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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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Linguistic Diversity and Classroom Management

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Linguistic Diversity and Classroom Management

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Author: Mary Elizabeth Curran
Secondary Teachers
This article addresses the problem of inadequately prepared teachers in regard to working with English language learners (ELLs). It suggests ways teachers can think about these students' needs and consider ways to modify classroom management to cater to the needs of those students.

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teaching in today's inclusive classrooms: a universal design for learning approach

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education / teaching methods & materials / general

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education/teaching methods & materials - general

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inclusive teaching; education; universal design

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Teaching in Today's Inclusive Classrooms: A Universal Design for Learning Approach

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TEACHING IN TODAY'S INCLUSIVE CLASSROOMS: A UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING APPROACH, 3rd Edition is a concise, accessible, and current text for the Introduction to Inclusive Teaching course. It is the only inclusion textbook available with a consistent, integrated emphasis on Universal Design for ...

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Elementary
Students can explore language family trees to make connections between languages they have in common and how languages developed from one another.

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There are over 7,000 languages spoken in the world today, and over 300 of those are spoken in the U.S., so chances are your students speak some of them. Strategies for teaching ELLs often focus on learning English as quickly as possible, and once students master English, their native languages are often left at home. But rather than think of your classroom as a Tower of Babel, you can celebrate and recognize your students' linguistic heritage while still moving towards English proficiency.
1. Investigate language family trees
Give your students a glimpse into both the diversity and interconnectedness of languages by exploring family trees. Whether it's the huge swath of the world the Indo-European family covers-languages like Spanish and Hindi both fall under this umbrella-or the sheer number of languages found in the Niger-Congo family-1,539-your class is bound to be surprised by some of the connections between the languages they speak.
2. Read and write bilingual poems
Expose your students to bilingual poetry (like this great example by Rhina P. Espaillat) and then have them create their own poems by incorporating elements of their native language. For monolingual students, instruct them to either include foreign vocabulary or loanwords (words borrowed from other languages like café, bazaar, or kindergarten) that they know. Or challenge them to write a poem without using the letter 'e' (a surprisingly difficult feat).
3. Encourage independent reading in other languages
Research shows that those who develop literacy skills in their first language can then transfer them to their second language. So when it's time for independent reading, let your students select books in their native language. This can also reduce frustration and cognitive load for reluctant readers, who might begin to actually enjoy reading.
4. Explore the roots of words
Languages borrow ideas and words from each other all the time-and what better way to mix up a vocabulary lesson than by doing a bit of word sleuthing? Assign different vocabulary words to students (think hoi polloi, faux pas, aficionado, etc.) and have them figure out both their meaning in English and in their original language, since knowing the literal meaning often makes them easier to remember.
How do you celebrate different languages and cultures in your classroom?
Tagged as: language arts, differentiation, teachers, high school, middle school, elementary school, student-centered learning, motivation

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4 Ways to Celebrate Linguistic Diversity

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There are over 7,000 languages spoken in the world today, and over 300 of those are spoken in the U.S., so chances are your students speak some of them. Strategies for teaching ELLs often focus on learning English as quickly

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This website provides resources for teachers and ESL students, including lesson plans and resources that incorporate ESL for students who made need help developing their English academic language.

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Lesson Plans,Worksheets and More Teacher Resources ESL Teacher Resources ESL Software and Technology Integration Scavenger Hunts, Webquests, Virtual Field Trips Teacher Tools Mainstream Classroom Teacher Resources Teacher Clipart

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Cultural and linguistic diversity in the classroom: valuable in child development

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Cultural and linguistic diversity in the classroom: valuable in child development

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When we encourage linguistic diversity in our students, plurilingual students will not only do better but also eliminate any negative views toward linguistic diversity among all students.

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Cultural and linguistic diversity in the classroom: valuable in child development

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Author: P.J. Bracegirdle
Grades 2-4
This book explores el Dia de los Muertos through two characters, one living and one not, who fear one another at first for their differences but later become friends.  The story includes words in Spanish throughout, so that students can be exposed to another language.

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children's / teenage fiction & true stories

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juvenile fiction / holidays & celebrations / other

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juvenile fiction / people & places / mexico

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juvenile fiction / social themes / friendship

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juvenile fiction/people & places - mexico

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juvenile fiction/social themes - friendship

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A fresh, funny take on the Day of the Dead that's packed with kid appeal!Every skeleton in the Land of the Dead is excited to celebrate el Día de los Muertos with the Living. But not Angelito. His big sister has told him all about their horrifying bulgy eyes and squishy skin.

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Teaching Multilingual Students- The Writing Center

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Teaching Multilingual Students- The Writing Center

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This source is great for teachers that have ESL/ELL students and want to be educated on the best ways to approach their education. It addresses common issues these students might run into, and how to help them overcome these struggles.

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Students who speak English as a second language might present unusual challenges to their instructors, but certainly none that can't be overcome with knowledge and thoughtfulness. This page will introduce a few important considerations and a few strategies for working effectively with ESL students, along with resources for further information.

The Students

The ESL population can be very broadly divided into two groups: international visa students and US residents (immigrant or non-immigrant students who have completed at least a portion of their education in this country). The two groups may have very different characteristics.

International ESL students

Time in US:

Undergraduates usually arrive just before classes begin and may or may not have traveled abroad before.

Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows may or may not have completed prior degrees in the US.

Cultural comfort:

Language learning:

Often called "eye learners" because their knowledge of English has come primarily through textbook study.

May never have been fully immersed in an English-speaking environment.

May be overwhelmed by the cognitive, psychological, and emotional demands of immersion.

Grammar knowledge:

Listening/speaking:

May have had limited exposure to rapid speech, southern accents, and contemporary slang.

Listening comprehension may be limited at first.

Newcomers in particular may take a bit of time to find the right English words and structures to express their thoughts.

Writing/reading:

Educational culture:

May come from a culture in which students memorize and reproduce knowledge of experts, where students' critical contributions are unusual or even frowned upon.

Relationships with instructors may have been very formal and hierarchical, and asking questions seen as rude or embarrassing.

May come from culture similar to US, with interactive discussion, critical analysis, and emphasis on individual achievement.

Domestic ESL students

Time in US:

Varies from months to years, but at least a portion of prior education completed in US school system.

Cultural comfort:

Varying levels of acculturation.

May consider themselves completely American.

May be unfamiliar with and/or confused by differences between US and home culture.

May be torn between two cultures with different family and social pressures.

May be quite comfortably bi-cultural.

May be able to grasp ideas transmitted through cultural references.

