<p>Raymond Dougherty Stallions TESL 220 February 6, 2014 Module 1 Assessment Questions </p><p>1. Why is it important for teachers to reflect on cultural and linguistic diversity?</p><p>It is important for teachers to reflect upon cultural and linguistic diversity so that they </p><p> are culturally competent as well as delivering the curriculum in a way that is culturally </p><p> appropriate. It is the teacher’s job to ensure that all students achieve whether they be </p><p> the cultural majority or minority. Teachers should always be in the process of on-going </p><p> reflection to ensure that they are identifying ways to better their curriculum so that it </p><p> effectively reaches the entire class. This process also helps teachers from becoming </p><p> culturally blinded which could lead culturally and linguistically diverse students to </p><p> become frustrated and dissatisfied with school. In a country where the majority of </p><p> teachers are white middle class Americans and the growing majority of students are </p><p> culturally and linguistically diverse. It is important for teachers to reflect upon the </p><p> differences between cultures so that they help students achieve to the best of their </p><p> abilities. </p><p>2. Explain the difference between BICS and CALP. Why is it necessary for teachers to </p><p> understand the distinction between these two types of language proficiency?</p><p>BICS or basic interpersonal communications skills are the students with the ability to </p><p> understand basic conversational English. This is also classified as social English. An </p><p> example of this would be Maria playing and talking with her peers during recess. It takes about two years to develop but is inadequate come upper elementary. CALP or </p><p> cognitive academic language proficiency is a student’s ability to effectively understand </p><p> and use the more advanced and complex language necessary for success in academic </p><p> endeavors. This generally takes English language learners five to seven years to develop </p><p> and examples of this are any vocabulary used in a classroom setting such as words like </p><p> photosynthesis. It is necessary for teachers to understand the distinction between these</p><p> two types of language proficiency because teachers can mistake fluency among peers </p><p> for English proficiency in the classroom. This is exactly what Mr. Bennett did when he </p><p> made the assumption that Maria was proficient based on peer interaction. </p><p>3. In the Challenge, Mr. Bennett wrote notes home to Maria’s family. Why might this </p><p> have proved problematic? What other options might you recommend to Mr. Bennett </p><p> for communicating with Maria’s parents? </p><p>Mr. Bennett writing notes home to Maria’s family proved problematic because he was </p><p> making several assumptions about her family, the greatest of which being that Maria’s </p><p> parents were able to proficiently read and write in English. Mr. Bennett could have </p><p> taken several routes in getting into contact with Maria’s parents. The first of which </p><p> could have been to go to a faculty member who could speak and write in Spanish and </p><p> have them write the note in Spanish for Maria to take home. However in the instance </p><p> that Maria’s parents cannot read he could have had the appropriate faculty members </p><p> call Maria’s home and arrange a meeting with the parents in a setting that is most </p><p> comfortable to them. In this scenario Mr. Bennett would obviously be accompanied by a faculty member that speaks Spanish so that they can talk about Maria’s education and </p><p> how to best proceed in the future. </p><p>4. Mr. Stone, a teacher from a rural community where all the students share similar </p><p> cultural backgrounds, relocates to a large city where the students come from a wide </p><p> variety of cultural groups. He notices that many of his students are not performing </p><p> well in class. Upon self-reflection, he realizes that because of cultural differences </p><p> these students may not relate to his style of teaching or to the stories and examples </p><p> he uses in class. What can Mr. Stone do to become more culturally responsive and </p><p> meet the diverse needs of these students?</p><p>Mr. Stone must change his curriculum so that it is more appealing and responsive to the </p><p> students in his class. He can do this by providing examples from different cultural </p><p> backgrounds or providing the curriculum in a way that is validating and meaningful. </p><p>Teaching the students to respect their own and other individual’s cultures is another </p><p> great strategy to take. The use of supports however could prove to be the most </p><p> beneficial. Using things such as manipulatives, word walls, real world objects, </p><p> cooperative learning opportunities, etc. can give the students an opportunity to learn </p><p> hands on or with their peers so that they understand and comprehend the content. </p>