Culturally Relevant materials and curriculum

Hmong students whether American-born or foreign-born struggle academically due to the lack of exposure to literature in their early years. It is also due to the lack of exposure to culturally relevant materials, curriculums, and teachers not being aware of students' ethnic culture. Based on DePouw’s (2012) study, some of the Hmong participants stated that they felt school personnel did not know enough about the Hmong American community which caused them to not know how to support Hmong students to be academically successful. When schools try to assimilate ethnic students into the mainstream classroom of whiteness and shame students for being a minority, it causes students to feel discomfort. Students can also feel disconnected and have low self-esteem in themselves. The lack of culturally relevant materials and cultural humility can make minority students feel excluded, alienated, and different (Vang, 2005; Thao 2003; Spycher, Girard, & Moua, 2020). When students have these kinds of feelings and emotions, they would be unmotivated to learn. They would feel that there is no point in learning. Here are some practices and methods that can be implemented in the school to support Hmong students.

1. In a school where instructions are given only in English, school personnel can encourage students to use their home language during enrichment activities, passing time, and social time with their peers who have the same home language background. model naturalistic linguistic interactions which can encourage other minority language students to speak their home language (Kohnert et al., 2005).

2. School personnel can create opportunities for students to explore their cultural traditions. For example, students can explore and research the Hmong New Year. They can explore this topic through various activities like reading and discussing multiple articles. This opportunity can allow students to learn their own culture while practicing academic language (Spycher, Girard, and Moua, 2020).

3. Interactive read-out louds are also effective ways to get students to practice their academic language. When doing interactive read out loud teachers should use culturally relevant texts. Culturally relevant read out loud expands students' language awareness and usage of disciplinary language (Spycher, Girard, & Moua, 2020).

4. Making sure that students have a space that is non-threatening and stress-free (Thao, 2003; Schecter & Cummins, 2003). Posting multilingual signs around the school, being aware of implicit bias towards other cultures, and having culturally relevant books that reflect students’ culture and home language are some of the few things that can make the classroom non-threatening and have a welcoming environment.