Connection Grant 2023 with Sunny Man Chu Lau and Collaborators

Project: Language-friendly schools: Research-based linguistically and culturally inclusive equitable education practices.

Congratulations to Sunny Lau, co-investigator, along with colleagues Emmanuelle Le Pichon-Vorstman from the University of Toronto serving as the Principal Investigator, as well as Rahat Zaidi from the University of Alberta and Margaret Early from University of British Columbia on receiving the 2023 Connection Grant!

The Connection project aims to advance the use of inclusive and equitable language practices while disseminating research-validated pedagogy cultivated through the Language Friendly School initiative. Language Friendly Schools are committed to implementing a comprehensive approach that integrates evidence-based practices to promote linguistic and cultural inclusion. Presently, the global network of Language Friendly Schools comprises 35 institutions across four continents, including Indigenous, public, and private schools, as well as those situated in refugee camps.

Through the awarded grant, the team will organize a two-day conference for practitioners and the public to showcase exemplary inclusive language practices at the macro (school community), meso (school), and micro (classroom) levels. These practices will be drawn from the experiences and recommendations of educators affiliated with Canada’s five Language Friendly schools. Subsequently, the conference will be followed by a half-day meeting involving a core group of participants, including ministry and school board personnel and researchers. During this session, attendees will reflect on challenges identified in the conference, reflect on their research and experiential knowledge, and develop a strategic plan for advancing linguistic and cultural inclusion within the Canadian education system.

Dr. Emmanuelle Le Pichon-Vorstman,
OISE/University of Toronto

Dr. Sunny Man Chu Lau, Bishop’s University