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ETP420 Assignment 1

Scenario 3: Sando is from a non-English speaking background. Some teachers complain that he wont speak in class or look at them, and he puts very little effort into tests and assignments. Other students like him, and he can be a clown in the schoolyard. He produced accurate scale drawings before making a model boat in woodwork.

Reason for choosing Scenario 3:


Australia is considered one of the most ethnically diverse nations (Churchill et al., 2011, p.137) so the scenario above outlines a very real situation for teachers in todays classrooms. Hammond (2008) argues that 25% of all students in Australian schools are from non-English speaking backgrounds. However, Gibbons (2006) suggests many schools in the larger cities have an even higher percentage, with some as high as 95 per cent. Consequently, these schools could then have more than twenty different languages being spoken around the school on any given day. These statistics demonstrate the increased need for schools to promote values of equality, such as developing tolerance, respecting difference and encouraging distinctiveness within the curriculum (Department of Education [DOE], 2014). A recent Cambridge Primary Review has also revealed inequality as being one of the main implications for the progress of many children, believing the struggle has been ongoing since the establishment of mass education (Churchill et al., 2011, p.136). These concerns have also been linked to increased globalisation and mass movements of people, both free and forced, around the world (Miller, 2003, p.9).

Family, Peers and Schooling


Children from diverse family backgrounds will potentially have similar issues to Sando. When teachers complain that students will not speak in class or look at them, it could be explained by their different culture and consequently their alternative standards for addressing adults. Given that students will have varying understanding and knowledge of cultural issues, the Australian

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curriculum suggests drawing on these different cultural resources to enhance the learning experiences of all students in the classroom. These cultural differences also link to how students and teachers interpret body language. This includes ones personal space, as gestures and eye contact stem from their cultural background. The Australian curriculum also suggests some students, if schooled in one culture may take years to retrain themselves to different conventions of gesture and body language and highly recommends explicit and sensitive assistance when addressing this area. Similarly, teachers have varying expectations on when students do and do not speak in the classroom, and how they should signal when they want to participate (Meyer, 2000, p.231). This needs to be communicated very carefully, as cultural differences could mean many students will not understand and require help in adjusting to their new classroom rules.

Language acquisition
The scenario points out that Sando puts very little effort into tests and assignments. This is most likely because he cannot understand the teachers and therefore has no idea what is required to complete the task. The Australian curriculum advises non-English speaking students are

generally placed in Australian schools at the year level appropriate for their age, meaning their cognitive development and life experiences may not correlate with their English language proficiency. Meyer argues there are predictable areas of confusion for students who are from a non-English speaking background, whenever they are in a lesson taught through English (2000, p.228). When barraged by words in academic texts, the sheer number that appear unfamiliar can be very intimidating, suggesting that many grow weary of the convoluted processing task they face and simply abandon hope of constructing a sensible meaning out of what has been heard or "read" in English (Meyer, 2000, p.232). If there has not been enough instruction for them to construct their understanding then students are left feeling confused and overwhelmed. This is
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not only limited to students who have acquired English as a second language (ESL), but can be a stumbling block for any student. Therefore, teachers need to acknowledge the Professional Knowledge standard 1.3 (AITSL, 2014) and create classroom conditions that enable English learners to cross over the instructional divide from confusion into meaningful learning (Meyer, 2000, p.228). It also clearly outlines the need to address social and ideological concerns when looking at language acquisition and use (Miller, 2003, p.9).

Cognitive Development / Intelligence


Certain textbooks in the curriculum can be linguistically unadapted and largely incomprehensible to English learners (Meyer, 2000, p.235) yet those selected for their linguistic level may be inappropriate or offensive culturally, or devoid of any meaningful content at all (Meyer 2000, p.235). Therefore, if an ESL student has had none of the potential barriers removed, they are more often than not blamed for being unmotivated and resistant to learning (Meyer, 2000, p.235) as evident in Sandos case. However, just because ESL students struggle in understanding the English component of the lesson, Meyer (2000, p.229) suggests some may have more extensive knowledge and potentially even more advanced skills in other academic areas. Sandos ability to accurately draw and make a model boat suggests he understood the instructions, or because it was a slightly more hands-on mathematical task, he had fewer barriers to restrict his performance. It could have been a topic that was of particular interest to him, but either way it demonstrates his cognitive abilities to process the information that enabled him to plan, problem solve and create something that communicated his skills (Berk, 2013, p.225).

