Elementary and Secondary ESL programs within BC

I strongly agree with Myra's concern. There are many confounding variables that could make the relationship between "experience with the ESL program" and "success in assimilating into Canadian culture/workplace" spurious. It is very difficult for us to account for these variables, and impossible to control all, if any of them. In addition to the fact that many Canadians don't need to use English in order to get on with their daily lives, most new immigrants already have varying degrees of language proficiency when they first come into Canada (some speak and write English much better than the average Canadian or have it as their first language). All of these factors make these survey questions difficult to carry out practically.

I also think the using of the word "assimilation" could be problematic. It is a highly subjective concept that vary from each each individual. Even if we were to try to define it as a general, concrete theme, it would be nearly impossible for us as researchers to agree upon, let alone the hundreds of respondents who will be answering the survey.

Anyway, I am definitely interested in finding out the relationship between English proficiency and professional success for new Canadians. I do think that there is a causal relationship between the two, and it's important to pin-point that relationship for the sake of improving government programs that aim to help new Canadians. However, there are just so many confounding factors that could disprove the relationship. I don't think it would be feasible to tackle this question with the limited survey space and resources that we have for this particular assignment. It would be definitely interesting to create a comprehensive survey (say, 30 - 50 questions) on this specific subject targeted only toward new immigrant respondents who have had formal or informal experience with the Canadian ESL system.