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Cultural diversity in a classroom
Importance of cultural diversity in education
Cultural diversity in a classroom
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The expression ‘English as a second language’ (ESL) describes a person who speaks a language or languages other than English at home. As an Australian, all students have the right to learn how to communicate effectively in standard Australian English. They have the right to learn how the English language works and to learn and think using English. One of the main reasons as to why children learn to speak English as their second language is because it is the language used within schools. ESL learners are expected to do all this within a school and its’ curriculum. Children who speak English as a second language have been found to generally come from low socioeconomic status areas and have a higher number of dropouts in comparison to people who speak English as a first language (Ovando, Combs, & Collier, 2006). Studies found that ‘in 2006, 20% of children between the ages of 5-17 spoke a language other than English at home, and 5% spoke English with difficulty’ (Planty et al, 2008, page 12). A recent study has found that teachers with ESL learners that have special educational needs in their classroom expose them to restricted curriculum while attempting to fit their teaching practices to meet the needs of a variety of individual differences within their classroom (Wedin, 2009). To accommodate for students in a classroom that has English as their second language, teachers must understand the importance that language and culture have when it comes to learning, teaching and socialisation. A teacher must be sensitive to individual student’s learning needs and interests in respects to language and culture. To help students with ESL to engage better with a lesson and get more out of a lesson, as teachers we must be able to create outcom... ... middle of paper ... ...tive to individual differences is key to students especially that speak English as a second language. Every child’s rate of development varies so we must plan lessons to suit the needs of every student and create personal goals. Piaget believed that cognitive development involved enrichment of general operations such as conversations that can be uses as a tool to help solve problems. He suggested that student’s should be provided with options for exploration and discovery to assist experiences of operations and growth Works Cited Laura Baecher & Abigail M. Jewkes, (2014) TESOL and Early Childhood Collaborative Inquiry: Joining Forces and Crossing Boundaries. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education 35:1, pages 39-53. O’Donnell, A., Dobozy, E., Bartlett, B., Bryer, F., Reeve, J., Smith, J. (2012). Educational Psychology – First Australian Edition. Qld: Wiley.