Emotional Well-being
Meyer (2000, p.228) argues teachers need to learn what interests and motivates their students, to provide a solid foundation for learning to occur, believing a students passion is sparked and nurtured by the influences around them. Capturing a students passion will provide the fertile
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ground on which to build their skills. It is vitally important for teachers to embrace other cultures, which is reflected by the Professional Knowledge standard 1.5 (AITSL, 2014). They need to also consider building relationships so they can begin to learn intricate ways in which these students' own words and cultural practices have meaning and value within their cultural context (Meyer, 2000, p.232). This can then help the teacher create meaningful lessons that respect the students upbringing and can also allow a door of trust to open (Meyer, 2000, p.232), potentially eliminating the barrier that can sometimes exist between a teacher and a culturally different student.

Social Well-being
Lastly, the scenario suggests that although Sando has problems in some classes, the other students like him. However, his tendency to be seen as a clown in the schoolyard could be another example of him being misinterpreted, or it could just be his way of communicating his sense of fun with the other children. Looking at the positive side to this scenario, Sando is being included in the playground, which will help his language improve. Interpersonal

communication, such as face-to-face interactions in the school playground tend to be less cognitively demanding therefore easier for an ESL student to comprehend, process and ultimately remember (Gibbons, 2006, p.3).

My reflection as a teacher
Non-English speaking students such as Sando highlight the many challenges and opportunities facing linguistically, culturally and socio-economically diverse students, and their teachers (Vize, 2011). The behaviour expressed in Sandos scenario emphasises the increasing need for schools and teachers to understand their professional responsibility to their students and provide teaching strategies that deliver educational equality (Churchill et al., 2011, p.138). It is also important to identify if students have missed any major parts of their educational journey, or
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have parts of their knowledge that are incomplete, so that teachers can then construct the appropriate lessons to help fill in the gaps (Meyer, 2000, p.230). The Melbourne Declaration emphasises the importance of knowledge, understanding and skills making up the curriculum designed to support todays learners. It highlights the necessary relationship between these dimensions that provide flexibility for schools and teachers to promote personalised learning that aims to fulfil the diverse capabilities of each young Australian (MCEETYA in The Australian Curriculum, n.d.).

To be educated in Australia requires participation through effective communication in Standard Australian English. Sando obviously needs extra time and guidance to adapt to this He will require specific support to build his

linguistically and culturally diverse country.

English language skills so he can complete his education, and this needs to be guided by the Australian curriculum standards in a setting that is respectful of his culture. It must be recognised that inclusion in education is a vital component of inclusion in society (Churchill et al., 2011, p.139), which emphasises the need to provide equal opportunities for all students to actively participate. This essay has explained that when students are expected to learn using the English language, in ways that are unfamiliar and unaccommodating to their needs, it could mean the difference between success and failure. Therefore, teachers should try broadening or redirecting student interests through a critically selected and creatively implemented curriculum (Meyer, 2000, p. 235), because it is essential for a teacher to know how to sensitively and actively create meaningful lessons suitable for all their students.

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References Australian Curriculum. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.valueseducation.edu.au/values/val_tasmania,8669.html Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (2014). Graduate standards. Retrieved from http://www.aitsl.edu.au/ Berk, L. (2013). Child Development, (9th ed.). Boston: Pearson. Campbell, R. & Green, D. (2006). Literacies and Learners: Current Perspectives (3rd ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Education Australia. Churchill, R., Ferguson, P., Godinho, S., Johnson, N. F., Keddie, A., Letts, W., Mackay, J., McGill, M., Moss, J., Nagel, M. C., Nicholson, P., & Vick, M. (2011). Teaching: Making a Difference. Milton, QLD: Wiley & Sons Australia. Department of Education. (2014). Tasmanian Curriculum. Retrieved from http://www.valueseducation.edu.au/values/val_tasmania,8669.html Gibbons, P (2006). Bridging Discourses in the ESL Classroom: Students, Teachers and Researchers. London: Continuum. Hammond, J. (2008). Challenging Pedagogies: Engaging ESL students in intellectual quality. Australian Journal of Language & Literacy, 31(2), 101-105. Retrieved from http://search.informit.com.au.ezproxy.cdu.edu.au/documentSummary;dn=180565845 486247;res=IELHSS Kalantzis, M. & Cope, B. (2012). Literacies. Port Melbourne: Cambridge University Press. Meyer, L. M. (2000). Barriers to Meaningful Instruction for English Learners. Theory Into Practice: Children and Languages at School, 39(4). Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.cdu.edu.au/stable/1477342 Miller, Jennifer. (2003). Audible Difference: ESL and Social Identity in Schools. Sydney: Multilingual Matter Ltd. Morgan, B. D. (1998). The ESL Classroom: Teaching, Critical Practice, and Community Development. London: University of Toronto Press. ! "#$%&!'(!)*+,,-(!./010#/0!.23!2456%/47!in Media Literacy. Screen Education, 61, 78-81.

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