| I. Program Relevance and Design |
| The LINC program is aligned with CIC priorities; there is a need for language acquisition for newcomers to Canada, as it is a key to successful integration; and the federal government role is appropriate. |
CIC agrees with this finding. |
CIC will continue to review its settlement programming to ensure its continued relevance. |
Integration |
Ongoing |
| II. Program Design |
LINC training is high quality and designed to meet the needs of students:
- LINC instructors are experienced and use a variety of teaching tools to help ensure the goals of students are met.
- The assessment tools and student placement are effective.
|
CIC agrees with this finding and is committed to maintaining the high quality of LINC training. |
CIC will continue to refine its approach to ensure the high quality of instruction. |
Integration |
Ongoing |
| Potential participants gain access to LINC in a timely fashion in most areas of the country, with only Calgary and PEI identifying waiting lists as an issue. |
CIC agrees with this finding. |
CIC will continue to monitor immigration flows, spikes in demand, and the effects of its vouchers pilot project on LINC waiting lists. |
OMC / Regions |
Ongoing |
| The Department will work with its Regional offices and with provincial and territorial partners to meet demand for language training as it arises in Alberta, PEI and elsewhere. |
| Numerous support services are provided by a large majority of SPOs, but availability of child care assistance was cited as the main obstacle to attending LINC. |
CIC agrees with this finding and continues to address barriers to program access. |
Between FY 2004-05 and 2008-09, CIC increased funding for childminding in LINC from $17.3M to $27.8M (a 61% increase). New money increased both the total number of students receiving childminding service and the average hours of service provided per student. CIC will continue to ensure that the expansion of childminding remains consistent with the Childminding Monitoring and Support (CMAS) guidelines. |
Integration / OMC |
Ongoing |
| CIC is undertaking a review of its Settlement Program, including the role of childminding and other support services. |
Q3 2010-11 |
| Over 90% of LINC classes feature continuous intake, which presents challenges for teachers, but makes classes more accessible for students. |
CIC agrees with this finding, and recognizes the need to strike a balance between program accessibility and the quality of the classroom experience. |
The Department will explore how to better manage and support student intake, and will bring forward recommendations to its National Language Training Working Group (NLTWG). |
Integration |
Q4 2010-11 |
| III. Program Management and Delivery |
| Program guidelines and the various modes of LINC delivery allow SPOs to create a flexible program that meets learner needs. |
CIC agrees with this finding, and recognizes the importance of a national set of objectives that allows space for SPOs to tailor programs to meet local needs. |
CIC is disseminating renewed program guidelines, including curriculum guidelines for higher levels of LINC and CLIC (levels 5-7). |
Integration / OMC / Regions |
Q2 2010-11 |
| Program flexibility will be further increased through the expansion of LINC Home Study and CLIC en ligne, and through the introduction of Occupation-Specific Language Training (OSLT) projects. |
Integration / OMC / Regions |
Q4 2010-11 |
| CIC continues to improve coordination with provincial partners to ensure a coordinated and complementary spectrum of training programs. In Ontario, CIC and MCI will pilot the Coordinated Language Assessment and Referral System (CLARS) in Fall 2010. Pilot results will inform efforts to enhance coordination of services in other jurisdictions. |
Integration / OMC / Regions |
Q3 2010-11 |
| Program data contained in iCAMS (and HARTs in Ontario) are largely administrative in nature and do not provide adequate information on client outcomes. |
CIC agrees in part with this finding, noting that iCAMS and HARTs were designed to capture administrative data. This data provides some indication of immediate client outcomes, and can be complemented by data from other sources such as surveys, focus groups, standardized testing, etc. |
CIC will pilot a standardized portfolio-based assessment system in LINC classrooms, which will produce reports on student progress and the immediate outcomes of language training. |
Integration / OMC / Research & Evaluation |
Q1 2011-12 |
| CIC is developing a standardized language test to independently measure language proficiency at two key milestones. Test results will contribute to CIC’s ability to assess overall program outcomes and impact. |
