Paper Title
Using Place-Referenced Approaches to Extend Language-Minority Youths’ Problem Solving Abilities and Literate Engagement

Abstract
In this presentation we examine an action research initiative where concepts of place and situation were used as heuristics to extend youths’ literacy engagement and problem solving abilities and stimulate their reflection on their complex personal and socially situated identities. The study revolved around a collaborative “Literacy Enrichment” project comprising a program of instructional innovations for students designated “at risk” in an ethnically diverse secondary school in the province of Ontario, Canada. The project was aimed at extending students’ acquisition of specialized, academic English repertoires and problem solving strategies with an eye to increasing their chances of passing the standardized assessment exam required to obtain a high school leaving certificate within Ontario. Keywords – Literacy Enrichment, Language-Minority Youths, Literate Engagement