Addressing Cultural Differences in the Classroom

Amy Talley

Our Essential Questions

• Who ARE our LEP children and where do they come from?

• How do I find out who my LEP kids are and their proficiency levels?

• How can I meet their needs?

What do all these acronyms mean?

• ESL? ESOL?

• ELL? LEP?

• NOM?

Who are our English Language Learners in WSFCS and where

do they come from?

Take a guess!

How many languages do you think are represented:

• in the WSFC schools?• At the high school where you will be student-

teaching?

How many LEP students are • In the WSFC schools• At the high school where you will be student-teaching?

• WSFCS in 2014:

• 12,502 NOM students out of 54,000

• 6,231 LEP students

• 100 languages

High School: Number of students- number of languages 2014

• Atkins: 10-2 (Chinese, Spanish)• Carver: 68-4 (Arabic, Portuguese Creole, French, Spanish)

• East: 68-5 (Arabic, Chinese, Chinese Cantonese, Kru/Ibo/Igbo, Spanish)

• Glenn: 120- 10# older data• Mt.Tabor: 48-5 (Arabic, Filipino, French, Shona, Spanish)

• North: 109 – 4 (Arabic, Hindi/Urdu, Marshallese/Ebon, Spanish)

• Parkland: 154 – 3 (French, Spanish, Xhosa/Zulu)• Reagan: 18 – 5 (Chinese, German, Marshallese, Russian, Spanish)

• Reynolds: 125 – 12 (Arabic, Chin, Chinese, Italian, Karen, Kayah, Kishwahali/Kwa/Kitendo, Nepali, Punjabi, Spanish, Filipino, Yoruba)

• West: 64- 8 (Arabic, Chinese, Cantonese, Korean, Spanish, Swahili, Filipino, Vietnamese)

WSFC DemographicsThe top 5 languages are:

Spanish-11,143

Arabic/Egyptian/Lebanese/Syrian-214

Chinese-142

Kayah/Karenni-114

Vietnamese-100

Important Acronyms:

• ESL – English as a Second Language, an ESL student receives ESL services because they scored below proficient in the English language on a language test.

• ELL – English Language Learner

• LEP- Limited English Proficient

• NOM-National Origin Minority

OK, so I’m going to have some LEP students at my school and maybe in my classes. But I am the ____ teacher. That has nothing to do with me. That is the ESL teacher’s problem!

So, you thought you were just going to have to teach social

studies/math/science/literature?

• Remember that no matter what subject you teach, you are teaching your students language on some level. It may be just academic vocabulary, but it may also be that students are learning the course content in their second or third language.

So how are our LEP students performing?

• LEP Gap Data 2014 By School.pdf

Laws Affecting English Language LearnersT/P/S:Work in groups of 3. Each member reads and

highlights a portion. Come together as a group and share the significance of your legislation. How will this legislation affect you as a teacher? Then, let’s share as a big group. Which laws are most important?

• At this point in time, in accordance with federal law, students do not have to provide any proof of legal status to attend US schools.

• All students must fill out a HLS upon registering for school. If there is another language listed, they are given a language test to determine their language proficiency.

• LEP students are given the choice to receive ESL services. They may waive services.

• All teachers are required to modify instruction and assessment as needed for LEP students.

• The ESL program is federally mandated to prevent discrimination practices in the retention and grading of LEP students. Retention of an LEP student should only be considered if academic difficulties are not related to second language acquisition.

Student Rights

WSFC School Policy• School Classroom Teachers: Classroom

teachers with LEP students are responsible for making their classroom instruction accessible, even for students at a beginning level of English proficiency. EXAMPLE. Classroom teachers are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the WIDA standards and their students’ levels of English proficiency in order to differentiate their instruction and to make modifications. They are also responsible for assessing students in such a way that does not discriminate against them on the basis of their language proficiency. Such accommodations for state testing must be well documented.

•  ESL teachers are supposed to be responsible for teaching the language of the content (WIDA standards. www.wida.us).  

• The mainstream teacher is supposed to be responsible for teaching the content while supporting the language simultaneously.   This is the ideal.

David Sisk (ESL Coordinator, District Level)  

OK, so now I know that I need to try to meet the needs of my ELLs. I’ll just have a look for “foreign sounding” last names on my roster and start modifying/accommodating!

• Connect with ESL teacher/contact person.

• Don’t wait for them to come to you.