Language learning:

Grammar knowledge:

May not have knowledge of formal rules of grammar.

May have a more intuitive sense of "what sounds right."

May be better able to generate alternative phrasings than their international counterparts.

Listening/speaking:

Usually able to interact with ease, understanding formal and informal spoken language at natural speed.

May occasionally have trouble understanding or producing spoken language, but are able to quickly overcome the barrier.

Writing/reading:

Educational culture:

Through experience, will be more familiar and comfortable with the behaviors and expectations of the US educational culture.

Issues You Might See

These issues may occur with native English speaking students as well, but for reasons unrelated to doing university-level work in a foreign language or with learning to navigate a foreign culture.

Limited lecture comprehension

Limited class participation

Reluctance to use office hours

Saying they understand something when it's clear they don't

Writing that doesn't meet expectations (strangely organized, lacking expected elements, etc.)

Odd vocabulary usage

Grammatical errors (either minor or serious)

Potential plagiarism

Poor test performance

Ways You Can Help Your Students

Lecture comprehension

Allow students to record lectures.

They can listen as often as necessary to fill in their notes, or they can be free to concentrate solely on understanding what you are saying at the moment, knowing that they can make notes later from the recording.

Provide an outline of your lecture.

Provide during class and refer to it when you move to a new topic. This helps students stay on track if they get a bit lost.

Emphasize key points.

Stressing key words, writing on the board, repeating yourself with emphasis, etc.

Use visuals.

Graphs, charts, diagrams, images can all support students' comprehension of the lecture.

Write down critical vocabulary.

Especially helpful for names students need for future reference.

Post lecture notes.

Make notes available on the class website. Students can compare and revise their own notes for accuracy.

Class Participation

Post discussion questions or topics in advance.

This allows students to consider and formulate initial contributions to group discussions.

Ask questions clearly.

Speak in a way that students can understand. Try to avoid the stereotypical "foreigner talk"-excessively slow and loud speech. Just be aware that it can be difficult to understand rapid, idiomatic speech. Slow down a little and try to avoid slang.

Be patient.

It may take a moment for the student to formulate a response.

Be understanding.

Some students will be very self-conscious about their imperfect English. They may be frustrated by not being able to freely articulate their complex thoughts. They may be concerned that their native-English speaking peers will think they're less intelligent if they don't speak perfect English.

Be supportive.

Provide a word here and there if you can see the student is groping for a particular expression. If the response is slightly off, try to do something positive with it. You might rephrase the response if it's just a bit ungrammatical. You might ask clarifying questions. You might elaborate on their response. In any case, your positive reaction is positive reinforcement of their participation.

Office Hours

Set specific appointments.

In many cultures, students who ask questions of their professors are considered lazy or under-qualified. In these cultures, students are expected to study hard-on their own-until they understand the material. Do make open invitations, but set specific appointments as well so students have a chance to get comfortable with the more American process of approaching professors with questions.

Learn about your students.

Get to know their characteristics, backgrounds, goals, and processes as learners. Learn about them so you can help them identify challenges and resources more efficiently.

Ask students to explain concepts.

Avoid asking "Do you understand?" or "Is that clear?" It's natural to smile and nod when you don't understand. By asking students to explain their understanding of things, you can target precisely where they need more help.

Be understanding.

Some students will be very self-conscious about their imperfect English. They may be frustrated by not being able to freely articulate their complex thoughts. They may be concerned that their native-English speaking peers will think they're less intelligent if they don't speak perfect English.

Writing performance

Provide detailed assignments with clear expectations.

Some students have never written a paper in the American style. Some educational cultures value long, meandering introductions. Others value placing the thesis in the conclusion. Others value having only an implicit thesis. Generally, students will write the way they've been taught to write. If you have particular expectations, help students by being specific and clear.

Develop a rubric before you distribute the assignment.

Specifying your grading criteria in advance will help you assess the students' papers more broadly. It's possible that you'll see a lot of grammar errors that irritate you (especially in the students' first or second semester at UNC). After they lose all the points they can lose for the grammar criterion, for example, you can focus on the other criteria that you value without one category dominating the grade.

Provide examples.

Share successful papers if possible, and explain what made them successful. Being guided through examples will help them produce what you're hoping for.

Discuss your students' ideas.

Guide students before they begin to write and at various points in the writing process. Help them focus the topic and stay on track.

Require a draft.

Seeing one or more drafts allows you to provide feedback and direction at the intermediate stage.

Respond thoughtfully.

Respond to the content with specific suggestions for improvement (not generic comments like "awkward" or "clarify").

Expect written accents.

You may notice quite a few insignificant errors, like a missing "the" or the wrong preposition or an unnaturally worded expression. Try to ignore these, just as you would ignore a speaker's accent as you focused on the ideas they were expressing.

Correct serious errors.

If there are errors that truly-really and truly-significantly interfere with your understanding of the sentence, help the student by identifying them. You can write one or two possible corrections. You can identify the error and let the student generate the corrections that they can check with you later. You can ask the student to say more about that idea and help find the correct expression.

Teach citation very carefully.

Many international students have been taught to reproduce well-respected texts verbatim, with no citation. These texts were easily recognizable to educated readers, and the skillful writer could weave them into their own work. The American emphasis on intellectual property is truly a foreign concept for many students. In most cases, they do not want to violate our sense of academic integrity, but they genuinely do not know how to incorporate sources skillfully with citations. Help them develop this skill with feedback during the drafting stage.

Test Performance

Provide a study guide to help focus their review.

Arrange or facilitate a review session, particularly for major exams.

Provide extra time on tests to gain a more reliable measure of student learning.

Additional Resources
The Writing Center
The Writing Center works with ESL students as developing writers and language learners. In our 50-minute face-to-face tutorials, we collaborate with students to address their concerns at any stage of the writing process: from understanding the assignment, through brainstorming, researching, drafting, revising, editing and proofreading. We help students learn skills and strategies for working through each stage more effectively.

The Writing Center also has ESL Specialists on staff who are available for consultation about working with ESL students. Please feel welcome to call, write, or stop by any time. See our Faculty Resources page for more information about the Writing Center's services and policies.
The Learning Center
The Learning Center offers free tutoring in math, statistics, sciences, languages, business, economics, and many other classes. These sessions can help students understand complex material, and support their ability to discuss it in class. The Learning Center offers a variety of services for academic support and have been an excellent resource to international students.
Peak Academic Success Program
The P.A.S.S. program has been designed by UNC Counseling and Wellness Services to help students focus their academic goals and work strategically toward reaching them.
Student Organizations
Finding a group of like-minded people can help any student feel more at home. The Student Union hosts this searchable list of student organizations to help every student find a community.

