……This Just In……

1. ……This Just In…… According to an article written yesterday by Brian Feagans of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: • One out of every four of Gwinnett county’s 719,398 residents is foreign born. • Gwinnett is now 19% Black, 16% Hispanic & 10% Asian • Non-Hispanic whites, who were 90 percent of the population in 1990, were 54% of the population in 2005. What does this mean for Technical College Faculty?????

2. You’re not in Kansas anymore!Instructional strategies for technical college faculty addressing the needs of Limited English Proficient students and students of other cultures By James S. May Professor of English as a Second Language Valencia Community College Orlando, FL

3. Faculty Questions on Culture • How do we approach individuals from other cultures that fear authority? • What about those who are shy and afraid to ask questions in class? • Is this true that some cultures are insulted when you point a finger at them? • Are there certain hand or body motions or distances that must be considered? • Is it true that some cultures have a required time lapse or pause before responding to a question from a teacher? • Are there some general characteristics of various cultures regarding learning and interacting with teachers?

4. Multicultural IntellegenceQuiz Directions: On page 2 of your handout, you will find a ten question multiple-choice quiz. Please take a few minutes to take that quiz right now.

5. Multicultural IQ: Answers & Implications • You decide to use PowerPoint this semester while going over your syllabus with your students. You have carefully chosen to contrast important elements like your name with bolded red letters. You notice, however, that this draws peculiar looks from some international students. This is because: • Buddhists tend to write someone’s name in red when he or she is dead. • Red is the color of mourning in parts of Africa. • Some Mexicans find a name in red offensive. • All of the above

6. Multicultural IQ: Answers & Implications • Not all languages & cultures use/view text in the same ways. • Typographical cuing techniques (bolding, italicizing, underlining, usingcolors, etc.) differ across languages. Unfortunately, there is limited research on the effects of cuing on ESL students. • Even though most teachers share a preference for visual and aural learning, most Americans appear to prefer a combination of tactile and kinesthetic learning. (Dunn, Dunn, & Price, 1979) The majority of ESL students also show a preference for tactile and kinesthetic learning (Reid, 1987; Rossi-Le 1995; Stebbins, 1995; Park 2002)

7. Multicultural IQ: Answers & Implications • There are obvious differences among people of different cultures; however, universals do exist. For example, pointing with your index finger is universal. • True • False

8. Multicultural IQ: Answers & Implications • This statement is false; different cultures point with various parts of their bodies: their lips, chins, palms, thumbs, etc. • It has been estimated that 93% of communication is non-verbal: 55% coming from facial expression, posture, & gesture and 38% through tone of voice. • Things that might offend you second language students include: shaking hands, posture, facial expressions, appearance, voice, tone, hairstyle, clothes, expression in your eyes, smile, how close you stand to others, how you listen, confidence, your breathing, the way you move, the way you stand, the way you touch people, color choice, silence.

9. Multicultural IQ: Answers & Implications • Suggested Reading: • Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands: The Bestselling Guide to Doing Business in More Than 60 Countries by Terri Morrison and Wayne A. Conaway • Multicultural Manners: New Rules of Etiquette for a Changing Society by Norine Dresser

10. Multicultural IQ: Answers & Implications • The common ‘Everything’s O.K.’ gestures (thumbs-up & a circle with the index finger and thumb) are extremely rude in many parts of the world. Pick the country where one or both of these O.K. gestures are obscene. • Australia • Brazil • Spain • The Middle East • All of the above

11. Multicultural IQ: Answers & Implications • Suggested Reading: Gestures: The Do's and Taboos of Body Language around the World by Roger E. Axtell

12. Multicultural IQ: Answers & Implications • Along with many other countries originally colonized by Spain, pesos are the accepted form of currency in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. • True • False Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States and uses US currency.

13. Multicultural IQ: Answers & Implications • In the United States, time is money, but being a hyper-critical manager of time is viewed suspiciously by every one of these ethnic groups except: • Africans • Arabs • Latin Americans • Polynesians • White South Africans

14. Multicultural IQ: Answers & Implications • Asians may show disagreement by squinting and sucking air through their teeth. • True • False Many Asians find it difficult to actually say the word no, and instead more comfortably indicate their displeasure or disagreement with a gesture.

15. Multicultural IQ: Answers & Implications • The quote, "If English was good enough for Jesus Christ, it's good enough for me." has long been used to show how little most Americans know about other languages and cultures. Last semester, I heard two of my Aruban students, Aruba being a small island country off the coast of Venezuela, discussing this quote. What language could they have been discussing it in? • Spanish • English • Dutch • Papiamento • All of the Above

16. Multicultural IQ: Answers & Implications In Aruba, most people speak, write, and read English, Spanish, Dutch and Papiamento. Many also speak French and German. Assignment: Talk briefly with those sitting next to you; How do you think the rest of the world stereotypes Americans? If you could summarize these stereotypes in one or two words, what words would you choose?

