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<h1>Educators face new challenges in 'superdiverse' classrooms where multiple languages are spoken</h1>
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<div class="gmail-article-meta-wrapper"><h3 class="gmail-tag"><a href="http://edsource.org/topic/early-learning">Early Learning</a></h3><h5 class="gmail-date">May 2, 2018</h5><img class="gmail-thumbnail" src="https://edsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/ashley_hopkinson_color.jpg"><h5 class="gmail-byline"><a href="https://edsource.org/author/ahopkinson" class="gmail-author">Ashley Hopkinson</a></h5></div><div class="gmail-social-bar"><a class="gmail-twitter external" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fedsource.org%2F%3Fpage_id=597026&via=edsource&text=Educators+face+new+challenges+in+%27superdiverse%27+classrooms+where+multiple+languages+are+spoken"><i class="gmail-fa gmail-fa-twitter"></i></a><a class="gmail-facebook external" target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fedsource.org%2F2018%2Feducators-face-new-challenges-in-superdiverse-classrooms-where-multiple-languages-are-spoken%2F597026"><i class="gmail-fa gmail-fa-facebook"></i></a><a class="gmail-linkedin external" target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=http%3A%2F%2Fedsource.org%2F%3Fpage_id=597026&title=Educators face new challenges in 'superdiverse' classrooms where multiple languages are spoken: &summary=Researchers focused on classrooms where more than five languages are spoken. &source=EdSource"><i class="gmail-fa gmail-fa-linkedin"></i></a><a class="gmail-donate external" target="_blank" href="https://www.newsmatch.org/organizations/edsource"><i class="gmail-fa gmail-fa-usd"></i></a><a class="email" href="mailto:?subject=Sharing Educators face new challenges in 'superdiverse' classrooms where multiple languages are spoken&body=Just sharing this story from EdSource with you. https://edsource.org/?p=597026"><i class="gmail-fa gmail-fa-envelope"></i></a><a class="gmail-print" target="_blank"><i class="gmail-fa gmail-fa-print"></i></a></div> </div>
<div class="gmail-article-body gmail-standard gmail-col gmail-six"><div class="eight-five gmail-image-bg" style="background-image:url("https://edsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Redwood_Elem_019-1024x683.jpg")"><span class="gmail-credit">Alison Yin for EdSource</span><div class="gmail-caption" style="opacity:0"><span>A new report explores 'superdiversity,' classrooms where at least five different language groups are represented. </span></div></div><p>Teachers
of English learners find it challenging to communicate in classrooms
where students come from a variety of language and cultural backgrounds.
Some children may speak Spanish at home, while others speak Vietnamese,
Punjabi or Arabic.</p>
<p>However, learning can improve by incorporating students’ languages in
classrooms, increasing teacher access to dictionaries and books in the
home languages of their students and encouraging families to participate
in class activities, such as parents recording themselves reading books
in their home languages for inclusion in a classroom library, where
students can listen to the recordings.</p>
<p>That is the conclusion of a new <a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/supporting-dual-language-learner-success-superdiverse-prek-3-classrooms-sobrato" target="_blank" class="external">report</a>
by the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan research and policy
organization in Washington, D.C. It is the second in a series exploring
“superdiversity,” defined as classrooms where more than five languages
are spoken. The first <a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/language-classroom-dual-language-learners-head-start-public-pre-k-and-private-preschool" target="_blank" class="external">report</a> in the series explores superdiversity in Head Start programs and private and public preschools in Boston, Mass.</p>
<p>The most recent report, titled “Supporting Dual Language Learner
Success in Superdiverse PreK-3 Classrooms: The Sobrato Early Academic
Language Model,” focuses on how one California language program supports
teachers and students in superdiverse classrooms. The Sobrato Early
Academic Language Model, or <a href="https://edsource.org/2015/how-one-program-is-helping-english-learners-succeed-starting-in-preschool/90322">SEAL</a>
program, is designed to help students who speak a language other than
English at home develop a stronger vocabulary starting in preschool. The
SEAL model was piloted in bilingual and dual language settings as well
as English-only classroom settings. For the purpose of this study,
researchers focused on two superdiverse school districts in California
that are using the SEAL model: Oak Grove School District and San Lorenzo
School District.</p>
<p>Researchers state that while California has a strong focus on
bilingual and dual-language programs for English learners, the
challenges for teachers in superdiverse classrooms is often left out of
the conversation. “The binary view of two language model settings
(bilingual, dual language or English instructed) reflected in <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://edsource.org/2017/a-new-era-for-bilingual-education-explaining-californias-proposition-58/574852&sa=U&ved=0ahUKEwiMwY3t_6baAhVwuVkKHdIRBhQQFggFMAA&client=internal-uds-cse&cx=016562487451960652907:uznfbj2e92o&usg=AOvVaw3d7K4m4OKE6xRJ7WlRR9w6">policy</a>, field <a href="https://edsource.org/2017/bilingual-education-advocates-celebrate-first-new-policy-for-english-language-learners-in-20-years/586941">guidance</a> and <a href="https://edsource.org/2017/grants-aim-to-increase-californias-supply-of-bilingual-teachers/591616">professional development</a> for teachers is inadequate,” the report states.</p>
<p>The report includes a survey of 173 teachers in the SEAL program and
highlights common challenges teachers face in superdiverse classrooms.
It also gives examples of strategies teachers have used through the SEAL
model to help students learn. The Seal Model is a pre-K-to-3rd-grade
approach that creates classroom environments where students have a
variety of avenues to develop language skills. For example, teachers use
songs and visual displays, such as flow charts and timelines. In
younger grades, children are encouraged to “name their world,” meaning
they describe what they see. They also use new vocabulary words as they
dress up and imagine themselves in different roles at dramatic play
stations. SEAL classrooms also have writing centers to encourage
students to practice vocabulary and write in daily journals. Currently,
more than 100 schools statewide teach English learners using this model.</p>
<p>The report found that one of the most common challenges teachers face
is difficulty communicating with families. One practice teachers found
helpful was to meet with families and explain the importance of using
their home language to increase their child’s vocabulary. In one
classroom, students were asked to work with their families to create a
song about an ocean animal and its habitat in their home language to
encourage parents to talk about class content at home.</p>
<p>In the SEAL program, teachers also used translation services so they
could provide materials to parents that explained what was being taught
in their classrooms. Teachers also invited parents and family members to
read books and sing songs to students in their home language.</p>
<p>The report also found that while many teachers can find common ground
in classrooms where two languages are spoken, with one of them being
English, it is more difficult to do that in settings where multiple
languages and cultures are represented.</p>
<p>For instance, in a typical bilingual classroom a teacher may switch
between Spanish and English to clarify a concept or give an instruction
to a specific group of students. However, in a superdiverse classroom, a
teacher may only be able to give one or two examples from the multiple
languages spoken and has to reserve more time for one-on-one student
interactions, it states.</p>
<p>The report suggests providing teachers with resources, such as
dictionaries and reference materials, specific to the languages spoken
in their classrooms. Teachers should also have more access to books and
visual aids that reflect different cultures and languages. This is
important “so students see themselves reflected in the classroom and in
the world of books,” the report states.</p></div>
<br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div>
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