Office of International Student and Scholar Services

The Office of International Student and Scholar Services hosts a conversation partners program, an international women's conversation group, and an international friendship program to help you meet people in your new community.
Preparing International Teaching Assistants Program
PITAP helps graduate teaching assistants improve their English language and teaching skills for the American classroom culture.
International Coffee Hour
Hosted by several internationally related offices on campus, the monthly international coffee hour is another great opportunity to make friends from across campus.

Reference: Grabe, W. (2009). Reading in a second language: Moving from theory to practice. NY: Cambridge University Press.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.
You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout (just click print) and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Teaching Multilingual Students - The Writing Center

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Students who speak English as a second language might present unusual challenges to their instructors, but certainly none that can't be overcome with knowledge and thoughtfulness. This page will introduce a few important considerations and a few strategies for working ... Continued

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Breaking the Language Barrier: Creating Your Own Pathway to Success

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Breaking the Language Barrier: Creating Your Own Pathway to Success

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Author: H. Douglas Brown
Grades: 9-12
Thus book is meant for students who are in the process of learning a second language, whether it be English or not. It includes a 12 step process that leads learners to success.

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ERIC - Breaking the Language Barrier: Creating Your Own Pathway to Success., 1991

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Intended as a guide for learners of a second language, the book suggests creative, positive steps the individual learner can take to improve his chances of success. The first chapter looks at what is involved in learning a second language and suggests that the individual can take control of the learning process.

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Through the Language Glass: Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages

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Through the Language Glass: Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages

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Author: Guy Deutscher
Grades 9-12
This book explores how language can influence our perception of the world and our cultures--and how our cultures influence language. This book can open students to thinking more critically about linguistic diversity.

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Through the Language Glass has 3,996 ratings and 546 reviews. David said: This is a fascinating book about how culture shapes language, and how language ...

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Dealing with linguistic diversity in the classroom: a challenge for teachers

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Dealing with linguistic diversity in the classroom: a challenge for teachers

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Author: Xavier Pascual Calvo
Secondary Teachers
Many teachers struggle to include linguistic diversity in their classrooms, especially when they don't speak the languages represented.  There are still ways to include and validate various languages to help all students to have a culture of linguistic plurilism.

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Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Barcelona, 2017

You can download this essay as a pdf here:
MLM_Dealing-with-linguistic-diversity-in-the-classroom-a-challenge-for-teachers
This article is part of a reflection on a model of education whose aim is to familiarize students and teachers with the linguistic and cultural diversity present in our classrooms. Given the notable divergence between the language and culture of the school and the languages and cultures of a growing number of its pupils - the divide between schools and families -we would like to reflect on some educational strategies to bridge this gap. One of the key strategies is to understand the importance of representing the language knowledge of pupils in the classroom and to embrace this linguistic diversity as a learning resource for all classmates.

These ideas stem from a project developed for the Council of Europe's European Centre of Modern Languages involving pupils whose first language is different from the school's. This project, carried out in several primary schools over a period of three years, showed the impact on pupils when first exposed to the existence of other languages and cultures, not as a result of teaching a foreign language to all children, but via direct contact with the large number of languages and cultures specific to some of their classmates. The project provided many positive outcomes, from a sense of inclusion for all class members to the realization of the value of parents' knowledge as a collective resource for the positive visibility of plurilingualism. In addition, the project highlighted enhancements in the bilingualism of some students, and showed how to transform the monolingual and monocultural classroom into a more open, multilingual and multicultural space.
Linguistic diversity should be considered a wealth, not a problem
As teachers, we should to take into account the linguistic and cultural heterogeneity of the pupils, the variety of languages ​​spoken and the multiplicity of their cultural affiliation. In an educational environment often marked by practices anchored in a monolingual system, this is a great challenge for a teacher. The child who leaves the language of her family outside school does not understand why this language is not entitled to be used in the classroom. She often feels that the language of her family is considered to be some kind of problem at school. It is well known that negative representations of bilingualism among children of immigrant origin particularly affect their language skills. Rather than refer to heterogeneity we prefer to speak of diversity, a notion that is both broader and more positive. The latter makes it possible to consider the plurality of languages ​​and cultures as a wealth rather than a problem. Moreover, the notion of diversity has been adopted by the Council of Europe in numerous works in the field of language education policies (Beacco and Byram, 2003).
Making plurilingual children feel welcome at school
As mentioned before, this article intends to provide teachers with pedagogical strategies to avoid language and cultural discrimination of pupils who have a different language from that of the school and seeks to encourage the consideration of diversity as a learning resource.

First, the notion of linguistic variety must be emphasized. Every child experiences this variation even before entering school, since he encounters his "mother" language in exchanges with multiple persons and in various situations. As such, from birth, even the monolingual child hears different ways of speaking. Later, upon entering school, he will have to face new challenges presented by the language of schooling. But at school, the variety of dialects spoken is rarely taken into account. It seems important to us here to insist on the fact that a language is always pluralistic, that no one speaks a language in the same way because no one lives it in the same way. Plurality exists within a single language spoken by the same person, for example a child who speaks with his parents at home or answers a question asked by his teacher is not in the same linguistic context as when he is playing with his classmates in the yard.

What teachers will notice first of all in the bilingual talk of children of immigrant origin will be the deviations from the norm in the language of schooling. The greater the pupil's competence in the language of the school, the less developed his dominance of his native language may appear. However, these deviations are merely traces of an interlanguage, the journey towards mastery of a language. They do not always reveal competence in the other language of the bilingual child, since the latter has no place in the school and, in general, teachers have no knowledge of these languages ​​and rarely have a bilingual or plurilingual experience that could have made them aware of what it means to be bilingual or plurilingual. The lack of training in language varieties, the importance given in the curriculum to the priority of teaching the national language (Young and Helot, 2003), and more recently the introduction of learning a foreign language at the age of six in many European countries, often prevents teachers from thinking about the different languages and learning processes existent at school.

