The Classroom Power Dynamics And Communication

Language is much more than a method of communication. Permeated within it are traditions, customs, and legacies of one’s culture. The identity of an entire population is in the distinct vocalizations of their native language. Unfortunately, as a wave of immigrants enters the United States at young ages, many face language barriers that pose significant challenges. Language barriers affect a multitude of immigrant populations to different degrees. This, in turn, causes many of them to abandon not only their native tongue but a piece of their ethnic identity, as well. In Maxine Hong Kingston’s personal narrative,“The Language of Silence,” she describes the difficulties she experienced throughout her childhood with a language barrier as a

In recent studies, the United States has seen an increase in numbers in immigration and has affected both adolescent education and the work environment. These families are forced to learn a new language and blend into a new society. In the article Obstacles to Getting Ahead by Martica L. Bacallao and Paul R. Smokowski “Monolingualism and discrimination in interpersonal interactions and social policies directed Mexican adolescents and their parents to learn English and to conform to host culture norms, appearance, and behaviors to advance in school and in their work.” (1). Lately, education has been a struggle for immigrants due to the language barrier and the effects that it has on them such as depression, anxiety, and even feel abandonment.

Prior to this course, I had little to no knowledge on Asian Pacific Americans (APA). After weeks of discussing and analyzing material that dealt with the hardships that minorities such as APA individuals faced, I can conclude that this ethnic group underwent experiences that were not too uncommon from that of Latinos and African Americans. Since population in California today, consist of an average of 60% Asians and Latinos as stated in the book, “Learning English/Learning America” by Juana Mora, Gina Masequesmay, Eunai Shrake, and Ana S. Munoz, it is safe to say that students in classrooms nowadays are mainly those within these ethnic groups (Mora, Masequesmay, Shrake, and Munoz, ix). I will be focusing on three of the many stories APA and Latino students have to share in this book, that I felt related to me most as I also, am a second generation student.

While immigrant youth may gain useful knowledge and skills, they miss out significantly on culture resources because they become Americanized. Subtracting schooling occurs in a variety of ways. Classifying ESL (English as a second language) are labeled “limited English proficient rather than as Spanish dominant” (p. 173), faculty and staff linguistically butcher names through mispronunciations, materials such as the school handbook that does not even mention the ELS program are not provided in English, and information is withheld from capable youth which can result in failure. This chapter also addresses the divisions among youth such as Latina female friends, religious immigrant males, immigrant females in trouble, ESL students, mixed generation groups, and U.S. born

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.

Immigrant students are among the fastest growing populations in American public schools. “The lives of secondary level immigrant students are extremely complex because they undergo change in many dimension in their lives at once. Not only are they grappling with obvious cultural and linguistic differences, but they must learn the institutional culture of school in order to be successful” (Pam McCollum, Ph.D. and Juanita García, M.A.) When students immigrate at school age, some of them go through the transitioning process with little to no issues. However, there are many who face issues in regards to cultural adaptations and social interactions. As David B. Tyack states in his text, ‘The One Best System,’ “challenges like Americanization of

According to research cited by Karoly & Gonzalez, (2011), among immigrant children under age eighteen, 28% are in linguistically isolated families (minimal to no English speakers), 26% families with no high school diploma and 22 % below the poverty line families. This they posited causes a problem for immigrant children, in

An impressive 16.2% of students in the Federal Way public school system self-identify as Hispanic (U.S. Census, 2013) [primary]. Of these students, 23.9% are foreign born (U.S. Census, 2013) [primary]. These students are often multilingual, switching to Spanish when home. In fact, 32.4 percent of students speak a different language at home (U.S. Census, 2013) [primary]. It should not come as a surprise that language is a major component of one’s culture. Most American schools place a heavy emphasis on

While reading chapter six from Beyond Grammar Language, Power, and the Classroom, written by Mary R. Harmon and Marilyn J. Wilson, I began to realize how much we become caught up in the rules of the so-called Standard American English. It is sad because people are being judged on their dialect, which is a representation of who people are and where they are from. I have found myself correcting people that have a different dialect, or correcting people that say words that I have been told were not proper language, such as the word ain’t. Standard American English is something that is embedded in our brains at a young age and as we go through school; language is something teachers are constantly correcting children on. Reading about dialect has

English language learners and partnerships with families, communities, teacher preparation, and schools is an article within the Handbook of Urban Education written by Ana Christina Dasilva Iddings, Mary Carol Combs and Luis C. Moll which focus on creating partnerships with families, communities, teacher preparation and schools to help English Language Learners become more successful in school.

When these non-English-speaking children arrive at their local school for the first time, they will unfairly be expected to perform at the same level academically as their English-speaking peers, and this will be a big challenge for them because they will have a hard time understanding what their teachers are teaching and what their textbooks are saying. In addition, learning the English language is especially important for young English language learners who have recently immigrated to the United States because they have an additional and serious responsibility beyond just adding a new language; once they do begin to pick up the language, they will more than likely have to take on the role of translator for their parents and will become the sole line of communication between their non-English speaking parents and the school’s teachers, guidance counselors and administrators.

Those immigrants left their culture and family behind and searched for better opportunities and life. When those international students first arrived, however, they are not able to fit in the society due to the language and culture differences. All of them must take ESL, English as Second Language, class that they often found it tough. On the other side, the most precious advantage is it creates a diverse environment. “Going to school here makes them better prepared for the world.” (Swerdlow, 8), reflecting that United States is a melting pot, and students can not only have a better understanding of different lifestyles, values, and languages, but also willing to adapt the vary of society once they

The second classroom I observed was a first grade class of twenty-five students. Students in this class were all of Mexican descent and labeled as early intermediate English language learners. The

In my original personal narrative, I mentioned that I grew up in a mostly white middle class town with a 15% Latino population. In some ways, I grew up in a town that is in the forefront of a national discussion about increasing multiculturalism and acceptance of Latino Americans. We have come to realize that not all illegal immigrants are criminals here to do us harm. Some are people who have been here many years, raised families and contributed to our society. During my childhood, I had friends that were Korean and Latino descent, and I am grateful to have experience with those diverse cultures. In this class and in a previous teaching class, I worked with and got to know students of different ethnicities. We learned in class about legislation that would provide English learners with more support while they are assimilating and learning English (Buenrostro,2017). This can only benefit everyone as we raise the level of proficiency for the newest students. We Americans may have different cultures and traditions, but we all have value that can add to our society. I hope to continue my ethnic studies to further my understanding of other cultures. With the power of knowledge, we can break down barriers and stereotypes.