Brown Girl Dreaming

by Torun Sørbøen

Literary analysis

Brown Girl Dreaming is a book written by Jacqueline Wilson. It is a memoir written in a series of free verse poems about the authors’ childhood as an African American girl growing up in the United States in the 1960’s. We hear stories from her childhood growing up in Ohio, visiting and later living with her grandma and grandpa in South Carolina and New York. The book shows pieces of history that illustrate how she, her family and other people around her experienced living in a country during the Civil Rights era.

There are many different themes in this book that can be explored, such as childhood, family, religion, friendship and separation, but I will take on the theme of racial issues in the United States in the 1960’s. Legal segregation ended with the Civil Rights Act in 1964, the year after Jaqueline was born. She was born in Ohio, one of the Northern States, but she lived for some periods with her grandparents who lived in South Carolina, where the segregation was very bad at the time. There are many allusions and references to historic figures and important historic events. A good example is the poem “second daughter’s second day on earth” (Woodson, pp. 14-15).

In the poem “other people’s memory” (Woodson, pp. 26-27 ), she shows how the reader an example of how peoples’ memory can be false, by presenting how her grandmother remembered Jacqueline being born in the morning, her mother saying she was born in the late afternoon, and her father arguing she was born near night. This poem shows us that the book is based on memories, which can be unreliable and are coloured by the person. Still, sometimes peoples’ memories are more important than the factual reports. In this book we might hear stories that are not completely factual, but they capture how events change people and how they are experienced differently from person to person. In historic retellings, one can rarely be completely unbiased, and we seldom hear the voices from children and how they experience difficulties. Further on in the book, we can see how the different characters react to suppression of African Americans, and how their experiences with racism affects them.

Using Brown Girl Dreaming in teaching

This book gives the reader good insight to how segregation and racial issues in the United States could be experienced by African Americans. Reading some poems from the book, or perhaps the whole book if there are some very enthusiastic readers in the class, can be a great starting point for going into discussions about the themes that brought up. I will take into account that my pupils will be mostly speakers of English as a foreign language or lingua franca, and will be at Grade 7 or lower. I will therefore not expect that it will be possible, or productive for such a class to read the whole book, since many may find it daunting and demotivating to read such a thick book. I would rather recommend reading some selected poems in class; and reflect on it individually, in pairs, in larger groups and then have a walkthrough of their thoughts together.

We are presented with different generations’ reaction and response to inequality throughout the book. The grandparents are careful and seem almost indifferent, perhaps because they have lived with the problem for a very long time. They would rather go unnoticed and not cause any trouble than to fight. Let them read the following poems: “greenville, south Carolina, 1963” (pp. 38), “south carolina at war”(pp.72-73), “the training” (pp. 74-75), “miss bell and the marchers” (pp. 77-78) and “what everybody knows now” (pp. 210-211) in Brown Girl Dreaming (Woodson, 2014). Tell the students to find out what they think these poems say about what Jacqueline’s mother, Jacqueline’s grandfather, cousin Dorothy, Miss Bell, Miss Bell’s employer and Jacqueline’s grandmother think about segregation and how that affects their behaviour.

A great thing about this book being written through short pieces of verse, is that it is easy to work with small excerpts in the classroom. As a teacher, you stand very free when it comes to which elements and themes you want to highlight and explore with the pupils. One of the poems that could be interesting to work with is “greenville, south carolina, 1963” (Woodson, p. 38-39), describing Jacqueline’s journey with her mother, brother and sister from Ohio to South Carolina, where Jacqueline’s grandparents live. It describes how segregation in the south affects black people in practical terms, having to sit in the back of the bus, stepping of the curb if they meet a white person and having to express a submissive attitude towards white people in general. The mother makes takes extra care to make sure her children are neat and representable, much more than usual. “Too dangerous to sit closer to the front and dare the driver to make her move. Not with us. Not now.” (Woodson, 2014, p. 38-39). I would discuss this quote and the rest of the poem as a whole with my pupils, and ask what they think it means.

The poem “second daughter’s second day on earth” (Woodson, pp. 14-15) can also be a nice poem to discuss, in relation to learning about the history of race in America. The poem sums up important events and historic figures from the Civil Rights era. The pupils can explore further by researching the names and events. They can also discuss what they think about each person’s approach towards gaining Civil Rights.