It is generally accepted that the teacher, as the person responsible for the transmission of knowledge and know-how to pupils within the institutional framework of the school, must ensure that the pupil feels comfortable at school, creating a climate of trust in which exchanges are facilitated. It is therefore a question of recognizing the pupil's own linguistic and cultural knowledge, in order to understand his identity.
What can be done to make students benefit from this linguistic diversity?
It is obvious that schools cannot teach all languages ​​to all pupils, even in primary schools, but there are pedagogical approaches that allow the different languages ​​present in a classroom to be taken into account. These models are known as the Awakening to Languages ​​(Candelier, 2003a) or Education and Openness to Languages ​​at School (Perregaux, 1998; Perregaux et al., 2003) and can be considered as a complementary learning model. They make it possible to integrate family languages ​​and cultures as pedagogical resources within a classroom and to legitimize them in the eyes of pupils and teachers.

Key to the integration of languages ​​and family cultures are the parents. Our studies show that it is through the participation of parents that teachers and their students have discovered the linguistic and cultural diversity existing in their school community and have been able to transform this diversity into knowledge.

Parental involvement in the project also contributed to the development of a more global vision of languages ​​and cultures among teachers. Through this experience, they have been able to recognize the value of bilingualism, regardless of the languages ​​of which it is composed, and improve their understanding of the schooling of bilingual children in their classrooms.

We observed how teachers developed a transdisciplinary and inclusive approach in class, enabling them to decompartmentalize languages ​​and create a link between disciplines, thus reducing the usual gap between them. This inclusive approach to education addressed all children in the class, with no one being excluded from the group.

The aim of awakening languages ​​and cultures is not only addressed to bilingual children, but it is opened up to all, monolingual and bilingual, in order to build plurilingualism, a culture common to the whole class. The co-intervention of parents and teachers arouses in children an awareness of the richness of linguistic and cultural plurality which does not remain superficial nor rooted in a stereotyped vision.

All teachers should allow the classroom to move from a monolingual to a plurilingual space, using multilingual signs to decorate the walls, including bilingual books in the library, etc. Languages ​​and cultures should be considered in terms of collective resources and placed on an equal footing. The bilingualism of pupils who speak a language other than that of the school must be valued to allow them to find their place in the classroom.

Scientific research shows that it is easier for a child to become bilingual or plurilingual when all their languages are valued and when making connections between languages is encouraged. It is important that parents keep using their family language(s) with their children and that teachers use family languages to help children establish connections between the language(s) of their environment.

It is easier for children to engage in the languages that are taught at school when their own languages are recognised, because these languages are practised in the family environment and by the children. Placing value on childrens' different languages and cultural backgrounds boosts the self-confidence and self-esteem necessary for educational and professional success.

Parents' participation in school activities establishes a relationship of mutual confidence between schools and families, and helps children to dedicate themselves to their schooling.

We should give future citizens the opportunity to construct positive representations of the multiple identities of their peers and their families so that they can be proud of who they are and so that they feel accepted and understood by those around them. This is a necessity if we want to live together in peace.

To allow everyone to build their own identity based on their family life and relationships within and outside school, it is vital that the school takes up the challenge. For today's school is not only a place where one acquires knowledge, it is also the place where one pools one's skills and one's knowledge and where one learns to live together not by sharing a single language but by embracing several ​​to build common values.
References http://christinehelot.u-strasbg.fr/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/2006-Chap-Young-He%CC%81lot-Diversite%CC%81-ling-et-cult-a%CC%80-le%CC%81cole.pdf
Beacco, J-C. et Byram, M. (2003). Guide pour l'élaboration des politiques linguistiques éducatives en Europe. De la diversité linguistique à l'éducation plurilingüe. Strasbourg, France: Éditions du Conseil de l'Europe.

Candelier, M. (2003) L'éveil aux langues à l'école primaire. Evlang: bilan d'une innovation européenne. Bruxelles: De Boeck.

Perregaux, C. (1998) " Avec les approches d'éveil au langage, l'interculturel est au centre de l'apprentissage scolaire ", Bulletin Suisse deLinguistique Appliquée, 67, p. 101-110.

Perregaux, C. ; De Goumoëns, C. ; Jeannot, D. et De Pietro, J.F. (2003). Education et Ouverture aux langues à l'école: EOLE, vol 1& 2. Neuchâtel : Conférence Intercantonale de l'Instruction Publique de la Suisse Romande et du Tessin.

Young, A. et Hélot, C. (2003) " Language Awareness and/or Language Learning in French Primary Schools Today. " In Language Awareness 12 (3&4), Multilingual Matters, Clevedon, Royaume Uni, p. 234-246

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Dealing with linguistic diversity in the classroom - Make Literacy Meaningful

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Dealing with linguistic diversity in the classroom: a challenge for teachers Dr. Xavier Pascual Calvo Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Barcelona, 2017 You can download this essay as a pdf here: MLM_Dealing-with-linguistic-diversity-in-the-classroom-a-challenge-for-teachers This article is part of a reflection on a model of education whose aim is to familiarize students and teachers with the linguistic and cultural diversity present Continue Reading

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Author: Linda Sue Park
Grades: 9-12
This book is about a young Korean girl who was forced to learn Japanese and forget her native language. This book would be good to teach linguistic diversity and expose students to this idea of adapting within languages.

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When My Name Was Keoko has 4,593 ratings and 641 reviews. haley said: This book had been sitting on my TBR list for ages. Even when I finally checked it ...

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Accredited Schools Online. ESL/ELL Resources

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Accredited Schools Online. ESL/ELL Resources

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This is a great source for teachers and educators who have students that are just learning and being exposed to English. There are definitions, ESL statistics, and laws pertaining to language education. There are also more resources for teachers, students, and families.

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ESL/ELL Resources to Succeed in School | Accredited Schools Online

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English Language Learners (ELL) have a wealth of resources available to help them succeed in school. Find guidance for teachers, parents, and students here.

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Author: Melanie Florence
Grades: 3-5
This story is about a girl and her grandfather. The girl asks her grandfather about his language, but speaking this language was discouraged. So this partnership goes on a quest to find his lost language.

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Stolen Words has 357 ratings and 124 reviews. Nat said: I didn't think I would be fully reviewing this picture book because of the short length of it (on...

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Infographic showing the usage of languages other than English in the United States.

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Author: Lilia Sarmiento
Elementary Teachers
This article addressed the need for bilingual resources in schools. The author brings up the negative feeling with being bilingual, and gives ideas for empowering those students who speak more than one language.

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"Hola. ¿Cómo te fue en la escuela? ¿Qué hiciste con tus estudiantes? ¿Se portaron bien?" ("Hi. How was school? What did you do with your students? Did they behave today?")

As usual, my son dashes to the door and bombards my husband, Salvador, with a litany of questions about his day at school. Salvador teaches at a nearby urban school in a 3rd-grade bilingual classroom. Salvador responds to the questions as he rolls his plastic crate brimming with papers and books across the tile floor. I glance up and take note of his measured steps and slightly bent shoulders; a shadow crosses his face, and his eyes lack their usual luster.