Integration / OMC / Research & Evaluation |
Q1 2011-12 |
| CIC will develop a client feedback survey to gather global outcomes on the language training of newcomers. |
Integration / OMC / Research & Evaluation |
Q4 2010-11 |
| CIC will also upgrade iCAMS, enhancing the quality of the data collected to align output data capture with the Department’s modernized approach to settlement. |
Integration / OMC / Research & Evaluation |
Q4 2010-11 |
| CIC will develop a standardized approach to the assessment of newcomer needs, allowing CIC to track progress against intended outcomes. |
Integration / OMC / Research & Evaluation |
Q4 2010-11 |
| CIC will work with representatives of the settlement sector and service providers to determine how to improve performance measurement across the settlement sector. |
Integration / OMC / Research & Evaluation |
Q3 2010-11 |
| The program has not calculated a take-up rate due to the various language training options available to newcomers and the voluntary nature of language instruction. |
CIC agrees with this finding. |
Through its vouchers pilot project, CIC will assess the effect of vouchers on the uptake of language training. |
Integration |
Q2 2011-12 |
| The Department will study the feasibility of introducing a standardized language test as part of the citizenship application process, including its effect on the uptake of language training. |
Integration |
Q1 2010-11 |
| IV. Program Impact |
In an ideal environment, it might be possible to test the effectiveness of LINC against a control group who had not received language training. It would, however, be difficult to isolate the impact of LINC, on LINC learners, from other influences on their language acquisition. Similarly, for a control group, it is difficult to identify the impact of unobservable characteristics (e.g. motivation, diversity of social networks, etc.) on their language acquisition, outside of a LINC environment. In this study, in an effort to provide a more quantitative assessment, a small sample group (those assessed but not enrolled in LINC) was selected and a pre-test/post-test approach was used to compare gains scores. For the “control” sample under consideration in this evaluation:
- LINC students improved their language abilities in the four skill areas: reading, writing, listening and speaking (by greater than one benchmark level in each).
- However, for listening and speaking, the gains were not beyond what they would have achieved from living in Canada.
- The number of hours in LINC makes a considerable difference: by the time students reach 1000 hours, the gains attributable to LINC rise.
|
CIC agrees with this finding, recognizing that the difficulty of establishing a suitable control group and the limited precision of existing tests prevents the study’s conclusions from being applied to the LINC program as a whole. CIC is prepared to take action to (1) improve the tools needed for future impact analysis, and (2) develop tools and approaches to support student progress in speaking and listening to the same degree as in reading and writing. |
CIC will introduce new tools and approaches to monitor performance and measure language outcomes: |
|
|
| Pilot a standardized portfolio-based assessment system in LINC classrooms, which will increase CIC’s ability to identify areas for improvement. |
Integration / OMC / Regions |
Q3 2010-11 |
| Develop a CLB-based, standardized language test in order to measure incremental gains in language acquisition and allow for a full assessment of program impact. |
Integration / OMC / Regions |
Q1 2011-12 |
| Develop a standardized approach to the assessment of newcomer needs, allowing CIC to track progress against intended outcomes. |
Integration / OMC / Regions |
Q4 2010-11 |
| Work with representatives of the settlement sector and service providers to determine how to improve performance measurement across the settlement sector. |
Integration / OMC / Regions |
Q4 2010-11 |
| Explore new approaches to monitoring instructional practice and bring forward recommendations to the NLTWG. |
Integration / OMC / Regions |
Q4 2011-12 |
| CIC will also continue to focus on delivering quality language instruction that achieves measurable gains in each of the four areas. In this regard, CIC will: Identify and develop new curriculum materials to enhance the resources available to LINC teachers; |
Integration / OMC / Regions |
Q3 2010-11 |
| Explore the use of conversation circles, guest speakers and other informal opportunities for oral interaction, resulting in recommendations to the NLTWG; |
Integration / OMC / Regions |
Q4 2010-11 |
| Explore the introduction of professional development opportunities for teachers to improve instructional practice in several areas, including pragmatics, pronunciation, listening and speaking, resulting in recommendations to the NLTWG; |
