elizabeth coelho, november 2005: literacy and numeracy secretariat, ontario ministry of education...
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Elizabeth Coelho, November 2005: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education
Sharing Space with English and French
How to Create aMultilingual School Environment
Elizabeth Coelho, November 2005: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education
Sharing Space with English and French
The World in our ClassroomsWhy Support Community
Languages?Making Space for
Community Languages
Elizabeth Coelho, November 2005: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education
The World in Our Classrooms: immigration
Canada has the largest per capita intake of newcomers of any country in the world
Ontario receives most newcomers to Canada
The federal government plans to increase immigration by 30-40% in order to meet Canada’s economic and employment needs.
Toronto Star, September 24, 2005
Ottawa to throw open doors to immigrants
Canada to welcome 100,000 more immigrants each year
Sault Ste. Marie is ready to welcome 6,000 new immigrants
Globe and Mail, October 31, 2005
Canada opens door for 700,000
Ottawa to unveil revamped immigration rules to cut backlogs
Volpe: "We are producing more jobs than the labour market has workers
for… We're desperate for immigration."
The five-year plan announced this fall includes:• An increase of up to 100,000 additional newcomers each year• An annual target of 300,000 by 2010• Incentives to encourage more newcomers to settle in smaller
towns and communities across Canada
Elizabeth Coelho, November 2005: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education
The World in our Classrooms: linguistic diversity in OntarioOntario has always been
multilingual20% of the children in Ontario’s
English-language elementary schools have a first language other than English (EQAO, 2005)
Some of these students were born in Canada, into immigrant, francophone and Aboriginal communities, while others have arrived as newcomers from other countries
Elizabeth Coelho, November 2005: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education
The World in our Classrooms: languages in Ontario
English and French have special status as official languages and languages of instruction
Ontario’s linguistic heritage also includes several Aboriginal languages, many African, Asian, and European languages, and some varieties of English such as Jamaican Creole.
These languages have a role to play in schooling, alongside English and French.
Elizabeth Coelho, November 2005: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education
The World in our Classrooms: unrealized potential
In most multilingual schools only the student population is multilingual: after the students have gone home there is little evidence of the many linguistic communities they come from.
It is hard to argue that we are teaching the whole child when school policy dictates that students leave their language and culture at the schoolhouse door.
Jim Cummins, 2005: p. 38
Elizabeth Coelho, November 2005: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education
The potential of multilingual schools
Multilingual schools offer exciting opportunities to draw on the linguistic resources of the community, even if few of the teachers speak any of the community languages.
All our classrooms are actually or potentially multilingual and the sooner they are all actually so, the better. All our children need the cognitive and cultural enrichment that multilingualism endows and so do all teachers.Nora McWilliam, 1998
Elizabeth Coelho, November 2005: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education
Why Support Community Languages? The most appropriate medium for
instruction An essential means of communication
for families and communities A source of cultural identity A foundation for learning English A tool for thinking and learning An intellectual asset to the individual An economic asset to the nation A positive image of language learning
for all students
Elizabeth Coelho, November 2005: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education
Making Space for Community LanguagesRaising the profile of community
languages in the school environmentUsing students’ languages in the
classroomUsing community languages to
connect with parents
Elizabeth Coelho, November 2005: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education
Raising the profile of community languages in the school environment
Hire staff with proficiency in a community language
Provide multilingual library resources
Create multilingual signs, notices, and announcements
With permission from the Peel District School Board
With permission from the Toronto District School Board
Elizabeth Coelho, November 2005: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education
Raising the profile of community languages in the school environment
Encourage students to use their own languages when it is natural and appropriate to do so
Involve students as a resource: ambassadors, tutors, website support; Community Service and Co-operative Education
Elizabeth Coelho, November 2005: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education
Raising the profile of community languages in the school environment
Involve parents in creating and selecting materials in community languages
Include community languages in special events
Create display material that communicates positive attitudes toward linguistic diversity
Languages for Peace
Elizabeth Coelho, November 2005: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education
Mapping Students’ Roots/Routes
Elizabeth Coelho, November 2005: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education
Elizabeth Coelho, November 2005: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education
Raising the profile … by connecting with International/Heritage LanguagesPromote the Heritage Languages
program to all students and parentsExpand the menu of language
coursesVisit Heritage Language classesConsult HL teachers about
students’ linguistic capacitiesDesign some joint projects Display students’ work from the HL
class
Elizabeth Coelho, November 2005: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education
Using Students’ Languages in the ClassroomIncorporating students’
languages into classroom routines
Using students’ languages for instructional support
Incorporating students’ languages into the curriculum
Elizabeth Coelho, November 2005: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education
Incorporating Students’ Languages into Classroom Routines
Names and introductions
What’s your name? Teach me how to say it.