"What's new?" I ask, sensing that today may not have been a very good day.

He takes a deep breath and begins, "A parent approached me for advice. You're not going to believe this, but our school is disbanding the bilingual program at 2nd-grade due to low numbers. Our administrator is taking this parent's child out of the bilingual program and placing him in a Structured English Immersion setting (SEI). The parent feels that her child is being cheated because she is being denied the opportunity of assisting her child in Spanish, the only language that she knows. To top things off, today one of my students said to me, 'I don't want to speak Spanish!'"

A Current Negative Climate

This is the beginning of a story of disillusionment and empowerment and how one teacher integrates his passion within a standards-based curriculum to teach in a climate of high-stakes accountability and negativity toward biliteracy.

Teachers in traditional bilingual settings confront strict program requirements under the guise of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), excessive assessment demands (state, district and program assessments in both English and Spanish), and negative attitudes about bilingual education from many in the political and public spheres. I use the word "bilingual" with some trepidation because of the negative views associated with the concept. Since 1998, the passage of Proposition 227 in California and similar laws in other states have forced the implementation of Structured Immersion Programs for English Learners (EL). As a result, students with limited English skills are taught in English with some or no primary language support. These students are falling further behind in learning English and other subjects, and the high school drop-out rate is getting worse.

The decline in bilingual education also contributes to the loss of heritage. Most second-generation Hispanics, for example, prefer to speak English, and by the third generation most Hispanic Americans are no longer able to speak Spanish. It's difficult for many bilingual teachers to turn away from programs that promote biliteracy and instead teach English in ways that many feel are less effective.

The Low Status of Spanish

This was the case with my husband, Salvador. For more than an hour that evening, I heard him rant about the low status of Spanish, the diminishing numbers of parents wishing their children could participate in bilingual programs, the increasing number of parents uninformed about bilingual program options, limited administrative support, the demands of NCLB, the focus on skills-based instruction to assure that the students "pass the test," and the growing numbers of EL students in special education programs.

"Ten years from now, when I'm ready to retire, what will others remember about me?" he asked. "What will be my legacy?"

As the stream of words slowed down, I realized that his passion to teach was being undermined by bureaucracy and politics.

"So, what are you going to do about it?" I asked.

Silence.

"What are you passionate about?"

His eyes shifted to the right in thought.

"Start by teaching what you are passionate about."

Living a Bilingual Life

This conversation was the beginning of the self-realization that he had the power to change the outcomes of students in his class.

Salvador, a U.S. citizen, has always had a love for the Spanish language and is proud of being Duranguense, born in the state of Durango, Mexico. He sprinkles dichos y refranes (sayings and refrains) into everyday conversations in an effort to better enable our sons to understand the nuances of the language.

Our boys speak Spanish to their father and English to me. This was our way to live a bilingual life within our home. Our home is filled with indigenous drum and flute sounds and the thumping norteño beat, typical of the northern part of Mexico. He is also passionate about dance. Salvador excels in the Latin rhythms of cha cha and merengue, and he teaches and performs Mexican folkloric dances.

Advocating for Biliteracy

Salvador felt uneasy acknowledging that he had to change his teaching practice and invest more time, but, on that day, he made a couple of decisions. First, he agreed to mentor a student teacher from the university where I teach literacy courses for future bilingual teachers. With 30 years of classroom experience, he could surely mentor a young teacher in the value of being a bilingual educator. He also felt that this young teacher could reinvigorate his instruction.

Next he met with the distressed mother who had previously approached him for advice on how to ensure the continuation of the bilingual program for her son. They outlined a plan to fight back. She contacted other parents to collectively challenge the decision to place their children in SEI settings. Parents have the right to request waivers to optimize the linguistic and cultural opportunities afforded in a bilingual program option. They made an appointment with the school site administrator and continued to voice their concerns with the teachers.

On her own, this parent requested a meeting with the district superintendent that caused the liaison of the district's parent bilingual committee to take notice. A couple of days later, the director of the English Learner Program mediated a meeting that included parents, teachers and the principal - and the parents prevailed. Their children continued onward toward a goal of becoming biliterate.

Finding Passion

Most importantly, Salvador decided to integrate his love for dance into the 3rd-grade English Language Development (ELD) and writing curriculum. He knew how to teach dance, but to integrate the skills of language and writing required strategic planning.

Salvador, the student teacher and I began by identifying essential standards in ELD, writing, and visual and performing arts. Although the language of instruction would be English (to learn English is a major goal of all bilingual programs), the new instructional unit was conducted in the primary language during Spanish Language Arts. Salvador shared with his students his background in dance and completed an organizer tapping into the students' prior knowledge. For homework, they interviewed a family member and asked them to share a personal story that involved dance. The following day, students' stories began to emerge, linking culture and tradition to music and dance.

Salvador searched through his collection of CDs and landed on a merengue rhythm whose roots stem from the Dominican Republic. During physical education he began to teach movement and directionality to the beat of his hand drum. With time, he added three basic steps and created a choreography. It was later decided that the dance would be performed at the yearly winter school program. Each time the students rehearsed, a small crowd would gather. Soon, the other 3rd-grade teachers wanted to take part.

Students read aloud from books about dance. Lists of colorful and descriptive words began to fill the walls as the students closely observed the writers' craft. Poems emerged, and the student teacher focused on descriptive writing. The writing would eventually lead to a procedural piece on how they learned to merengue. At home, Salvador recounted the newfound energy in the students and within himself. I noticed a little kick in his walk as he came through the door each afternoon.

Early on, we decided that I would present the outcomes of this work at a state bilingual conference. I videotaped a rehearsal, celebrated accomplishments, and requested that students write a letter to other teachers telling them how they could teach their own students - and what a difference dance had made in these students' lives.

One child hesitantly asked, "Will teachers really read our letters?"

"Definitely," I responded.

Many sat a little taller and looked at me a little more intently. This heightened their self-esteem and their interest by being given a real reason to write. This assignment served as the assessment of their English and their content knowledge of dance in a procedural piece of writing. Later that evening, my husband commented on how the students were motivated, like never before, to use the resources around the room for the proper structures of English and to spell words correctly. They loved the idea that teachers were going to read their writing.

That grading period, most of those 3rd-grade students met or exceeded the benchmark in the district's performance writing assessment, in both English and Spanish.

