Many individuals view language and culture as separate entities; however there is an interrelationship between language and culture. This paper focuses on the idea of language and culture, and how they complement each other. It explains how to effectively incorporate language and culture into teaching and learning practices and how to use one’s own identity to shape the way he or she teaches in the general or ESL setting. Also, it discusses how to incorporate cultural and linguistic diversity into the classroom in order to support and guide the teaching and learning process. Lastly, how to identify some culturally appropriate ways to engage, communicate with, and involve ELL students’ families and the community.
Language can be defined as written or vocal patterns that lead to an understanding. It is the driving force behind the language production process, writing and speaking. Once language leaves the production process it is transported to the language receptors, reading and listening, in order to form ideas. Without language, meaningful human interactions, conceived by communication, would be limited. Culture is more complex, but yet it compliments language.
Culture determines the similarities and differences that exist among humans. Culture is broken into two sub-categories; visible culture and invisible culture. Visual culture consists of concrete items that are easy to see or visualize It is easy to recognize visible culture because it’s factual information, such as literature, architecture, history, festivals, traditions, clothing, and cuisine. Typically when people are asked to describe their culture they provide detail answers about their visible culture like historical events, geographic regions, or music. Invisible...
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...ng and business. Since American teacher’s identity were molded by invisible culture aspects, they inherently expose these beliefs onto their ESL students.
Overall, language and culture are very similar in array of ways. When ELL students assimilate to a new culture they learn new behaviors and habits which is regulated by language usage. Language and culture are effectively implemented into ESL classrooms through the use of authentic materials and texts, like T.V sitcoms or sample writings. Teacher’s own identity shapes the way he or she teaches in the general or ESL setting by emphasizing what was critical during their educational experience, such as punctuality, independence and collaborative work. Lastly, inviting in parents to participate in read alouds’ and use a variety of multimedia material are just a few ways to instill goals and skill in ELL students.
We as educators must first develop reading skills for our ELL students so that they will get in the habit of reading and writing. We must also look at different avenues to increase their literacy skills. We must work on the strengths of our ELL students. When we work on what our ELL students already know then we can help build upon students learning from multiple languages. We can even have the ELL students share their native language with other students. This can help make learning interesting when they share their cultural background.
I was interested in how ELL teachers connect with their students of diverse backgrounds and cultures. Each said that they try to learn about the students’ cultures. The teachers all felt it was important to make a connection. They suggested taking interest in the student’s native language and home life, or having students share language, holiday traditions and foods. ELL teachers can also try to incorporate the different cultures to enrich their lessons.
...odel minority stereotype contributed to Keltner and Lily struggle with schooling by heightening parental “education fever” and increase academic as well as emotional burdens on Keltner and Lily who were already struggling with learning. Lily and Keltner stories suggest that each family or child should be understood in their specific learning contexts. Educators need to understand an individual child’s lived experiences and addresshis/her psychological and educational needs so that they can achieve his/her own success. Schools and policy maker can help educator to do so by developing appropriate curriculum that is oriented to ESL students, rather than using mainstream curriculum that does not fit the needs of ESL learners. Training teachers to implement classroom strategies that aim to understand students’ individual needs and foster students’ school home connection.
Chen, Grace. "Inclusion or Exclusion? The ESL Education Debate - Public School Review." Public School Review - Profiles of USA Public Schools. 07 Apr. 2009. Web. 01 Feb. 2011.
Convertino, C., Levinson, B. A., & González, N. (2013). Culture, teaching, and learning. In J. A. Banks & C. M. McGee Banks (Eds.). Multicultural Education: Issues and Perspectives (pp. 25-41). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons.
Students’ background will determine as well the abilities of students, parents’ level of education and origin will enhance students’ language skills or will limit them; once the students arrive at school if the teacher promotes the interaction within children through lesson activities that target the competence of language, students learn from other students. If the cultural diversity is promoted in the classroom by the educator, all the students’ cultures will be linked to the curriculum, and the language development plus a cultural enrichment will diminish the opportunity for students to fall
As an educator one must understand that the children you will be teaching will all come from different backgrounds, different ethnicities, different homes with different values. No one student will be the same, and no one student will learn the same. The role of a modern educator is to harness this idea of diversity and channel it into a positive learning atmosphere for children of all backgrounds. “I define culturally responsive teaching as using the cultural knowledge, prior experiences, frames of reference, and performance styles of ethnically diverse students to make learning encounters more relevant to and effective for them” (Gay, 2013, p.50.). The hope for all teachers is to capture the minds of their children, as educators we must learn how our students learn, adapt to their skill set and channel our curriculum to their strength.
