Elevating the Status of Other Languages

By Carly Spina

The Worthiness of our Languages in Common Areas
When we walk the hallways of our schools, we tend to see monolingual representations of positive messages, student work, affirmations, and school mission statements. These are all valuable to display. What is present on our walls is representative of our values. What message does this send to our students and families if the only language “worthy” of wall presence is English?

A lot of attention is being paid (and rightfully so) to promoting and incorporating literature that serves as windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors. Our school librarians, literacy specialists, and EL teachers are promoting books that represent diverse perspectives. What gets little to no attention at all is doing a linguistic and cultural analysis of the common areas of our schools—our hallways, cafeterias, libraries, media centers, gyms, bathrooms, front offices, and fine arts classrooms. Every adult and student in our system utilizes these common spaces, so these are incredibly important environments that should not be overlooked.

These common spaces can serve as a platform to elevate the status of other languages in our schools. By meaningfully and purposefully promoting other languages, we are publicly declaring our support and appreciation of our linguistic diversity. In our current political climate, it is more critical than ever to show our students the many ways in which we value and affirm their identities.

Classroom Presence
Many times, monolingual teachers express that they value their students’ home languages. However, they struggle with ways in which to incorporate native language use in the classroom. Unfortunately, there is also a lot of misconception and fear around this topic.

“English Only” policies are still lingering in our schools today, despite research that shows that these policies do not make a positive difference in student learning. It is our job as linguistic liaisons for our students to advocate for a greater presence of languages other than English in our classrooms and schools.

Ironically, we often have large declarative banners that announce, “We celebrate diversity!” while the message is clearly only in one language. We’ve all been in schools where the only space that mentions anything about additional language presence is in the hallway outside of the EL or Bilingual classroom. It is not solely the job of the language acquisition specialists to advocate for a greater linguistic representation of our students.

Many times teachers are willing to invite native language usage into classrooms, but they are unequipped with tools as to how to do this in a meaningful way. Other times, they are concerned about student accountability, especially if they themselves are monolingual. How will I know that my students are on task? How will I know that they’re talking about the topic? We must continue to build a culture of trust in our classrooms. If we trust our learners and set the expectation, our students will respect that trust and rise. I’d rather err on the side of inclusive linguistic practices and risk students going off-task for a few minutes rather than never inviting the opportunity; additionally, from an equity standpoint, we must ponder if our monolingual students are on-task 100% of the time.

Our teachers must explicitly invite the native language into the learning space—it will not happen on its own. Here are some initial thoughts and considerations for classroom teachers:

*Student reflections: If students are recording reflection videos on any topic (through the use of a device like an iPad or Chromebook), provide students with the option of reflecting in whatever language they choose. If students are reflecting in writing and they have literacy skills in another language, invite students to write in the language of their choice.

*Discussion partners/groups: If there are students in a classroom who share a common language, invite them to discuss the prompts/activities in the language of their choice. Oral language opportunities are beneficial for all of our students—no matter what language in which they are engaging!

*Match the purpose with the audience: If students are designing a project or assignment that they are eventually presenting to parents who speak a language other than English, invite the students to design the presentation in the preferred language of their family. The learning will be more meaningful and the parents will be better informed about what the students are learning.

Common Area Presence

While English is many times the language of instruction, there is something wrong with publicly declaring that you value diversity without representing your linguistically diverse students and families. There are things that we can do elevate the status of other languages in terms of their presence in our schools. Here are some Do’s and Don’ts from my blog Innovative EL:

DO:

1. Walk around your school and see what you notice. Take a language inventory. Share with your school leadership team and suggest some changes. Most people are completely unaware of what their school's appearance can share about the school's values.

2. Gather data about your school's linguistically diverse population. Ask your administrator or EL teacher about what language groups are in your school. Ask the students you serve about their linguistic assets.

3. Go on Amazon or your favorite retailer and search for signs, posters, decor, etc. in other languages. Hang signs, posters, and decor throughout the school.

4. If you speak a language other than English, try to speak it in front of the students you serve. If several teachers speak a language other than English, try to use that language in social contexts (passing in the hallways, stopping for a quick conversation, etc.). When children see that teachers use a language other than English, especially for social conversations, the status of that language is instantly raised.

