ESL Teacher's Role. in Intercultural. Communication

Transcription

1 ESL Teacher's Role in Intercultural Communication NYS TESOL Annual Conference Syracuse, N.Y. Saturday October 16, 2004 Judie Haynes Judie Haynes, everythingesl.net,

2 ESL Teacher s Role in Intercultural Communication Objectives of Workshop Participants will: learn to identify the reasons for cultural misunderstandings in their schools. identify strategies that will help classroom teachers understand culture. explore the differences between the academic curriculum of a school and the hidden curriculum. Reasons for Cross-cultural Misinterpretations I. Teachers or parents do not understand the theory of second language acquisition teachers don t comprehend why student are unable to do content work parents have unrealistic expectations for their children 2. Lack of Cultural Knowledge lack of cultural knowledge on the part of staff or administrators that causes misinterpretation of ELL student or parent behavior. Lack of understanding on part of parents about the hidden curriculum What Is the Hidden Curriculum? it involves the transmission of norms and values as well as a body of socially-approved knowledge it refers to the characteristics of schooling that are taken for granted or unquestioned. it is not written down differs from school to school it teaches pupils the way life is. it is not the academic curriculum such as social studies or science, but is comprised of the school s values and beliefs these values are picked up by our mainstream students but not by our ELLs or their parents has to be specifically taught to both ELLs and their parents Judie Haynes, everythingesl.net,

3 Helping ELLs in School 1. ESL and mainstream teachers can not help their ELLs as much as they should if they don t recognize or understand the hidden curriculum of their school. 2. In order to teach the hidden curriculum to ELLs and their parents, we must know what it is. 3. ESL teachers need to become cultural brokers in order to broker between classroom teachers/ administrators and ELLs and their parents. 4. Helping immigrant families adapt to U.S. schools is a two pronged effort. Both the school staff and administrators, as well as the parents, should receive training. ESL Teacher as Cultural Broker - Who are we asked to broker between? a. Mainstream teacher - ESL student b. Mainstream teacher - parent c. Administrator - ESL student d. Administrator - parent e. Child Study Team member - ESL student f. Child Study Team member - parent g. School nurse - ESL student h. School nurse - parent i. Special area teacher - ESL student j. Special area teacher - parent k. mainstream student - ESL student l. School secretary - ESL student m. School secretary - parent Judie Haynes, everythingesl.net,

4 Myths of Second Language Acquisition Answer each of the following statements with true or false. 1. Adults and teenagers learn second languages more quickly and easily than young children. T F 2. According to research, students in ESL-only programs, T F with no schooling in their native language, take 7-10 years to reach grade level norms. 3. A lot of immigrant children have learning disabilities, T F not language problems. They speak English just fine but they are still failing academically. 4. Older generations of immigrants learned without all the T F special language programs that immigrant children receive now. It was "sink or swim" and they did just fine! 5. Second language learners will acquire academic English T F faster if their parents speak English at home. 6. The more time students spend soaking up English in the T F mainstream classroom, the more they quickly they will learn the language. 7. Once students can speak English, they are ready to T F undertake the academic tasks of the mainstream classroom. 8. Cognitive and academic development in native language T F has an important and positive effect on second language acquisition. 9. The culture of students doesn t affect how long it takes them T F to acquire English. All students learn language the same way. Judie Haynes, everythingesl.net,

5 Truth or Stereotype? (adapted from Ned Seeyle's Teaching Culture -1997) Read the ten statements about Hispanic culture. After reading the statements, mark each statement either (A) probably true, (B) probably false, or (C) I don't know. 1. Most Spanish-speaking people take siestas at noon. 2. Business in Latin American is conducted much as it is in the U.S. A 10:00 a.m. appointment always means that the participants will meet at 10: The Latin American's concept of space is such that among friends there is a fair amount of touching involved. 4. Spanish-speaking people are used to standing close to the person to whom they are speaking. 5. Once you know appropriate gestures for one Spanishspeaking country, you can apply this knowledge all over South America. 6. Shopping for groceries in Latin America is accomplished by going to a supermarket once weekly and getting all that is needed. 7. If you were to go to a bank in a Columbia you would have no trouble cashing a check. Just stand in line and wait your turn. 8. The tradition of girls being chaperoned when they go out at night is slowly dying out. 9. The gaucho of Argentina has been highly idealized through literature. 10. The celebration of a young girl's coming of age on her 15th birthday is dying out in Spanish-speaking countries. With your partner prepare 3 statements about a culture you know. Write your statements in true or false format. Judie Haynes, everythingesl.net,

