Culture | Cultural Proficiency

Section Two: Culture/Cultural Proficiency
Teacher Vignettes
Ms. Gerrior’s kindergarten class consists of seven ELs, four special needs students, and nine other students. She considers possible gaps, such as school-readiness, academic achievement, and cultural and linguistic differences in planning. She embraces diversity and her attitudes, behaviors, beliefs, and values are represented in her teaching style and interactions with students, parents, and colleagues. In addition, U.S. classrooms are filled with students with limited or interrupted formal education (SLIFE) who come with considerably different backgrounds and must learn and develop literacy skills, content knowledge, and academic ways of thinking. Observations of three 9th grade teachers and profiles of seven SLIFE provide an understanding of the role of diverse literacy backgrounds, prior learning experiences, types of cognitive thinking, and the cultural dimensions of collectivism and individualism. The following Power Point presentations, documents, videos, and links provide information regarding characteristics of culture, culture and learning styles, the dimensions of collectivism and individualism, SLIFE, and the components of mutually adaptive learning.
More Resources
Powerpoint Presentations
Audio Vignettes
Documents
Videos
Links
- Chapter 2 Links
- Chapter 3 Links
- Domain 1 Links
- A Nation with Multiple Languages
- Center for Applied Linguistics
- ColorÍn Colorado
- Communication Tips for Parents
- Ed.Gov U.S. Department of Education
- English Language Learners: A Policy Brief
- Florida – Bureau of Student Achievement through Language Acquisition
- Florida Standards for ESOL Endorsement
- How Culture Affects on ELs’ outcomes, with Chinese and Middle Eastern Immigrant Students
- NCELA – National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition
- Redefining Education in the Developing World
- Stages of Cultural Adjustment
- Stages of Cultural Adjustment or Culture Shock
- Working with Young English Language Learners: Some Considerations