5. As you get to know your students and their families, look for language liaisons in your classroom, school, or community. Check with your local community colleges, libraries, and public service agencies. These liaisons can help students to create their own posters, signs, ads for school events, school calendars, etc.

DON'T:

1. Don't cluster all of your linguistically diverse posters/signs in one spot (for example: on the wall outside of the EL classroom). This sends the message that this tiny corner of the school is the "Diversity Corner." In all other parts of the school, this isn't something that is valued.

2. Don't make a noticeable difference between your signs/posters among language populations. For example, if you have a professionally-made framed sign for the cafeteria, don't tape an index card underneath it in another language. Which language LOOKS more valuable to students, teachers, and parents? Also, be careful not to always place the English sign on top of the other language. Again—which language LOOKS more valuable? If English is always on top, what message does that send?

3. Don't prohibit languages other than English to be used socially in classrooms, cafeterias, the bus, etc. Not only is this a terrible sentiment rooted in racism, it is also a violation of student’s civil rights. It also breeds intolerance, fear, and a general disdain for linguistically diverse students and populations.

4. Don't assess this just once each school year. There should be an ongoing status-check of how a school is doing in their effort to elevate the status of other languages. Perhaps one member of the school's leadership team can be charged with reporting to the team each month and sharing with the rest of the building: What are our celebrations? Which teachers have demonstrated great examples of elevating other languages this month? NOTE: Don't make this the job of the EL teacher. ALL ADULTS in the building should care about lifting up ALL STUDENTS.

5. Don't force this by creating inauthentic examples of language elevation. See how your teachers can infuse their instruction with linguistic opportunities, such as through a cognate wall, etc.

Final Thoughts
In conclusion, it is every adult’s responsibility to do this work—no matter how many languages we speak or the number of EL students we have. We can continue to push back against fearful rhetoric of our students and families. Our work is critical and we all need each other to do it.

Carly Spina has 13 years of experience in EL and Bilingual Education and is currently serving 8 schools K-8 as an EL/Bilingual Instructional Coach.