6 The Culture Quiz 1. You are a 4th grade teacher with a new boy in your class from Egypt. He speaks very little English. He is having a problem getting along with the other students. He has fights on the playground every day which he seems to provoke by constantly touching the other boys. 2. You have a new Japanese girl in your 6th grade class. The other students in your class don t want to sit next to her because they say she smells funny. You have a bad allergy and can t tell. She appears to be a clean, well-dressed child and you don t understand your students objections. 3. You are a 5th grade teacher who is using a lot of cooperative learning strategies in your classroom. In the middle of the year you get a new Colombian boy in your class. The student doesn t follow any of the rules you have explained through a bilingual classmate. He is very disruptive in your class. 4. You are a first grade teacher. A Korean student comes into your class in April. During a discussion of age and birthdays, this student says that she is 8 years old. The other students in your class are turning seven. The office tells you that she has been correctly placed. 5. You are a 7th grade teacher who wants to write a quick note home to an ESL student s family. You pick up the pen that you use to mark papers and write the note. When you hand the note to the student, she looks upset. 6. You have several Korean students in your second grade class who are often sent to school sick even though your school nurse has sent notes home in Korean about the school s policy on keeping sick children at home. 7. Haitian brothers Jean-Baptiste and Jean-Pierre are often late for school. They are also each absent about once a week but on different days. 8. A Russian student, who has learned English and is able to do much of the work in your 6th grade classroom, copies work from other students during tests. When you talk to him about this, he doesn t seem at all contrite. His parents act like you re making a big deal about nothing. 9. Your 4th grade Malaysian student seems to be very good at Math. He gets 100 on his spelling tests. No one in your class knows the names of the state capitals better than he does. However, he seems to have a hard time comprehending a simple reading passage. 10. Hung is a bright ESL student in your 3rd grade class. He listens to you attentively and follows directions well. However, he is very rude when a classmate is speaking. He either talks to his neighbor or day dreams. He never joins in any class discussions. Judie Haynes, everythingesl.net,

7 11. You notice that a Muslim child in your classroom refuses to take a sheet of paper from a classmate. This isn't the first time this has occurred. 12. You are a fourth grade math teacher. Ayumi is one of the brightest students in your class. She has been in the country for 2 years and it is obvious her background in math is superb. She can not seem to understand the units on fractions. You don t know what to think. 13. A student from Argentina is experiencing difficulty with writing numbers in Math class. She is especially having difficulties with decimals which she doesn t seem to understand. When given the problem x 507.4, she wrote ,44 as her response. 14. A Syrian student in your 3rd grade class is a good math student but becomes disruptive when you teach a math lesson using math manipulatives. 15. You have new sixth grade student from Asia. The student appears to have a negative attitude from the first day. Now he is out of his seat fooling around and you ve just motioned to him to come over to talk to you. He glares at you and seems even more angry. What happened? 16. You signal O.K. by making a O with your thumb and forefinger to a student who has done a good job. Your 8th grade newcomer from Brazil looks very shocked. 17. Hui is a 6th grade student in your class who speaks no English. He has an allergy and his nose runs constantly. He uses his fingers instead of a tissue. You and your class are upset by his behavior while Hui is unaware of the impact of his actions. What causes this behavior and how can you handle it? 18. You have new ESL students who are absent every other day. You feel frustrated because there is no continuity of instruction. Why are the students absent? 19. Your new ESL student from Brazil comes to school on a sunny November day wearing shorts and sandals. He is sent to the nurse who suggests that the school should donate clothing to the family. Is this a good idea? 20. A new ESL student from Bolivia has been getting every addition problem with the number 7 in it wrong. Why? Judie Haynes, everythingesl.net,

8 What's in a gesture? 1. Beckon with index finger, palm up, fingers curled inward. 2. Thumbs up signal. 3. Make a "V" sign with palm facing outward. 4. Point with the index finger. 5.. Form a circle with fingers to indicate O.K. 6. Wave hand with palm facing outward to greet someone. 7. Smile Judie Haynes, everythingesl.net,

9 ELEVATOR The rules of space and proxemics are well defined in different cultures. Visualize yourself on an elevator as you read the following. What are the rules of your culture? A. What are the rules are for standing in the elevator? How do people stand when there are only two or three people? B. What happens when a fourth person enters the elevator? C. How would you feel if you were one of two people on the elevator and a third person entered and stood right next to you? D. What happens when there are four or more people? E. What do people look at in a crowded elevator? F. When is it permissible to talk to the other people? Judie Haynes, everythingesl.net,

10 What is...? (Quiz for Classroom Teachers) How many of the following terms can you identify? Work with a partner. 1. ELL 2. ENL 3. Subtractive bilingualism 4. CALLA 5. Realia 6. PEPSI 7. Proxemics 8. Haptics 9.. CALP 10. SIOP Judie Haynes, everythingesl.net,