Who gave you your name?
Would you ever change your name? Do any of
your names show that you are a boy?
Do you have a nickname?
Does your name have a meaning? In what language?
What else can you tell me about your name?
Elizabeth Coelho, November 2005: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education
Oh no… let him sit somewhere else!
This is Dmitri. He is a new student from Russia and he doesn’t speak any English. Dmitri, you can sit with this group.
What a loser…
Moan…
Groan…
Elizabeth Coelho, November 2005: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education
This is Dmitri. He is a new student from Russia. He speaks Russian and now he is going to start learning English, with our help. Maybe he will teach us some Russian. Which group will look after Dmitri for the first few days?
OK Dmitri, you can come and sit with us.
Elizabeth Coelho, November 2005: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education
In this class you will all learn a lot of science. Some students are learning English at the same time. That’s quite a challenge, so I expect the rest of you to help. What would be some good ways to help? Discuss this in your groups…. Make sure that you hear the suggestions of students in your group who are learning English
Elizabeth Coelho, November 2005: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education
Elizabeth Coelho, November 2005: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education
Incorporating Students’ Languages into Classroom Routines
Names and introductionsGreetings and polite
expressionsLanguage etiquetteL1 writing samples
Elizabeth Coelho, November 2005: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education
Using students’ languages for instructional support
The Ottawa-Carleton First Language Tutoring Project
Elizabeth Coelho, November 2005: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education
The Ottawa-Carleton First Language Tutoring ProjectProgram for students in grades 7 and up with
significant gaps in their schooling.Tutors proficient in English and Somali,
Albanian, or Arabic were hired and assigned to 6 schools where specific groups of newcomers were experiencing difficulty because of limited prior schooling.
Tutors taught a target group separately, team-taught with the classroom teacher, ran homework clubs, and supported the target group within a variety of mainstream classes.
Elizabeth Coelho, November 2005: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education
Using students’ languages for instructional supportThe Ottawa-Carleton First
Language Tutoring Project Tutors and volunteersFirst journal entries, outlines,
and rough drafts in L1Translation dictionaries and
vocabulary notebooks Same-language partners
Elizabeth Coelho, November 2005: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education
Incorporating Students’ Languages into the CurriculumLearning about each other’s
languages: e.g., names, proverbs, idioms, script systems
Dual language books: http://
thornwood.peelschools.org/dual/index.htm Dual language projects
Elizabeth Coelho, November 2005: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education
Incorporating Students’ Languages into the CurriculumPosters/brochures:
–Field trips: e.g., Our Trip to the Zoo–Civics/History: citizenship-awareness posters for the class–Physical Education/Family Studies: health and nutrition posters –Science: environmental awareness posters –Geography: publicity brochures on cities or regions of Canada
Elizabeth Coelho, November 2005: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education
Other projects:
Something Special To Me (recount and explanation)
Children’s Nonfiction Books: e.g., “How Your Body Works” (Grade 11 Biology)
Multilingual Poetry Café (concepts about poetry)
Language Surveys (mathematics, language, social studies)
Our Multilingual Classroom
Cantonese
Croation
English
Farsi
Tamil
Twi
Urdu
Vietnamese
Elizabeth Coelho, November 2005: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education
Elizabeth Coelho, November 2005: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education
Connecting with Parents and Community
Reception and orientation: Kindergarten RegistrationPeel Welcome Kit Welcome to KindergartenFamily Reception Centreswww.settlement.org
Elizabeth Coelho, November 2005: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education
Connecting with Parents and Community
Parent networksParent and community
volunteersNewsletters, report cards,
field trip formsFamily activitiesParent-teacher interviews and
meetings L1 use in the home
You might want to use English at home some of the time, but it’s also important for your child to continue continue to develop in your language. This will help you to have good communication with your child. Also, strong skills in her own language will help her to learn English.
How can I help my child? Should we use English all the time at home?
Elizabeth Coelho, November 2005: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education
Elizabeth Coelho, November 2005: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Education
Realizing the Potential of Multilingual Schools
All students can benefit from immersion in a multilingual environment:–English speakers may be encouraged to learn other languages–Celebrating linguistic diversity can foster more open attitudes among various cultural groups, and
help to ensure that all members of the school community feel valued, welcomed, and included–Support for students’ languages can enable English language learners to build on their first language
skills as they develop literacy in English