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Abstract:
Introduction:
For
teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL),
the question is, “How
can we incorporate cultural
knowledge and understanding within the
context of
our English language classes?”One challenge a
teacher faces is what approach to take.
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Why is diversity in the classroom
important?
If
you ignore the issue of diversity in the classroom and
choose to not
promote diversity in your school, you’re
not doing your job.
Children go to school to be prepared for the workforce,
so teaching
must effectively address and embrace the
realities that come with living
and working in a diverse
school, community and country.
Not only that, but there are other research-backed
reasons for promoting diversity in the classroom:
Diversity in the classroom builds
critical thinkers
It improves academic outcomes
It helps students feel represented
and included
An additional aspect to a perfect education system
would bethe use of
multicultural education in
schools. Multicultural education creates a
comfortable environment for students of all races
and ethnicities to learn in by combining a variety
of ideals about teaching.
According to
Geneva Gay, the creator of
multicultural education, one of these ideals
is
understanding the cultural characteristics
and cultural contributions of different ethnic groups,
such as the values of different ethnic groups, along
with their traditions and communication styles.
It
is important to know all of these traits in order to
know how to successfully teach all of the students
in the class, regardless of
class, ethnicity, or
gender.
7 ways to encourage a culture of
diversity in your school
Alright.
So diversity is important to cultivate in your
classroom because of the
academic and social benefits.
That’s a great thing to know, but what
does diversity in
the classroom look like in action? And how can you
promote it in your school?
1. Re-evaluate your teaching materials
Which voices are speaking in your classroom?
That is, whose stories do you tell? Especially
in the
humanities and social sciences, teaching materials
can often be limited to Western, white, male and
middle-class narratives.
Work with your teachers to see if you’re representing
a wide range of
voices in the curriculum. If possible,
teach literature from authors of
color. Examine
historical narratives to see which voices are
missing —
for example, a discussion about the civil
rights movement can examine
how it intersects with
gender equality, immigration and the stories of
Latino,
Hispanic and Native American peoples.
2. Get to know your students
All the students in your school are unique individuals,
so use that fact to build a diverse and inclusive school culture.
Take
the time to learn about your students: Where do
they come from? What kind of socio-economic situation
do they live in, broadly speaking? Are
they meeting
academic achievement standards, or are they
struggling? Do they get along with their peers?
With everything that you have to
keep track of and work
on, it might be difficult to find the time to
intentionally
build relationships with students — especially if you’re
new to the school or to a leadership position.
3. Be willing to address inequality
Part of supporting diversity in the classroom is creating
a safe space for students and educators to talk
about
how issues of discrimination affect them on a personal,
classroom- and school-wide level.
The more diversity is a topic of discussion in your
school, the less students and teachers will hesitate
to address it. As a school leader, you’re in a position
to lead the conversation and inspire others in the
school to take action.
This
conversation shouldn’t just be limited to words
— in order to make
effective change, you need to take
practical steps to address inequality
when you
encounter it, such as:
Use language that promotes
positivity and doesn’t
reinforce existing stereotypes. For example, the phrase
“boys will be boys” shouldn’t be used to justify sexism
or aggression.
Respond immediately and effectively to inappropriate
comments or actions. Take infractions seriously and
keep families informed.
Model
inclusion and acceptance. Encourage students
to include all of their
peers if you see division forming
along racial or economic lines.
Remove
existing markers of inequality in your school.
For example, make sure
students who are eligible for
free or reduced lunch programs aren’t
singled out and
made to feel different.
4. Connect with families and community
Schools are a central part of the community and
should reflect and celebrate its diversity.
Communicate your goals for diversity in the
classroom to families. Ask
if they have any questions
or concerns, and then listen. Invite them to
identify
areas in the curriculum or in the school culture that
they feel could benefit from more of a focus on diversity.
Reach out to
leaders in the community that can offer
different perspectives, either
as experts in their field,
professionals, community workers or activists. Consider
asking teachers to develop service learning projects that
connect classroom learning with community initiatives.
5. Meet diverse learning needs
Uniform standards can’t apply to a diverse classroom,
so start
working with your teachers to establish different
approaches for
students with different learning needs.
Some suggestions for making sure the classroom stays
accessible and equitable:
Introduce adaptive technologies.
Adaptive technologies make
learning accessible for all
students. This can include anything from
speech-to-text
software, talking calculators for students with
dyscalculia, or modified computer accessories for
students with physical disabilities.
Encourage teachers to use different types of
instruction and teaching strategies.
Techniques like project-based learning, differentiated
instruction and blended learning all allow teachers to help
learners with different needs. (For even more ideas
about classroom teaching strategies, read our Ultimate
Create opportunities for all students to contribute.
Within
groups, have students take on different roles
that fit their strengths.
Some students can act as note
takers, while others can facilitate the conversation.
6. Hire diversely
As a school leader, you can directly impact the diversity
of your
faculty through hiring and recruitment efforts.
Some of the suggestions
from the study for hiring a
more diverse faculty include:
Establish
programs at the district level that recruit
teachers from
non-traditional programs and provide
financial help and training.
Improve the data systems that monitor diverse hiring
efforts, and reward schools that meet diversity
requirements.