17. Multicultural IQ: Answers & Implications

18. Contrastive Rhetoric

19. Multicultural IQ: Answers & Implications • In 1969, Honduras and El Salvador fought a brief war. What sporting event led to the outbreak of this war? • Baseball • Cricket • Soccer • Rugby The five-day Soccer War ended when El Salvador withdrew from Honduran territory.

20. Multicultural IQ: Answers & Implications Unintended Cultural Bias When you teach, do you use? Analogy Story telling Realia Current events Pop Culture

21. Multicultural IQ: Answers & Implications • The United States, Australia, Canada, Guyana, Liberia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Western Samoa, Hong Kong, and Singapore all use a basic unit of currency called the dollar. • True • False The word "dollar" comes from the German word "Taler" (Low German "Daler"). "Taler" is short for "Joachimstaler," a coin made with metal from Joachimsthal, a town in the Erzgebirge Mountains, Czech Republic.

22. Vocabulary • The History of English • Cognates • Free Online Tools for Reading and Vocabulary

23. Multicultural IQ: Answers & Implications • To quote Little Orphan Annie, "You're never fully dressed without a smile." A smile is a universal expression of genuine pleasure. • True • False In much of Asia, a smile can be used to cover up embarrassment, shock, or fury.

24. Multicultural IQ: Answers & Implications Bonus Question: Alfred Nobel of Sweden (1833-1896) left the bulk of his fortune to establish the Nobel Prizes, which are awarded each year in the categories of medicine, physics, literature, chemistry, peace, and economics. Nobel made his fortune inventing and marketing: • The pneumatic drill • Dynamite • The modern syringe

25. Multicultural IQ: Answers & Implications Nobel made his money on his new explosive called dynamite which he patented it in 1867. Close to 47 percent of the Nobel laureates in the world are Americans; however that does mean 53% come from some other country/culture. For a statistic more near and dear to the hearts of English teachers, only 25 percent of the Nobel laureates in literature are English speaking and only 12 percent of those are American.

26. More Questions from Teachers • I have students who seem to read the text or seem to understand what is gone over in the classroom, but they do poorly on tests. Why? • Why is it that students speak English fluently, but then they demonstrate more errors in their writing? • Some of my students “Ace” grammar tests, but then fail the essay. Why? • Why is it that even if they get it in class they still mess things up when they write essays?

27. BICS & CALP BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills) is the language used in social, face to face interactions sometimes referred to as playground language. It is context embedded and low in cognitive demands. Research has shown that it typically takes second language learners 2 to 3 years to acquire BICS. On the other hand CALP (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency) is the language required for academic achievement. It is language that is reduced in context and high in cognitive demands. Research has shown that it takes anywhere from 7 to 10 years to acquire CALP.

28. The Morpheme Studies • Morphemes are grammatical items in English such as ‘ing’, plural /s/, and third person singular /s/. • Certain morphemes, such as ‘ing’ and plural /s/, tend to be acquired relatively early, while others, such as the third person singular /s/ and the possessive /'s/ tend to be acquired late. • Unfortunately, not one study showed that the natural orders could be changed.

29. Input or Output? In the 1970s, Krashen suggests that Comprehensible input is what leads to acquisition of language In the 1980s, Swain suggests opportunities to produce language are what is necessary for important for acquisition. Modern beliefs are that no one side is correct, teachers are supposed to create interactive learning environments for students, where they can get input and create output in the Authentic negotiation of language.

30. Writing Feedback I recommend one-on-one feedback for second language students. I also recommend teachers and tutors to use these following tricks. • Backchanneling Cues • Open Ended Questions • Wait Time

31. In China, the teacher is a moral guide, like a parent, who has valuable knowledge that is a student’s duty to learn. Students and teachers both expect students to obey and pay attention, so little time is spent on discipline even in classes of 60 students (Jin & Cortazzi, 1998). • Western students often ask questions in class to fill gaps in learning, Chinese students ask questions after they have studied on their own. They believe that questions should be based on knowledge and may consider westerners to be rude for asking questions based on their ignorance • In Lebanon, teachers are like prophets. Students memorize everything that is presented to them. Practical or creative applications of the given knowledge and personal reactions to this knowledge are not encouraged (Kibbi, 1995).

32. In the United States direct eye contact is a sign of honesty, and a lack of eye contact means a person is hiding something. However, other cultures view direct eye contact as intrusive, inappropriate, shameful, or disrespectful. • In the United States direct eye contact is a sign of honesty, and a lack of eye contact means a person is hiding something. However, other cultures view direct eye contact as intrusive, inappropriate, shameful, or disrespectful. • In some cultures emotional expressions are considered inappropriate in the classroom, while American teachers often hope to rile up students and get them excited about a topic. • In some countries there are topics that are not discussed publicly; even apparently inoffensive topics can be problematic for some students.