Diverse Backgrounds

A review of Multicultural Factors and the Effective Instruction of Students of Diverse Backgrounds by Kathryn H. Au The growing of the student population of diverse background; ethnicity, primary language, and social class have been a great challenge for teachers in a public school setting. Especially the gap between the reading achievement of students of diverse backgrounds and mainstream students has been a concern for many years. The less opportunities and motivations for literacy learning in poverty is the factor most highly associated with low reading achievement of children of diverse background. The author brought out five issues commonly raised by teachers and it has discussed solved the problems with researches.

1. How to motivate

How to work effectively with English language learners

Due to the limited many factors in reality bothering children’s learning to read and write in English, author claims that teachers have to make sure that students of diverse backgrounds have the opportunity to participate in literature –based instruction and the reader’s workshop, following a continuum of teaching strategies that involves them in motivating, meaningful reading experience. Because of both language and classroom social skills can be learned from peers, it would be important to build a community of dynamic grouping and provide them to participate in a reading activity within a familiar classroom routine rather than pull out ELLs from the main classroom. Teacher’s underestimation of students’ ability to read and comprehend English text is very dangerous. Instead of focusing on surface features of language, teachers should respond to students at the level of idea and model the use of Standard English. Then, they will have confidence to express their idea in a conventional way.

4. How to teach in a culturally responsive

When a teacher understand and have the knowledge of the cultural behavior of students, teacher can conduct effective teaching instruction for them. In my prior Montessori classroom, teachers valued culture learning significantly. The nationality of students was all the same as American but they were descendants from different ethnic. At circle, the teachers presented different cultures and we shared together. In effect, the children become Cultural Intelligent through the learning of different cultures; the life, manner, music, art, so on. The teacher’s adaptation like using rap song as a way of teaching elements of poetry make a link between the students’ culture and academic learning and it is very successful teaching all the time. I love this and really want to utilize