WHAT IS MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION?

• Strategy used to attempt to create social justice and equality in education.

• It’s purpose is to bring all races together in the classroom and develop effective classroom instruction and school environments. • It is important in today’s classroom because classrooms are mixed with students from many different cultures, races, ethnicities, and religions. • Using multicultural education helps to teach tolerance and acceptance of different cultures in the classroom.

POPULATION PERCENTAGE IN CALIFORNIA

Population Percentage 2009 Hispanics 37% Whites 76.4% Blacks 6.6% Asians 12.7%

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the largest minority group in California are Hispanics

DISTINCTIVE ASPECTS ASSOCIATED WITH HISPANICS

• • • • • • Family ties are very strong and a Hispanic family is a close-knit group.

Good manners, honor, and respect for authority and elders are instilled in children at an early age.

The father is usually the head of the household while the mother is responsible for the home. Hispanics tend to speak loud and fast while incorporating the use of hand gestures and body language in conversation. The physical distance when holding a conversation is much closer than in other cultures.

Hispanic families take pride in preserving the Spanish language within their families.

LANGUAGE PERCENTAGE SPOKEN IN CALIFORNIA HOMES

According to the 2010 U.S.

Census Bureau, 40% of homes in California spoke a language other than English.

Language Percentage

English 60% Other then English 40%

BILINGUAL PROGRAM MODEL

• Incorporates the use of two languages in the classroom. • As the student progresses, the percentage of native language instruction should decrease and he percentage of English instruction should increase.

• The goal of a Bilingual Program Model is to eventually have the student fully immersed in an English only classroom.

TYPES OF BILINGUAL PROGRAMS Dual Language Program Transitional Bilingual Education Developmental Bilingual Education

•Uses the student’s native language and English in the classroom. •Goal is to work towards transitioning the student into English only classrooms . •Provides the student with native language support while developing oral proficiency in English. •Goal is to gently transition the student into a full English immersion program. •Focuses more on native language support.

•Ideal for older students or students having a hard time with English language instruction

PROGRAM OPTIONS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS IN CALIFORNIA

(ACCORDING TO THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION)

Bilingual Teacher Training Community Based English Tutoring Reclassification Title III Two-Way Immersion

Have been cut due to state budget Reclassification provides information on how a district determines whether or not an English learner has sufficient English proficiency to be reclassified as a fluent English speaker When speakers of other languages are immersed with English-language learners and the subject matter is taught in both languages. This program relies heavily on social interaction in order to be successful Provides language instruction for limited English proficient and immigrant students. It is a federally funded program to support state and local educational agencies.

LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

VS.

LANGUAGE LEARNING

Learning a language unconsciously from a social environment. Provides a monitor which allows The learner to correct language output.

“Picking up a language.” Focuses on input rather than output Focuses on teaching a language Focuses on output rather than input

LEARNING/TEACHING STRATEGIES FOR ELL

Teach new words in phrases Build vocabulary lists, use repetition Learning/ Teaching Strategies Listen to radio/TV to hear different accents Have students read something they can relate to

LEGISLATION PROTECTING ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS

Bilingual Education Act of 1968

•

First piece of federal legislation regarding minority language speakers.

•

It’s purpose was to provide federal funds to schools with students who have limited English speaking ability.

•

Federal funds created educational programs, provided teacher training, provided schools with resources and development of materials targeted toward English language learners, and encouraged parental involvement.

LEGISLATION PROTECTING ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS

Lau vs. Nichols (1974)

•

Chinese American students in San Francisco argued that they were being discriminated against in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

•

They were not receiving special help in school due to their inability to speak English.

•

Supreme Court ruled in their favor stating that students should be treated with equality among schools.

•

Lau vs. Nichols expanded the rights of all students nationwide with limited English proficiency.

KEY POINTS REGARDING MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION

• • • •

Multicultural education is equally important to students regardless of whether or not they belong to the majority or minority culture. In order for multicultural education to be effective, it needs to be incorporated in every classroom. The purpose of multicultural education is to promote equality in education through exposure to different cultures. English language learners should not be identified as students in need of special education because they do not carry a disability.

REFERENCES

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (2007). Cognitive benefits of learning language. Retrieved February 15, 2011 from http://www.actfl.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm

pageid=4724.

California Department of Education (2011). Retrieved February 26, 2011 from http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/sw/rt/index.asp.

Echevarria & Graves (2007). Sheltered content instruction. San Francisco: Pearson Education.

Gollnick, D. M., & Chin, P. C. (2009). Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.

Krashen, S. (1997).

Why bilingual education?

ERIC Digest. Retrieved February 18, 2011 from http://www.nabe.org/b_ed_why.html

.

Lessow-Hurley, J. (2009). The foundations of dual language instruction. San Francisco, California: Pearson Education, Inc. Marlowe, B. & Canestrari, A. (2006). Educational psychology in context: Readings for future teachers. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

U.S. Census Bureau (2011). State & County Quickfacts. Retrieved February 27, 2011 from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06000.html