Bilingualism as a Resource

Educators, parents and leaders need to acknowledge the multiple benefits of being biliterate, or better yet, multiliterate in today's society. We need to embrace the importance of building children's sense of self through cultural experiences. Also, teachers must search within themselves to tap into their passion. We must recognize the value of collaboration to maximize linguistic, cultural and educational learning opportunities.

I saw that value firsthand, when my husband came home and handed me a plain manila envelope. "I have to show you what a student gave me today!"

Two cards slid out.

The first one was a mint-colored card cut from construction paper into the shape of a shirt with a darker green tie. Inside was a photograph of a group of giggly girls. The card read, "Querido Maestro: Gracias por enseñarme nuevas cosas y por hacer su mayor esfuerzo para enseñarme divisiones, multiplicaciones y fracciones. Que Dios le siga dando sabiduría siempre." ("Dear Teacher: Thank you for teaching me so many new things and for putting in all of your effort to teach me how to divide, multiply and fractions. May God continue to bestow upon you knowledge always.") This 3rd-grader has been in this country for three years and is his most fluent English reader.

I opened up the second card and inside were two photographs of my husband and me standing side by side in front of a group of teachers at a recent conference. This student's mother had attended the session to learn more about what takes place in bilingual settings.

I looked up to see my husband grinning from cheek to cheek.

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"Hola. ¿Cómo te fue en la escuela? ¿Qué hiciste con tus estudiantes? ¿Se portaron bien?" ("Hi. How was school? What did you do with your students? Did they behave today?") As usual, my son dashes to the door and bombards my husband, Salvador, with a litany of questions about his day at school.

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Elementary
This lesson plan helps young children(grades K-3) understand that everyone has more in common than it may appear.

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Children explore an online resource and learn to say hello in Spanish, Japanese, and Arabic.

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By Sharon Linde
Secondary
This lesson plan helps students further understand linguistics as they define and explain the meaning of related vocabulary.

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Learning Objectives

After this lesson, students will be able to:

define 'linguistics'

describe the basic linguistic families

Length

1 - 1.5 hours

Curriculum Standards

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.1

Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.2

Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.3

Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text; determine whether earlier events caused later ones or simply preceded them.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.4

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social science.

Materials

Key Vocabulary

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After this lesson, students will be able to: define 'linguistics' describe the basic linguistic families 1 - 1.5 hours CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.

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Steven Pinker discusses the meaning behind language habits.

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Steven Pinker: What our language habits reveal

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In an exclusive preview of his book The Stuff of Thought , Steven Pinker looks at language and how it expresses what goes on in our minds -- and how the words we choose communicate much more than we realize.

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This website by the University of Michigan provides different websites that teach about linguistics including articles in scholarly journals, online full-text sources, encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other resources. This website is perfect for teachers to learn more about the linguistics of their classroom.

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Research Guides: Linguistics Resources: Web Resources

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Offers electronic resources supporting teaching and research in linguistics. Included are indexes to articles in scholarly journals, online full-text sources, encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other resources.

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Increasing Opportunities for Partnership with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Families

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Increasing Opportunities for Partnership with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Families

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Author: Eva K. Thorp
Elementary Teachers
This article talks about how at a "Back to School Night" a teacher from a very diverse community is upset because parents of her second-language students did not come, and have not come since their child has been in school.

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It is "Back to School Night" at a large elementary school serving an ethnically, linguistically, and economically diverse suburban community. There is a large turnout, and parents seem to have enjoyed themselves. There is a loud hum as they exchange information among themselves and talk excitedly to teachers. After all of the parents have left, the teachers linger to discuss the success of the evening. In the course of the conversation, a special education teacher of a mixed-age K-3 classroom seems to become less excited. Finally she confides her disappointment to a fellow teacher, "Not one of the parents of my second-language kids came tonight. I just don't understand how to get them to come in. I hope it's not like last year-I never even met some of my parents."

Espinosa, L. M. (1995, May). Hispanic parent involvement in early childhood programs, ERIC Digest. (ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education No. EDO-PS-95-3)
Google Scholar

Hanson, M. J. , Lynch, E. W. , & Wayman, K. I. (1990). Honoring the cultural diversity of families when gathering data. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 10, 112-131.
Google Scholar

Harry, B. , Allen, N. , & McLaughlin, M. (1995). Communication versus compliance: African-American parent's involvement in special education. Exceptional Children, 61, 364-377. |
Google Scholar SAGE Journals

Harry, B. , Torguson, C. , Katkavich, J. , & Guerrero, M. (1993). Crossing social class and cultural barriers in working with families. Teaching Exceptional Children, 26, 48-52. |
Google Scholar SAGE Journals

Leung, E. K. (1990). Early risks: Transition from culturally/linguistically diverse homes to formal schooling. Journal of Educational Issues and Language Minority Students, 7.
Google Scholar

Wayman, K. I. , Lynch, E. W. , & Hanson, M. J. (1991). Home-based early childhood services: Cultural sensitivity in a family systems approach. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 10, 56-75. |
Google Scholar SAGE Journals

Weinburg, B. (1995). Best practice in the recruitment and retention of parental involvement in family serving systems. News: Division for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Exceptional Learners, 6(1), 7-8.
Google Scholar

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Increasing Opportunities for Partnership with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Families

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It is "Back to School Night" at a large elementary school serving an ethnically, linguistically, and economically diverse suburban community. There is a large turnout, and parents seem to have enjoyed themselves. There is a loud hum as they exchange information among themselves and talk excitedly to teachers.

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Author: Mem Fox
Grades: 1-5
This children's book talks about how even though other children around the world do not speak the same language as each other, they are all laughing and crying, playing and learning, eating and sleeping, just like all the other kids their age.

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Every day all over the world, children are laughing and crying, playing and learning, eating and sleeping. They may not look the same. They may not speak the same...

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Author: Dave Mitchell
Grades:9-12
This novel tells about how to develop healthy relationships through communication. It provides techniques to help better understand people and their backgrounds.

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Sold by John Wiley & Sons

Buy as Gift Add to Wishlist

How to build lasting connections through meaningful communication

Developing successful relationships is critical to our success in both our personal and professional lives. The Power of Understanding People shows you how to establish and develop extremely effective relationships by providing you with techniques to better identify and understand the intrinsic needs of others. As a result, you will achieve better team dynamics, increased sales and client satisfaction, higher levels of employee engagement and performance, and even more satisfying marriages and friendships. This book provides the tools to understand others' unique communication style as well as your own. Get detailed advice on how to adjust to diverse communication styles, develop a unifying language for the organization, and better match motivational techniques to team members. Through storytelling and experiential exercises, author Dave Mitchell helps you gain insight into your own unique interaction style and teaches you how to communicate, motivate, sell, and service more successfully no matter the personality types involved.

