Facilitating agency and engagement: Visual methodologies and pedagogical interventions for working with culturally and linguistically diverse young people

2020 ◽  
pp. 136216882093882
Author(s):  
Jacqueline D’warte
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
21St Century ◽  
English Language ◽  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Linguistically Diverse ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
Language Mapping ◽  
English Curriculum ◽  
Linguistic Resources

The 21st century has brought rapid global change to the cultural and linguistic landscape of many nations; this rapidly changing landscape has prompted educators to argue that the lived and evolving reality of contemporary classrooms demands a re-examination of current curriculum, pedagogies and assessment practices. Australian classrooms now include young people who speak many different languages and dialects of English; these young people draw on multiple ways of learning and understanding and are increasingly mobile and connected across time and space. Over the last two decades, rather than building on this linguistic diversity Australia’s national assessment program has relegated difference to a problem fixed by further commitment to standardized English curriculum and assessment practices. In this environment, attention is given to what is perceived as limited or lacking in young people’s knowledge of the English language and literacies practices most valued in school. This article presents research that aimed to acknowledge and build on the foundational linguistic resources of young people in super-diverse mainstream primary classrooms through the application of visual methodologies (language mapping) and corresponding pedagogical work. This research, undertaken in Western Sydney, one of the most diverse regions in Australia, offers possibilities for perpetuating and fostering a pluralist present and future in 21st century classrooms.

Assessment 360°: A Panoramic Framework for Assessing English Language Learners

2010 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 37-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Lewis ◽  
Nancy Castilleja ◽  
Barbara J. Moore ◽  
Barbara Rodriguez
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Linguistically Diverse ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Her Family ◽  
Diverse Student ◽  
Many Sources

This issue describes the Assessment 360° process, which takes a panoramic approach to the language assessment process with school-age English Language Learners (ELLs). The Assessment 360° process guides clinicians to obtain information from many sources when gathering information about the child and his or her family. To illustrate the process, a bilingual fourth grade student whose native language (L1) is Spanish and who has been referred for a comprehensive language evaluation is presented. This case study features the assessment issues typically encountered by speech-language pathologists and introduces assessment through a panoramic lens. Recommendations specific to the case study are presented along with clinical implications for assessment practices with culturally and linguistically diverse student populations.

Constructing reading proficiency and struggle through tracked contexts

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 182-198
Author(s):  
Julie E. Learned ◽  
Mary Jo Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Struggling Readers ◽  
English Language ◽  
Reading Proficiency ◽  
State Standards ◽  
Reading Difficulty ◽  
Content Type ◽  
English Curriculum ◽  
English Classes ◽  
Students Attitudes

Purpose This paper aims to report on a study investigating how young people and teachers interpreted reading proficiency and difficulty across different tracks of English language arts in the sole high school serving a culturally diverse city. Design/methodology/approach For six months, the researchers observed in three hierarchically tracked English classes. Participants were three teachers and 15 focal youths. The researchers also conducted semi-structured and open-ended interviews and collected classroom artifacts and students’ records. Findings Despite adoption of the Common Core State Standards and a school-designed common English curriculum, both of which were to contribute to shared literacy objectives, students and teachers built highly contextualized understandings of reading proficiency, which diverged across tracks and mediated instruction. Across tracks, however, deficit discourses about reading struggle persisted, and students and teachers attributed difficulty to students’ attitudes and behaviors. Young people never described themselves in negative terms, which suggests they resisted the deficit labels tracking systems can generate. Originality/value Findings extend research by showing how literacy-related tracking contributed to exclusionary contexts through which students were unproductively positioned at odds. Findings suggest a need for renewed rigor in the examination of tracking practices, particularly how notions of reading difficulty/proficiency position youths and mediate literacy instruction. Despite deficit conceptions of “struggling readers” across the school, youths never described themselves negatively and accepted reading difficulty as normal; how youths achieved such resourceful stances can be further investigated. These research directions will support the creation of English contexts that invite all youths into inquisitive, critical and agentive interactions with texts and each other.

scholarly journals Melting Pot Influences on Secondary English Curriculum Policy

2009 ◽  
Vol 4 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison Skerrett
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
English Language ◽  
Sociology Of Knowledge ◽  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
The United States ◽  
Curriculum Policy ◽  
Secondary English ◽  
Melting Pot ◽  
Cultural And Linguistic Diversity ◽  
English Curriculum

This article explores how racial, cultural, and linguistic diversity are addressed in secondary English curriculum policy in Massachusetts, U.S.A. Data are analyzed through theories of the sociology of knowledge and the myth of the United States melting pot. Analysis revealed that curriculum policy privileged Eurocentric literature and the English language and adhered to a melting pot ideology. The article considers how the international educational policy movement toward post-standardization may afford greater responsiveness to diversity.

The changing landscape of unofficial signage in a U.S. refugee relocation city

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-264
Author(s):  
Ashley Yochim
Keyword(s):  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Linguistically Diverse ◽  
Business Owners ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
Diachronic Analysis ◽  
The Government ◽  
One Year ◽  
City Planners

Abstract This Linguistic Landscape project investigates public signage throughout one year in a small Pennsylvania refugee relocation city, exploring the linguistic diversity of the city’s numerous generations of newcomers. The diachronic analysis indicates that monolingual government signs conflict with multilingual signs in private businesses, demonstrating that newcomer business owners are willing to meet the needs of refugees and immigrants even if the government will not. The lack of official multilingual signage calls into question what obligation government city planners in refugee relocation areas have to accommodate their linguistically diverse newcomers. The results of this project also reveal that the Linguistic Landscape is dynamic, as suggested by new languages that are layered on top of evidence of earlier generations of immigrants and by changes to signs within one year.