Silverman, Kennedy & Rheault (2016, p. 8-9) provides some teaching tips for how to work with Brown Girl Dreaming in the classroom. Some of these ideas can work even if the pupils only read some excerpts in class, such as this: “Jacqueline’s mother tells her children that they will experience a “moment when you walk into a room and/no one there is like you” (14). Have you experienced this? What might this feel like?” (Silverman, Kennedy & Rheault, 2016, p. 8).

In the competence aims after year 7 for the English subject (Utdanningsdirektoratet, u.å), there is little focus on reading for pleasure. Still, I think it is important to take make some room for such activities in connection with learning English, since it is important for the pupils to be motivated to develop their language skills and read English literature. Reading for pleasure is a great way for the pupils to expand their vocabulary and understanding, in an implicit way. According to Ofsted (Gamble, 2013, p. 19), teachers who “read, talk with enthusiasm and recommend books” succeed to a higher extent in developing not only proficient, but also students who are more enthusiastic about reading. It should be a goal to make the students lifelong readers, which according to Gamble (2013, p. 21) is one of the goals one can work towards through reading for pleasure. Some students might learn to read for pleasure on their own, while others might need to be encouraged more.

With its poetic language and moving thematic properties, Brown Girl Dreaming can also be used to read for pleasure. When reading for pleasure, it is important that the students read something that they can be engaged by. As a teacher, I would talk about Brown Girl Dreaming in an animated and enthusiastic language, in addition to showing the students poems from the book that they can enjoy just for the language in itself, to inspire them to want to read this book or any book in general on their own initiative.

Sources:

Gamble, N. (2013). Exploring Children`s Literature; Reading with Pleasure and Purpose. New Dehli: SAGE Publications.

Silverman, E., Kennedy, S., & Rheault, S. (2016). A guide to the works of Jacqueline Woodson (pp. 8-9).

Utdanningsdirektoratet. (u.å). National Curriculum for Knowledge Promotion. Food and Health. Retrieved 30.03.16, from http://www.udir.no/kl06/MHE1-01/Kompetansemaal?arst=372029323&kmsn=1537014183

Woodson, J. (2014). Brown Girl Dreaming (1st ed.). New York: Penguin Group. Retrieved 17.03.16 from https://vk.com/doc14694589_403996308?hash=7d92964de7182d042a&dl=1e1483687f392694e4

Brown girl dreaming. Theme and didactics

Task A)

Literary analysis of the main theme of Brown girl dreaming

Brown Girl Dreaming is a book, written by Jacqueline Woodson. The book is a memoir about her childhood, written as a series of poems in free verse. She has stated that she choose verse because memory is episodic (National Foundation, 2006). Additionally, she uses personal-narration (Gamble, 2013). This is a tool, which the author use to bring the reader closer to the character and the events. Firstly, the reader gets to observe her parents fight. Secondly, the reader gets to experience everyday moral dilemmas for the discriminated Afro-Americans. Thirdly, the reader also gains access to the thoughts of Jaqueline. She was born and raised during the Afro-American liberation, and many sequences of the book arguably point towards liberation as the one of the most visiable themes.

“..I do not know if these hands will become Malcolm's – raised and fisted or Martin`s – open and asking or Jame`s – curled around a pen. I do not know if these hands will be Rosa`s or Ruby`s gently gloved and fiercely folded calmly in a lap, on a desk, around a book, ready to change the world.” (Woodson, 2014, p.15).

In this quotation (Woodson, 2014) is the thought of a six-year-old Jacqueline, who does not know where life will take her. She is aware of the famous people, whom everybody speaks. This quotation displays how effective free verse can be. Without using a whole lot of words, (Woodson, 2014) reminds the reader what Malcolm x and Martin Luther King jr are famous for. This is also an example of how the reader has been given access to the mind of Jacqueline. This quotation is found early in the text (), which more than indicates Afro-American liberation as a theme.

"Her mouth a small lipsticked dash, her back sharp as line, DO NOT CROSS! COLORED TO THE BACK! Step off the curb if a white person comes towards you. My apologies. Her eyes straight ahead, my mother is miles away from here…” ”We are as good as anybody, she whispers. Good as anybody” (Woodson, 20014, p.38).