Offers insight into the behavior cues and questions to ask to better understand someone's interactive preferences

Explains how to enhance your sales efforts by better targeting your brand message to the client's style so that your products/services resonate with them more

Examines strategies for creating a high performing work environment and achieve greater customer service excellence

Contains conflict resolution strategies, including how to effectively work out differences within a team, between work units, with customers, and even in your personal life

Armed with the ability to interpret the behavior of the people around you, you will achieve greater levels of success at work and at home while also learning how to better handle the difficult situations involving people in your life.

About the author

Dave Mitchell (Denver, CO; Prior to starting his own organization development consulting firm, Dave was the Vice President of Human Resources and Quality for Buena Vista Hospitality Group, Corporate Director of Training and Development for Marshall Field's and a television reporter and producer for CBS News.

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Business & Economics / General

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The Power of Understanding People: The Key to Strengthening Relationships, Increasing Sales, and Enhancing Organizational Performance by Dave Mitchell - Books on Google Play

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The Power of Understanding People: The Key to Strengthening Relationships, Increasing Sales, and Enhancing Organizational Performance - Ebook written by Dave Mitchell. Read this book using Google Play Books app on your PC, android, iOS devices. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read The Power of Understanding People: The Key to Strengthening Relationships, Increasing Sales, and Enhancing Organizational Performance.

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Patricia Ryan speaks her mind in this video on why languages are dying so rapidly. She shares her experiences of teaching English in Dubai for the past 30 years.

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Patricia Ryan is a longtime English teacher who asks a provocative question: Is the world's focus on English preventing the spread of great ideas in other languages? In other words: What if Einstein had to pass the TOEFL? It's a passionate defense of translating and sharing ideas.

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Unit Plan: Power of Language- Language of Power

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Unit Plan: Power of Language- Language of Power

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Author: Joni Allison
Secondary
This lesson is aimed towards Native American bilingual students. It discusses how language is powerful and how it can be used for or against us. This lesson highlights why it is so important to keep your native language while you are learning English. Students learn why different languages are important and why those languages shouldn't be lost.

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Author: Jennifer L. W. Fink
Elementary Teachers
This is a great resource for current teachers to assess if they are incorporating their students cultures into their curriculum. It starts by telling the story of a student Daniel, who couldn't speak or understand English very well all the way up to fourth grade. His teacher assigned the class to read a book that had to do with Civil Rights and his culture and he picked up reading English very quickly while reading it. It ends with some self-assessment questions the teachers can use to see if they are doing everything they can to meet these students needs.

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Daniel could hardly speak English, much less read it, when he started second grade at Greenman Elementary School in Aurora, Illinois.

A recent immigrant from Mexico, Daniel had learned English gradually, but by fourth grade, he still struggled with reading comprehension and was a less-than-enthusiastic reader. Then his class read Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez, a biography of the civil rights activist."Daniel became so engaged in reading! He wanted to investigate everything about the civil rights movement," says Brenda Mendoza, a fourth-grade bilingual teacher at Greenman. The formerly reluctant reader began checking out books on the civil rights movement, then extending beyond to books about Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. His reading and writing skills blossomed, and by year's end, Daniel and nearly a dozen of his classmates were so proficient in English that they officially exited the school's bilingual program.

"We saw so much success in the growth of the students in reading and writing," Mendoza says. "Why? Because we were connecting with their culture."

As a teacher, you already know that students learn best when they can connect what they're learning with something they already know or have experienced. That's how we humans build meaning and understanding. And that, essentially, is what culturally responsive teaching is about.

"So often people think cultural competence is what we do for kids of color. But everybody's brain is looking for cultural references, things that are meaningful and relevant to them," says Yvette Jackson, chief executive officer of the National Urban Alliance for Effective Education and co-author of Aim High, Achieve More: How to Transform Urban Schools Through Fearless Leadership.

Are you meeting the needs of all your students? Midyear is a great time to evaluate your practice and make some tweaks. Here are some questions to guide your reflection-and action steps you can take to help you create a vibrant and culturally responsive environment.

Question to Ask: How well do you know your students?

"A big part of culturally responsive teaching is understanding that the ways in which our kids operate at home are the ways they're going to operate in school," says Lauryn Mascareñaz, a teaching and learning specialist with Teaching Tolerance and a former elementary school teacher. "You have to understand their neighborhood, their heritage, their language. You can't just be in the classroom bubble."

Action Step: Create cultural frames of reference. Have students cut out the center of an 8.5-by-11-inch piece of paper to make a frame. (To make it interesting and to share the strategy, ask a few colleagues to participate.) Instruct each individual to fill in the frame with pictures and words that represent things (or people) that have had a major influence on them, as well as things they're passionate about. Their creations quite literally represent students' cultural frames of reference.

Share and discuss. Point out similarities: Common interests and experiences can spark empathy and understanding!

Question to Ask: Does your classroom reflect your student body?

Look around the room. What is hanging on the walls? What books are stocked in your classroom library? Does your classroom environment acknowledge, recognize, and celebrate your students? If your nod to diversity is posters celebrating the achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, you'll want to dig a little deeper.

Action Step: Redo your décor. Take pictures of your students and hang them around the room. That simple step is "one of the easiest things you can do to make your classroom culturally responsive," Mascareñaz says, because "kids feel like they're owners of the classroom." Another approach: Hang flags representing your students' countries of origin. Or, have students create flags that represent their cultures and families.

Question to Ask: Do you invite and involve families?

Building relationships with families is extremely important, and challenging, particularly if language barriers hinder communication. But it is essential to reach out to students' families, again and again, if necessary, because understanding a child's family is key to understanding the child.

Action Step: Push past limitations and assumptions. Greenspan Elementary has a fair number of refugee students from the Middle East but few staff members who speak Middle Eastern languages. So staff members build relationships with community leaders, including an organization called World Relief, which provides translators. "They have been able to be a bridge for us to some of our refugee families," Mendoza says.

Some parents may need encouragement to become involved. "I've had [them] tell me, 'In Mexico, we respect the teacher and we normally don't take part in partnering up with the teacher and the education system,'" Mendoza says. If you'd like parents to be more involved, thank them for their interest and support so far, and talk about concrete ways they can help.