Elevating the Status of Other Languages By Carly Spina The Worthiness of our Languages in Common Areas When we walk the hallways of our schools, we tend to see monolingual representations of positive messages, student work, affirmations, and school mission statements. These are all valuable to display. What is present on our walls is representative of our values. What message does this send to our students and families if the only language “worthy” of wall presence is English? A lot of attention is being paid (and rightfully so) to promoting and incorporating literature that serves as windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors. Our school librarians, literacy specialists, and EL teachers are promoting books that represent diverse perspectives. What gets little to no attention at all is doing a linguistic and cultural analysis of the common areas of our schools—our hallways, cafeterias, libraries, media centers, gyms, bathrooms, front offices, and fine arts classrooms. Every adult and student in our system utilizes these common spaces, so these are incredibly important environments that should not be overlooked. These common spaces can serve as a platform to elevate the status of other languages in our schools. By meaningfully and purposefully promoting other languages, we are publicly declaring our support and appreciation of our linguistic diversity. In our current political climate, it is more critical than ever to show our students the many ways in which we value and affirm their identities. Classroom Presence Many times, monolingual teachers express that they value their students’ home languages. However, they struggle with ways in which to incorporate native language use in the classroom. Unfortunately, there is also a lot of misconception and fear around this topic. “English Only” policies are still lingering in our schools today, despite research that shows that these policies do not make a positive difference in student learning. It is our job as linguistic liaisons for our students to advocate for a greater presence of languages other than English in our classrooms and schools. Ironically, we often have large declarative banners that announce, “We celebrate diversity!” while the message is clearly only in one language. We’ve all been in schools where the only space that mentions anything about additional language presence is in the hallway outside of the EL or Bilingual classroom. It is not solely the job of the language acquisition specialists to advocate for a greater linguistic representation of our students. Many times teachers are willing to invite native language usage into classrooms, but they are unequipped with tools as to how to do this in a meaningful way. Other times, they are concerned about student accountability, especially if they themselves are monolingual. How will I know that my students are on task? How will I know that they’re talking about the topic? We must continue to build a culture of trust in our classrooms. If we trust our learners and set the expectation, our students will respect that trust and rise. I’d rather err on the side of inclusive linguistic practices and risk students going off-task for a few minutes rather than never inviting the opportunity; additionally, from an equity standpoint, we must ponder if our monolingual students are on-task 100% of the time. Our teachers must explicitly invite the native language into the learning space—it will not happen on its own. Here are some initial thoughts and considerations for classroom teachers: *Student reflections: If students are recording reflection videos on any topic (through the use of a device like an iPad or Chromebook), provide students with the option of reflecting in whatever language they choose. If students are reflecting in writing and they have literacy skills in another language, invite students to write in the language of their choice. *Discussion partners/groups: If there are students in a classroom who share a common language, invite them to discuss the prompts/activities in the language of their choice. Oral language opportunities are beneficial for all of our students—no matter what language in which they are engaging! *Match the purpose with the audience: If students are designing a project or assignment that they are eventually presenting to parents who speak a language other than English, invite the students to design the presentation in the preferred language of their family. The learning will be more meaningful and the parents will be better informed about what the students are learning. Common Area Presence While English is many times the language of instruction, there is something wrong with publicly declaring that you value diversity without representing your linguistically diverse students and families. There are things that we can do elevate the status of other languages in terms of their presence in our schools. Here are some Do’s and Don’ts from my blog Innovative EL: DO: 1. Walk around your school and see what you notice. Take a language inventory. Share with your school leadership team and suggest some changes. Most people are completely unaware of what their school's appearance can share about the school's values. 2. Gather data about your school's linguistically diverse population. Ask your administrator or EL teacher about what language groups are in your school. Ask the students you serve about their linguistic assets. 3. Go on Amazon or your favorite retailer and search for signs, posters, decor, etc. in other languages. Hang signs, posters, and decor throughout the school. 4. If you speak a language other than English, try to speak it in front of the students you serve. If several teachers speak a language other than English, try to use that language in social contexts (passing in the hallways, stopping for a quick conversation, etc.). When children see that teachers use a language other than English, especially for social conversations, the status of that language is instantly raised. 5. As you get to know your students and their families, look for language liaisons in your classroom, school, or community. Check with your local community colleges, libraries, and public service agencies. These liaisons can help students to create their own posters, signs, ads for school events, school calendars, etc. DON'T: 1. Don't cluster all of your linguistically diverse posters/signs in one spot (for example: on the wall outside of the EL classroom). This sends the message that this tiny corner of the school is the "Diversity Corner." In all other parts of the school, this isn't something that is valued. 2. Don't make a noticeable difference between your signs/posters among language populations. For example, if you have a professionally-made framed sign for the cafeteria, don't tape an index card underneath it in another language. Which language LOOKS more valuable to students, teachers, and parents? Also, be careful not to always place the English sign on top of the other language. Again—which language LOOKS more valuable? If English is always on top, what message does that send? 3. Don't prohibit languages other than English to be used socially in classrooms, cafeterias, the bus, etc. Not only is this a terrible sentiment rooted in racism, it is also a violation of student’s civil rights. It also breeds intolerance, fear, and a general disdain for linguistically diverse students and populations. 4. Don't assess this just once each school year. There should be an ongoing status-check of how a school is doing in their effort to elevate the status of other languages. Perhaps one member of the school's leadership team can be charged with reporting to the team each month and sharing with the rest of the building: What are our celebrations? Which teachers have demonstrated great examples of elevating other languages this month? NOTE: Don't make this the job of the EL teacher. ALL ADULTS in the building should care about lifting up ALL STUDENTS. 5. Don't force this by creating inauthentic examples of language elevation. See how your teachers can infuse their instruction with linguistic opportunities, such as through a cognate wall, etc. Final Thoughts In conclusion, it is every adult’s responsibility to do this work—no matter how many languages we speak or the number of EL students we have. We can continue to push back against fearful rhetoric of our students and families. Our work is critical and we all need each other to do it. Carly Spina has 13 years of experience in EL and Bilingual Education and is currently serving 8 schools K-8 as an EL/Bilingual Instructional Coach.
Spring 2019 - Spring 2019