This is another interesting quotation. Her mother put on her lipstick and acts polite to white people. I am not entirely sure, whether the sign is exaggerated or from a real life experience. However, I think the sign works as intended. I can imagine the reader thinking “wow, I have no idea the discrimination was that bad”. Still it is attention-grabbing that Jacqueline's mother acts one way to the white people, and tells the children afterwards that all people are just the same. Why is the mother acting like this? My first thought was that the mother had given up the fight against social injustice. After discussing this with fellow students in class, I have come to realise that this might be an expression of how the elders fought injustice. Instead of using violence and demonstration, they encourage the youth to become critical thinkers. After all, a mother`s main responsibility is to care for her children. The best way for Mary Ann to provide for her children is to stay out of trouble and encourage her children to have a mind of their own.

Given my analysis of the two quotes, I think it is evident that the Afro-American liberation is being portrayed throughout the book. However, the liberation is portrayed through Jacqueline's eyes, and the book is, after all, a memoir. Therefore, it I would argue that childhood is the main theme, but Afro-American liberation one of the main sub-ordinated themes of the book. To conclude, I would like to point out some other subordinated themes such as family affairs, ethical dilemmas, and different ethnic perspectives on the issues (ex. Grandfather, Daddy, Miss Bell, Mary Ann, Grandmother). From my point of view, the second quotation describes an ethical dilemma and family affairs because the reader experiences the mother's reaction to injustice.

How can I use Brown girl dreaming in a teaching situation?

As a teacher, I look upon this book as an excellent opportunity to working on the oral skills, history, and multicultural dimensions. I could use the reader`s theatre as the main activity. It is a group activity, which will also challenge and improve the pupil`s social skills. The reader`s theatre is about reading a script out loud. There are no need to memorize the script, as the audience have their eyes closed, or sits with the back towards the group. Reader’s theatre may also involve dramatization. From my point of view chapters or even a small paragraph from Brown girl dreaming is suitable to readers theatre.

Reader’s theatre may also engage the pupils in critical discussion. A discussion that can lead to a reduction in prejudice. (Banks & Banks, 2012) describe the reduction of prejudice as the fourth dimension of multicultural education. While working with reader`s theatre, I will encourage the pupils to live through the eyes of Jacqueline. So that the pupils can view concepts, issues, events, and themes from the perspectives of diverse ethnic and cultural groups. If some groups need an extra challenge, I will encourage them to change between different perspectives. In other words, encourage the pupils to also act out the grandfather`s perspective.

Before using Brown girl dreaming of creating a teaching scheme, it is important to take into the account the length and the free verse style. I believe in using chunks from the book. For the reason, that reading the whole book is going to take a lot of time and energy. Especially, if I am to teach in primary school. I would also like to point out that this book is very applicable to teach interdisciplinary. There are multiple themes such as ethics, history and family affairs. Such themes can be unified with subjects as social science, religion, and science. Free verse is also an interesting writing style. Maybe I could investigate the properties with the pupils. With this in mind, I believe the book can be of great usage.

Nevertheless, in order to prepare the pupils for the class, for homework, they need to do an information search about the author. What is her story, and what other books has she written? If my class holds 20 pupils, I would divide the pupils into four or five groups. The groups will be assigned with different tasks to do as preparation. For instance, finding out who Kennedy, Luther King or Malcolm x were, or writing down their presumptions about the book, theme, or Afro-American liberation. In the end of the class, I want the pupils to evaluate the activity, hopefully, I can engage them into reassessing their previous assumptions. Transforming assumptions belong to as a transformative approach by (Banks & Banks, 2012).

Resources

Banks, J. A., & Banks, C. M. (2012). Multicultural Education; Issues and Perspectives. Wiley.

Gamble, N. (2013). Exploring Children`s Literature; Reading with Pleasure and Purpose. New Dehli: SAGE.

Munden, J., & Myhre, A. (2015). Twinkle Twinkle. Oslo: Cappelen Damm.

Woodson, J. (2014). Brown girl dreaming. Nancy Paulsen Books.

