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A CONVERSATION OVER WINE

A couple of colleagues and myself got together for a wine and dine night at my house.
They are amazing All of my colleagues are writers, and have written numerous many papers on
the topic of literacy and its relation to young students. We all come from different backgrounds
and were raised quite differently so it is interesting to see how all of our childhood literacy
experiences shape the work we do today. We began talking about how disordered school systems
and their curriculums can be, especially for minorities or international students. . And
Specifically the challenges students whose first language is something other than English may
encounterface. It became a very heated and passionate conversation and I believe everyone left
with the sense of urgency to make a change. as we all wanted to make it It was made known that
we want better for these young children.

Does socioeconomic status predict vocabulary diversity?

What kind of curriculum should teachers use in order to include the linguistic diversity of their
students? And is that even possible?

What effect does a multicultural background have on linguistic learning? How can teachers do a
better job of including students who have a different cultural background?

Is linguistic failure an explanation for educational failure?

How well does high school linguistic curriculum prepare students for college level and beyond
writing?

Language acquisition is one of the most amazing things humans are capable of. It is how
we communicate with one another and express our feelings in order to be understood. The way
children learn language is common across most languages, the acquisition of a particular
language is dependent on the presence of other humans as role models. The dialogue between the
adults in their environment is what shapes and influences the way a young child interprets the
world. I had 2 immigrant parents from Mexico who spoke very little English, so I sympathize
with the children who reach kindergarten knowing no English and are branded "deficient". As if
stumbling over your words had something to do with intelligence. So what do we know from
previous studies on this topic that could help guide school literacy curriculums in the right
direction?

Neida: The host of the wine and dine is picking the brains of her colleagues on the literacy
curriculum provided at most schools.

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Neida: So I know that my experience growing up with reading and writing was quite different
from all of you. I am interested in knowing your opinions on the lack of diversity in the literacy
curriculums in schools? I was thrown into kindergarten knowing very little English but I adapted.
This is the case for a lot of immigrant children. There seems to be a link between socioeconomic
status, minorities, and vocabulary diversity.

Nancy Quisenberry wrote an article, “A Comparison of Vocabulary Diversity and Syntactic

Structures of Four-Year Old Children at Two Socioeconomic Levels” highlighting the idea that
academic failure is more an issue because of linguistic failure.

Nancy: You know, it’s really sad to see really intelligent children labeled as “disadvantaged” and
“deficient” when in reality they just need more help linguistically. Teachers need to ask
themselves how they can do a better job of including students from different cultural
backgrounds. If teachers could recognize the characteristics that are most likely to appear in each
dialect of the students and their direct environment, they would be better equipped to have
instructional environments based on understanding of similarities and differences between the
“standard” language of the school and their students' dialectal systems. What do you think Olga,
I’m sure you learned a lot when you observed Mexican immigrant families in SoCal?

Olga Vasquez studied the dialogue between 4 Mexican immigrant families living in Southern
California and explored what the children interpret from their families' daily conversations in her
article, “A Mexicano Perspective: Reading the World in a Multicultural Setting.”

Olga: I totally agree with you Nancy. When I studied the dialogue of Mexican immigrant
families and how the children interpret certain interactions, I learned something really important.
Children’s immediate environment determines a lot of their own critical thinking about
relationships later on in life. This skill is also significant for when they begin reading texts and
how they interpret interactions happening. The language they use in school is very different from
the language used at home. In order for these children to succeed academically, they need to be
able to use the experience and abilities they've acquired outside of the classroom. I believe
linguistic failure could be an explanation for educational failure. What kind of curriculum should
teachers use in order to include the linguistic diversity of all their students? Is that even possible?

David West Brown actually wrote his doctoral thesis on a easily adaptable curriculum that
teachers would be able to transition to quite easily and is proven in his study to be successful for
both teachers and students alike in “Curricular Approaches to Linguistic Diversity:
Code-switching, Register-shifting and Academic language”.

David: Like the two of you, I have done a lot of research on this topic and what needs to be done
in order for a program to allow students and teachers to explore the social principles associated

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with various languages. In my doctoral thesis I proposed an easily adaptable curriculum that
could be used by all teachers, even if they aren’t experts in the field. Students should be
encouraged to lean into their own speech. Speech and identity are inextricably linked, and asking
students to alter their speech is asking them to alter their perceptions of themselves in relation to
their social environments. We can’t expect students to excel when we aren’t giving them the
proper resources to ensure success.

