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This Just In

• According to an article written yesterday by
  Brian Feagans of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
  
• One out of every four of Gwinnett countys
  719,398 residents is foreign born.
• Gwinnett is now 19 Black, 16 Hispanic 10
  Asian
• Non-Hispanic whites, who were 90 percent of the
  population in 1990, were 54 of the population in
  2005.
• What does this mean for Technical College
  Faculty?????

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Youre not in Kansas anymore!Instructional
strategies for technical college faculty
addressing the needs of Limited English
Proficient students and students of other cultures

• By James S. May
• Professor of English as a Second Language
• Valencia Community College
• Orlando, FL

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Faculty Questions on Culture

• How do we approach individuals from other
  cultures that fear authority?
• What about those who are shy and afraid to ask
  questions in class?
• Is this true that some cultures are insulted when
  you point a finger at them?
• Are there certain hand or body motions or
  distances that must be considered?
• Is it true that some cultures have a required
  time lapse or pause before responding to a
  question from a teacher?
• Are there some general characteristics of various
  cultures regarding learning and interacting with
  teachers?

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Multicultural IntellegenceQuiz

• Directions On page 2 of your handout, you will
  find a ten question multiple-choice quiz. Please
  take a few minutes to take that quiz right now.

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Multicultural IQ Answers Implications

• You decide to use PowerPoint this semester while
  going over your syllabus with your students. You
  have carefully chosen to contrast important
  elements like your name with bolded red letters.
  You notice, however, that this draws peculiar
  looks from some international students. This is
  because
• Buddhists tend to write someones name in red
  when he or she is dead.
• Red is the color of mourning in parts of Africa.
• Some Mexicans find a name in red offensive.
• All of the above

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Multicultural IQ Answers Implications

• Not all languages cultures use/view text in the
  same ways.
• Typographical cuing techniques (bolding,
  italicizing, underlining, using colors, etc.)
  differ across languages. Unfortunately, there is
  limited research on the effects of cuing on ESL
  students.
• Even though most teachers share a preference for
  visual and aural learning, most Americans appear
  to prefer a combination of tactile and
  kinesthetic learning. (Dunn, Dunn, Price, 1979)
  The majority of ESL students also show a
  preference for tactile and kinesthetic learning
  (Reid, 1987 Rossi-Le 1995 Stebbins, 1995 Park
  2002)

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Multicultural IQ Answers Implications

• There are obvious differences among people of
  different cultures however, universals do exist.
  For example, pointing with your index finger is
  universal.
• True
• False

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Multicultural IQ Answers Implications

• This statement is false different cultures point
  with various parts of their bodies their lips,
  chins, palms, thumbs, etc.
• It has been estimated that 93 of communication
  is non-verbal 55 coming from facial expression,
  posture, gesture and 38 through tone of voice.
• Things that might offend you second language
  students include shaking hands, posture, facial
  expressions, appearance, voice, tone, hairstyle,
  clothes, expression in your eyes, smile, how
  close you stand to others, how you listen,
  confidence, your breathing, the way you move, the
  way you stand, the way you touch people, color
  choice, silence.

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Multicultural IQ Answers Implications

• Suggested Reading
• Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands The Bestselling Guide
  to Doing Business in More Than 60 Countries by
  Terri Morrison and Wayne A. Conaway
• Multicultural Manners New Rules of Etiquette for
  a Changing Society by Norine Dresser

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Multicultural IQ Answers Implications

• The common Everythings O.K. gestures
  (thumbs-up a circle with the index finger and
  thumb) are extremely rude in many parts of the
  world. Pick the country where one or both of
  these O.K. gestures are obscene.
• Australia
• Brazil
• Spain
• The Middle East
• All of the above

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Multicultural IQ Answers Implications

• Suggested Reading
• Gestures The Do's and Taboos of Body Language
  around the World by Roger E. Axtell

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Multicultural IQ Answers Implications

• Along with many other countries originally
  colonized by Spain, pesos are the accepted form
  of currency in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.
• True
• False
• Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United
  States and uses US currency.

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Multicultural IQ Answers Implications

• In the United States, time is money, but being a
  hyper-critical manager of time is viewed
  suspiciously by every one of these ethnic groups
  except
• Africans
• Arabs
• Latin Americans
• Polynesians
• White South Africans

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Multicultural IQ Answers Implications

• Asians may show disagreement by squinting and
  sucking air through their teeth.
• True
• False
• Many Asians find it difficult to actually say the
  word no, and instead more comfortably indicate
  their displeasure or disagreement with a gesture.

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Multicultural IQ Answers Implications

• The quote, "If English was good enough for Jesus
  Christ, it's good enough for me." has long been
  used to show how little most Americans know about
  other languages and cultures. Last semester, I
  heard two of my Aruban students, Aruba being a
  small island country off the coast of Venezuela,
  discussing this quote. What language could they
  have been discussing it in?
• Spanish
• English
• Dutch
• Papiamento
• All of the Above

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Multicultural IQ Answers Implications

• In Aruba, most people speak, write, and read
  English, Spanish, Dutch and Papiamento. Many also
  speak French and German.
• Assignment
• Talk briefly with those sitting next to you How
  do you think the rest of the world stereotypes
  Americans? If you could summarize these
  stereotypes in one or two words, what words would
  you choose?

