American Indian English Language Learners WIDA
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WIDA American Indian English FOCUS ON Language Learners In This Issue Introduction American Indian ELLs: American Indian ELLs are a complex and Introduction “Language is a huge part of your culture. It is really diverse population. In this Bulletin, 1 hard to have one without the other” —David we use the term American O’Connor, American Indian Studies Consultant, Indian ELLs to include American GUIDING PRINCIPLES Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (2013) Indian, Alaskan Native, and 2 Native Hawaiian students that The integral connection between language have been identified as ELLs. Guiding Principle #1: and culture is one of the reasons educators We are sensitive to the fact Teaching in terms of “place” that various terms are used. “In 2 find working with students identified as English language learners (ELLs) so rewarding. most circles, however, the terms Guiding Principle #2: Experiencing this connection provides WIDA American Indian and Native Listening to, as well as with the opportunity to learn about and celebrate American are both considered hearing, the needs of acceptable and, while there are different languages and cultures. Especially within people who feel strongly that students and the community the WIDA Consortium, many unique contexts 3 one term or the other is more and populations challenge and inspire us to move appropriate, they are often used Guiding Principle #3: our work forward. interchangeably”(Walbert, 2014). Building bridges to students and to the community One population of students that is highly diverse, 4 both with regards to language and culture, is that of American Indian students identified as ELLs. In some states, American Indian ELLs Guiding Principle #4: are a prominent part of the student population; in others they make up a small percentage. Recognizing the relational aspect of teaching Whatever their environment, these students bring with them unique experiences and linguistic 4 backgrounds that impact both the way they engage with the world and the way that their academic language develops. The education community still has much to learn about how to Discussion Tool support American Indian ELLs in the classroom. At WIDA, we are working to deepen what we 5 know about the special linguistic and cultural considerations of this population. We are eager to Reflecting and Connecting collaborate with tribal communities and Native educators to build partnerships rooted in trust to your Context that honor historical and cultural values in the pursuit of equitable opportunities for all. 6 One of our first steps in this journey is to learn from those who have experience in Next Steps understanding and supporting American Indian students. In December, 2013, Dr. Bryan 7 McKinley Jones Brayboy (Lumbee), President’s Professor and Borderlands Professor of About WIDA and Indigenous Education and Justice in the School of Social Transformation at Arizona State this Study University, was invited to the Wisconsin Center for Education Research at the University 7 of Wisconsin–Madison as a Visiting Minority Scholar. During that visit, we conducted an interview and discussion with Dr. Brayboy and an invited guest, David O’Connor (Bad River References Band of Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians), American Indian Studies Consultant at the 7 Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, about developing a better understanding of the Further Reading, Web academic linguistic needs of American Indian ELLs. Several key guiding principles emerged Sources, and Videos from that discussion. 7–8 Our goal in this Bulletin is to help educators make connections and provide contexts to deepen an awareness of the complexity and diversity of this population of ELL students. We identify several guiding principles that emerged MAY 2014 from our discussions with Brayboy and O’Connor, based on their experience and case studies. We also provide a discussion tool that you can use in your own local context about how these guiding principles can impact your classroom and guide your instruction. 1 roles they and their families play in the community and in the Guiding Principles interactions with the land in which learning takes place. Brayboy and O’Connor emphasized that the way students understand and engage with the world is highly impacted by the place in which their learning is situated (that is, the land on which the school is located) and by a wide range of cultural norms. When an educator understands this connection, he or she is “teaching in terms of place.” According to O’Connor (2013), “What doesn’t change is their own embeddedness.” Hare (2011) describes this embeddedness or connection to the land and the way many American Indian children learn about the world by stating, “Young Indigenous children learn to interpret their environment and understand the significance of place, territory and landscape through land based pedagogies, which emphasize stories, specific teachings, observation and experiential learning” (p. 407). As educators, we create spaces to incorporate and value this type of knowledge that WIDA interview with Bryan Brayboy and David O’Connor students and their families bring to the school context. Both Brayboy and O’Connor stressed that each teaching context Together with Brayboy and O’Connor, we discussed the challenges is unique, and what works in one place might not necessarily work of supporting American Indian ELLs, the diversity among this in another. Thus, it can be problematic to take a strategy that population, and how fostering the cultural and academic identities works in one setting and put it into practice in another context, of these students can enhance the educational landscape while without considering the underlying principles upon which the helping to support the language development and academic strategy is based and how these principles relate to the local achievement of all students. During the interview, several guiding context. However, we can still take away valuable information principles transpired that we believe will help educators working from success stories that are filtered through a local context lens. with American Indian students identified as ELLs. The guiding principles include: For example, in one Hawaiian context the science, mathematics, and history curricula are embedded in the surrounding land • Teaching in terms of “place” and culture as students learn content and academic language • Listening to, as well as hearing, the needs of students and the through lessons about taro: about what growing taro involves, community and about the historical and cultural significance of this crop. • Building bridges to students and to the community Students participate in a variety of educational activities both • Recognizing the relational aspect of teaching within and outside the classroom, including helping maintain the irrigation ponds (Ledward, Takayama, & Kahumoku III, 2008). Effective execution of this unit requires collaboration between GUIDING PRINCIPLE #1: knowledgeable community Teaching in terms of “place” members and classroom Brayboy and O’Connor discussed the importance of engaging teachers. students in language and cultural practices within a particular place or location. Brayboy states: Teachers could successfully transfer the underlying “That place is a community and the lands on which that school principle of this lesson resides, whether or not it’s formally recognized as Indian land. to another environment, Many teachers don’t understand, and it’s not their fault, that such as the Midwest, they’re on Indian lands that were once occupied by and thought where they could engage of with a particular kind of reverence by Native people (and still with and value their are).” —Brayboy, 2013 local community and its culture. Local educators Teaching in terms of place means extending learning beyond the could operationalize the classroom or school walls. It connects student learning with the principle by bringing 2 Focus on American Indian English Language Learners | WCER | University of Wisconsin–Madison | www.wida.us instructors (perhaps parents or community members) into GUIDING PRINCIPLE #2. the classroom or by creating opportunities for the community Listening to, as well as hearing, the needs of to influence how learning is contextualized in the classroom. students and the community Promoting this type of community involvement also reduces the pressure on educators to be experts in the local culture or ways of This principle stresses the value of not only listening to, but also living. By tapping into the knowledge and experiences of families hearing students and the community. This principle requires that and community members, teachers can use them to enhance the the listener becomes an involved member of that community classroom curriculum and promote student engagement. because truly hearing encompasses listening, learning, engaging with, and truly valuing what is expressed. Hearing the strengths Inupiat scholar, Leona Okakok (1989), added to this idea of of students and the communities they are members of can provide connecting learning to place by stating, “To me, educating a child powerful information on how to support students by building on means equipping him or her with the capability to succeed in the their interests and strengths. world he or she will live in” (p. 411). For many ELL students, this means preparing them to appropriately navigate numerous worlds, Educators understand that students will be assessed on certain cultures, roles,