How can you be proactive in figuring out WHO your students are?

The first step to being an effective teacher is getting to know your

students.

• Questionnaire

• Brainstorm questions for your possible questionnaires. Please add to my list!

Other ways to get to know your students:

• Talk with other teachers, guidance counselors, community groups.

• Incorporate journaling, family interviewing when possible.

• Ask students privately if they would like to share information about their home countries/cultures that pertains to class.

• Invite students to stay after for tutoring.

Well, at least I won’t have to worry about my LEP students’ EOC scores. Surely they will be exempt or will have to take a modified EOC!

WSFC LEP Procedures:• Identification: How will I know who my LEP

students are and what modifications they need?

• Testing Accommodations: Accommodations Form

• “Modification/Accommodation forms are done by the LEP committee in the school, then they are to be shared with all teachers that have contact with the LEP student.  We have asked the ESL teachers to make sure they are sharing the forms or information with each teacher because they are responsible for making sure the student receives all mods and accommodations due to them---liability issue if not followed.  The student is not really able to use the testing accommodations unless they have received them in the classroom throughout the year.”

Ann Talton, ESL Lead Teacher (WSFCS)

*Grading (see handout)

OK, so I have no choice. I have to change the way I teach to cater to English Language Learners. It is their legal right, but why is it the RIGHT thing to do?

Let’s talk about how it feels to be in a situation where you do not speak the language?

• Have you ever experienced an ineffective language teacher? (Don’t mention names!) What made this teacher ineffective? How can you avoid the same situations with future students?

• Were there any cultural misunderstandings?• Situations that made you feel uncomfortable?• What made you uncomfortable/more comfortable in

foreign language settings?

First, we will talk about specific teaching strategies and ways to modify. Then, we will talk about cultural differences/stereotypes.

• Examine the can-do descriptors. With a partner from your cohort, choose a topic that you will most likely have to teach. Plan appropriate assessments of this topic for ELL students with different levels of

proficiency.Can you see how these documents could be

helpful to you?

• IDEA: Talk to your ESL teacher. Write your students’ names on these documents and refer to them often!

• Now let’s think about planning INSTRUCTION so that students can successfully meet our assessment objectives.

• More Than English:  Teaching Language and Content (Dare County):  http://morethanenglish.edublogs.org/resources/weblinks/

SIMPLE THINGS YOU CAN DO TO HELP LEP STUDENTS: think about your own experiences learning another language

• Read over the handout, Instructional Strategies to Assist LEP Students.

• Choose the three most important suggestions. Do you have any others to add?

Reading with the LEP student

• Reading is important in all classes and can be especially challenging for the LEP student.

• Use pre-reading, while-reading, and post-reading strategies

Pre-Reading Strategies

• Activate Prior Knowledge: discussion, graphic organizers, pre-tests, interesting photograph/image

• A hands-on activity or demonstration to get them interested

• Pre-teach vocabulary• Give them an outline of what they will be reading• Show images from the text they are going to

read (Cortázar)

While-Reading Strategies

• Give students guiding questions• Have them fill out a graphic organizer while they

read.• Highlight the text for them. Shorten the text.• Paragraph summaries: Give them summaries, and

students match summaries with corresponding paragraphs.

• Adapt the text. Select supplemental materials.• Consider allowing students to read in their native

language?

Importance of Group Work

• Many students are more comfortable working and communicating with peers in small groups.

• Make your group assignments clear.• LEP students will need language structures. Consider

giving them specific questions and language support.• Help all students learn polite ways of working

cooperatively. You could post polite ways of asking questions, asking for clarification, requesting more details and explanations.

• Brainstorm group and partner activities: Roundrobin, roundtable, Jigsaw, Numbered Heads Together, Interviews, Information Gap, PMI (Plus, Minus, Interesting): about an issue, role play

Writing Strategies

• Word Walls, vocabulary posted and referred to frequently

• Focus on content and meaning over grammar and form

• Dialogue Journals

• Mini-lessons based on mistakes you see in their writing

• Peer editing

How could you modify:

• A lecture?• A reading assignment?• A project?• A paper or any type of writing assignment?• A quiz?• A unit test?• A group assignment?• A science experiment?

Now, let’s talk about stereotypes.

• Why is it important to know about cultural norms, even though each student is a unique individual?

• Diversity Situation Analysis

• http://www.wsfcs.k12.nc.us/Page/1169