It's also important to acknowledge and examine any unaddressed biases. When a fellow educator told Mascareñaz that "Latino students don't succeed because their parents don't care about education," Mascareñaz pushed back. "His parents may care greatly but may not have the resources or time available that some stay-at-home white mothers have. That doesn't mean they care less about education; it just means they're coming from a different perspective."

Question to Ask: Do you help students develop a positive racial and cultural identity?

"There's evidence that when children have a strong, positive racial identity, they're more academically and socially successful," says Ali Michael, director of K-12 Consulting and Professional Development at the Center for the Study of Race & Equity in Education at the University of Pennsylvania and author of Raising Race Questions: Whiteness, Inquiry and Education. Many teachers feel uncomfortable explicitly addressing race, though, and avoid discussing race in favor of a "color-blind" approach.

Action Step: Connect kids to their heritage. Having a sense of connection to the past, rather than a feeling of isolation in history, is essential for all children, particularly children from cultural backgrounds that have traditionally been ignored or glossed over in the classroom. Teachers "have to go above and beyond" what's included in the textbooks, says Baruti K. Kafele, a former elementary school teacher, principal, and author of The Teacher 50: Critical Questions for Inspiring Classroom Excellence. Learn as much as you can about the cultural, scientific, literary, and historical contributions of individuals from your students' cultures, and include that information in your instruction.

Question to Ask: Do you create space for sometimes difficult conversations about current events and culture?

Issues that affect students, their families, and their neighborhoods don't disappear when kids cross the classroom threshold. While it can seem intimidating to discuss potentially polarizing current events, ignoring topics that are on your students' minds is a mistake. Even very young students are aware of issues affecting their communities, and they may need help making sense of the disparate bits of information and emotion they absorb on a daily basis.

Action Step: Give students a voice. "Kids are overhearing the news and their parents. They're talking to each other and hearing other kids talking-but nobody's talking directly to them," says Andrea Martens, a K-5 ESL teacher at H. M. Pearson Elementary School in Catlett, Virginia. "I give them the space where they can talk to me. We all sit down, and I say, 'What questions do you have? What are you worried about?' and I listen."

That's a great approach, says Michael. "If you feel some of your students' opinions are really going to hurt other students, ask them to write [their thoughts] down, and then have private conversations with them."

Question to Ask: Do you embrace students' native languages?

All students need to learn standard American English to be successful in school. But because language is so intimately tied to culture, excluding a child's native language can be damaging, educationally and emotionally.

"We call a person's native language their 'mother tongue,' and that's because your language connects you to your family, your ancestry, your grandparents, neighborhood, and community," Michael says. That fact holds true for regional dialects as well.

Action Step: Allow students opportunities to learn and express themselves in their language. "My team teacher and I have started having our students' vocabulary words translated into Samoan," says Shannon Mullinax Thomas, a fourth-grade teacher at Wonder Park Elementary in Anchorage, Alaska. "Our largest population of ELL students is Samoan, so we have a word wall with a picture illustrating the meaning, with the word in both English and Samoan."

The ability to communicate in more than one language-whether it's Russian, Chinese, Spanish, or a regional dialect-is invaluable. So don't ever embarrass students for speaking their native language, Jackson says. Instead, convey that "language is about communication, and also about how people see you."

Label the language you use together "academic English," and stress that it's one you'll help them learn. But at the same time, recognize the value of their mother tongue, and give them opportunities to use both in the classroom. For fun, try occasionally allowing responses in students' mother tongues, but be clear about which language you expect and when.
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Photo: Courtesy of Brenda Mendoza

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Culturally Responsive Classrooms | Scholastic

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Daniel could hardly speak English, much less read it, when he started second grade at Greenman Elementary School in Aurora, Illinois. A recent immigrant from Mexico, Daniel had learned English gradually, but by fourth grade, he still struggled with reading comprehension and was a less-than-enthusiastic reader.

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Author: Lisa Bullard
Grades: 2-5
This is a story of Camila, the new girl to Romelie's class. Camila speaks Spanish and it causes Romelie to think about how people can speak different languages than she can. Camila begins teaching Romelie Spanish and she wonders how different languages are similar to her own. Her family uses ASL and she wonders if other people can use that language too. This book opens children's eyes to the idea that not all families use English or the same language as them at home.

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My Language, Your Language has 13 ratings and 4 reviews. Menna said: This book is very unique because it is about a girl who knows one language which is ...

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Secondary
This lesson plan for secondary students asks students to find definitions for certain words relating to culture differences. Students break into groups and share their unique definitions of the word, allowing for discussion and new insights.

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The facilitators should divide the participants into groups of 6-10 to ensure that everyone will have ample chance to participate. Each group's facilitator will begin her or his session by having each participant share her or his definition for "prejudice".

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Cognitive scientist, Lera Boroditsky, shares examples of language that suggests it shapes the way we think. Linguistic diversity reveals how ingenious and flexible the human mind is.

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Lera Boroditsky: How language shapes the way we think

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There are about 7,000 languages spoken around the world -- and they all have different sounds, vocabularies and structures. But do they shape the way we think? Cognitive scientist Lera Boroditsky shares examples of language -- from an Aboriginal community in Australia that uses cardinal directions instead of left and right to the multiple words for blue in Russian -- that suggest the answer is a resounding yes.

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The Center for Applied Linguistics is a nonprofit organization promoting access, equity, and mutual understanding for linguistically and culturally diverse people around the world.

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Landing Page - Center for Applied Linguistics

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Author: Diana R. Wallach
Grades: 6-8
This young adult novel tells the story of a fifteen year old girl who moves from the suburbs of Philadelphia to a tiny town in Puerto Rico. Only one other person speaks English and she finds a way to fit in and uncover a family secret.

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Amor and Summer Secrets (Amor and Summer Secrets, #1)

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Amor and Summer Secrets has 126 ratings and 24 reviews. Jennifer said: Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.comLife can be so unfair! Just when Mariana ...

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Author: Andrew Dalby
Secondary Teachers
This book discusses the evolution of language and the current trend in loss of languages throughout the world. It speaks out against the progressive silencing of our world's irreplaceable voices.

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Author: Anne S. O'Brien
Grades: K-3
This chidren's book tells the story of three children - Maria from Guatemala, Jin from Korea, and Fatima from Somalia - who are all new to their American elementary school and have trouble speaking, writing, and sharing ideas in English. Through self-determination and encouragement from others, they become confident and comfortable in their new school without losing sense of their home identity.

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I'M NEW HERE by Anne Sibley O'Brien , Anne Sibley O'Brien | Kirkus Reviews

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Readers walk in the shoes of three students struggling after immigrating to the United States.