Foundation, N. B. (2016, 03 22). http://www.nationalbook.org/. Retrieved from 2014 National Book Award Winner, Young People's Literatur: http://www.nationalbook.org/nba2014_ypl_woodson.html#.VvFRMfnhDSE

Multiculturalism

Creating a positive attitude towards different cultures and languages in a multicultural classroom

The term multiculturalism is widely used, but what does it mean? Rattansi (2011, p. 138) writes about multiculturalism that is «describes a response to society that is sensitive to diversity and difference without forgetting the sameness that ties people together as human beings». A multicultural classroom not only includes pupils with diverse cultural backgrounds, but acknowledges and promotes differences, working to increase knowledge and acceptance for other cultures.

In todays’ globalized world, most classrooms will show a lot of diversity when it comes to pupils’ cultural background. Therefore, it is increasingly important for teachers today to familiarise pupils with a variety of different cultures, so that we can create an open and including society. When a culture or accent is unfamiliar to the students, they may be prone to have a negative attitude towards it. The road to decrease stereotypes and racism is through knowledge and learning about different cultures. Therefore, I think it is important to teach students about different cultures, and integrate elements from them in the English lessons.

Learning about different English speaking countries

Many textbooks have a section where you can learn about an English speaking country.  This is a great way to integrate cultural knowledge with learning English. The countries that are included are usually the EFL-countries (English as a Foreign Language), mainly England and the US and perhaps countries like Australia and Canada. To explore a broader view of culture in the English classroom, the teacher will usually need to go beyond the textbooks.

Using literature, films and music

A great way to learn about other cultures is to experience it through art. When choosing literature, films and pieces of music, the teacher must be very aware of his or her choices. If one has a goal of expanding the pupils’ knowledge, choosing works that challenge their misconceptions would be preferable. It is important to set aside time before and after to find out previous views, and then discuss what might be right and what is based on stereotypes and prejudice.

Using the pupils’ backgrounds

Most classrooms today include pupils from different cultural backgrounds. This alone does not make the classroom multicultural. A multicultural classroom explores its different cultures and tries to integrate them as a natural part of the lessons. Give pupils the possibilities to talk about their culture and work on a class environment where it is good to be curious about other cultures, and where the pupils have a welcoming and open mind towards others, regardless of background. Make sure to also focus on what they have in common, whilst showing appreciation for those differences that are brought to light, and not make the cultural exploring an “us-them”-exploration. They usually have more in common than they think.

Communicating with pupils from other countries

A great way to practice your language skills is to speak or write with someone who only understands the language you are learning, and not your mother tongue. The teacher can set up a communication link between the class and people of the same age from other countries. If the class has a pupil with another first language, there is a perfect opportunity for the pupils to practice making themselves understood without using their first language to explain things for which they do not have English words.

Varieties of English

In Jenkins (2009), different categorizations of speakers of English around the world today are presented. One of these categorizations divides speakers of English into three main groups; ENL, ESL and EFL. The first group, ENL, consists of those who speak English as a native language (English as a Native Language). The second group, ESL is for the speakers of English as a second language. The third group is for those who speak English as a foreign language. In addition to these three categories, there is another, ELF, for those who use English as a lingua franca ­‑ a bridge language, a language for communication between people without a common language.

According to Jenkins (2009, p. 15) English as a native language (ENL) is a term used for the someone who is born and raised in a country where historically English is viewed as the first spoken language, meaning such countries as the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand . English as a second language refers to English spoken by those living in former British colonies, such as India, Nigeria and Singapore (p. 16). English as a foreign language (EFL) is the category for those who historically learned English to speak with its native speakers, the ENL-speakers (p. 16). Today, Jenkins points out; this is no longer their only goal in learning and speaking English. In EFL areas, English has no official status, or purpose as Jenkins puts it. In addition to English as a foreign language, there is another category, English as a lingua franca, a building language. EFL and ELF is quite similar, but the ELF-categorization puts focus on the intracultural use of English, the use of English inside the boarders of the country. This can refer to the use of English as an educational language or bridging language in other aspects of society. According to Jenkins (2009, p. 16) it is difficult to assess which group one should sort a speaker into in today’s globalized language situation, if reasonable competence also should be taken into account (p. 16).

