6 Learners’ Linguistic and Cultural Diversity

It’s important to keep in mind that every individual will have had unique experiences that shape their worldview and their communication style. The linguistic and cultural differences listed here are generalized and may not reflect the actual lived experiences of some learners from that cultural or linguistic profile.

Prior study in Canada

International students have achieved the required score on a standardized language proficiency test determined by your institution to study in your course/program or they have passed an English for Academic Purposes pathway program. Their prior postsecondary experience may have all been completed in another educational system or they may have taken some courses in Canada. Many international students have already completed postsecondary degrees prior to coming to Canada. These students may have learned English in a very decontextualized way and may not be familiar with the jargon and language structures required in particular disciplines.

Recent immigrants to Canada may have completed part of their high school education in Canada. Depending on when they immigrated to Canada, they may have had some additional language support in their academic studies. They may appear to be fluent because of their conversational skills, yet still struggle with academic English that they haven’t learned prior to moving to Canada, and have not had sufficient time to develop in Canadian educational settings. Immigrants that have moved to Canada as adults will have had different educational experiences, work and professional training and language backgrounds. While it takes approximately two years of immersion in an English setting to develop conversational English, it can take up to seven years to become competent in academic English (Cummins, 2008).

In ELLs’ task responses, you may notice evidence of the following differences in audience and language expectations (Wang4724, 2016).

Reader / Writer Responsibility

In North American writing, it is the writer’s responsibility to compose a very clear, direct message. Little work is expected of the reader. In many other cultures, the reader is expected to take an active role with the text, interpreting a message that is not directly presented or bringing a shared contextual knowledge to the reading that helps the writer and the reader co-create the narrative. A very direct style of writing in these cultures would potentially insult the intellect of the reader.

Position of the Main Point

In North American writing, the main point that will be covered in the writing is included in the introductory paragraph.  In other cultures, it is considered skillful to keep the reader in suspense and entice them through creative descriptive writing to continue reading until the end when the argument is presented. It takes great skill to write flowery, descriptive and engaging prose.

Communication Styles: High / Low Culture Contexts

Culture influences communication. In high-context cultures such as China and Japan, Africa, South America and the Middle East, there is a higher expectation of the role of others in communicating. Their communication style is often indirect and they are comfortable with silence. ELLs from these cultures are less likely to disagree, criticize or engage in debate on an issue because this would be directed at the individual. This contrasts with low-context North American culture where communication is direct and to the point.  Critical analysis, questioning and debating are valued and expected behaviours and are focused on the issue, not the individual.

Canada is considered a low context culture that has little shared background. The level of detail and directness included in communications assumes the reader knows little and assumes no shared knowledge. In high context cultures such as China and Korea that share rich cultural, historical and linguistic backgrounds, there is a great deal of shared knowledge little needs to be said to create a mutual understanding of an idea that is based on this shared knowledge.

Use of Transitions

ELLs may have learned transitional phrases common in North American writing such as “however,” “meanwhile,” “moreover” etc. and use them to connect sentences. Often though, the meaning of the transition is not correct given the ideas that they are joining together.

In Spanish and Arabic cultures for example, good writing is very descriptive and poetic, using lots of metaphors and artistic language to create the picture. Writers from these cultures may think the direct simple style expected in North American writing is not sophisticated enough for an academic submission.

Understanding of Academic Integrity

In many countries, academic integrity differs from Canadian expectations. In many collectivist cultures, students are expected to work together collaboratively to complete assignments and tasks. Students will work together to write the responses to take home exams.  There is a wide body of knowledge that is considered universal, so when writing, there is no need to attribute the source to a specific person or reference. In Confucian models, students are expected to honour those who offer wisdom by memorizing and using their words rather than trying to create original work (Turnitin, 2021).