Abstract

Quebec is home to a large population of bilingual and trilingual children entering the public education system. The current educative framework and historically restrictive language legislation make navigating teaching English as a second language a challenging mandate for educators in metropolitan areas of the province. This qualitative study uses a three phase model to explore how English second language teachers navigate the challenges of teaching literacy to a highly varied student body. The study also collaboratively considers the combination of differentiated instruction and culturally sustaining pedagogy for generating reading comprehension materials for ESL elementary classes in Quebec. Findings revealed that educators in Quebec are interested in exploring differentiated reading materials. ESL teachers in Quebec currently describe their classes as highly diverse and identify teaching literacy as a complex issue. Furthermore, findings indicate that teachers believe their students would benefit from a more inclusive curriculum, which reflects the diversity found in metropolitan areas of the province.