Forum on Cultural Identities, Community and Belonging

On September 29, 2022, the CLIC-Research Group hosted the Forum on Cultural Identities, Community and Belonging.

The Forum connected educators, researchers, and students in Montreal. Our objective with the forum was to deepen our understanding of the challenges that people who speak or acquire a second language encounter, including the challenge to integrate into new language communities in Montreal. 

The research presented, along with the personal accounts from the participants, laid out steppingstones towards implementing more inclusive pedagogy through intercultural learning, and equitable partnerships in education and various other social contexts.

Below is the list of presentations:

  1. The CLIC Project: A Space for Critical Inquiry and Reflective Practice in Language Learning and Teaching by N. Alonso Garcia, J. Demperio, & M. Kozlowska, UQAM
  2. Discrimination ethnique perçue, essentialisme ethnique et identité inclusive chez des étudiants et étudiantes universitaires by M. Doucerain & M. Deraîche, UQAM
  3. Resisting monolingualism: Plurilingual and pluricultural identities in the city of Montreal by A. Galante, McGill University
  4. Finding strength in our plurilingual repertoire to challenge language discrimination by C. Payant, UQAM
  5. A New Book on Intercultural Twinnings: Sharing Cultural Diversity by N. Carignan, S. Springer, M. Deraîche, & M.-C. Guillot, UQAM

Langue d’héritage: la survie de l’espagnol chez les jeunes montréalais by J. Payeras & J. Sánchez, UQAM

Socioecology, Language, & Neurocognition: A Systems View of Bilingualism by D. Titone, McGill University

The forum was conducted in the spirit of story-sharing and making new connections among allies to elevate the evolving identities of learners, promote multicultural consciousness among students and teachers alike, and to raise awareness of the multiple hierarchical power dynamics that are part of a language learning process.

We hope this first edition of the forum is just the beginning of a long-standing collaboration among researchers, educators and the student community of Montreal.