Hire earlier in the year to reach more in-demand
candidates
Support principal preparation programs, including
actively recruiting teachers and supporting their
professional development
7. Support professional development
opportunities
Multicultural Curriculum
For
Multicultural Classroom
Kinds of cultures:
• Perspectives (what members of a culture think,
feel, and value)
• Practices (how members communicate and
interact with one another)
• Products (technology, music, art, food, literature,
etc.; the things members of a group create, share,
and transmit to the next generation).
Levels of culture:
1-Surface culture:
Examples of surface culture elements include food,
national costumes, traditional music and dance,
literature, and specific holidays.
2-The sub-surface culture:
3-The deep culture:
Requirements of a Multicultural
Classroom Cultural observations:
To
help students critically evaluate the cultural
practices and products
of their own culture and
those of another country, teachers can gather
books, poetry, newspapers, magazines, radio
clips, television shows,
movies, video clips, or
music—or have students gather them.
Students can
describe the behaviors and
products they read about, see, or hear, then
discuss differences and similarities between
their own culture and the
culture they are
observing. Students can consider these
questions when
watching television shows,
movies, or video clips:
• How and where do people live?
• How do people spend their time?
• How do people dress?
• What and how do people eat?
• What side of the road do people drive on?
.Do people seem to follow traffic rules?
• What gestures or superstitions did you notice?
• How do people greet one another?
Do they hug? Shake hands?
• What is the polite thing to do in certain situations?
Methods for multi-cultured / diverse
classroom:
1-Understanding multiple
learning styles allows one
to focus on individual students' own learning
styles;
sub-groups within a classroom community; and the
class as a learning community.
2-Discover the diverse needs, desires, interests and
readiness of the diverse learners through holding
several meetings.
3-Plan to create common factors, likes, dislikes and
tastes to work on.
4-Student can also learn that there are patterns of
values, speech, preferences, and behaviors
associated with different cultures.
5-Inclusion and involvement are basic in teaching
diverse learners.
6-Maintain high standards and demonstrate high
expectations for all ethnically, culturally, and
linguistically diverse students.
7-Show students you care by getting to know their
individual needs and strengths and sharing their
concerns, hopes, and dreams.
8-Understand students' home cultures to better
comprehend their behavior in and out of the
classroom.
9-Encourage active participation of parents or guardians.
10-Tap into students' backgrounds to enhance learning.
11-Choose culturally relevant curriculum and instructional
materials that recognize, incorporate, and reflect
students' heritage and the contributions of various ethnic
groups.
12-Identify and dispel stereotypes.
13-Create culturally compatible learning environments.
14-Use cooperative learning strategies.
15-Capitalize on students' cultures, languages,
and experiences.
16-Integrate the arts in the curriculum.
17-Promote students' health.
18-Develop community ties and build community schools.
19-Incorporate multiple forms of assessment.
20-Establish truly bilingual classrooms.
21-Embrace dual-language strategies..
22-The
diverse cultured learners have diverse
learning styles, diverse learning outcomes, diverse
behavior, diverse needs, desires and interests.
23-Practice English in heterogeneous cooperative
learning groups.
24-Use cross-age and peer tutoring.
25-Respect community language norms.
26-Organize teaching around thematic,
interdisciplinary units.
27-Enhance language learning with computers and
peer tutors.
Benefits of a multicultural classroom
Exposes students to different cultures
One of
the top reasons why a multicultural
classroom is beneficial is because
students are
encouraged to learn about the cultural backgrounds
of other students in a class.
Students interact with various communities and get
first-hand knowledge about multiple celebrations;
for example,
indulging in Japanese snacks on
Japanese Children’s Day or dressing up
in
traditional Indian attire on Diwali.
Fosters acceptance and tolerance in a learning
environment
A
multicultural education provides educational
opportunities to
learners from diverse ethnic cultural
groups and social classes. It
enables students to
acquire skills and develop a positive attitude to
communicate, interact, and foster acceptance and
tolerance with
individuals from varied cultures to
create a moral and civic community.
Teaches multiple perspectives
At CIS,
multiple perspectives and references are
taught in class. The multicultural classroom provides
an opportunity for students from different cultures
to bring their enormous range of experiences,
knowledge, perspectives, and insights to the
classroom.
Encourages critical thinking
Both teachers and students
evaluate their own
cultural assumptions and then discuss how learning
materials, teaching practices, or schools policies
reflect cultural bias, and how they could be changed
to eliminate bias.
Students are encouraged to start networking from
a young age and build a network of contacts that
can not
only help them forge lifelong friendships
but can also help expand their career perspectives
to a global level.
Several internships are also offered to students
from universities all over the world to foster
global
networking as well as to study and observe a truly
international environment at Canadian International
School (CIS).
Cultural “informants”:
Our
strategy is to invite native speakers or proficient
non-native speakers
of English to come to class
and speak on a specific aspect of their own culture.
These “informants” can be a resource to confirm
ideas,
impressions, or textbook information that
students have learned.
Final thoughts: Diversity in the classroom
Diversity
expresses itself in so many different ways,
so it can be daunting to
try and start conversations
around bringing it to the classroom.
The good news? Your school is already full of students
and staff with
diverse and amazing backgrounds,
abilities and skills! All you have to
do is start
highlighting that diversity.
Start slowly and
intentionally. Don’t be afraid to admit
when you don’t know the answer,
but always try to
keep learning and growing. Listen to what others
around you are saying, and look for feedback and
ways to continuously
improve. Change doesn’t
happen overnight, but the most important step is
getting started.
