Multiculturalism and varieties of English

By Heidi Dørmænen 

Multicultural English

Multiculturalism has never been about encouraging separation and segregation. It has involved the creation of structures in which the incorporation of immigrants and ethnic minorities occurs fairly and with the recognition that the desire of immigrants and minorities to retain aspects of their cultures is reasonable, and that cultural diversity is itself desirable and benefits the nation in a variety of ways (Rattansi, 2011, What is multiculturalism?, paragraph 6).

There are many definitions on what multiculturalism is, and there are also many thoughts on what a multicultural classroom is. In this part of the task, I am going to say something about what the teacher can help with in creating a positive attitude toward the different cultures and languages in a multicultural classroom, and give some concrete examples. My thoughts on multiculturalism is based on Rattinsi’s statement over.

From an early age children are very open for learning and experiencing new situations and cultures. Especially in primary schools, the learners are very interested in telling about their experiences, it might be about a vacation to Turkey or a trip to the grocery store. My observation is that for young children they usually get some new experiences out of everything, not depending on how big the experience is. At the same time as the children are open for learning, they are also open for our impact. And that might be one of the biggest challenges for the teacher. You do not know what the learners are being taught at home. Parents and teachers are those people that has the most impact on the youngest learners. In many situations there might be some kind of negative attitudes to break down from the learners, that they bring into the classroom with them from other areas. Therefore, the first and most important act a teacher can help with, is having an open and positive attitude towards the different cultures and languages in a multicultural or multilingual classroom. They have the opportunity to be an inspiring role model for the learners.

Xenophobia is a word that is very important in todays society. I think it is very normal to be afraid of the unknown. And very often the negative attitudes toward other cultures and languages is the lack of knowledge. Luckily, knowledge is a teacher’s best tool. By giving the learners positive knowledge and experiences with the new cultures in their classroom, one can also make it easier for the new learners to achieve respect and understanding for their culture.

I will come with an example from my own time at upper primary school. There were coming a lot of new immigrants and refugees to the town, and there were little interactions between them and the people already living in the town. At this year we had food and health, where one of the competence aims is to cook food from other cultures (Utdanningsdirektoratet). A group of women from different residences in Africa got invited to our school, and for one or two days, we learned to cook food from their culture, together with them. We got to know them in an environment and on a field they were excellent at.

Teaching about multiculturalism is important, but maybe is letting the learners experience it, even more important. Norway has become a multicultural country, and especially if you as a teacher have a multicultural class, you will have endless opportunities connected to the learners in the class. By letting the learners create their own positive experiences to the multiculturalism, you have the opportunity to guide them instead of lecturing them.

Varieties of English

Jenkins (2009, p. 15) define four categories of English users, English as a native language (ENL), English as second language (ESL), English as a foreign language (EFL) and English as a lingua franca (ELF). I will give a short presentation of the four, and present some arguments for which category I think the Norwegian learners belongs to.

Which category the Norwegian learners belong to, can be discussed for a long time, depending on which definition of the categories you base your arguments on. In this case, I have chosen to use Jenkins (2009, p. 15) definition, and there is still some of the categories that will fit the Norwegian learners better then the others. The first category is English as a native language. English as a native language is the same as English as a mother tongue, and is the designation of the group who is born and raised in one of the countries where English is historically the first language to be spoken. Since Norway does not have a history with English as a first language, it will be wrong to categorise the Norwegian learners as English native learners. But it is still necessary to know as a teacher that there is a possibility you will have some native learners of English in your class. As an outcome from the multicultural classroom, some of the learners may have been born and raised in a country with English as a native language, before they later on have moved to Norway and our schools.

English as a second language refers to territories like India, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Singapore (Jenkins, 2009, p. 16). These territories are places where English is spoken beside another language. A common similarity between many of these territories is that they all once were colonised by the English. The English language is not equated with the Norwegian language, and therefor just a small amount of the Norwegian learners will fall under this category. Many of the people coming to Norway will be coming from countries with English as a second language. As a teacher you will have this group of learners in your class, but it will not be the majority of the Norwegian learners.

The last two categories are English as a foreign language and English as a lingua franca. English as a foreign language is for those whom the language serves no purposes within their own countries. English as lingua franca is in countries where it is used increasingly for intranational purposes, rather than only as a foreign language (Jenkins, 2009, p. 16). 

For a long time, English has been considered a foreign language in Norway, a language that has been thought, but does not necessary serve any purpose in our own country. It is a language that have been thought to the learners in schools, for them to use with the native speakers in other countries like the US and UK. Because of the multicultural classroom, there is a considerable variety of learners. As it is now, I think the Norwegian learners will be more in between the foreign language and the lingua franca category. They learn English both for interacting and communicating with native speakers outside Norway, and they learn it for interacting and building bridges with for example the high amount of immigrants, refugees and tourists that we see coming to Norway.

I also think that teachers should be aware on which purpose their teaching is based on, because that is when the learners will benefit the most. Some of the learners will be in situations where they have families in other countries with English as native or second language, and for the learner to get the most out of the teaching, it is necessary for the teacher to know which purpose their learners learning is based on.

Resources:                                                                                                                                     

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

Rattansi, A. (2011) Multiculturalism: A very short introduction. DOI: 10.1093/actrade/9780199546039.001.0001

Utdanningsdirektoratet. (u.å). National Curriculum for Knowledge Promotion. Food and Health. Retrieved: 16.03.16, from http://www.udir.no/kl06/MHE1-01/Kompetansemaal?arst=372029323&kmsn=1537014183