Based on the description of the categorisations ENL, EDL, EFL and ELF that are described in Jenkins (2009); Norwegian speakers of English could be categorized as EFL-speakers, speakers of English as a foreign language or or ELF-speakers, speakers of English as a lingua franca. Traditionally, I believe Norwegian learners of English would learn English mainly to speak with native speakers and as a way to communicate with people with different first languages. This would make Norwegians EFL-speakers. In Norway today, for many higher level students English is a necessary tool they must use to learn what is expected of them. Medical students to mention one group, have mainly English subject books. This is a natural effect of the dominance of English as a world language, since most of the best academics write their papers in English, and many subjects have terms that do not have a Norwegian translation. There is a saying that if something has not been written in English, it has not happened, meaning that to publish a paper of importance, one must also be able to publish in English. This would make English a Lingua Franca in todays’ society.

Still, many Norwegian and Scandinavian people can be considered to be far more native-like than those who live in countries that are also considered EFL or ELF. This makes this categorization a little harder to find useful. One would think that the closer to EFL, the better, but that is not necessarily the case.

Based on this categorization of Norway as a ELF/ELF-nation, I would say that educators should focus more on the global aspect of English than we do. We should not only learn about the recognized ENL-countries, but also on the fact that English opens up the world of communication to almost the whole of the worlds’ population. Pupils should be exposed to many different varieties

Sources:

Jenkins, J. (2009): World Englishes: A Resource Book for Students. 2^nd edition. London: Routledge.

Rattansi, A. (2011) Multiculturalism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Multicultural Education

A multicultural classroom refers a class that students with different cultural backgrounds. Today 13,5 percent of the Norwegian population are immigrants (698 500 people) and 2,9 percent with their parents being immigrants (149 600) (Statistisk Sentralbyrå, 2016).Most likely are the wave immigration not slowing down anytime soon. Given the nation`s change in demographics, issues of diversity must occupy center stage in what is currently being discussed, written, and taught in education. How should the school system meet these new premises? As educators, we are at school to make sure the children learn. Learn the skills, and knowledge to succeed in life and society. To have the opportunities for lifelong learning. Multicultural education is based on the fundamental belief that all people must be accorded respect, regardless of age, race, ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status, religion, physical ability, or mental ability. Multicultural education seeks to affirm individual differences and human diversity through an elimination of prejudice, biases, and stereotypes based on socio-demographic variables. James (Banks & Banks, 2012) refers to this classroom as a level three classroom that practices a transformative approach. As (Banks & Banks, 2012) explains transformative approach,

“The structure of the curriculum is changed to enable students to view concepts, issues, events, and themes from the perspectives of diverse ethnic and cultural groups. The Transformation approach changes the basic assumptions of the curriculum and enables students to view concepts, issues, themes, and problems from several ethnic perspectives and points of view (Taylor & Cranton, 2012, p.25) ”.

To create such an environment, (Banks & Banks, 2012) has designed a five- dimension model that intends to create an awareness among educators of what multicultural education really means. The first dimension is content integration. The dimension refers to the necessity of incorporate multiculturalism in the curriculum. The second dimension is knowledge construction. This dimension entails investigation, discussion and exploring assumptions. By practicing this dimension the educators aims to influence the students reference frame. Reference frame – the structure of assumptions and expectations through which we filter sense impression. It involves cognitive, affective, and conative dimensions. It shapes and delimits our expectations, and purposes. In other words, the reference frame is how we interpret experiences. Dimension three is equity pedagogy, which argues that the teacher should use a variety of strategies to enable students of diverse culture background to achieve. The fourth dimension is prejudice reduction. The term is self-explanatory and addresses the importance of the teacher being a role model and must always aim to reduce prejudice. The last dimension is empowering school system and social structures. Here (Banks & Banks, 2012) wants the educators to look at the total school culture to see how to make it more equitable.

Interestingly, I was witnessing some of these dimensions during my visit to the International school of Tromsø. Instead of teaching each subject separately, the teacher taught different themes. The idea is to teach interdisciplinary and integrate knowledge, attitude, skills, concept and action. When I was present, the students were working on the theme, Living things have certain requirements in order to grow and stay healthy. The focus was upon architecture. The student’s task was to sketch a house that could withstand a nature catastrophe. This was clearly an opportunity for the students to talk about their culture and show the other kids in the class. Besides training their math skills, I believe this task is great for also creating discussion and critical thinking.   

