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In the case of ELLs their culture and identity are considered constraining factors with respect to academic challenges, but scholars feel that these are due to non-recognition of native cultural dynamics (Gay, 2000; Ladson-Billings, 1995). However, if these aspects are utilized it can contribute to a better learning experience in terms of language and other academic areas. The native cultural background and its linkage has the capacity to motivate and ignite interest in ELLs and it can provide the platform which would facilitate learning new skills and academic content. Research has also shown that measures to improve language skills of ELLs often neglect the interconnected dimensions of the culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) student biography. In particular, understanding the sociocultural, linguistic, academic, and cognitive dimensions of ELLs is helpful for educators in order to attain higher standards of language proficiency and academic success (Perez and Holmes 2010). For instance, a teacher reflects on her personal experience in these words:

She did this based on a belief that it would help ELLs and non-ELLs alike. The students in the second class reported that classmates were “friendly and nice” and the teacher “likes other cultures.” The results of this study indicate the very important role that a teacher plays in creating and modeling an atmosphere where ELLs are accepted, encouraged and participatory in a learning community.

Recently, as the schools in the United States become more diverse in cultures, the needs for new English learners to learn the basic of English and grow in fluency has expanded. Nevertheless, a major of English learners receive insufficient education and have low achievement at school. Therefore, the approach of the schools for English learners might not be sufficient for them to unchain themselves from the boundary of differences in language and culture. As a result, the article “What It Takes for English Learners to Succeed” from Jana Echevarria, Nancy Frey, and Doug Fisher provides a guideline for teachers to help their English learners by using the four practices of “Access, Climate, Expectation, and Language Instruction.” The four practices can be divided into two categories. Access, climate, and expectations focus on educational settings, while language instruction focuses on teaching contents.

An important goal of education is the ability to think for oneself. Many authors talk about education, such as Luis J. Rodriguez in her article “ Slurring Spanish”, Amy Tan’s article “ Mother Tongue”, and Sherman Alexie’s “ The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” all point out the problems of education. Some obstacles that minority students face in the U.S. come from school, family, and their own cultures. Speaking a different language, having different language experiences, and studying hard to overcome stereotypes are big challenges not only for immigrant students, but also for native students.

As someone who is planning on getting licensed to teach two different, yet often marginalized, groups in a school setting, it is very important to consider how to make a school welcoming to all of its students. There is a lot of information available on making a classroom inclusive for students with special needs, but this sort of information is harder to come by for immigrant students who speak a language other than English at home. For this paper, I am looking into the question of how can a school be fundamentally welcoming to students from an immigrant background. I will be doing this by analyzing the experiences of students at a school in Bayview, California, the topic of Made in America: Immigrant Students in our Public Schools, a famous book by Laurie Olsen (1997). Her purpose was to study, “Through their encounters[, …] an illuminated version of the American system of stratification and exclusion through language, cultural, and racial relations” (p. 36). However, by analyzing and describing the school, Olsen has made it possible to assess any number of concerns that immigrant and English Language Learners (ELLs) face. Using the legwork she has already done, I have identified three characteristics a welcoming school should strive towards in order to help immigrant students.

Purpose- To create a student body that is empowered (by knowledge) to invoke change in their communities and, more importantly, in society as a whole by participating in celebrations and discussions of cultures that enrich tolerance understanding of the importance of diversity.

As an ESL instructor, I teach a diverse classroom full of migrants with a variety of backgrounds. It’s as multicultural as a classroom can be! I try to incorporate my students’ cultures into our lessons. After all, everything we know and understand comes from the lens of our culture. Take for example our own education. Think about how much influence our point of view had on our education. Now, how much is our point of view affected by culture? I try to be as culturally responsive as possible. However, I know that there is always room for improvement.

