing circumstances ”
(Byram, Barrett, Ipgrave, Jackson & Méndez García, 2009, p.9)

29. Respondent Background Profile

30. CBs Profile (n=130)

31. IBs Profile: in Canada (n=169)

32. IB Profile: English Education (n=169)

33. CBs vs. IBs: Top Adjectives as a % of Mentions
50
45
45 41
39
Percentage of Respondents
40
35
30 28 28
25 24
20
20
15 12
10 10 10 10
10
5
0
CBs IBs

34. Adjectives with less than Extreme
Significance
Characteristic P-value CB mean NCB mean (n=169)
@ 95% confidence interval (n=130)
Loyal .0038 3.67 3.34
Reliable .0041 3.76 3.46
Generous .0314 3.68 3.44
Friendly .0351 4.22 3.97
Cold .0126 2.58 2.92

35. Results: Highest & lowest means (n=299)

36. 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