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Case: English Only!
We recently finished reading and discussing The House on Mango Street in my 7th grade English class. Students had mixed reactions to the book, but they were really into discussing the issues in the book. Last Tuesday, I assigned my students to small groups to discuss Esperanza's (the main character in the book) experiences in her new school. Two of my Hispanic students in one of the groups started speaking Spanish to each other, but it was obvious that they were talking about Esperanza's experiences. So, I did not mind this. However, some of my other students started staring at these students and two of them said "English, please! You are in America." I told my students that it was okay for them to speak Spanish because they were on task. Then, some of my other students protested my position and said "if all international students speak their native languages, then how are we English-only speaking students going to understand anything?" How should I respond to this situation because it seems like I will have this issue again? Should I not allow any other language in the classroom?
Solution: (Rates are posted for this solution!)
Wow, another tough issue. I do not see anything wrong with allowing studetnst to speak their cultural language, as long as the teacher can understand them and ensure that they are on task and talking about appropriate issues. When it comes to the other students, I would explain that their comments are rude and offensive. I would however group students together that speak the same language and move them to certain spots in the classroom, this would allow all groups to work together and not interfere with other small groups that may be speaking another language. I think it is great that you are so accepting of your students cultural and language preferences, this allows others to see that you have a multicultural classroom that is open and accepting to cultural differences. |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: Great Idea! If I were in this situation, I would exactly do this. |
| Rated On: October 17, 2014 8:43 pm |
| Rated By: Doniesha |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
No
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
No
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| The suggested solution is original |
No
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| Comments: I agree that yes you should encourage your students to talk in their first language, but I do not think purposely putting them into those groups would be correct. |
| Rated On: October 17, 2016 3:11 am |
| Rated By: Raven B |
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