Appendix F:
Glossary

Aboriginal -

refers to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people within the Saskatchewan context.

Benchmark -

are points of reference that serve as a basis for evaluation or comparison.

Biculturalism -

Darder (1991) defines biculturalism as "a process wherein individuals learn to function in two distinct sociocultural environments: their primary culture and that of the dominant mainstream culture of the society in which they live" (p. 48).

Darder, A. (1991). Culture and power in the classroom: A critical foundation for bicultural education: New York: Bergin and Garvey.

Common Conventions of English -

include rules for spelling, capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and sentence formation.

Holistic -

is interpreted within adult basic education as respecting the interrelationship of individuals, families, communities, and cultures and including all aspects of a person's life: mind, body, heart, and spirit. Learners are not expected to learn in isolation.

Learner-centred -

is interpreted within adult basic education as responding to the diverse needs of individuals and valuing their experiences, knowledge, goals, skills, and learning styles. The voice of the learner is heard and respected. The learner-centred approach recognizes that learning new skills is a developmental process that may not be continuous or linear.

ESL -

is the acronym for English as a Second Language.

Learning outcomes -

identify the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values that learners need to communicate, understand, and participate well at home, in the community, and at work.

Learning styles -

are the ways in which learners most effectively take in, store, and recall what they learn. Many learning style systems have been developed. The one most widely referred to in adult education is VAKT: Visual (learn by seeing), Auditory (learn by hearing), Kinesthetic (learn by doing), and Tactile (learn by touching).