Usage of English in Norway

(Jenkins, 2009) writes about four ways of categorizing English Users. A native language (ENL), a second language (ESL), a foreign language (EFL), and lingua franca (ELF). The categories intend to explain the usage of the language within the country. In Norway, English is categorized as a foreign language in Norway. According to (Jenkins, 2009), the category of foreign language means the language is not essential to take part in the society. In other words, English does not serve any purposes in Norway. This categorization of English usage in Norway is arguably flawed.

From my point of view, English is a lingua franca in Norway. (Jenkins, 2009) somewhat support this view when he writes that Scandinavian countries use English more for a country internal purpose, rather than a foreign or international language purpose (Jenkins, 2009).  Due to English being one of the core subjects in school, I would argue that most Norwegians would speak English in the near future. One of the schools main purposes is to teach the students the skills to lifelong learning. In correlation with globalization, knowledge and technology are constantly increasing, whoever wants to gain access, needs know English. For instance, most academic resources at a university level are in English. Secondly, most of the social media are English of origin. Thirdly, if you wish to follow the American media's coverage of the US election you need to know English. These examples illustrate how we continuously are exposed to information. If you are going to have any chance of filtrating and being an independently critically thinker, you must know English.

Norway is increasingly becoming multicultural. This is due to the wave of immigrants and refugees. A wave that is likely to continue into the future. The wave of new citizens changes the premises for everyday communications. At the workplace, school, shops, cinemas, social media, etc. In other words, we need English to communicate with fellow citizens. It also important to take into account, how the increasing usage of English affect the Norwegian language. The Norwegian language loan lots of words from the English vocabulary and sometimes we make our own version of the word.

On the other hand, it is not an absolute necessity to know English. There are many professions, which do not demand English skills. Even though you have weaker skills in English, you can still do perfectly well in today’s society. Nevertheless, if you, want to want to take full advantages of the opportunities that arise, then you need to have certain basic skills in English.

Resources:

* Jenkins, J. (2009) World Englishes: A Resource book for students. 2^nd edition. London: Routledge.

* Taylor, E. W., & Cranton, P. (2012). The Handbook of Transformative Learning: Theory, Research, and Practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass A Wiley Imprint.

* Banks, J. A., & Banks, C. M. (2012). Multicultural Education; Issues and Perspectives. Wiley.

* Statistisk Sentralbyrå. (2016, 03 14). ssb.no. Retrieved from Nøkkeltall for innvandring og innvandrere: https://www.ssb.no/innvandring-og-innvandrere/nokkeltall

Assignment 6.

Assignment 6.

In this blog post I going to write about the importance about multiculturalism and how we can help pupils create positive attitudes towards different cultures and languages in a multicultural classroom. I will also give an example of what you as a teacher can try in the classroom to create tolerance towards different cultures.

So what is multiculturalism?

“Multiculturalism advocates policies which seek to accommodate the different identities, values, and practices of both dominant and non-dominant cultural groups in culturally diverse society” (Murphy, 2012:6).

Murphy’s definition about multiculturalism above is one of many, but I think this one fits the assignment. It is very important that the pupils develop a positive attitude towards different cultures. The world is changing as I write and society is getting more and more multicultural by the minute. If we as a society are going to thrive and grow, we need to be able to work, live together and include different cultures, and it all starts in the classroom where the pupils gets educated In multiculturalism. Norway has been historically a very monocultural society, the only other culture in Norway is the Sami culture, and that can create a challenge. I have myself experienced how prejudice young pupils can be towards other cultures and especially immigrants.

J. Banks, (2009) have developed 4 different levels to approach teaching multiculturalism in the classroom.

Level 1 is the contributions approach, in this level the focus is on heroes, holidays, and discrete cultural elements. Level 2 is the additive approach. This approach focuses on content, concepts, themes, and perspectives. Level 3 is the transformative approach. Pupils need to see concepts, issues, events, and themes from the perspectives of diverse ethnic and cultural groups. Level 4 focuses on the social approach. Pupils make decisions on important social issues and take actions to help solve them. J. Banks,(2009) For example immigrants and asylum seekers, it’s important for the pupils to discuss the severity of these situations. J. Banks,(2009)

These levels are supposed to be a gradual evolution from kindergarten through 5. Grade, which is probably equivalent to 1.-7. Grade in Noway.  The idea is that the pupils start at level 1 in grade 1, and as they get older, you as a teacher add on a new level for each year or when the pupils are ready. This might be difficult to do if the pupils changes teacher from year grade 1-2 and grade 3-4.