Integration / OMC / Regions |
Q2 2011-12 |
| Disseminate best practices and build teacher communities across the ESL/FSL sector through an online national repository. |
Integration / OMC / Regions |
Q2 2011-12 |
| CIC agrees with this finding, and recognizes that newcomers face competing priorities which limit the amount of time they can devote to full-time language training. |
The Department will further endeavour to provide training options that help newcomers extend their period of study by: |
|
|
| Expanding enrolment and offering higher levels of online training, in both English and French; |
Integration / OMC / Regions |
Q4 2010-11 |
| Offering out-of-class tutoring; |
Integration / OMC / Regions |
Ongoing |
| Exploring the use of conversation circles and other informal opportunities to practice communication skills; |
Integration / OMC / Regions |
Q4 2010-11 |
| Exploring options for language training in the workplace; |
Integration / OMC / Regions |
Q4 2011-12 |
| The Department will study the feasibility of introducing a standardized language test as part of the citizenship application process, including its effect on the number of hours students stay in LINC. |
Integration / OMC / Regions |
Q1 2010-11 |
| LINC clients are settling well in Canada, but they are no further ahead than non-clients when it comes to certain initial settlement activities. |
CIC agrees with this finding, and notes especially LINC's role in ensuring that settlement results for its students are similar to those attained by newcomers who did not require training in the first place. |
LINC classes will continue to serve newcomers whose language skills hinder their ability to undertake certain settlement activities by combining the language training and information they need for successful settlement. |
Integration / OMC |
Ongoing |
| As part of the forthcoming portfolio-based language assessment pilot, CIC will incorporate key settlement information into LINC student binders. |
Integration / OMC |
Q3 2010-11 |
| LINC students learn about many different aspects of working and living in Canada, with content typically focused on English for daily life, settlement/integration, Canadian civics, and employment/English in the workplace. |
CIC agrees with this finding. |
No action required. |
N/A |
N/A |
| V. Cost-Effectiveness/Alternatives |
Cost per LINC student has risen significantly as a result of funding increases in several key program areas, while the number of students has remained stable.
- In particular, child-minding and transportation expenditures rose significantly.
|
CIC agrees with this finding. |
CIC will conduct a review and produce a report identifying potential efficiencies and recommending costing models and standards, to ensure that program costs are consistent and regionally appropriate. |
Integration / OMC / Regions |
Q4 2010-11 |
| The Department is currently determining how to improve newcomer outcomes in a cost-effective manner. This assessment will form part of a settlement review. |
Integration / OMC / Regions |
Q3 2010-11 |
| Starting in 2010-11, CIC will plan resources required to meet the needs in local communities and issue priorities. Guidelines will be issued to target funding to priorities. |
Integration / OMC / Regions |
Q4 2010-11 |
| The Department will monitor indirect program costs through the financial tracking of separate lines for support services and capital expenditures, in order to assess the balance between direct (assessment and training) and indirect costs. |
Integration / OMC / Regions |
Quarterly |
| CIC will expand online training for those in a position to benefit from it. |
Integration / OMC / Regions |
Q4 2010-11 |
| While the approach to program delivery through third-party organizations is considered cost-effective, further analysis of other delivery models would be required in order to determine true cost-effectiveness of the program. |
CIC agrees with this finding. |
CIC will produce a report surveying the cost of delivering effective language training in comparable jurisdictions, both domestic and international. The report will provide a means to assess LINC spending against comparable programs and provide a basis for the establishment of baselines and spending targets. |
Integration / OMC |
Q3 2010-11 |
| CIC will propose new guidelines for regional and local offices governing LINC spending targets and the process for establishing reasonable LINC costs at the local level. |
Integration / OMC |
Q1 2011-12 |
| CIC will continue to pilot the use of vouchers and examine their role in program delivery. |
Integration / OMC |
Q2 2011-12 |
