New Canadian Voices

Louis Buchanan is a professor of English at the Ryerson Polytechnical
Institute in Toronto.

New Canadian Voices is an anthology of personal writing (essays, journal
entries, poems, and stories) by ESL (English as a Second Language)
students at a large Toronto high school. It is one of the most
innovative and useful high-school ESL texts I have ever read. There are
numerous activities suggested by the editor, most of which are excellent
in quality. The sections range from “Adjusting to Canada” through
“Family Roots” to “Memories” and “Becoming Canadian.”

This is a very important and timely text for young-adult ESL
classrooms. The students using the book will have had many experiences
similar to those of the writers. The therapeutic value of seeing that
their problems and anxieties are similar to others’ is obvious. As
well, the students begin to “risk more—an essential prerequisite for
language learning.”

New Canadian Voices would be a valuable addition to any public library
with a multicultural clientele.