With every passing day, society has become more conscientious in acknowledging the lack of cultural studies and integration we see in American schools. Considering the racial diversity and makeup of the country it would seem difficult to miss. Regretfully, the United States is often a joke in the world of multilingualism as well. Multilinguals mock the poor standards and type of education students receive in their world language education in the U.S. Focusing on two choices of educational reform, one being language immersion, with the other addressing the fostering and development of diversity in our schools; I hope to specify their benefits as well as reasons for adoption.
Catering to linguistic inclusion, Dual Immersion is a major development in a two language system of learning. As written by Tara Williams Fortune, a writer for CARLA: Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition, in her article “What the Research Says About Immersion,” “Over nearly half a century, research on language immersion education has heralded benefits such as academic achievement, language and literacy development in two or more languages, and cognitive skills.” Clearly, this form of education is not experimental or developing. It’s already been tried and tested, bearing its results and proof in fair share. Williams Fortune continues, “In the past fifteen to twenty years, US researchers found that English learners' academic achievement also attained the programs' goals. By the upper elementary, or in some cases early secondary grades, English learners from different ethnicities, language backgrounds, socioeconomic levels, and developmental profiles perform at least as well as same background peers being schooled in English only.” A testament to its performance regardless of socioeconomic backgrounds and ethnicity, the results are just as reliable and comparable to schools of a monolingual English-speaking background.
Now, without teaching culture through language, how can we diversify our classrooms and teaching environments regardless? A question answered by Robert Kennedy, as he writes in his article, “Fostering Cultural Diversity in Your School.” Kennedy states, “As administrators and faculty, we send dozens of subtle messages to students not only by what we discuss and teach but, more importantly, by what we do NOT discuss or teach. We cannot embrace diversity by remaining set in our ways, beliefs and thoughts.” An important step of teaching diverse cultures and recognizing differences is by putting self-biases aside, and instead creating an environment free from stigma. Robert Kennedy also writes, “Simply increasing a school's intake of non-Caucasian students will not make a school diverse. Statistically, it will. Spiritually it will not. Creating a climate of diversity means radically altering the way your school does things.” The problem surrounding a lack of integration in schools is not only surrounded by the racial make-up of the school. Teachers and educators must also look at what they teach as well as the involvement and steps necessary to make sure everyone is included. One way this could be achieved is by looking at the curriculum, observing as to whether the curriculum is beneficial and inclusive of all students; recognizing that no student stands alone in the classroom. Through language and reform can we create a truly diverse educational environment. Exposing generations of children to the multitudes of people and cultures that lie beyond our own national borders; including the unnoticed of the nation and minority groups, acknowledging their existence and impact on our societies. Education should be inclusive, with no student left unrecognized or represented.
Works Cited
Williams Fortune, Tara. “What the Research Says About Immersion - Tara Williams Fortune.” Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition, 9 Apr. 2019, carla.umn.edu/immersion/documents/ImmersionResearch_TaraFortune.htm.
Kennedy, Robert. “Exploring the Instances of Same Sex Partnerships in the Dorm.” ThoughtCo, 1 Feb. 2018, www.thoughtco.com/fostering-cultural-diversity-in-your-school-2773257.
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