Get Your Students Hired
Language is the form, literacy being the use of that form. Culturally, the use of form makes people identify with unique qualities of their culture, such as slang or formal dictation.
To best serve the students, it is important to recognize their culture and language, so they can better learn and become literate, without diminishing their first language.
Having access to "mother tongue" and student's original language will always enhance student's additional language learning.
Language is an expression of one's cultural and heritage. It is important that this be recognized and that students are not made to feel minimized or lesser than in an English-only classroom.
Allowing a student to access their Mother Tongue to help in their learning is so important!
Agree with Mrs. Angela Zaugg.
My experiences with international students learning English....
Don't make fun of students bad pronunciation, instead help them learn the proper pronunciation.
Correct mistakes, help explain the meaning of words or the use of new words, and allow them to make similiarities with their mother tongue. Some foreign language words are pronounced/written similar to English or have same or very similar meaning.
Es muy importante reconocer, respetar y fomentar el aprendizaje en lengua materna. Además, no hay una lengua o cultura superior a otra.
Students can develop both literacy and language skills. Some students learning English may have highly-developed literary skills that do not immediately show up and therefor it is critical to be aware.
Each individual speaks his own language whereas culture is set of patterns in a cummunity dress, laws, customs
Allowing someone to speak and use their "mother tongue" to help them in different literary and dialogue situations will help with their success in learning a new langugage/lieracy.
Teachers can and should encourage emergent bilingual students to use their mother tongue in order to transfer meaning in academic settings. I think this module so far has missed the opportunity to encourage teachers to frame bilingualism and multilingualism as assets in the workplace, rather than deficits in the classroom. Hopefully this is coming next.
The difference between language and literacy was enlightening. I'll keep that in mind when working with ESL students, and try to assist them with their English language and literacy skills.
We should allow students to express themselves in their "mother language", if this helps them to learn.
The importance to recognize that a multilanguage class should be promoted, students with a mother tong other than english, should be encourage to use it as support, and when needed. Recognizing that we live in a diverse society which enreaches society as a whole. Accepting multilingual, is a sign of respect for each individual's culture. It is also important for education institutions, to have some bilingual teachers. Our goal as instructors is to pass on our knowledge to students, and, if for their anderstanding it means, supporting them in their mother tong, it must be done.
Even if the academic program in in English only, it would be great to have a bi-lingual instructor or student who could assist students with understanding.
Sometimes it is difficult for ESL students to comprehend the material in a group situation, but with a little patience and some 1 on 1 after lecture time, I find that they can comprehend the material better. It also helps to have a supportivr group of classmates who will help that person to understand. So I guess if you can help foster a culture in the class where everyone is supportivethen that can make all teh difference