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No matter where we live, we cannot deny the demographic changes that have taken and continue to place on a global level. These changes have inevitably affected our societies and we see those changes inside the classroom. The world of education, specifically adult education, and how we understand it has undergone significant changes in the last 25 years.

Based on my 21 years of experience as a teacher of English in Canada, I believe strongly that education is a human right. Teaching English to newcomers to Canada, though, is more than that. I believe it is a critical aspect of helping newcomers, many of them who come to Canada with a high degree of education, integrate into Canadian culture, which is often very foreign to them. In the last 20 years, I have taught students from varying age groups 鈥� from as young as 17 years all the way up to 75. I have also been fortunate enough to have met and gotten to know students from all over the globe, including Latin America, North and West Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Asia.

Quebec, as we know it today, is, for the most part, a French-speaking province. The first language of most Quebecers is French, and English tends to be learned in school. In comparison to the rest of Canada, we are seen as a 鈥渄istinct society鈥�. For my North and West African students, this is not an issue at all. For the rest, however, it can be a challenge. How can newcomers that speak neither French nor English fluently become full participating citizens in this distinct society? How can they attain jobs and work in their respective fields if they have no language fluency in either of Canada鈥檚 two official languages and no Canadian work experience?

As an adult educator, one of my first priorities is to define the cultural values of Quebec society to help my students understand the society they are now living in. Learning any language requires cultural understanding. Learning idiomatic expressions helps in understanding the society鈥檚 humor and the history behind a language, both of which become windows into the culture. Another critical priority for me as an adult educator is to create a positive and empowering learning environment. In 鈥淧aulo Freire and Pedagogy For Social Justice鈥�, an exploration of the work of the renowned Brazilian educator and philosopher, Rich Gibson attempted to sum up Freire鈥檚 belief about the goal of adult education. His conclusion was that this goal was to turn students into problem solvers and thus enable them to think critically in the new language. Depending on the individual鈥檚 own cultural history and socio-economic status in their native country, this can either be extremely easy or challenging. Writing on cultural value systems in Africa in his 1955 work 鈥淐ultural Anthropology鈥�, M.J. Herskovits defined culture as 鈥渢he integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behaviour鈥�. Yet, now notions of cultural understanding have evolved 鈥� especially in North America. We have terms such as high context and low context culture, popular culture, organizational culture, and subculture.

Where does an adult educator begin?

I begin with a definition of culture proposed by Horace Kallen, a German-born American philosopher. He stated that the term 鈥渃ultural pluralism鈥� is based on different groups co-existing democratically and peacefully. In my class, I call it 鈥渉aving cultural awareness鈥�. Oftentimes, I ask my students to observe the environment around them 鈥� observe the people on their way to school, in the park, inside a subway station, etc... And to consider:

• What seems to be popular in this "new" society?
• What is deemed as acceptable and unacceptable behaviour?
• What are the beliefs toward religion, family, finances, etc.?
• What is the etiquette, such as when dining out or just having a coffee at a nearby coffee?
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North Americans love drinking coffee and here in Canada, everyone knows the famous 鈥淭im Hortons鈥�. Going for coffee here is not only for social outings, but also common for formal or informal meetings. The challenge arises when students鈥� cultural base of values, behaviours, beliefs, and ways of doing is different from the Canadian way. Should I enforce adaptation? Should I overly empathize? Ideally, the adult education teacher has to find a perfect balance between learners鈥� cultural backgrounds and educational experiences and the Canadian way of learning. The idea is to bring the adult learner鈥檚 own life experience into the learning process. This will pave the way toward their own self-empowerment.

Learning a language is not just about grammatical structure and pronunciation. It includes everything behind that language 鈥� the mentality of that language in a given society. For instance, newcomers arriving in Quebec will have a different experience from that of newcomers arriving in British Columbia. There is a subculture within a culture as well. Quebecers have their own set of behaviours 鈥� cultural patterns innately understood among the locals. Greetings may differ from province to province 鈥� yet the language is still English. Teachers expose this to their students when they go on outings (extra-curricular activities) such as ice skating, apple picking or some of the other activities we offer to our students. The learning process can be very enriching when students engage in these kids of activities. They get to explore the history of the city they are living in and discover cultural influences from the past. This information is priceless.

Should anyone be deprived of any of the experiences I have mentioned, or their benefits?

Learning English in Canada is a human right. Furthermore, the process of developing fluency in the English language entails more than just understanding words. The way in which the words are delivered is critically important. The many nuances of the language can take some time for students to grasp. More importantly though, whenever students are engaged in group work (which is done a lot in North America), it is about co-existing in harmony 鈥� learning ways of communicating that were, perhaps, foreign to them previously.

Language is continuously changing and we (all members of society) must adapt to its evolution which also means understanding the culture behind it. Living in a multicultural society has its challenges, but also its rewards. The bottom line is that we (as a collective) have the moral responsibility to create this evolving culture together, while, at the same time, speaking a common language.

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