The Pat Clifford Award

2019 Pat Clifford Award Winners: Dr. Angelica Galante and Chris Ostrowdun

Angelica Galante - Clifford 2019

Dr. Angelica Galante’s research on plurilingual instruction has the potential to increase student engagement among immigrant students and their Canadian-born counterparts

The EdCan Network is pleased to honour Dr. Angelica Galante – Assistant Professor at McGill University’s Faculty of Education – as the PhD-level category recipient of the 2019 Pat Clifford Award for Early Career Research in Education. This prestigious award recognizes Dr. Galante’s exceptional leadership in exploring and showcasing teacher professional development opportunities and practical classroom practices that engage students from all linguistic and cultural backgrounds in learning about different languages and cultures. (Read the Press Release)

Galante, A. (2019). “The moment I realized I am plurilingual”: Plurilingual tasks for creative representations in EAP at a Canadian university. Applied Linguistics Review. Advance online publication. doi: 0.1515/applirev-2018-0116

Galante, A., Okubo, C. Cole, C., Abd Elkaber, Carozza, N. Wilkinson, C., Wotton, C., & Vasic, J. (2019). Plurilingualism in higher education: A collaborative initiative for the implementation of plurilingual tasks in an English for Academic Purposes program at a Canadian university. TESL Canada Journal, 36(1), 121–133. doi: 10.18806/tesl.v36i1.1305

Galante, A. (2019). Plurilingualism in linguistically diverse language classrooms: Respecting and validating student identity. In V. Kourtis-Kazoullis, T. Aravossitas, E. Skourtou & P. P. Trifonas (Eds.), Interdisciplinary research approaches to multilingual education (pp. 65–78). New York, NY: Routledge.

Galante, A. (2019, January). It’s time to change the way we teach English. The Conversation Canada. Retrieved from

Galante, A. (2018). Drama for L2 speaking and language anxiety: Evidence from Brazilian EFL learners. RELC Journal, 49(3), 273–289. doi: 10.1177/0033688217746205

Galante, A. (2018). Examining foreign language policy and its application in an EFL university program: teacher perspectives on plurilingualism. In K. Bailey & Crandall J. (Eds.), Global perspectives on educational language policies (pp. 46-55). New York, NY: Routledge.

Piccardo, E. & Galante, A. (2018). Plurilingualism and agency in language education: The role of dramatic action-oriented tasks. In J. Choi & S. Ollerhead (Eds.), Plurilingualism in learning and teaching: Complexities across contexts (pp. 147-164). New York, NY: Routledge.

Galante, A. (2018). Linguistic and cultural diversity in language education through plurilingualism: Linking the theory into practice. In P. P. Trifonas & T. Aravossitas (Eds.), Handbook on research and practice in heritage language education (pp. 313–329). Toronto: Springer.

Galante, A. (2018). From monolingual to plurilingual: Toward a paradigm shift in TESOL. TESOL Convention’s Applied Linguistics Newsletter. Retrieved from

Galante, A. (2018). Integrating plurilingual practices in ELT in a superdiverse world. In T. Pattison (ed.), International Conference of the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language: Vol. 51. Glasgow conference selections [pp.167–169]. Oxford, UK: IATEFL.

Galante, A. (2018, October 21). Translanguaging for communication and identity (re)building: The story of a 74-year old Brazilian woman in Montreal [Blog post]. Retrieved from

Galante, A. & Thomson, R. I. (2017). The effectiveness of drama as an instructional approach for the development of L2 fluency, comprehensibility, and accentedness. TESOL Quarterly Journal, 51(1), 115–142.

Galante, A. (2017). Ms. Nakano. In D. Booth & R. Coles (Eds.), What is a “good’ teacher? (pp. 93–94). Toronto: Pembroke Publishers.

Coelho, D., Galante, A., & Pires, A. (2016). Online collaborative learning: Implementing a project with Edmodo. The Electronic Journal for English as a Second Language, 19(4), 1–15.

Galante, A., & Thomson, R. (2016, May 28). Teaching languages through drama/theatre positively impacts oral fluency [Blog post]. Retrieved from

Galante, A. (2015). Intercultural communicative competence in English language teaching: Towards validation of student identity, Brazilian English Language Teaching Journal, 6(1), 29–39.

