Yan Guo

Dr. Yan Guo was born and raised in China. She obtained her BA and MA in English from Shandong Teachers’ University. From 1989 to 1992, she taught English to English majors at the same university. In 1992, she moved to Regina and completed her MA in English in 1995. Then she moved to Vancouver and completed her Ph.D. in Language and Literacy Education from the University of British Columbia in 2002. From 200 3 to 2004, she taught undergraduate courses at the University of Alberta. In 2004, Dr. Yan Guo joined the Faculty of Education at the University of Calgary where she teaches graduate courses in Teaching English as an Additional Language and literacy in the teacher education program.

Dr. Yan Guo employs interdisciplinary approaches in her research, involving sociolinguistics, education, sociology, and philosophy. Her research examines the intersection of language, race, culture, and identity from sociopolitical and sociocultural perspectives. While some focus on Canada, other works are more international. Over the years she has developed research expertise in the following six areas:

1. Legitimizing immigrant parent knowledge in teacher education
2. Exploring linguistic, cultural, and religious diversity with pre-service teachers
3. Intercultural communication between immigrant parents and Canadian teachers
4. Content-based ESL instruction
5. Critical discourse analysis of English as a global language and critical multilingualism
6. Second language writing and identity

Current Projects:

Knowledge Construction of ESL Parents and Pre-Service Teachers and its Mobilization, PI, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Standard Grant

Teaching under China’s market economy: Five case studies, Education International, Brussels, Co-Principal-Investigator (PI: Shibao Guo; Co-Investigators: Gulbahar Beckett, Qing Li, Linyuan Guo)

Pathways to prosperity: New policy directions and innovative local practices for newcomer attraction and integration, SSHRC Letter of Intent (LOI), collaborator, with principal investigator, Victoria M. Esses, University of Western Ontario

PhD
University of British Columbia

MA
University of Regina

BA and MA
Shandong Teachers’ University

Dr. Yan Guo offers her expertise to a variety of government and non-government organizations across Canada and in China. She supports the following institutions with her knowledge in the areas of immigration, English as an Additional Language (EAL), diversity, cultural competence, minority parent engagement, and English as a Foreign Language (EFL): Alberta Education, The Calgary Board of Education , Southern Alberta Institute of Technology , Bow Valley College, EducationMatters, Immigrant Services Calgary, the Coalition for Equal Access to Education for Ethnocultural Parents and Youth, Immigrant Sector Council of Calgary (ISCC), Calgary Chinese Community Service Association, Ethno-Cultural Council of Calgary, Language Research Centre, China Interdisciplinary Group, Beijing Foreign Studies University, and Shandong Teachers’ University.

• The Prairie Metropolis Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration, Integration and Diversity (PMC), Researcher
• The Coalition for Equal Access to Education for Ethnocultural Parents and Youth, Researcher
• EducationMatters, Board Member of the Governors and Grant Committee Member

Guo, Y. (2011). Beyond deficit paradigms: Exploring informal learning of immigrant parents. Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education, 24(1), 41-59.

Guo, Y. (2011). Perspectives of immigrant Muslim parents: Advocating for religious diversity in Canadian schools. Multicultural Education, 18(2), 55-60.

Guo, Y., & Mohan, B. (2011). Beyond cultural differences: Understanding and negotiating the conflict between Chinese immigrant parents and Canadian teachers. In Z. Bekerman & T. Geisen (Eds.), International handbook of migration, minorities, and education: Understanding cultural and social differences in processes of learning (pp. 301-317). New York: Springer.

Guo. Y. (2011). Deconstructing parental involvement: Chinese immigrants in Canada. In L. Suryadinata (Ed.), Migration, Indigenization and Interaction: Chinese Overseas and Globalization (pp. 97-122). Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Company.

Guo, Y. (2010). Meetings without dialogue: A study of ESL parent-teacher interactions at secondary school parents’ nights. The School Community Journal, 20(1), 121-140.

• Guo, Y. (November 22, 2011). Equal opportunity. The Vancouver Singtao Daily, A. 9
• Guo, Y. (August 3, 2010). Chinese and foreigners. The Vancouver Singtao Daily, A. 9
• Guo, Y. (February 16, 2010). Myths of second language learning. The Vancouver Singtao Daily, A. 9

• Courses