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.