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Multicultural IQ Answers Implications
Actual Student Comments Politically Correct Version
Americans are RUDE! Business Oriented
If we dont understand it, we change it or kill it. (Not necessarily in that order) Xenophobic
In international relations, its the American way or no way at all. Ethnocentric
Americans on vacation in Europe often say stupid things like, Why arent you using English? Monolingually Myopic
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Contrastive Rhetoric
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Multicultural IQ Answers Implications

• In 1969, Honduras and El Salvador fought a brief
  war. What sporting event led to the outbreak of
  this war?
• Baseball
• Cricket
• Soccer
• Rugby
• The five-day Soccer War ended when El Salvador
  withdrew from Honduran territory.

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Multicultural IQ Answers Implications

• Unintended Cultural Bias
• When you teach, do you use?
• Analogy Story telling Realia
• Current events Pop Culture

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Multicultural IQ Answers Implications

• The United States, Australia, Canada, Guyana,
  Liberia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Trinidad and
  Tobago, Western Samoa, Hong Kong, and Singapore
  all use a basic unit of currency called the
  dollar.
• True
• False
• The word "dollar" comes from the German word
  "Taler" (Low German "Daler"). "Taler" is short
  for "Joachimstaler," a coin made with metal from
  Joachimsthal, a town in the Erzgebirge Mountains,
  Czech Republic.

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Vocabulary

• The History of English
• Cognates
• Free Online Tools for Reading and Vocabulary

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Multicultural IQ Answers Implications

• To quote Little Orphan Annie, "You're never fully
  dressed without a smile." A smile is a universal
  expression of genuine pleasure.
• True
• False
• In much of Asia, a smile can be used to cover up
  embarrassment, shock, or fury.

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Multicultural IQ Answers Implications

• Bonus Question Alfred Nobel of Sweden
  (1833-1896) left the bulk of his fortune to
  establish the Nobel Prizes, which are awarded
  each year in the categories of medicine, physics,
  literature, chemistry, peace, and economics.
  Nobel made his fortune inventing and marketing
• The pneumatic drill
• Dynamite
• The modern syringe

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Multicultural IQ Answers Implications

• Nobel made his money on his new explosive called
  dynamite which he patented it in 1867.
• Close to 47 percent of the Nobel laureates in the
  world are Americans however that does mean 53
  come from some other country/culture.
• For a statistic more near and dear to the hearts
  of English teachers, only 25 percent of the Nobel
  laureates in literature are English speaking and
  only 12 percent of those are American.

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More Questions from Teachers

• I have students who seem to read the text or seem
  to understand what is gone over in the classroom,
  but they do poorly on tests. Why?
• Why is it that students speak English fluently,
  but then they demonstrate more errors in their
  writing?
• Some of my students Ace grammar tests, but then
  fail the essay. Why?
• Why is it that even if they get it in class they
  still mess things up when they write essays?

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BICS CALP

• BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills)
  is the language used in social, face to face
  interactions sometimes referred to as playground
  language. It is context embedded and low in
  cognitive demands. Research has shown that it
  typically takes second language learners 2 to 3
  years to acquire BICS. On the other hand
• CALP (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency) is
  the language required for academic achievement.
  It is language that is reduced in context and
  high in cognitive demands. Research has shown
  that it takes anywhere from 7 to 10 years to
  acquire CALP.

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The Morpheme Studies

• Morphemes are grammatical items in English such
  as ing, plural /s/, and third person singular
  /s/.
• Certain morphemes, such as ing and plural /s/,
  tend to be acquired relatively early, while
  others, such as the third person singular /s/ and
  the possessive /'s/ tend to be acquired late.
• Unfortunately, not one study showed that the
  natural orders could be changed.

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Input or Output?

• In the 1970s, Krashen suggests that
  Comprehensible input is what leads to acquisition
  of language
• In the 1980s, Swain suggests opportunities to
  produce language are what is necessary for
  important for acquisition.
• Modern beliefs are that no one side is correct,
  teachers are supposed to create interactive
  learning environments for students, where they
  can get input and create output in the Authentic
  negotiation of language.

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Writing Feedback

• I recommend one-on-one feedback for second
  language students. I also recommend teachers and
  tutors to use these following tricks.
• Backchanneling Cues
• Open Ended Questions
• Wait Time

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• In China, the teacher is a moral guide, like a
  parent, who has valuable knowledge that is a
  students duty to learn. Students and teachers
  both expect students to obey and pay attention,
  so little time is spent on discipline even in
  classes of 60 students (Jin Cortazzi, 1998).
• Western students often ask questions in class to
  fill gaps in learning, Chinese students ask
  questions after they have studied on their own.
  They believe that questions should be based on
  knowledge and may consider westerners to be rude
  for asking questions based on their ignorance
• In Lebanon, teachers are like prophets. Students
  memorize everything that is presented to them.
  Practical or creative applications of the given
  knowledge and personal reactions to this
  knowledge are not encouraged (Kibbi, 1995).

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• In the United States direct eye contact is a sign
  of honesty, and a lack of eye contact means a
  person is hiding something. However, other
  cultures view direct eye contact as intrusive,
  inappropriate, shameful, or disrespectful.
• In the United States direct eye contact is a sign
  of honesty, and a lack of eye contact means a
  person is hiding something. However, other
  cultures view direct eye contact as intrusive,
  inappropriate, shameful, or disrespectful.
• In some cultures emotional expressions are
  considered inappropriate in the classroom, while
  American teachers often hope to rile up students
  and get them excited about a topic.
• In some countries there are topics that are not
  discussed publicly even apparently inoffensive
  topics can be problematic for some students.