If there is different cultures in the classroom represented by the pupils, then this is an excellent place to start when you are going to teach about multiculturalism in the classroom. A concrete example is to celebrate the different cultures by making different stands for each culture/nation/continent. These stands can include national suits, national food, pictures and stories. This is an excellent arena to get the parents involves so they can get to know each other and the different cultures in their children’s classroom. Parents is arguably the most influential role models in a child’s life and if they are prejudice against different cultures, your job as a teacher might get more difficult than it has to be. So getting parents involved is important.   

Varieties in the English language.

According to Jenkins, J. (2009) there are four ways of categorizing English users. Those who use English as a native language or mother tongue (ENL), a second language (ESL), a foreign language (EFL) and lingua franca (EFL). Those who use ENL are often born and raised in in one of the countries where English historically is the first language, like UK, USA and Canada. There is about 350 million people that are ENL speakers. English as a second language is often spoken in countries that were once colonized by the English, The ESL users are mainly in territories such as India, Bangladesh and Singapore. There is also about 350 million people who are ESL speakers. The users of English as a foreign language are those who have no use of the language in their own country. Historically they have learned English to be able to communicate with EFL users. There is about 1 billion that are EFL users. According to this definition, Norwegian learners belong to the category of EFL. Because there are no formal needs for the English language in Norway, other than what is taught in school. And I think the language has mainly been thought so our learners can communicate with ENL users.

When we look at the numbers of the different English speakers in the world, most of them are English foreign speakers, and that’s where the last category comes in to play. The definition of Lingua franca or ELF is: “A language that is adopted as a common language between speakers whose native languages are different.” (oxforddictionaries.com) And in my opinion this is our main use of the English language I.e. During our practice period in South Africa we used English to communicate with students from other countries as the Germany and Holland. This is an example of English being used as a Lingua Franca. And when we look at the numbers there are also higher statistical chance that our future pupils have to communicate with other non-native speakers of the language.

The status of how we use the English language today should in my opinion be oriented towards EFL and there are many reasons why. In todays society we have a big increase in immigrants and asylum seekers, to be able to communicate with these groups of people we need a common language. The world is becoming more and more multicultural also in the form of work immigrants because the wealth in the world is spread unevenly. And in the near future there will be climate refugees arriving from different affected parts of the world.  

Lingua franca has historically been used as a common trading language and with today’s globalization, to have a common language is very relevant.

According to these facts and predictions, the way we teach English should be organized in a way that focuses on communicative skills, both written and oral. We can also use English to teach pupils about multiculturalism, and teach the pupils to respect people from different cultures, and it’s easier to respect someone if you share a common language I believe.

Stian Strand.

Sources:

Jenkins, J. (2009): World Englishes: A resource book for students. 2^nd edition. London: Routledge.

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/lingua-franca (20.03.2016)

J. Banks, (2009) Teaching Strategies for Ethnic Studies, 8, p. 19. Allyn & Bacon

Murphy, M. (2012) In defense of multiculturalism. In Multiculturalism A critical Introduction. Canada: Routledge Tylor and Francis Group.

Language and didactics

By Sandra Mikalsen

For this assignment, I will discuss two different topics. The first one concerning how we as teachers can create a multicultural classroom with positive attitudes, and the second one is about the varieties of English and how English is taught in Norway.

The multicultural and multilingual classroom

To figure out how to help pupils create a positive attitude toward other cultures, it is necessary to understand the meaning of the terms “multicultural”, “multiculturalism” and “multilingual”. According to Rattansi (2011), the term “multicultural” refers to a society that is multiethnic – a society consisting of two or more cultures. Whilst the term “multiculturalism” is, according to Mustad et.al (2012), defined as a strategy for dealing with the cultural diversity in a positive way. For the term “multilingual” in an educational context, the website Oxford Index (n.d.) define it as a class or group of learners whom does not share the same first language. 

