Intercultural Education in the Post-Primary School - National Council ...

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WELCOMING A NEW STUDENTThe importance of supporting studentsentering a new school has been identifiedin a range of research with ‘students fromlower income and minority ethnic groupsfound to be potentially more “at risk” inmaking the transition to post-primaryschool’ (Gutman and Midgley, 2000).Recent research exploring students’transition from first to second level schoolsin Ireland has shown that students tend tosettle quicker and experience lessdifficulties in schools where moredeveloped student integration programmesexist andstudents from non-national or Travellerbackgrounds report more transitiondifficulties than other students.(ESRI/NCCA, 2004. p.283)There are a number of ways in which aclassroom teacher can help support theintegration of a new student.• Introduce new students in a positiveway, focusing on their capacities(“Goran speaks Croatian fluently, andalso speaks some English”) rather thanon their needs (“Goran doesn’t speakEnglish well”).• Provide structured opportunities for newstudents to work with other students forthe first few days. Where languageallows, this can be done through pairedwork or group activities in most classes.Where there is not a shared spokenlanguage, art, music or drama activitiesprovide ideal opportunities.• If possible, seat those who are beginningto learn English with someone whospeaks their first language for the firstfew weeks. If there is no-one who speakstheir first language in the class, it maybe possible to introduce the student toanother member of the schoolcommunity (another pupil, for example)who speaks their first language duringbreak time or at lunch time during theschool day. These arrangements shouldbe discontinued after a few weeks, inorder to ensure that the newly-arrivedstudent has an opportunity to developrelationships with his or her classmates.• Establish routines in the class which areclear and explicit and which can belearned and understood by students whoare new to the peculiarities of the Irisheducation system or who are learningthe language of instruction as a secondlanguage.This will provide some basisof familiarity, which will allow pupils tolearn the ways in which the schoolsystem works.• Support all the students in developing aninclusive community in the classroom(rather than one in which the teachersimply polices and preventsdiscrimination) by identifying howstudents can make each othercomfortable and feel that they belong.This may mean that the students willagree strategies which they themselvesutilise to ensure that no one in theirclass is excluded.44Intercultural Education in the Post-Primary School
CLASSROOM PLANNING 4CHECKLIST: WHAT INFORMATION SHOULD THESUBJECT TEACHER HAVE WHEN A NEWSTUDENT JOINS THE CLASS?How are the names of the student andtheir parents correctly pronounced?What language(s) does the student have,and what is their level of proficiency inthese language(s)?How does one say some key phrases inthe student’s first language, such as agreeting, ‘please/thank you’, ‘join in’,‘stop’, ‘well done/very good’, etc?Are there subjects the student will not betaking and what will they be doing duringthose times?Are there any cultural practices thatmight affect classroom interaction? Arethere actions which are deemedinappropriate or rude in the student’shome culture but which may not causeoffence to members of the dominantethnic group, or vice versa (showingsomeone an open palm or the soles of thefoot may be rude in some cultures; ayoung person making eye contact with anadult may be rude in some Africancultures while in Traveller culture youngpeople often speak very directly andopenly to adults, something which issometimes seen as rude in schools;standing close to a person may bedeemed rude in some cultures, while itmay be normal in others etc.)? How isteaching the student the culture of theschool to be handled?What is the student’s religion, how is itpractised, and has this any implicationsfor classroom planning?Will the student have specificrequirements concerning food, jewelleryor clothing (for example, the range oftastes catered for by the school canteenor the symbolism of the schools crest onthe school uniform)?CREATING A SUPPORTIVE LANGUAGEENVIRONMENTLanguage is a key component of a person’sidentity as well as playing a central part inthe learning process. Ireland is, and hashistorically been, characterised by linguisticdiversity, with both Irish and Englishexisting as first languages. To this must beadded the range of languages of recentimmigrants. The right to have one’s ownlanguage is important in enabling people todevelop a strong positive self-image. Peoplealso generally find it easier to developcomplex thinking in their first language.For both ethical and educational reasons,then, it is important that the student’s firstlanguage is valued and affirmed within theschool context. It is also important tocreate an environment that supports thelearning of a second language.Learning in a multi-lingual environmentcan be a positive experience for allstudents. It highlights concretely thediversity of languages and cultures in theworld and, as such, constitutes animportant resource for developingintercultural capacities and abilities in allstudents irrespective of their ethnicity.Recognition and affirmation of thestudent’s first language can be achievedthrough• the teacher and students learningsome key words or phrases (greetings,simple instructions, etc.) in the students’first language• communicating positive attitudestowards linguistic diversity andmulti-lingual student’s skills andrecognising the capacities of secondlanguage learners rather than identifyingthem primarily as people with ‘languageneeds’• providing multilingual resourceswhere possible.Intercultural Education in the Post-Primary School 45
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INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION IN THE POST
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CONTENTSINTRODUCTIONiCHAPTER 1 The
Page 9 and 10: INTRODUCTIONEducation is therefore
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Page 14: The Context of Intercultural Educat
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Page 47 and 48: SCHOOL PLANNING 3PARENTAL INVOLVEME
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Page 51 and 52: CLASSROOM PLANNING 4Use this exerci
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LANGUAGE AND INTERCULTURALISM 8LEAR
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LANGUAGE AND INTERCULTURALISM 8lang
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LANGUAGE AND INTERCULTURALISM 8Oppo
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LANGUAGE AND INTERCULTURALISM 8Supp
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GLOSSARYPositive profilingA form of
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BIBLIOGRAPHYIreland, Department of
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CLASSROOM RESOURCES FOR INTERCULTUR
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CLASSROOM RESOURCES FOR INTERCULTUR
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NCCANational Council for Curriculum
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