The CEL experience at El Centro reflected quite a few topics that have been discussed throughout the semester in FSP 161-26. One huge topic that was mentioned throughout the semester was assimilation. The Latinos at El Centro were a great example of immigrants assimilating to a different culture due to its benefits. As mentioned in Wardhaugh (1987: p.9), people want to feel a sense of involvement in the community and that they belong in someway. The Latinos participating in these ESL classes are determined to make themselves a part of the American society and to do so they know the first step is to learn the English language. This topic also ties into the dominance of a language over another due to advantages and also language shift (Wardhaugh

The author that stood out to me the most in the first unit was Gloria Anzaldúa. This is because I had made some personal connections to Anzaldúa’s piece on How to Tame a Wild Tongue. It was interesting to read the struggles of someone who grew up within the U.S. and personally experienced not only a language barrier between those who speak only English but also those of Hispanic descent who speak different types of Spanish dialects. From How to Tame a Wild Tongue Anzaldúa argues about how taking away or making someone conform their native language takes their identity away. In the U.S. we tend to be called a “melting pot” yet we still have a hard time accepting those who differ from ourselves. With English being the primary language in the U.S. many tend to make a causation/correlation relationship. In which is related to “If you live in the U.S. you need to speak only English”, obviously this is not the case. This carries on in our schools nationwide. While the U.S. has been making some changes related to letting children keep their native language and learn English, there still can be some negative stigma related to having a native language other than English. There are two major things I believe the U.S. should improve upon through schools throughout the country. We should not only work on improving the DLLs and ELLs classes, we additionally need to start incorporating various cultural diversity activities during class at younger ages. Children can be quite

Fay and Whaley provided some wonderful comments on tactics with which to establish respectful learning communities. Their thoughts on celebrating strengths and complimenting others were very helpful to me. While I am respectful of the contributions of others, it is not in my nature to hand out compliments, but the authors illuminate the power of not only the teacher openly acknowledging the students’ strengths and achievements, but additionally the importance in building a community for the students to also be able to identify and proclaim the successes of one another. Furthermore, the concept of allowing students to use their native language in the classroom was intriguing. The authors explain the usefulness of allowing students time to

Going to college in the United States may be extremely difficult and stressful for ethnic students. These students have to learn and speak English in order to understand their professors and assignments. Paukert, Pettit, Perez, and Walker (2006) examined how ethnic college students

The article Principles and Practices of Sociocultural Assessment: Foundations for Effective Strategies for Linguistically Diverse Classrooms, is written to inform the readers about different types of practices that teachers can take into action when working with ESL students. In this article, it mentions how different principals help to accommodate the ESL students. One of the principals that was mentioned was is that learning is social. In the article, it was mentioned that learning is social because it helps students to understand and use interaction with others to share meaning in a social setting (Smith, Teemant, & Pinnegar, 2004, P. 39). In the article, another principal that helps ESL students is that teaching is assisting. The meaning

In America, finding yourself in situations where communicating with someone of a different background than yourself is common. We are a melting pot of different cultures, backgrounds, and identities. Throughout the semester we have learned many ways to avoid conflict when engaging in intercultural communication. The most important aspects from the semester is the idea of generalization and ethnocentrism. These two ideas were displayed in the movie Crash and how the effects of it can lead to misunderstandings among everyone involved.

The three things that have made the biggest impact on and have influenced my life that shaped me into the person I am today are family background, experiences from my school year, and religious beliefs. Our culture provides a lens through which we view the world and interpret our everyday experiences. In order to know who I am today, I must look at who you’ve been. Many educators around the country are interested in developing a multicultural approach in their teaching. They find themselves in classrooms with 25 children of varying racial and cultural backgrounds, and are looking for ways to connect what they do in the classroom to the cultures represented by their students. Before we can begin to understand others, however, we need to understand ourselves and what we bring to our interactions with others.

Education is one of the most important factors in every person’s life regardless of where they’re from, their race, or their culture. Becoming educated not only makes life easier for us but also can help people become more successful in all things. However with so many people of various races, ethnicities and backgrounds in the United States it is difficult to create an education system that attends to each student’s individual culture. Ones own culture influences their actions and lifestyle, therefore this can create conflict if it is different from their schools cultural teaching style. Multicultural and multilingual classrooms have become the norm in many educational and professional settings throughout the U.S. because of changing immigration patterns caused by globalization (Institute for Educational Leadership, p. 2). For teachers today, it is essential to understand the role of culture and have the ability to interact interculturally in the classroom to create an effective learning environment. Analyzing cultural issues or differences can help teachers to understand some of the unconscious processes that shape individuals’ actions and interactions, as well as their language use and communication. “Teachers who understand cultural diversity…are more likely to be successful in their multicultural classrooms” (Samovar, Pg.2).