Based on Rattansi’s (2011) and the Oxford Index’ (n.d.) definitions of these terms, we can argue that a multicultural and multilingual classroom consists of pupils who originates from different cultures and speaks different languages. Given this complex composition of a classroom and considering Mustad’s (2012) strategy of multiculturalism, it is important to see each pupil and their culture as a resource and an opportunity to establish positive attitudes toward different cultures and languages. 

According to Banks (2002) there are five dimensions of multicultural education. By following these dimensions, you can create positive attitudes for different cultures in your classroom. The first dimension is called “Content integration”, and is about applying texts from different cultures and the resources available in the classroom (for example the pupils) in your teaching. An example of this can be to read, analyse and compare the various versions of the Cinderella story from many different cultures. The second dimension is “Knowledge construction”, where the teacher helps the pupils to become critical thinkers. This can be achieved by using a different version of the story about the three little pigs, called “The true story of the three little pigs”. This version is told from the wolf’s perspective, and so the pupils can learn that everyone are entitled to have a different point of view on different topics. Also they can discuss whether it is fair to judge someone if one does not know the whole story.

The third dimension of multicultural education is “Equity pedagogy”. In short it is about meeting the diverse needs of your students, using different teaching styles. An example of activity is to look at the linguistic diversity in for example free writing and in-class discussions. The fourth dimension is called “Prejudice reduction”, and is an important dimension to make the pupils more positive towards different cultures. This dimension can be achieved by for example being pen pals with other schools that have different cultural mixture. The final and fifth dimension is “Empowering school culture and social structure”, and is simply about using all the other four dimensions to establish a healthy and safe environment for all. This can be done by encouraging diversity in school activities, such as sports, clubs, prom and so on (Banks, 2002, p.3-4). 

The varieties of English

According to Jenkins (2009) there are four categories of English; (ENL) English as a native language, (ESL) English as a second language, (EFL) English as a foreign language, and (ELF) English as a lingua franca. To discuss which category I believe Norwegian learners belong to, I must first elaborate what each category implies. 

English as a native language (ENL) is referred to those who are born and raised in countries that has the traditional cultural and linguistic bases of English, where English is the historically first language to be spoken. The second category, English as a second language (ESL), refers to the countries whom once were colonised by the British Empire, where the language is still spoken in large parts of the territories. English as a foreign language (EFL) is for those whom does not have a purpose for using English within their countries, but did have use for it at some point earlier in the history. The last category is English as a lingua franca (ELF). This category of English is used for internal purposes within a country, such as to communicate with people from other countries. It becomes a common language to create a bridge between non-native speakers of English (Jenkins, 2009, p.15-17).

Based on the previous descriptions of the 4 categorizations of English, I believe Norwegian learners belong to the ELF-category because we teach it to enable the pupils to communicate with foreign people, but also to expand their possibilities for acquiring knowledge through English-written sources. By enabling pupils to communicate and gather information about other cultures, you also contribute to create a bridge between different cultures and eradicate prejudices. 

Because of globalization and the increased requirements for English competence when applying for jobs and creating networks, I would argue that it has become more important to teach English as a second language to prepare the pupils for a world in constant change. Also, English as a global language seems to be increasing, and therefore it is important to be able to keep up with the rest of the world and to communicate with different cultures. Furthermore, the Norwegian language is limited by its vocabulary so that one can only acquire so much information or knowledge about a subject before you have reached “the top”. We should make sure the pupils are aware of these benefits of learning English as a second language, to get them engaged in their learning.

Literature:

Banks, J.A. (n.d.). Five Dimensions of Multicultural Education. Sourced 18.03.16 from http://educ625spring2011.pbworks.com/w/page/34278231/JAMES%20BANKS-MULTICULTURALISM

Jenkins, J. (2009). World Englishes: A resource book for students. 2^nd edition. London: Routledge.

Mustad, J., Rahbek, U. & Sevaldsen, J. (2012). Modern Britain: Developments in Contemporary British Society. Oslo: Cappelen Damm AS.

Oxfordindex. (n.d.). Multilingual. Sourced 18.03.16 from http://oxfordindex.oup.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100215752?rskey=XuDsC4&result=0&q=multilingual

Rattansi, A. (2011). Multiculuralism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. Sourced 17.03.16 from http://www.veryshortintroductions.com/view/10.1093/actrade/9780199546039.001.0001/actrade-9780199546039-chapter-2