Neida started school knowing very little English that she learned from older siblings, so she adds
in on these authors' thoughts.

Neida: I think that's what it takes! Teachers and a school system that cares about their students in
order to change the curriculum that has been “standard” for so long. I think a lot of times
institutions, especially schools, like to stick to what they know and what is comfortable. But all it
takes is people like us to stand up for these students since they don’t get a voice. How well does
a high school linguistic curriculum prepare students for writing at college level and beyond?

Debbie Longman and Rhona Atkinson compared developmental, non-developmental, and ESL
(English as a second language) students by evaluating their performance in secondary
coursework and how that influences their success in high school.

Debbie & Rhonda: Yeah, definitely. To add onto what Olga and Nancy were saying, These are
all valid questions, in my studies focusing on freshmen in highschool and comparing the
developmental, non-developmental, and ESL students; we found that developmental students
lack the cultural literacy needed for success in post-secondary education. So m Many studies are
suggesting that failure in school is not due to lack of intelligence, rather lack of understanding
and help needed in order for students who speak anything other than the “standard” English.
Many public speakers assume that these students possess certain background knowledge. A
suggestion I would give is to take these students outside of the classroom and expose them to
theaters, museums, concerts, and speeches that would help enrich their cultural literacy.
Although it’s very debatable on how much knowledge is needed in order to be considered
“culturally literate”.

Neida grew up feeling very culturally illiterate and wanted to share/describe some of her
experiences.

Neida: I can totally relate to I can sympathize with the students/people that feel stupid because
they aren’t culturally literate. My parents never took me to shows or museums, I learned a lot
through my friends' families who would take me to these sorts of events places. I don’t blame my
parents whatsoever, they just didn’t know better. I think that informing parents more about the
kinds of benefits that come with exposing your children to such things, would help parents like

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mine, become more open to doing so. However, when there are students who grew up like me,
still learning English, how doe How can students perform well in school when they are still in
the process of learning the language?

Linda Harklau et al. focuses on highschool graduates who enter higher education while in the
process of still learning English. In “Linguistically Diverse Students and College Writing: What
Is Equitable and Appropriate?” they go more in depth on the struggles of these students.

Linda et al.: Yes! We find that students who are still in the process of learning English while
entering any higher education face many political and ethical dilemmas that are rarely ever
talked about. We wonder whether these students should be held to the same writing standards as
other students whose first language is English and what classifies as proficient English. It’s
definitely a topic of discussion, but a conversation that is critical for these students to receive
appropriate help. These issues arise in kindergarten and continue into higher education.

Ann Penrose in “Academic Literacy Perceptions and Performance: Comparing First-generation

and Continuing-generation College Students,” feels quite differently about literacy performance
being a predictor for college success.

Ann: First generation college students have much different experiences than the typical college
student. Socioeconomic status, isolation, and limited parental involvement are all factors that
influence a student's performance. I may argue that literacy performance isn’t a great predictor of
academic success in college, but the culmination of these other factors that most first generation
students encounter is. I’m not sure if schools have looked into better ways of approaching the
literacy curriculum.

M.C Beveridge, similar to David, has researched a new way of approaching literacy curriculum
in order to more effectively help students. In “A New Approach to the Assessment of Academic
Literacy in a Zimbabwean Teachers’ Training College,” he proposes a criterion-based measure
that will allow teachers to target exact areas of trouble during their writing process.

M.C: Exactly! Maybe literacy is or isn’t a great predictor but it would be nice to be able to put it
to the test. That’s why we need a curriculum that all schools can implement easily that will be
able to target the certain areas students are struggling in. In my study in Zimbabwe, where three
main languages are spoken, a Staged Assessments in Literacy (SAIL) scheme was introduced
and it proved useful in this academic setting. It focuses on targeting students' issues during the
drafting process and interfering then, rather than later. Young adult writers need more guidance
and a curriculum like this will help teachers efficiently help students. It’s in our hands to make
this change.

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Neida: I am so glad that you are all as passionate about helping all students from different
backgrounds as I am. As diverse as students are becoming, it is important to have a school
system that supports and provides necessary resources for them to have access to. I think with all
of our great ideas we can start small and start local with the schools in this district. Change can
start here and hopefully the rest of the world will see how important it is to avoid thinking
“standard” English is the only “correct” English.

 
 

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