Because Canada is such a diverse country, multilingual students are becoming more and more popular. There are many ways that a teacher can engage a multi-lingual student. I think the biggest way to do so is by supporting these students’ backgrounds and try not to override these students’ culture and languages with English and western practices. It is still important for them to learn these things of course, but it shouldn’t override their previous knowledge.
Regrettably, language loss is a significant issue; if it could be solved, many more individuals would be able to speak numerous languages. I think it’s our job as teachers to ensure that students’ languages are preserved By developing visual aids, supports, and resources that address the potential variety within a school, educators can readily promote areas of multilingualism.
Hi Kelsey!
It is indeed so important that we as teachers don’t override students and their unique cultures including language. I believe that there are ways for us to not just “tolerate” so to speak, but to really cherish and support language diversity and encourage a place where students feel safe and welcome to be themselves. We can learn so much from different languages and cultures, it is all about listening and being open minded. Great post!
I like the point made about language loss as it shows the issue that happens more times than it should in Canada. It is a problem that has happened for forever in Canada but for EAL learners, especially ones that move at a young age the low need to use their first language in Canada causes them to almost override their knowledge while having no need for the previous language.
Hi Kelsey,
I completely agree that as Canada is only becoming more diverse, it is crucial now, more than ever, that teachers are creating lessons that can fully engage multilingual learners. As you stated, language loss is an issue that has been taking place for years and education systems have not done much to resolve this issue in the past. I also believe that as future teachers it is our job to create learning environments that encourage multilingual students to use all languages, which will aid in their overall ability to learn.
Great post!
Jessica
I think your post is very insightful for strategies on how to ensure the classroom is multilingual for students. I enjoyed how you mentioned preservation of language loss within Canada, considering there is a lot of language loss in Indigenous culture. I also enjoyed how you mentioned visual aids, other supports and resources – I believe that it is important for the teacher’s to know what resources should be within the classroom for the support of multilingual students.
Kelsey, I loved reading your blog post this week! You’ve represented some great points about being inclusive with multilingual students in the classroom. I’m curious to know if other resources could be provided in a school setting to allow students to learn about different languages. Maybe books or listing different objects in another language could be simple yet effective for all students. Overall, great blog this week!!
I agree with language loss happening way more now a days and everywhere is learning how to speak english. It is important find that balance were the students can feel safe and comfortable speaking their own language in a classroom. I know lots of times teachers won’t allow it and say “english only” and also other classmates picking on them for not speaking english, but one way I thought of avoiding that is having a cultural day once a week or two weeks or for the full week or whatever, and have your classroom designed as a different culture.
Hello Kelsey,
I agree that it is also very important to not try to override students cultural and language backgrounds with English and western views. I also would like to add that it is important to have a positive attitude towards children with different backgrounds therefore those children do not feel like a burden within the class. It is important to be positive and show acceptance of all cultural and language beliefs and practices. Great job!