MANAGE A MULTICULTURAL CLASSROOM

Including topics of global interests

Environmental issues (An Inconvenient Truth, Cool it)

Consumerism Education (Waiting for Superman) Family Language (American Tongues) Food (Food Inc, Tapped) Digital Technology (Growing Up Online, Digital

Nation) Mass Media (Mickey Mouse Monopoly)

Maybe stay away from US politics?

Play with multimodal texts

Incorporate topics to explore cultural differences & similarities

Cross cultural comparisons: marketing campaigns in different

countries; international events bid videos from

different countries (World Cup, Olympics) cultural artifacts brought by students

Rhetorical Analysis: Nivea Men’s

Actively seek opinions from international students

Textual analysis of highly symbolic literary texts.

Reader response essays Even in grammar lessons!

How to write and use punctuations in different languages?

How do punctuations give meaning in different languages?

Use writing to promote in-class discussion

ESL students may be quiet in class for several reasons: They don’t understand what the teacher says. They don’t understand what the other students

say. They are afraid of speaking. They are afraid of saying “stupid” things.

Teachers may write key points on the board. Give students time to write down their

thoughts/questions. (And then “force” them to participate in discussion.)

Be aware of the different educational culture the students come from

Discuss/survey students’ educational culture. How do classrooms look like in your home

country? How do teachers teach in your home country? Do

they lecture through the textbooks or do they let you read first and ask you questions in class?

Do you ask your teacher questions back home? When and how? In China, for example, Ss never interrupt teachers

during a lecture. Qs are saved after class. Do you often do group work in class back in your

home country?

“Facework”: Chinese students in US classrooms

Face in classrooms: Saving face for oneself and for others. Chinese Ss may be hesitant to speak up in

class b/c they are afraid of “losing face”. When you ask whether they understand the

course material, they are likely to say yes or to nod their heads even when they don’t quite understand it.

At the same time, Chinese Ss may not want to challenge/disagree with others b/c they don’t want others to lose face.

Reference: Liu, J (2002). Negotiating silence in American classrooms: three Chinese cases. Language and Intercultural Communication, 2(1), 37-56.