Browsing by Author "Singh, Sukhdaiyal"

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    Critical Discourse Analysis: The Impact the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test has on ESL Teachers’ Teaching Practices and Work Environments
    (2016) Singh, Sukhdaiyal; Gereluk, Dianne; Abbott, Marilyn; Jacobsen, Michele; Spencer, Brenda; O'Brien, Mary
    The Ontario Ministry of Education has implemented the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) as a means to assess whether students have mastered basic literacy at the grade 9 level. Much research has focused on the process of language acquisition and the impact standardized testing has on English language learners (ELLs). The domain of inquiry for this thesis is the way in which the OSSLT impacts teachers’ decisions as they prepare ELLs for the OSSLT, as well as how the privileging of knowledge influences teachers’ curricular practices and work environment. In this thesis, I draw upon critical discourse analysis to consider how issues of (a) power and dominance, (b) discourse access, (c) social cognition, and (d) discourse structure are at play for teachers when preparing ELLs for the OSSLT.