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Evidence #1: Cultural Interview / Cultural Self Analysis |
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Evidence #1: Cultural Interview / Cultural Self Analysis
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This evidence is my cultural interview / cultural self analysis from the course FLE 4317, Teaching students with Limited English Proficiency K – 12. For this, I conducted an interview with an adult who was from another country and spoke another language. I interviewed a 48 year old Polish woman, Mrs. Cyrwus. She told me about her childhood in Poland and ways it differed from here in American. I was able to gain knowledge about that culture and their lifestyle. I also did a self cultural analysis where I analyzed what kind of elementary student I was and the effects my family’s culture had on my learning.
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As I talked with Mrs. Cyrwus, I noticed the common mistakes she made speaking English, even though she has been living in America for almost 30 years. She can speak and function completely normally in English speaking environments, but I still experienced times when our cultural differences created language barriers between us. This is something that will reflect in your classroom. Even if an ESOL student can function socially in English, this doesn’t mean they understand academic language and might be missing some important aspects of your lessons. Also, not only were there language barriers, but hearing Mrs. Cyrwus talk about how strict Polish schooling was also differs from American as well. In Poland, Mrs. Cyrwus explained that teachers were very strict, and every student was taught the exact same way with no attention towards differences. These types of cultural differences can also create issues in your classroom. This is just one example of a culture where students are not expected to question adults out of respect. In our classrooms, we encourage our students to explore new ideas and we welcome diversity and modify our everyday teaching to accommodate these diverse students. I realized it is important to know that even if a student can communicate effectively with you in English, there still might be some cultural differences that you must be aware of in order to foster success for each individual student. It is important to establish and strategies in the classroom that help all students gain knowledge and skills necessary to function in the diverse society we live in.
The interview I conducted within this evidence truly allowed me to understand the vast differences students can have, even if they seem subtle. I understand it is important to make an effort to understand the culture of each diverse student you have in the classroom. I plan to develop strategies like cooperative learning activities so all students develop skills of working with diverse students. I also plan to create specific modifications for diverse students in my lesson plans. I will read over all lesson plans prior to teaching and see if there is any part of it that may not work for a particular student. This also showed me that even if a student is functioning successfully in my classroom, that her home life might create some barriers. Even if the students are used to the American cultures from being in public school, the parents of these children may still hold on to their traditions, beliefs, and lifestyles of other countries. This is completely acceptable, but it is important to be aware of these certain aspects when communicating with these students and their parents/families. I have learned how to diagnose certain problems students have speaking English, and I can verify which language level the students are at. This is very important for making the correct accommodations for each specific student and their needs.
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