Where We Stand Many Languages Many Cultures: Respecting and Responding to Diversity

1. Where We StandMany Languages Many Cultures: Respecting and Responding to Diversity NAEYC - USA Position Paper presented by Asma Niaz

2. 21st Century Context • The 21st century is marked by a great and rapidly increasing diversity of languages and cultures, both within the organizations and the countries. Children need to be prepared for diversity. • NAEYC recommends early childhood programs to create a welcoming environment that respects diversity and supports children’s ties to their families and communities. • NAEYC promotes second language acquisition, preservation of home languages and cultural identities. • Linguistic and cultural diversity is an asset, not a deficit, for young children. Top Pops Magic

3. NAEYC Recommendations:Working with families Top Pops Magic

4. 1. Actively involve families • Links between school, home and community are important for all young children. • Forging these links can be challenging when school staff, families and communities differ in culture and language. • Ties to the communities, respectful relationships with families, and encouragement of active, culturally meaningful family involvement are essential. Top Pops Magic

5. 2. The cognitive advantagesof the home language • Families may think that speaking to their children only in English will help them learn the language faster. • But home language preservation benefits children’s cognitive development – grasping and understanding the world around them. • Family members with limited English proficiency provide stronger language models when they emphasize their home language. Top Pops Magic

6. 3. Honour home’scultural values and norms • Continuity between home and the early childhood setting supports children’s social, emotional, cognitive and language development. • Practices at home and in school, though not always identical, should be complementary – supporting and reinforcing each other. Top Pops Magic

7. NAEYC Recommendations:Working with children Top Pops Magic

8. 1. Children remain connected to their home languageand culture • Children’s positive development requires maintaining close ties to their family and community. • If home language and culture are supported, children, families, and communities stay securely connected. Top Pops Magic

9. 2. Home language helpsEnglish language proficiency • Research confirms that bilingualism is an asset and an educational achievement. • When children become proficient in their home language they transfer those skills to a second language. Top Pops Magic

10. 3. Develop essential conceptsin home language • Although some children can seem superficially fluent in their language. • Most children find it easier to learn new, complex concepts in a familiar language and cultural framework. • Once established, these concepts readily transfer into a new language and contribute to later academic mastery. Top Pops Magic

11. 4. Support and preservehome language usage • Whether or not staff are proficient in a child’s home language, programs should make effort to use children’s home language. • Create classroom environments that reflect children’s language and cultures. • Within that context, teachers can model appropriate use of English and provide many opportunities for children to learn and practice a new language. Top Pops Magic

12. 5. Alternate strategiesto promote allchildren’s participation and learning • Creativity and collaboration are needed to ensure that all children, whatever their current language proficiency or culture, have the opportunity to participate fully in the program’s learning opportunities. • Collaborative work groups, including teachers and families, can develop flexible approaches that are developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate. Top Pops Magic

13. 6. Many ways of showing whatchildren know and can do • Children have already learned a great deal before they enter an early childhood program, even if this learning has been in a different language and culture. • Effective curriculum and assessment systems do not underestimate children’s abilities. • Instead, they create multiple, often nonverbal ways for children to demonstrate interests, knowledge, and skills. Top Pops Magic

14. NAEYC Recommendations:Preparing early childhood professionals Top Pops Magic

15. 1. Provide professional preparation and development • By examining their cultural background, educators come to see how young children’s culture and language influence responses, interactions, and approaches to learning. • Competence is further enhanced by professional development in language acquisition, working with diverse families, cross-cultural communication, and other critical content. Top Pops Magic

16. 2. Recruit and support educators who are trained in other languages • Individuals with multilingual and multicultural backgrounds can be advocates and crucial support for diverse young children and families. • We must recruit more bilingual educators, give them appropriate professional responsibilities, and link them in collaborative relationships with others in the field. Top Pops Magic