he difference between social and academic English, highlights the stages of English proficiency, and shares ways to support students in developing both their social and academic English.
NOTE: This is a summary drawn from another website that is an excellent resource for teachers and parents who want to learn more about English learning and bilingual/biliteracy education, called Colorín Colorado: http://www.colorincolorado.org/
NOTE: Required reading
Code-switching and Ebonics
As you begin to delve into cultural differences, one difference you might come up with is dialect and language differences. Delpit highlights the difference in discourse style and language use by African American students. She provides educators with practical ways they can make the study of language diversity a part of the curriculum.
Delpit, L. (1997). The real ebonics debate: What should teachers do? Retrieved from http://www.rethinkingschools.org/
NOTE: Required reading
Helping children to know how to communicate in Standard English is often a school priority; however, teachers also know the value of maintaining and valuing home languages and dialects that are non-Standard. When should a teacher correct a child’s language? When should a teacher accept a child’s language? These are real questions that many teachers grapple with as they encounter children from various cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Wheeler provides linguistic insight into venacular language and offers strategies to lead students through a critical-thinking process to help them understand and apply the rules of Standard English grammar.
Wheeler, R. (2008). Becoming adept at code switching. Educational Leadership, 64(7), 54-58.
NOTE: Required reading
Our experts have plenty to tell about how teachers can attend to their own cultural and linguistic lenses, address biases, and reach out to engage students of all backgrounds. Listen (and watch) as they share what it means to be a culturally competent and culturally responsive teacher.
Joyce King, Ph.D.
Joyce King, Ph.D. knows a lot about how individual beliefs and values influence teaching practices. She gives some practical advice about how to make sure that stereotyping and biases don’t get in the way of good instruction. Dr. King is an expert in this area, having published many articles and books on culture and teaching.
Watch as Joyce King shares the principles of culturally relevant pedagogy and explain why it is important. She also explains what is meant by cultural competency and give examples of what culturally relevant pedagogy looks like in the classroom. Continue watching as Joyce shares what mentors can do to directly address stereotypes and biases.
Steven Athanases, Ph.D.
Steven Athanases, Ph.D., co-authored Mentors in the Making: Developing New Leaders for New Teachers with Betty Achinstein (another expert contributor to MentorModules.com). Dr. Athanases is a Professor at the University of California in Davis and conducts research on educational equity and teacher education.
Steve shares the importance of new teachers exploring their own cultural and linguistic experiences as well as questions they should ask themselves related to culturally and linguistically diverse students. Next, you’ll hear his advice to mentors on ways to help new teachers manage diversity during their first year of teaching. He mentions James Banks’ five domains of multicultural education–Can you describe all five after you watch this? What can new teachers to do ensure that they’re addressing all learners?
Maria E. Fránquiz is the Dean of the College of Education at the University of Utah. Having written and edited several books and articles about English and dual language learners, she is an award-winning researcher and scholar on language learning.
Maria Fránquiz shares about the importance of academic language support and informal assessments. She tells about code-switching—when speakers (and writers) express themselves by mixing two languages or dialects together. She ends by talking about sharing children’s and young adult literature—i