Post-Soviet languages, and quality education in the Diaspora: The case of the Greater Toronto Area

• In Event: Multilingualism and Quality Education in Post-Soviet Spaces and the Diaspora

Proposal

This paper examines the perspectives and practices regarding Post-Soviet languages (Armenian, Azerbaijani, Estonian, Georgian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Latvian, Lithuanian, Russian, Ukrainian and Uzbek) in the Greater Toronto area among key stakeholders: families (students and parents), community educators (heritage language teachers & Community programs), as well as school teachers and school administrators. Preimmigration, as a remnant of Soviet policies and practices, and even those of the Russian empire, there was often a language hierarchy in Post-Soviet countries wherein Russian occupied the apex position, the titular language of the republic (based on the ethnicity and language giving the republic its name), was in second position, minority languages that were titular languages of other republics, held a lower position, and other non-dominant languages, recognized or non-recognized, occupied the lowest position. This hierarchy was reflected in education systems with the most prestigious schools and post-secondary institutions and programs in many Post-Soviet countries conducted in Russian language. In the diaspora, there is a strong desire among adults (parents, heritage language teachers and community educators) to preserve the heritage / family language in the Canadian environment while at the same time desiring that their children adapt to local society and education, learning English and curriculum content to the highest level possible. In the new context, Russian learning is promoted by parents for whom it is the primary family language in Toronto, but parents for whom it had been a highly valued language of wider communication (LWC), now use it much less than previously, and seem less anxious to transmit it to their children where its prestige and utility are diminished. While adult and youth members of different communities encountering each other in Toronto may still use Russian as LWC, they may just as or more often choose English in this function. School educators and administrators report strong commitment to principles of inclusion of knowledge, culture(s) and even language(s) of immigrant, including Post-Soviet, students in education, the comment ranges from agreement with board and school-based multicultural initiatives, to multicultural content in some classes, but little evidence of use of plurilingual pedagogies, encouragement or acceptance of students using their languages in class as resources for communication and learning. Youth report using post-Soviet languages in school contexts where there are enough classmates sharing a common language to speak with. Yet the commitment to the titular languages of the home countries may affect attitudes towards Russian as an intra-youth language in schools. Do Ukrainian students (who frequently know Russian) join together with other Russian-speaking youth from other contexts, particularly in recent years when Ukraine and Russia are at war? We have found attitudes of shared attitudes towards education informing the response of parents, community educators, and some youth towards Canadian education, but these seem parallel responses remaining from before immigration, not signs of a common post-Soviet “community” in Toronto. Educators in some ways do not “see” Post-Soviet students as a minority with distinct needs: in some sense they are an invisible, unheard, minority.

Authors

• Stephen A Bahry, OISE, University ofToronto

• Johanna HELIN, OISE, University of Toronto