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Foundations and Methods of English Language

Literacy Development and Content Instruction
Assignment

Culturally Responsive Teaching

There are many excellent points regarding culturally responsive teaching in the video by the National
Education Association (NEA) titled, English Language Learners: Culture, Equity and Language. With 5.3
million English Language Learners (ELLs) and 150 different languages represented, a teacher is responsible
for helping ELL students integrate successfully into the English language classroom. The best way this can be
done is by creating a safe, accepting environment where all students have the ability to learn.
They [ELLs] are not empty vessels. This comment made by one of the teachers interviewed in the video, was
the most poignant. Just because there is a language barrier does not mean a child does not already have a
wealth of knowledge in his/her native language. It is therefore a teachers responsibility to create a safe
learning environment where one can tap into that students pre-existing knowledge and assist the student in
making that translation to English. Culturally responsive teaching exists in several ways: a teacher can ask the
ELL to teach the class about his/her culture or perhaps the ELL can teach the class words in his/her native
language. These are ways in which an ELL will build confidence, feel accepted and feel as an integral part of
the class.
Another way to demonstrate culturally responsive teaching is to allow the ELL to work in groups instead of
individually. Not only can this help the student gain self-confidence, but the ELL will also be learning from
native English speaking peers. The teacher can use other prompts/sign language to assist with language
acquisition. For example, if speaking about an apple, point to an apple or draw an apple on the board. This will
help reinforce the learning as the ELL already knows what an apple is in his/her native language and can
therefore more easily make the translation.
In the English Language Learners video clip, and also supported by the video, Equity Issues Related to the
Education of English Language Learners by Perry Colapinto, M.A., I learned the importance of encouraging
parents to speak in their native language at home. ELLs learn concepts in their native language and are then
able to translate those concepts into the English language. When parents speak and read to their children in
their native language that child is learning the structure of language. Once that structure is known it is more
easily translated to the structure of the English language. Per Perry Colapintos presentation, students pick up
the English language faster, if they are already proficient in their native language. I consider this culturally
responsive teaching. A teacher should encourage parents to play active rolls in their childs education. By
becoming fluent in their native language, they in turn have a higher success rate at becoming fluent in English.
With such a large ELL population in the US, teachers must be culturally responsive. Some ways in which a
teacher can create an accepting, safe and successful environment is by teaching their classrooms about
various cultures; encourage parents to speak and read to their children in their native language; use not only
audio cues to teach the English language but also, more importantly, visual and kinesthetic cues as well.