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In this issue:
LEADERSHIP UPDATES
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LETTER FROM THE CHAIR
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MULTILINGUAL LEARNER LESSON PLAN DESIGN: LETTER FROM THE EDITORS
ARTICLES
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HELLO MY NAME IS... ELEVATING STUDENT IDENTITY THROUGH RESEARCH AND REFLECTION ON NAMES
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SEEING MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS' REFLECTIONS EN EL ESPEJO
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TEACHING PINYIN TO YOUNG ENGLISH-MANDARIN BILINGUAL LEARNERS IN DUAL IMMERSION PROGRAMS
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INCREDIBLE INDIA: INTEGRATING CULTURE AND CRITICAL THINKING IN CLASSROOMS WITH MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS
ABOUT THIS COMMUNITY
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Bi/MULTILINGUAL EDUCATION INTEREST SECTION LEADERSHIP TEAM
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INCREDIBLE INDIA: INTEGRATING CULTURE AND CRITICAL THINKING IN CLASSROOMS WITH MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS
Tannistha Dasgupta, Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT-AP University), Amaravati, India
Diversity in India is so vast, it may seem like a country within many countries. In addition to diversity across language, culture, religion, and socioeconomic status, there are significant linguistic and cultural differences between the northern and southern parts of India. These differences may be difficult to reconcile in the classroom, and students often need support in developing skills to communicate effectively across culture and gender. However, diverse classrooms are ideal places for developing cultural competence and critical thinking skills essential for succeeding in our 21st century global society.
I teach at a university in Andhra Pradesh, a southern state, with students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. In my class, local students tend to be uncomfortable in group activities with peers from other regions, linguistic backgrounds, or genders. Local students tend to be comfortable with those who speak the same L1 or whose L1 belonged to the same language group as their own (e.g., Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam). To develop intercultural competence and bridge the gap between students of south and north India, I designed a lesson series to teach intercultural understanding and critical thinking.
The lesson series cultivates critical thinking skills of active listening, reflection, logical reasoning, and the ability to look at situations from multiple perspectives. In addition, the lesson series cultivates intercultural awareness across states in India, including cultural stereotypes, and misunderstandings. In the lesson series, students learn about other cultures and also engage in translanguaging practices. Translanguaging validates multilingualism, promotes linguistic inclusion, and it is an effective tool to develop cultural competence.
My learners included 45 engineering undergraduates, ages 19-21 years, with an intermediate level of English proficiency. They were from different L1 backgrounds (e.g., Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi, Marathi, Urdu, Odia, Bengali, Punjabi). These learners enrolled in compulsory English courses in the first two semesters of their engineering program.
The assessment plan involved a presentation and a question-answer session. During the presentation, each group presented data that had been collected from three candidates they had interviewed. They described an artefact collected, and specified its use, material, and significance. A question-answer session fostered critical thinking and cultural awareness. Leaners were assessed based on their answers to two questions: 1) Do you think people of the other states of India are different from you? 2) In your opinion, are Indians celebrating unity in diversity or is this unity superficial and not based on tolerance?
By the end of the lesson, students were expected to:
- demonstrate knowledge about 1+ aspect of culture of 3-4 states in India
- identify and communicate 3-4 positive/progressive values of other cultures
- mention 3-4 misconceptions/stereotypes discarded about other cultures
- make a culture-buddy to learn from
- employ L1 and English during presentation and peer-interaction
- learn 2-3 new words from peer’s L1
Detailed Lesson / Activity Plan Steps
Activity: Unity in Diversity
Duration: 50 minutes/lesson x 3 lessons
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Time |
Lesson focus |
Students will … |
Language focus |
Teacher role |
Questions to deepen student learning |
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Day 1 |
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15 mins |
Listening & Speaking |
· Watch/listen to the song (Just Like You | Karadi Rhymes | Indian rhymes for Indian kids - YouTube)
· Reflect on most striking aspects about each character in song
· Use 2-3 adjectives from L1 to describe character
· Exchange 2-3 adjectives and meanings with partner in L1s
· Create a multilingual Bridging Wall Chart using adjectives from L1 |
Vocabulary
Across Indian states and languages spoken in each state |
· Enjoy song along with students. Then teacher shares name, home state, and mother tongue.
· Help students create Bridging Wall Chart by pointing out similarities and differences among adjectives of L1s in meaning and pronunciation |
1. Which state does your partner belong to?
2. What is his/her mother tongue?
3. Is his/her language different or similar to yours? (e.g., orthographically, phonetically, or in script) |
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Examples or expected responses from learners |
L1 adjectives & meanings
1. Mishti- sweet
2. Shundor- beautiful
3. Bhalo- good
(L1-Bangla) |
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1. Kerala
2. Malayalam
3. Bangla and Malayalam are different in sound, speech rate etc. |
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35 mins |
Speaking & Writing |
· Students work in groups of 5 to do research on an Indian state to which none of the group members belong
· They interview three students who belong to the state the group has selected
· Group can go out of class to interview candidates (any student at the university)
· Students interview three candidates and take notes
· They collect artefact/s of the state they have selected
· They write a brief note on the artefact |
‘Wh’ questions |
· Scaffolding for students who need help
· Inform students to bring 1+ artifact of state selected, from any student at the university
· Inform students they are free to use L1 while interacting with peers in the group |
Interview questions:
1. What is the most common language of your state?
2. What is the role/image of men of your state?
3. What is the role/image of women in your state?
4. How would you describe pop culture in your state?
5. What do you people love to eat?
6. Is caste system strictly practiced in your state? Why do you think it is so?
7. Explain why love marriage is accepted/not accepted in your culture
8. What do you love the most about your culture?
9. Which places should I see if I visit your state?
10. Would you suggest a woman to travel alone in your state? Why/Why not? |
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Examples or expected responses from learners |
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Sample responses:
1. Punjabi
8. Bhangra dance, folk music, food, lively spirit
10. I will not suggest any woman to travel alone, especially at night because women are sometimes harassed by men. Often women are treated as objects
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Day 2 |
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Time |
Lesson focus |
Students will… |
Language focus |
Teacher role |
Questions to deepen student learning |
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30 mins |
Speaking |
· Each group presents data collected from three peers interviewed using translanguaging, i.e, switching between L1 and English |
Adjectives
Adverbs |
· Teacher asks each group to present their data in a language of their choice and then in English
· Teacher asks students of other groups to ask questions to presenter to learn about the state represented |
Questions asked by teacher to the groups after presentations:
1. How is the role of men and women in the state presented different/similar to your state?
2. What do you think is unique about the food of this state?
3. What are a few things you would like to borrow from this culture?
4. What are those things you want to offer from your culture? |
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Examples or expected responses from learners |
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Sample responses:
2. Use of coconut oil and coconut milk is unique in Kerala
3. Their society is not patriarchal, so we would like to borrow that |
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20 mins |
Speaking |
· Each group describes the artefact collected (use, material, significance etc.) using translanguaging
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Adjectives
Adverbs |
· Teacher asks questions after each group’s presentation |
1. Can you identify a similar artefact from your culture?
2. On a scale of 1-10, how similar is this culture to yours? |
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Examples or expected responses from learners |
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Sample responses:
Artefact: Mask
1. We have similar masks in our culture, used during festivals and cultural processions
2. Culture of Bengal and Kerala are similar even if states are distant |
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Day 3 |
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Time |
Lesson focus |
Students will… |
Language focus |
Teacher role |
Questions to deepen student learning |
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20 mins |
Writing |
· On Padlet, students record three things they found unique about any culture discussed and three things they want to adopt from the other cultures, with reasons |
Paragraph structure
Argument
Logic
Linkers |
· Teacher asks students to record three things they found unique about any culture discussed and three things they want to adopt from the other cultures and reasons |
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30 mins |
Speaking |
· Students answer the questions asked by the teacher
· Each student selects a culture-buddy, or classmate belonging to another culture
· Each student notes buddy’s name and culture |
Adjectives |
· Teacher asks questions to the students
· Teacher shares her screen to display all the responses collected on Padlet
· Teacher asks each student to select a culture-buddy |
Questions asked by the teacher:
1. Do think the people of other states of India are different from you? Why?
2. In your opinion, are Indians celebrating unity in diversity, or is this unity superficial? Are we tolerant of each other’s cultures?
3. What suggestion would you give if we are not tolerant?
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Examples or expected responses from learners |
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Sample responses:
1. People of other states are not very different, although we differ in many things like food habit, language etc. Our values, culture, festivals are similar even if they are named differently
2. Often, we believe in cultural stereotypes presented to us without thinking critically, which creates tension. We tend to be less tolerant of each other in spaces where we have to co-exist |
During the lessons, learners demonstrated increasing knowledge about cultures across India, gained experience in communicating with cultural representatives, and showed an interest in learning from peers from different cultures. Translanguaging softened linguistics boundaries and helped create a more inclusive classroom. Learners developed more confidence in using English and their L1 during their presentations. They acquired knowledge about at least one cultural aspect of different states of India, identified positive values and misconceptions they had about other cultures, and made a culture-buddy to continue learning from.
References
Marwa, M. (2018). EFL students’ views and experiences of culture learning: are they worthy to foster intercultural competence? International Journal of Educational Best Practices, 2(2), 1–17. https://ejournal.unri.ac.id/index.php/IJEBP/article/view/6580
Shahed, F. H. (2013). 'Culture' as a skill in undergraduate EFL classrooms: the Bangladeshi realities. TEFLIN Journal, 24(1), 97-112. http://journal.teflin.org/index.php/journal/article/view/157
World Learning. (2018). Integrating Critical Thinking Skills into the Exploration of Culture in an EFL Setting [Online course]. https://www.openenglishprograms.org/ICT
Tannistha Dasgupta is currently working as an assistant professor in Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT-AP University). She has a PhD in ELT. Her research interests include language assessment, educational technology, learner motivation, task-based language teaching.
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