Creating a Multilingual/Multicultural Environment
It is important to find out about your students’ languages and cultural backgrounds early in the school year. You might have records that the school provides, but often student information is not available. In today’s diverse classrooms, it is not unusual for students to represent a variety of cultures and languages. Different activities provide opportunities for getting to know your students and helping students to get to know one another. These activities also encourage oral language development and help teachers create a multilingual/multicultural environment in their classrooms. When charts, objects, and student work reflecting cultures and languages other than English are posted around the classroom, diversity is celebrated, and students of different cultural and linguistic backgrounds are validated. Teachers have found the following activities effective for getting to know their students and creating a multilingual/multicultural environment.
1. Where in the World Are You From? Map.
This project is simple, teaches you about your students, and celebrates students’ backgrounds. A world map is on a classroom wall with a picture of each student arranged around the map. Students are asked, “Where were you born?” They locate where they were born on the map. Next, they draw an arrow or take a piece of yarn and connect it from their birthplace to their picture. See Figure 1.4 for an example. If most students were born in the United States, a second question, “Where were your parents (or grandparents) born?” could be added and students could use a different color of arrow or yarn to indicate where their parents come from. If students aren’t sure, they could ask their parents or grandparents. Students share where they or their family members are from and classmates ask questions and make comments.
Standards based skills: oral language development, compare and contrast, map reading
2. Country and Flag Graph.
Ask students where they were born. Research the correct flag for each country mentioned. Have students draw a flag of their country of origin or use an Internet image. Then use the flags to create a graph that shows the number of students in your classroom from each country represented. Students share their flags and where they are from. See Figure 1.5 for an example.
Figure 1.4 Where in the World Are You From? Map
Sources: iStock.com/monkyebusinessimages, iStock.com/bergserg, iStock.com/DOUGBERRY, iStock.com/FatCamera, and iStock.com/SteveDebenport
Figure 1.5 Country and Flag Graph
Sources: pixabay.com/kevin93sqs, pixabay.com/Clker-Free-Vector-Images, pixabay.com/OpenClipart-Vectors, pixabay.com/tarcisiofbarbosa0, pixabay.com/mayns82
Standards based skills: oral language development, reading and interpreting graphs
3. Cultural Mandala
Figure 1.6 Cultural Mandala
Put students in groups of three or four. Give them a mandala template as shown in Figure 1.6. Ask students to draw a picture of one or more objects or celebrations that represent their family and culture in one of the outer sections. Encourage them to use their first languages in their labels and descriptions. Then, in the inner section, have students draw the celebrations or objects they have in common. Each group shares their mandala, and mandalas remain on display around the room.
Standards based skills: oral language development, compare and contrast, appreciation and tolerance for cultural differences
4. Languages We Speak Graph.
In an activity much like the country and flag graph activity, ask students to raise their hands if they speak a language other than English. List the languages on the board. Graph the responses on a large sheet of paper and post it in the room under the title “Languages We Speak.” Next to each of the languages, ask students to write greetings or words representing cultural celebrations in their home languages.
Standards based skills: oral language development, compare and contrast, appreciation and tolerance of cultural and linguistic differences
5. Languages We Read and Write Corner.
Ask students if they read and/or write another language. For students who do read and/or write another language, ask them to bring from home a book and/or a sample of something written in the language. Place these objects in a corner of the room and ask students to tell about what they brought. Leave these in the room for a period of time so that other students can look at them and talk together about them.
Standards based skills: oral language development, compare and contrast, appreciation and tolerance of cultural and linguistic differences
Understanding Language Proficiency
Once you have determined where students in your classroom come from and whether they speak, read, and/or write a language other than English, you should also consider their language proficiency in English. While you may be aware of most newcomers, you might not be aware of how well those students and other emergent bilinguals in your class understand, read, write, or speak English. We suggest familiarizing yourself with the levels of English language proficiency (or English Language Development) used in your state/district/school (see Figures 1.7 and 1.8).
The table below lists adaptations of English language proficiency categories from the TESOL International Organization (formerly the Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages), California’s English Language Development Standards, Engage New York’s EL and Native Language Speakers language progressions, the Texas English Language Proficiency Levels, and the WIDA (World-class Instructional Design and Assessment) language proficiency level descriptors. Complete descriptions of the categories appear on the websites of each of these organizations.
Figure 1.7 English Language Proficiency Categories and Descriptions
Compare/Contrast Matrix
Find out how the proficiency levels of students in your school are determined. Then, working in small groups, complete the compare/contrast chart below:
Figure 1.8 Compare/Contrast Matrix
Standards