Cultural Literacies

Cultural Literacies

DESCRIPTION OF THE UNIT:

This unit encourages educators to critically consider their assumptions around the role of language in education and introduces why and how language can differ. This unit also briefly outlines the value of bi-/multi-lingualism and provides some foundational ideas for creating more positive educational communities that create space for different languages and value the different resources a broad language repertoire provides.

OBJECTIVES:

critically reflect on existing educational cultures in relation to language
rethink the role of language in education
differentiate between the different types of language in education
pedagogically support language development

EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES:

At the end of this unit the learners will have…

… become more sensitive to the way in which they use language and assume language should and can be used in education.
… a broader understanding of the way in which language is present in and used in education
… more tools to explore the languages and role of language in their own educational communities.

APPLIED METHODOLOGIES:

The slides that accompany this session should be used as the basis for discussions as well as information. The slides move through a number of themes and it is a good idea to pause before a new theme begins. Each theme has its own title page to indicate the transition. The suggested readings can also be read prior to the discussion session and the readings can be divided between the larger group. If there are 15 participants, the readings can be divided between 3 groups of 5 which can support greater engagement with the text as participants have to then explain what they have read to others and answer questions. The TED talk is also a fascinating introduction to the ‘linguistic genius of babies’. Above all, participants should be encouraged to reflect on their own experiences and assumptions, as well as the way in which they are responding to the examples. The examples from the Black Church might not be closely related to their community, but there might be other religious or social communities that do use language in particular ways. What are these ways and are these examples considered in a positive or negative light? This is a useful way of pealing back layers to find underlying assumptions. No final solutions are provided, but on the basis of the discussions, readings and critical reflections it should be possible to begin to think about what more pedagogical responses can be developed in particular communities.

REFERENCES:

Biesta, G. (2005) Against learning – Reclaiming a language for education in an age of learning Nordisk Pedagogik, vol. 25 pp.54-66
Bruner, J. (1996). The Culture of Education. Harvard University Press.
Cummins, J. (2007). Rethinking monolingual instructional strategies in multilingual classrooms. Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics/Revue canadienne de linguistique appliquée, 10(2), 221-240.
Dorsey-Gaines, C., & Garnett, C. (1996). The role of the Black Church in growing up literate: Implications for literacy research. Discourse learning and schooling, 247-266.
Kuhl, P. K. (2004). Early language acquisition: cracking the speech code. Nature reviews neuroscience, 5(11), 831-843.