scholarly journals Prologue: Language Challenges in the 21st Century

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 428-437
Author(s):  
Megan E. Birney ◽  
Janin Roessel ◽  
Karolina Hansen ◽  
Tamara Rakić
Keyword(s):  
21St Century ◽  
Intergroup Relations ◽  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Social Processes ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Linguistic Backgrounds ◽  
Shed Light

As immigration and mobility increases, so do interactions between people from different linguistic backgrounds. Yet while linguistic diversity offers many benefits, it also comes with a number of challenges. In seven empirical articles and one commentary, this Special Issue addresses some of the most significant language challenges facing researchers in the 21st century: the power language has to form and perpetuate stereotypes, the contribution language makes to intersectional identities, and the role of language in shaping intergroup relations. By presenting work that aims to shed light on some of these issues, the goal of this Special Issue is to (a) highlight language as integral to social processes and (b) inspire researchers to address the challenges we face. To keep pace with the world’s constantly evolving linguistic landscape, it is essential that we make progress toward harnessing language’s power in ways that benefit 21st century globalized societies.

scholarly journals Linguistic diversity and inclusion in Abu Dhabi’s linguistic landscape during the COVID-19 period

Multilingua ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Hopkyns ◽  
Melanie van den Hoven
Keyword(s):  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Linguistically Diverse ◽  
Abu Dhabi ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Third Language ◽  
English Only ◽  
Diversity And Inclusion ◽  
Arabic And English

Abstract In Abu Dhabi, multilingualism amongst its highly diverse population is typical. However, with Arabic as the official language and English as the lingua franca, the population’s other languages are subordinate on public signage. Those proficient in English or Arabic have more access to information than those who are not. While effective communication is important in ordinary times, it is especially vital during a crisis. This study looks at COVID-19 signage in two Abu Dhabi live-work contexts: A beachside community and an industrial site. The study takes an ethnographic approach to linguistic landscaping in which a corpus of 326 top-down and bottom-up signs are investigated in terms of languages used, spacing, prominence and location, as well as intended audience and sociolinguistic implications. Key findings revealed that bottom-up handmade COVID-19 signage was mainly monolingual (English only) and municipality-produced warnings were predominately bilingual (Arabic and English). Despite the multilingual composition of both contexts, only one third language (Korean) appeared on COVID-19 signage. The findings shed light on existing inequalities in linguistically diverse contexts, and the need to ensure access to information for all at a street level. The article concludes with practical suggestions for greater linguistic inclusion in the COVID-19 period and beyond.

scholarly journals Linguistic Diversity in the English-Medium Instruction Classroom in Nepal: Challenge or Chance

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 70
Author(s):  
Mohan Singh Saud
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Language Policy ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
English Language ◽  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
Intercultural Awareness ◽  
English Language Teachers

Linguistic diversity is a common phenomenon in urban Nepalese societies. However, Nepalese educational system has not adapted this reality very well. Therefore, considering the linguistic landscape of the multilingual city in Kathmandu, this study focuses on the linguistic and cultural diversity in multilingual school space of public education system. The purpose of this study was to explore how the English language teachers address the issue of students’ linguistic diversity in English as a medium of instruction (EMI) language policy classrooms, whether they take this as a challenge of teaching or chance for learning. Employing a phenomenological design of qualitative research, three English language teachers were interviewed to collect information for this study. Their audio recorded interviews were transcribed, coded and then analyzed and interpreted using a thematic approach linking with relevant theories. The findings indicate that linguistic diversity in the English classrooms can be a valuable resource for learning and developing effective intercultural competence in the learners to cope with culturally diverse social contexts. Though linguistic diversity has become a challenge of teaching for English language teachers, it can be changed into an opportunity for learning through intercultural awareness. EMI language policy of public schools has become a barrier to change multilingualism as a resource for learning.

The Speech-Language Assessment of English Language Learning Students: A Non-Standardized Approach

2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 95-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Kraemer ◽  
Allison Coltisor ◽  
Meesha Kalra ◽  
Megan Martinez ◽  
Bailey Savage ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Assessment ◽  
The United States ◽  
English Language Learning ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
English Speaking

English language learning (ELL) children suspected of having specific-language impairment (SLI) should be assessed using the same methods as monolingual English-speaking children born and raised in the United States. In an effort to reduce over- and under-identification of ELL children as SLI, speech-language pathologists (SLP) must employ nonbiased assessment practices. This article presents several evidence-based, nonstandarized assessment practices SLPs can implement in place of standardized tools. As the number of ELL children SLPs come in contact with increases, the need for well-trained and knowledgeable SLPs grows. The goal of the authors is to present several well-establish, evidence-based assessment methods for assessing ELL children suspected of SLI.

Can-Do descriptors – Realigning English Language Curriculum at Higher Education Institution to CEFR

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 84
Author(s):  
Erda Wati Bakar
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Language Curriculum ◽  
English Curriculum ◽  
The Common ◽  
The University

The Common European Framework of Reference for Language (CEFR) has become the standard used to describe and evaluate students’ command of a second or foreign language. It is an internationally acknowledged standard language proficiency framework which many countries have adopted such as China, Thailand, Japan and Taiwan. Malaysia Ministry of Education is aware and realise the need for the current English language curriculum to be validated as to reach the international standard as prescribed by the CEFR. The implementation of CEFR has begun at primary and secondary level since 2017 and now higher education institutions are urged to align their English Language Curriculum to CEFR as part of preparation in receiving students who have been taught using CEFR-aligned curriculum at schools by year 2022. This critical reflection article elucidates the meticulous processes that we have embarked on in re-aligning our English Language Curriculum to the standard and requirements of CEFR. The paper concludes with a remark that the alignment of the English curriculum at the university needs full support from the management in ensuring that all the stakeholders are fully prepared, informed and familiar with the framework.

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