The purpose of this study is to figure out which ways experienced teachers work best with culturally and linguistically diverse students. This study illustrates which strategies experienced teachers have found to work best. The diversity in school in the United States has increased each year. This means that there are an increasing amount of students who are learning English, English language learners (ELLs). This article comes from the perspective that each child should be taught to their specific needs. All students deserve a fair chance to learn. Fair means that every student is treated differently, not equally. Every student learns differently. In order to give every student a fair chance at learning, you must teach them according to their needs. An experienced teacher, Tiffany, describes her experiences working with culturally and linguistically diverse students. This study watches her methods and discusses what works based on data analysis of the success of her students.
Lisa Delpit’s book, “The Skin We Speak”, talked about language and culture, and how it relates to the classroom. How we speak gives people hits as to where we are from and what culture we are a part of. Unfortunately there are also negative stereotypes that come with certain language variations. There is an “unfounded belief that the language of low income groups in rural or urban industrial areas is somehow structurally “impoverished” or “simpler” than Standard English” (Delpit 71). The United States is made of people from various cultures and speak many different variations of languages. As teachers we must be aware of some of the prejudices we may have about language and culture.
Language is defined as the method of human communication either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words, in a structured or conventional way. Communication is the interaction or exchange of information or news(Webster, 2013).
Language is a method in which individuals communicate in order to get their opinion across to the listening party. Language is the tool which ideas can be conveyed in various ways. Typically, language is referred to verbal communication, however, it ranges to all methods of communication i.e. sign language.
Culture is a powerful influence plays a big role in our interactions. Culture may also impact parenting style and a developing child. Having a strong sense of their own cultural history and the traditions associated with it helps children build a positive cultural identity for themselves. This also supports children’s sense of belonging and, by extension, their mental health and wellbeing. This class is crucial in understanding and working well parents, staff, and children. An effective educator understands how students’ cultures affect their perceptions, self-esteem, values, classroom behavior, and learning. As director, I need to use that understanding to help my students and staff feel welcomed, affirmed, respected, and valued. One way that I can do this is by using multicultural literature, especially children’s literature, to honor students’ culture and foster cross-cultural understanding. If cultural differences are not understood by teachers and management, it can lead to miscommunication and misunderstandings on both sides. It will be my job to do all I can to overcome both language and cultural differences to ensure a positive learning environment for
Language is a part of our everyday lives, and we can describe the meaning of language in many ways. As suggested in Gee and Hayes (2011, p.6 ) people can view language as something in our minds or something existing in our world in the form of speech, audio recordings, and writings or we can view language as a way of communicating with a group of people. Language can be used to express our emotions, make sense of our mental and abstract thoughts and assists us in communicating with others around us. Language is of vital importance for children to enable them to succeed in school and everyday life. Everyone uses both oral and written language. Language developed as a common ability amongst human beings with the change
In most institutions of learning today, the classes are made up of students from different ethnic backgrounds. These have different traditions and also speak different languages. In a typical classroom, the majority of the students will speak the same language. The teacher must then employ strategies which will accommodate all the students in the class. This will ensure that every learner gets the best quality of education. This will enable them to be better prepared for career and expressing themselves. In this paper, strategies to assist learners of the English language in their literal development for third grade learners. In the paper, three strategies that can be used by the teacher will be discussed. New strategies and research that will help the English language learners to gain in depth mastery of the language will also be discussed. Due to the widespread learning of the English language in most schools, addressing issues of the language learners is of vital importance. Teachers should have the understanding that cultures are what give someone identity and therefore no student should leave their culture for another. Instead, there should be the blending of different cultures so that students can appreciate and learn from each other.
Language is nothing but a media which expresses feelings, ideas, experiences and even pains properly to others. Cultural background is the origin of language. Language is one of the channels which promote human relations and human affections. Language always unites the people and sometimes language itself diverse the people. Without the language we cannot imagine the existence of human beings on the earth. Language is a system of words that people used to express thoughts, feelings each other. The word ‘language’ derived from Latin “lingua” which means ‘tongue, speech’. The word sometimes used to refer to codes, ciphers and other kind of communication systems. For example computer programming.