Culture

For culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students, the culture they bring to the classroom can be viewed as assets and liability. In China, we do not have different races like the US does. However, we do have students coming from different educational and financial background, which means that they may have different ways of behavior and thinking. In the US, the influence of CLD students would be more obvious. Assets that CLD students include, based on Herrera and Murry (2016), multilingualism, experiences and schooling in another country, and familiarity with multiple culture and ethnicities. For teachers, if we can consider those students as assets instead of fixating on their lack of English proficiency, our teaching will become more dynamic. From my own experience in teaching ESL classes in the US, I would like to invite every student in my class to do presentation. The topic of the presentation is very easy. They would be required to use pictures or videos to talk about their home country and their culture. Students can use simple English (if they are less proficient students), but they would not be allowed to read. By using 10 -15 minutes every class to do this activity, students may feel that their culture and heritage are appreciated. More importantly, they would be provided with an opportunity to demonstrate their English, which, in a way, will boost their confidence. One of the most famous sentence in Diangelo's book White Fragility (2018) is that I do not see color. In my ESP 722 course, we have criticized this opinion. Avoiding discussing this topic or pretending to not see this problem will not helpful. It is the same thing in the classroom. In the US, the race issue is likely to be there for a long time. If we have CLD students and ELLs in the classroom, we should acknowledge their difference, and show them that we respect and embrace their difference, so that students with these backgrounds will find more motivation in studying.

Reference

Herrera, S.G. & Murry, K.G. (2016). Mastering ESL/EFL methods: Differentiated instruction for culturally and linguistically diverse students (3^rd ed.). Upper Saddleriver, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Diangelo, R. (2018). White fragility why it’s so hard for white people to talk about racism. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.

This course provides teachers the opportunity to critically examine critical issues in special education in relation to students with disabilities and students who are from culturally linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds. This course is an introductory course that will discuss biases, racism, sexism, and the inequities within the school system that continue to perpetuate the academic achievement, school-to-prison pipeline, and opportunity gap for students from CLD backgrounds.

INTASC Standards:

Standard 1: Learner Development

Standard 2: Learner Differences

Standard 3: Learning Environment

Standard 9: Professional Learning and Ethical Practice Standard 10: Leadership and Collaboration