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ACCESS TO PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE: COMMUNICATION AND CULTURAL BARRIERS OF HIGHLY QUALIFIED IMMIGRANT PROFESSIONALS IN WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, CANADA Lei Wang Faculty of Education, University of Manitoba [email protected] Phone: 204-293-6188 Outline • • • • • • Overarching research topic Theoretical framework Methodology Findings Implication and suggestions Future research directions Overarching Research Topics What are the experiences and perceptions of new immigrant professionals enrolled in ELT programs of the communication and cultural challenges when trying to re-enter their professions in Canada? And what are the perceived roles the ELT programs played in their re-entry? Background Information • Background: Language training services • - LINC (Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada); focus on developing basic English skills for settlement;1992. • - ELT (Enhanced Language Training) initiatives; – Launched in 2003 – Starting in 2004, the federal government invest $20 million annually – Higher levelled (CLB 7-10) – Occupational-specific language training – Targeting immigrant professionals integrating into Canadian labour market (CCLB ELT project final report, 2004; CIC, 2005) Theoretical Framework • Language Socialization theory (Gumperz, 1982; Schieffelin & Ochs, 1986; Duff, 2001) • Community of Practices theory (COP) (Lave & Wenger, 1991) – Community of practice – Apprentice and mentors – Legitimate peripheral participation (LPP) Methodology • Research method: case study • Study contexts: (three Enhanced Language Training/ELT programs) ELT programs Medicine • Engineering Finance Framing my study: • • • • Three professional communities of practices (COP) Six immigrant professionals; two from each profession Trying to re-enter their target professional COPs Communication and cultural barriers encountered in re-entry Methodology • Data sources – Interviews • With six immigrant professionals- two from each profession • With three ELT program instructors- one from each program – Documentation • Course descriptions • Part of the course materials • Available information about the three ELT programs on the internet Findings • Finding 1: Aspects of communication and cultural challenges in re-entry (blocking fully demonstrating and using professional skills) How to enter the target professional system Working in Canada Aspects of challenges in re-entry LPP opportunities & Mentors Preparing to enter the Canadian labour market Findings • Finding 2: Professional language re-socialization provided in three ELT programs Re-entry and the target professional COP Communication and different practices in the target profession in Canada. Professional job preparation LPP opportunities and mentors Implication and Suggestions • ELT programs: – equips immigrant professionals with the language and culturally recognized tools needed to make full use of their professional skills and talents in Canada. – should be further developed and continued; made more accessible; and ultimately benefit the Canadian economy by increasing the integration and utilization of these highly qualified skilled people. Implication and Suggestions • LPP opportunities: a model similar to ELT Banking should be promoted across all other ELT fields, – – – – pre-training in the classroom followed by a paid internship in the working environment with assigned mentors to each student Employing this model across other ELT fields would require the active involvement of the respective employers for delivery Implication and Suggestions • Cross-cultural education from the other end: – Employers in various fields should be made aware of the initial efforts made by the involved banks in the ELT Banking programs, and encouraged to follow-suit by educating their existing staff and increasing their crosscultural awareness – Only through mutual efforts from both sides will an environment be created in which professionals from various socio-cultural backgrounds can thrive together. Future Research Directions • Very little research using the Language Socialization and Communities of Practice theories has been conducted outside academic settings. • The two theories have proven very useful in the area of immigrant professionals’ integration into Canadian labor market. • There is a lot of room in this area that calls for more investigation, especially by incorporating ethnographic investigation with field observations on all aspects of the reentry process. • Could provide a deeper understanding on issues of integrating highly skilled, internationally trained professional into the Canadian labor market, and can also extend the use of these two theories into more diverse fields.