Galante, A. (2015). Conectando a realidade plurilíngue brasileira ao ensino de língua portuguesa e o letramento digital. Revista Saberes, 2(1), 32–43.

Galante, A. (2014). Developing EAL learners’ intercultural sensitivity through a digital literacy project. TESL Canada Journal, 32(1), 53–66.

Galante, A. (2014). English language teaching in the post-method era. Contact Magazine, 40(4), 57–62.

Forthcoming Work

Galante, A. (accepted). Pedagogical translaguaging in a multilingual English program in Canada: Student and teacher perspectives of challenges. System Journal.

Galante, A., Okubo, K., Cole, C., Abd Elkader, N., Wilkinson, C., Carozza, N., Wotton, C., & Vasic, J. (accepted). “English-only is not the way to go:” Teachers’ perceptions of plurilingual instruction in an English program at a Canadian university. TESOL Quarterly Journal

Galante, A. (in press). Translanguaging for vocabulary improvement: A mixed methods study with international students in a Canadian EAP program. In T. Zhongfeng, L. Aghai, P. Sayer & J. L. Schissel (Eds.), Envisioning TESOL through a translanguaging lens.

Galante, A. (in press). Plurilingualism and TESOL in two Canadian postsecondary institutions: Towards context-specific perspectives. In S. Lau & S. Stille (Eds.), Plurilingual pedagogies: Critical and creative endeavours for equitable language (in) education. Toronto: Springer.


Chris Ostrowdun - Clifford 2019

Chris Ostrowdun’s research has the potential to challenge new teachers’ mindsets and assumptions towards creating inclusive classrooms for students with disabilities

The EdCan Network is also pleased to honour Chris Ostrowdun – PhD Candidate at the University of Calgary’s Werklund School of Education – as the Master’s-level category recipient of the 2019 Pat Clifford Award for Early Career Research in Education. This prestigious award recognizes Mr. Ostrowdun’s ongoing research, which strives to prompt pre-service teachers to rethink, reflect, and reconsider how they approach inclusive education practices towards students with disabilities. (Read the Press Release)

* Formerly Ostrowski

Peer Reviewed Papers

Ostrowdun, C. P. (submitted). Representations of inclusion: How preservice teachers understand inclusion across contexts. Exceptionality Education International.

Ostrowdun, C. P., Friendly, R., Matthews, K., de Bie A., & Roelofs, F. (in-press). Holding space and engaging with difference: Navigating the personal theories we carry into our pedagogical partnership practices. International Journal of Students as Partners.

Ostrowdun, C. P., Lock, J., Hill, S. L., Johnson, C., & da Rosa dos Santos, L. (under revision). From assistants to partners: A framework for graduate students as partners in SoTL research. Teaching & Learning Inquiry.

Ostrowski, C. (2018). Building and enjoying the “Big Tent” together: A Review of ISSOTL17. International Journal for Students as Partners, 2(2).

Johnson, C., Hill, S. L., Lock, J., Altowairiki, N., Ostrowski, C. P., da Rosa dos Santos, L., & Liu, Y. (2017). Using design-based research to develop meaningful online discussions in undergraduate field experience courses. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 18(6), 36-53.

Ostrowski, C. P. (2016). Improving access to accommodations: Reducing political and institutional barriers for Canadian postsecondary students with visual impairments. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 110(1), 15-25.

Ostrowski, C. P. (2016). A narrative inquiry into the experiences of university students with visual impairments: The effects of people, institutions, and technology in supporting learning (Unpublished master’s thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB.

Peer Reviewed Book Chapters

Lock, J., Johnson, C., Altowairiki, N., Burns, A., Hill, S. L., & Ostrowski, C. P. (2018). Enhancing instructor capacity through the redesign of online practicum course environments using Universal Design for Learning. In J. Keengwe (Ed.), Handbook of research on blended learning pedagogies and professional development in higher education (pp. 1–20). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

Ostrowski, C. P., Lock, J., Hill, S. L., da Rosa dos Santos, L., Altowairiki, N. F., & Johnson, C. (2017). A journey through the development of online environments: Putting UDL theory into practice. In P. Vu, S. Fredrickson, & C. Moore (Eds.), Handbook of research on innovative pedagogies and technologies for online learning in higher education (pp. 218– 235). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.