How Diverse Are We?

Learning about linguistic diversity

Reflect on the linguistic diversity of your school. Is it a multilingual environment? If it is, how many different language and dialects are spoken within the student and parent populations?

1. There are several aspects that are important about linguistic diversity. Here are some strategies to start thinking about it:

• Reflect on the linguistic diversity of your school.
• Is it a multilingual environment?
• If it is, how many different language and dialects are spoken within the student and parent population?
• How are these languages perceived and valued?

2. Create a “map” of the languages your students speak and learn more about those languages and their relationships to the English language. [Adapted from Cary, 2007, p. 33] Gather data on:

• Primary languages and dialects
• Home countries
• City vs. rural background
• L1 and L2 oral proficiency levels
• L1 and L2 literacy levels
• Language spoken at home

3. After you make your map, consider how you can use this information when planning your instruction.

4. Think about what children learn when they acquire a language. As a class break up into smaller groups and specialize in one of these topics. Afterwards, share out as a whole class.

• Read and discuss: What teachers need to know about language http://people.ucsc.edu/~ktellez/wong-fill-snow.html
• What are some of the challenges one faces when learning a new language? What challenges do your students face? And their families? Read A nation with many languages and some myths about language acquisition http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/PolicyResearch/ELLResearchBrief.pdf
• Why do some groups of children appear reluctant to participate in classroom discussions? Why may some families appear reluctant to participate in school functions or during a parent-teacher conference? How can differences in discourse styles be accommodated in the classroom and/or during a parent/teacher conference? Use the following reading materials as your resource:

a) Extending ELL students’ classroom interactions: https://www.readingrockets.org/article/extending-english-language-learners-classroom-interactions-using-response-protocol

b) Communicating with diverse families:  http://www.iriscenter.com/clde/clde_04.html

c) Working with culturally & linguistically diverse families: https://www.pacer.org/cultural-diversity/

Experiencing the challenges of linguistic diversity

If you speak a language other than English, think about how you feel when you have to communicate in that language. If you do not speak another language, try our exercise to get a sense of some of the challenges facing ELL students and their families.

Brief summary of activity:

1. Audience is told they are going to experience basic instruction that will be in a language other than English. They will have two opportunities to do the activity. Audience is asked to note differences in instruction and to tune in to how they feel throughout the activity and how this affects their motivation and their learning.

2. First set of instructions is presented with no ELL accommodations, just a person talking with no visuals, no gestures, no allowing to use L1 or peers, etc. Instructions are of the following type: stand up, touch your ear, touch your right index finger to your left one, move your arm, bend your elbow, turn your neck, etc.

3. Second set of instructions is presented with aids. The same instructions are repeated.

4. Audience is asked to sit down and individually and quietly answer the following questions:

a. What differences did you notice between the first and the second round of instructions? Please note that the instructions were exactly the same.

b. What strategies did you use during the first round of instructions? Does this tell you anything about your students’ behavior and learning styles?

c. How did you feel during the first set of instructions? And during the second? Consider how your instructional strategies may impact the motivation and learning of your ELL students.

5. Turn around and talk with a peer. What did your colleague think about the instructional approaches? And did you react similarly? How were your feelings aligned? How did they differ? What does this tell you about ELLs reactions and your ELL instruction?

Visible/invisible messages about culture

Examine your classroom for the visible and invisible messages that students may be learning about different cultures, including messages learned when certain cultural groups are excluded or when stereotypes of certain minority groups are not challenged. Reflect on your own views about those cultures.

As a teacher, the ways we talk, teach, and design our classrooms often express some visible and invisible messages about culture. We might not consciously be aware of the influence this may have on our students. Here are some examples to help you start to think about your practice.

1) Look around your classroom. How do you decorate your classroom? How much personal space do you allow for each student?

2) How do you talk to your students? Do you always ask them to look at you? In some cultures, students are not encouraged to look at authority figures. They are asked to listen quietly in class. What can you do to express the message that you believe students can be actively learning even if they only sit there quietly?

3) Think of a unit you are going to teach.

What’s your plan? What activities are you going to do? How are you going to evaluate your students’ performance?

Examine each of the activities carefully. Ex: Are you planning to ask students’ opinions in class? Students who are from non-Western cultures might not be used to expressing themselves in class. Your activity design might tell students an invisible message- they have to talk in class to show their active participation. Do you provide opportunities for students to work either individually or as a group? Students from certain cultures might prefer to work cooperatively on assigned tasks. How are you going to group the students? Some cultures might not encourage girls to talk with boys.

4) What holidays do you incorporate in your lesson plans? Only May Day or Girls Day? Your instruction might inform the students certain cultures are more important than others.

Reflecting upon the challenges of cultural and linguistic diversity

What do labels do to students and their families? Challenging Labels. As teachers, we need to reflect on the power we have on students and consider how our expectations shape our students learning experiences and that of their families. In this activity you will watch the PBS video “A Class Divided” (Elliot, 2003) to reflect upon expectations, labels, and how to have and convey positive and high beliefs on your students’ abilities.

1. Watch the PBS video “A Class Divided.” As teachers, we need to reflect on the power we have on students and what we can do to use that power in positive ways.

2. After watching the video, answer the following question on your own or with a group:

• –What did you learn? Discuss.
• –Did any part of the film surprise you? Explain.
• –How did the teacher create a context that positively affected some students’ performance and negatively affected other students’ performance?
• –How did the negative and positive labels placed on a group become self-fulfilling prophecies?
• –How would you translate what you learned by watching this film into a “teaching motto” or a way to describe your philosophy of teaching in this regard?
• Now, please consider how we tend to hear non-mainstream students portrayed by other students and families. How do you usually react to these comments? Do you actively contest any deficit approaches students or other teachers may show around you?

3. Finally, turn the reflection back to yourself. Have you ever caught yourself labeling a student in this way? How can you challenge your own biases and help yourself, your students, and the teachers’ around you change those labels into positive ones?

4. We suggest you read and use the chapter “How to free a child who is locked in a role” in Faber’s and Mazlish book “How to talk so kids can learn at home and in school” (1995). Implement it, and share the results with your colleagues—what did you learn about the student? About the student’s background? About your own reactions and the role you need to take in this dynamic?