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11 fantastic resources to promote elements of international mindedness...
Culture shock for new EAL students is more or less extreme depending on the extent of the difference between their old culture and new culture. During the period of transition, creating bridges is crucial to help students identify similarities and differences between their home culture and the new one as well as making them aware of the advantages and disadvantages of each culture. Stagg (2013) states, "there is every reason to place renewed emphasis on the moral and cultural dimensions of education, enabling each individual to grasp the individuality of other people."
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights promotes the universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms, this means the recognition and appreciation of others, the ability to live together and to listen to others (presented in this link in child friendly format). As Stagg comments, "They focus on embracing and celebrating diversity, they leave a lasting impression and encourage shared understanding and enjoyment of different cultures within the school and around the world." They also engender community spirit and can create an interest in students transitioning between different cultures.
Every subject can be used to embrace international perspectives. Literature provides a great means of understanding a culture. The school library should embrace cultures from around the world, have books in different languages and special boxes of books for students in transition.
Some great resources for developing open-mindedness about different cultures:
By including different cultures, faiths and nationalities, one would hope that feelings of potential alienation would diminish, providing one aspect of creating a more unified but diverse society. To quote my daughter's headteacher at a school assembly, "although there are problems in some parts of the world, in this school we all get along - it doesn't matter where you are from, what colour or what religion you are".
The EAL teacher has a key role to play in developing this ideal in supporting the class teachers, and using their privilege of having the smaller groups to identify each EAL child's individual need for support, not only for language, but by showing an interest in their home culture and promoting their positive integration in the new country and school. This helps avoid feelings of isolation.
The importance of understanding each individual EAL student's transition should not be underestimated.
References:
García, O. and Kleifgen, J. (2010). Educating emergent bilinguals. New York: Teachers College Press.
Stagg, L. (2013). International Mindedness. Rochester: Urbane Publications Limited.
Whilst reading a book on reclaiming childhood ('Their name is today' by Johann Christoph Arnold) the chapter on 'learning differences and how to cater for them' triggered thoughts on teaching differences. At the end of the October article it was mentioned that EAL teaching should be evaluated in a different way due to the very nature of the subject and I shall try to clarify why.
Think about the last lesson you taught to English language learners. I’m sure you did some form of planning beforehand. I imagine you probably asked several questions throughout the lesson as well. After all, the foundation of effective teaching is interaction with learners. However, did you think about the questions you were going to ask when you were planning? Did you write down any key questions?
The term 21st Century skills is becoming significantly part of the classroom learning environment, but what exactly does that mean? There are a few definitions, however, in essence, these are the skills that our learners need to prepare them for their future (Puchta & Williams, 2014), taking them from their studies, to their futures as adults.
Many researchers today acknowledge the 4C’s. They are known as: