Language & Culture
Why is language important for cultural identity?
It provides a common bond for people through a common form of communication, and allow people to share the same feelings, beliefs, and behaviors.
How is language different for students entering school?
Some students speak Standard English, others speak little to no English, some are bilingual, and some speak a nonstandard dialect. Students may also use nonverbal communication such as ESL
How is language used as a socializing agent?
It is used to socialize children into cultural communities and adopt their cultural patterns.
What are some benefits of bidialectism / code switch?
It allows individuals to be in social or professional situations, gain acceptance in different contexts, students gain acceptance from peers, and balance different roles they play.
How have schools facilitated monolingual processes? How is this harmful?
Bilingual education programs are primarily designed to moved students into English-only instruction. Research shows that dual-language programs demonstrate higher English literacy skills.
What are some ways Eurocentrism affects students in school?
Students who speak a different language may be given lower status, less academic/sophisticated, stigmatized for being bilingual, institutional discrimination, and forced to lose their home language or dialect.
How is language diversity perceived in other countries?
Often times, in other countries multiple language and language diversity is greater appreciated. Many children are taught how to speak more than one language to increase their communication abilities.
By age 5, what have children learned about language?
They have learned the syntax of their native language, arranging words differently creates new meanings, and begin to understand correct responses and gestures.
How is appropriate language determined for a community?
individuals or institutions with power and status decide what language is standard and what is acceptable in schools or the workplace.
How has immigration affected language in schools?
In the United States there is an increase in ELL students, either born in the U.S. or immigrated from different countries. The highest percentage are Spanish speaking. Many ELL students are at a disadvantage socially, economically, and academically.
How does culture and language influence how we socialize?
The way a culture describes an idea such as "time" affects how we interact with one another, how cultures interact in business and formal interactions, how different cultures exchange meaningful gestures varies as well.
What is language diversity like in the United States?
It has been maintained through immigration from non-English speaking countries bringing new cultures, values, and languages.
Why is it harder to learn a new language as we get older?
As children get older it becomes harder to make vocal muscles behave in a new way, making it more likely they will maintain their native language.
What is one perspective of African American Vernacular English (AAVE)?
There is teacher bias against AAVE because it is identified with lower social class, assumptions about intellect or ability, and stigmatized in the workplace or (Any other example).
Why are large proportions of students of color & students will linguistic differences being placed in classes for children with disabilities?
Placement is based on the norm for middle-class Eurocentric children and biased against children with cultural differences.
What is most important for effective communication between different cultures?
There has to be similarities between the sender and receiver so that the message and language can be decoded/understood.
What is one example of how language differs among individuals?
People have different accents based on their language and how they pronounce a word. People use different dialects based on their regional location or social group. Differences in grammar is found among languages and dialects.
It causes native speakers to unconsciously obey certain rules and customs of their community, make correct choices for interacting with one another, and cause individuals learning a new language to make wrong word choices and be unfamiliar with colloquialisms.
ASL has become more accepted and recognized as its own language its own vocabulary, syntax and grammar in comparison to spoken English.
Both promote English proficiency for ELL students. Bilingual programs adopt native languages and encourage them to use native language. ESL on the other hand relies on English-only instruction and works to assimilate ELL students.
What is an example of variations in language patterns based on age, SES, gender, or ethnic group?
Teenagers use different language patterns than older members of their community...(Any other example)
What is one way language affects how we interact with one another?
We use different words to convey different meanings, which can sometimes lead to miscommunication or misunderstandings.
How is nonverbal communication viewed?
Nonverbal communication is just as important as verbal communication. It has many functions such as conveying a message through the way we dress, body language, personality, and facial expressions. It works with verbal communication to send a message.
What do you believe is the most important role a teacher has when working with ELLs?
Providing encouragement for their native language, recognize cultural and language differences, communicate the importance of learning standard English respectfully, etc.