Volume 28, Number 1, 2026

FR:

Cet article vise à étudier les pratiques d’émergence de l’écrit (indirectes et directes) de sept enseignantes soutenant le développement langagier des enfants à l’éducation préscolaire 4 ans à temps plein en milieu défavorisé plurilingue au Québec (Canada). Les résultats sont tirés d’un entretien semi-dirigé et d’une observation réalisée avec l’outil Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation (ELLCO, Smith et al., 2008), en début d’année scolaire. Ils montrent que davantage de pratiques enseignantes indirectes et directes favorisant le développement du langage oral, de la conscience de l’écrit et de la conscience phonologique des enfants sont mises en place. Les enseignantes mentionnent adapter leurs pratiques aux enfants qui ne parlent pas français, même si cela représente un défi pour elles. Ces résultats permettent de mieux comprendre les pratiques mises de l’avant pour soutenir le développement du langage oral et écrit dans des écoles québécoises défavorisées plurilingues.

EN:

This article aims to study the practices (indirect and direct) of seven teachers supporting the development of emergent writing in full-time 4-year-old kindergarteners from a plurilingual disadvantaged environment. Results from a semi-structured interview and observation with the Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation (ELLCO, Smith et al., 2008) at the beginning of the school year show that they implement more indirect and direct teaching practices supporting oral language development, print awareness, and phonological awareness. Teachers mention adapting their teaching practices to children who do not speak French, even though this represents a challenge for them. These results provide a better understanding of the practices used in emergent writing in disadvantaged plurilingual schools.

FR:

Cette étude a pour objectif de décrire et de comparer les pratiques de soutien au langage oral mises en oeuvre par huit éducatrices en centres de la petite enfance et huit enseignantes d’éducation préscolaire 4 ans, dans deux contextes d’apprentissage distincts : la lecture d’histoires et les jeux libres. Des enregistrements vidéo ont été réalisés auprès des participantes, permettant une analyse des pratiques utilisées selon la typologie de Girolametto et Weitzman (2002). Seules les pratiques pour se centrer sur les enfants sont observées fréquemment, alors que les pratiques pour promouvoir les conversations et pour enrichir le langage s’avèrent plus rares.

EN:

The purpose of this study is to describe and compare the oral language support practices implemented by eight early childhood educators and eight preschool teachers for 4-year-olds in two distinct learning contexts: story time and free play. Video recordings were made of the participants, allowing for a detailed analysis of the practices used according to the typology of Girolametto et Weitzman (2002). Only practices that focus on children are observed frequently, while practices that promote conversation and enrich language are rarer.

EN:

Framing the Manitoba Association of School Psychologists position statement as an illustrative case of recent debates on classroom literacy instruction, the authors respond to recent calls for universal structured literacy approaches heard from sponsors of the Science of Reading movement. In hope of eliciting critical and informed discourse among policy makers and instructional leadership across Canada, the authors weave their discussion drawing on recent research with expansive questions for leadership to pose with teachers and other stakeholders which interrogate: a) the debates between and invocations of “science” to endorse or discredit structured and balanced approaches to literacy instruction; b) calls to teach all students to read in a one-size-fits all manner using approaches derived from interventions designed for students experiencing reading difficulties; and c) reductive views of literacy teaching and learning. While acknowledging the foundational importance of code-focused instruction to reading development, the authors challenge the soundness of narrowed approaches to literacy instruction.

EN:

The rise of generative artificial intelligence (genAI) has provoked critical questions about what it means to write and how to teach it. Research exploring writing pedagogy post-genAI reflects tensions between deep concerns and hopeful visions. This qualitative study explored the experiences of language and literacy educators (n=39) teaching writing in secondary and post-secondary contexts in Canada. These educators offered insights into the values and strategies underpinning their writing pedagogies and highlighted roles genAI could play as a coach or collaborator depending on instructional goals for learning to write or writing to learn. They also shared how their emerging approaches to teaching writing were influenced by other constituents in their pedagogical landscapes such as student needs, curriculum and assessment frameworks, and institutional policies on student use of AI. Understanding purposes for writing and the ecologies of different education environments opens space to consider the place of genAI in writing as a learning process. This study contributes a framework of instructional goals and a reflective ‘landscapes’ tool to support the agency of language and literacy educators to enact writing pedagogies that empower learners in different AI-mediated learning environments.

EN:

Older adults’ literacy is of increasing concern based on the most recent International Adult Literacy Survey (OECD, 2024). In this paper, the authors apply critical policy analysis (Ball, 1993) and critical gerontology (Schmidt-Hertha et al., 2022) frameworks to examine two national Canadian policy texts, Skills for Success and ABC Life Literacy. The analysis suggests there is a glaring lack of recognition of older adults as literacy learners in these documents. There was evidence of narrowed definitions of literacy alongside stereotypical understandings of aging. The paper will be particularly relevant to policy makers and professionals that support older adults’ literacy development.

EN:

Informed by the ethnographically grounded insights drawing on discourse analytic perspectives, the study captures the voices of empowered student identities, illustrating how functional pedagogy may construct, challenge, and affirm identities of “vulnerable English language learners” (Ou & Gu, 2018) as identities of confident and competent text readers, writers and “mini researchers.” This teacher research project was situated in multiple sections of an academic literacy course for first-year international students at a Canadian university. The students were engaged in conducting and reporting an empirically grounded discourse analytic research project informed by systemic functional linguistics over the term. Data was generated from interviews, student-written works and journals, and teacher-researcher field notes. Through this investigation, the study demonstrates how writing classes in higher education can serve as spaces that nurture the agentive voices in L2 students who strive to expand their sense-making choices and make those choices purposely, critically, and creatively.

EN:

This inquiry investigates the relationship of the foundational skills of handwriting and spelling as they influence quality writing outcomes at the end of Grade 2 for students of diverse learner profiles. Using trait-based rubrics, expository writing samples for 15 classes (N=298) were scored holistically for quality writing outcomes and secondly, for quality of handwriting. A spelling accuracy rate was calculated, and patterns of spelling errors were recorded. Findings reveal strong connections between fluency of handwriting, spelling and quality writing outcomes for all young learners. We underscore the importance of explicit instruction in handwriting and spelling; and secondly – especially for English language learners (ELLs), attention to vocabulary teaching.

EN:

School-aged newcomers have a pressing need for additional support to achieve their academic success. This article reports on the results of an after-school literacy program in Alberta, Canada, that aimed to support adolescent newcomers’ literacy. The primary data used include two high school students’ writing samples produced prior to and during the literacy program, and two tutors’ research notes. The study identifies the students’ learning needs and the impact of the literacy program on them. Findings inform instructional approaches and design promoting newcomer learners’ language and literacy development for school learning.