- Student diversity
Language loss
What about the other kind of imbalance, in which a student is acquiring English but losing ability with the
student’s home or heritage language? This sort of bilingualism is quite common in the United States and other
nations with immigrant populations (Tse, 2001). Imagine this situation: First-generation immigrants arrive, and
they soon learn just enough English to manage their work and daily needs, but continue using their original
language at home with family and friends from their former country. Their children, however, experience strong
expectations and pressure to learn and use English, and this circumstance dilutes the children’s experience with the
heritage language. By the time the children become adults, they are likely to speak and write English better than
their heritage language, and may even be unable or unwilling to use the heritage language with their own children
(the grandchildren of the original immigrants).
This situation might not at first seem like a problem for which we, as teachers, need to take responsibility, since
the children immigrants, as students, are acquiring the dominant language of instruction. In fact, however, things
are not that simple. Research finds that language loss limits students’ ability to learn English as well or as quickly as
they otherwise can do. Having a large vocabulary in a first language, for example, has been shown to save time in
learning vocabulary in a second language (Hansen, Umeda & McKinney, 2002). But students can only realize the
savings if their first language is preserved. Preserving the first language is also important if a student has impaired
skill in all languages and therefore needs intervention or help from a speech-language specialist. Research has
found, in such cases, that the specialist can be more effective if the specialist speaks and uses the first language as
well as English (Kohnert, et al., 2005). Generally, though also more indirectly, minimizing language loss helps all
bilingual students’ education because preservation tends to enrich students’ and parents’ ability to communicate
with each other. With two languages to work with, parents can stay “in the loop” better about their children’s
educations and support the teacher’s work—for example, by assisting more effectively with homework (Ebert,
2005).
Note that in the early years of schooling, language loss can be minimized to some extent by the additive or
parallel-track bilingual programs that I mentioned above. For a few years, though not forever, young students are
encouraged to use both of their languages. In high school, in addition, some conventional foreign language classes—
notably in Spanish—can be adjusted to include and support students who are already native speakers of the
language alongside students who are learning it for the first time (Tse, 2001). But for heritage languages not
normally offered as “foreign” languages in school, of course, this approach will not work. Such languages are
especially at risk for being lost.
Cultural differences in language use
Cultures and ethnic groups differ not only in languages, but also in how languages are used. Since some of the
patterns differ from those typical of modern classrooms, they can create misunderstandings between teachers and
students (Cazden, 2001; Rogers, et al., 2005). Consider these examples: In some cultures, it is considered polite or
even intelligent not to speak unless you have something truly important to say. “Chitchat”, or talk that simply
affirms a personal tie between people, is considered immature or intrusive (Minami, 2002). In a classroom, this
habit can make it easier for a child to learn not to interrupt others, but it can also make the child seem unfriendly.