Mixed Company

Spring 2001

The native speakers in my class had one question after another for the bilingual students, acknowledging their differences for the first time. But how many opportunities do we get to ask honest questions of those who aren't just like us, or to answer in ways that are our own?

Students

Meet Catherine Carney

by Catherine Carney

he question should not have surprised me. "What is bilingual?"

teach at the suburban high school where I graduated almost 15 years ago. Growing up, I never knew anyone who didn't look or talk like me. The biggest differences I faced involved kids who'd attended grammar schools on another side of town.

hings have since changed in Dedham—at least in terms of students. Many today come from cities on the other side of the state, others from countries on the other side of the world. Their complexions come in many shades, and they bring experiences wholly unfamiliar to me. Yet as they struggle to adjust to a new town, a new language, and a new culture, these "different" students do not find one face on our all–white faculty that resembles their own.

am the school's only teacher of English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) in a program of 20 students. I pay attention to the voices in my classroom. The smooth, street–smart Peruvian voice telling me, "White kids would just rather talk to their own and not bother with me."

he soft, serious words from one Guatemalan girl: "I would talk more in class if there were more Spanish speakers there." The Haitian young man, his voice taking on a comic rhythm to explain, "I recognize I'm different every time I'm in the hallway. I look around and I'm the only black face!" The same boy tossing me his signature smile and announcing, with rolling eyes: "Here I go again," while grabbing the doorknob at the exit bell.

hen that question was asked–What is bilingual?–those voices seemed silenced. We were in the middle of class in the only section of Sophomore English that I team–teach with a member of the Special Ed. department. It is a mixed group. For almost two months these fifteen students had been passing though my doorway labeled "Ms. Carney, ESOL" without questioning what those four letters meant. Perhaps it hadn't occurred to them.

e took the word apart: prefix, then root. "Two languages!" Unsure of how to proceed, I glanced at certain faces for permission, then invited the group to guess how many in the room were bilingual. Before I had finished my question, the non–native English speakers shot their hands into the air, smiles spread across their faces.

revealed that there were 10 languages represented in the ESOL program at the high school. The class seemed genuinely interested to learn that some speak up to five different languages. Suddenly, there were many questions that only the bilingual students had the background to answer. We were talking about their stories.

oyce, a girl from Lebanon who is gregarious in her own circle, usually takes on the role of an attentive observer in this class. Today her eyes widened with the students' interest and she finally found her voice: "How do you think you would feel if you didn't understand what anyone around you was saying? If you had to eat lunch by yourself?" Her eyes flashed and I knew it was her own history but my students just knew it was important. I don't think I was ever more proud than when she knelt on her chair to make a last point with a well-rehearsed and charmingly imperfect idiom. "Put yourself in their shoe!"

hat echoed in my mind about that day were not the eloquent answers of my ESOL students but the question after question of the native English speakers who had sat so still all year not noticing the differences of the people around them. I began giving students more opportunities to take advantage of their sudden interest in one another. Four of the ESOL students took their turns at teaching. As a group, the class learned to write "joy" in five languages and used that information to create greetings for the new year. Students who normally had a strong command of language struggled with the formation of new alphabets and symbols. Through these interactions they learned things I couldn't have taught them myself.

nd there are things I'm learning to grasp as well. After school, I join other teachers in a team charged with creating a new mission statement for the school. "Respect diversity," the group begins one day.

"No…appreciate!"

"Recognize and appreciate."

look around at the circle of white faces and wonder what my students would say about this assembly. I recall a comment made by that charming Peruvian student in my resource room class: "Ms. Carney, did you know that in Boston the teachers are mixed? They have black teachers and Hispanic teachers…"

t the time I had smiled at the sarcasm while the other students laughed out loud. But in this group among my peers, I just fidget and wait. I wait for the kinds of openings I try to create for my students, like the opportunity to ask real questions and offer honest opinions. Like so many teachers in so many places, I am waiting for the authentic and complex dialogue about diversity in our school to begin.

Additional Resources

Print publications

Ashworth, M. (1985). Beyond Methodology: Second Language Teaching and the Community. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. The author argues that teaching English, especially in second-language situations, involves teachers in wider issues within the community.

Suro, R. (1998). Strangers Among Us: How Latino Immigration is Transforming America. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. This is an examination of Latino immigration to the U.S.–its history, the vast transformations it is fast producing in American society, and the challenges it will present for decades to come. An American journalist who is the son of Latino immigrants, the author tells the stories of a number of large Latino communities, including Dominican bodega owners in New York and Guatemalan Mayas in suburban Houston.

Yon, D. (2000). Elusive Culture: Schooling, Race, and Identity in Global Times. Albany: State University of New York Press. A fascinating ethnographic study of youth engaged in a quest for identity in global times, this book explores questions of identity and culture at one Toronto high school. Drawing on personal observations, conversations with students and teachers, experimental work in drama, use of video, and student writings, the author develops a complex view of identity and culture, one attuned to the ambivalent and contradictory processes of everyday life.

Online Resources

http://www.cal.org/

The Web site of The Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL), a private, non-profit organization, is an excellent place to begin a search on language-related issues. It includes databases/directories, links by topic area (such as refugee concerns, language testing, and K-12 ESL education), and clearinghouses. The center's activities include research, teacher education, analysis and dissemination of information, design and development of instructional materials, technical assistance, conference planning, program evaluation, and policy analysis.

http://www.shens.com/cgi-bin/mas/category.cgi?category=welcome

Founded by a bilingual teacher from California, Shens.com features prize-winning authors translated into Spanish and several Asian languages and works of literature drawn from many ethnic groups. The site, which offers books and supplies covering a wide variety of themes and subject areas for children of all cultural backgrounds, includes an online catalog and discussion area.

Video

Swedlow, J. (Producer and Co-director), & Millican, R. (Co-director). (2000). Student Voices: English Language Learners [video with three discussion booklets]. (Available from The Northeast and Islands Regional and Educational Laboratory at Brown University, 222 Richmond St., Suite 300, Providence, RI 02903.) Nine high school students discuss the problems they face in school and the challenges they confront as they negotiate between school and home. Themes include isolation and inclusion, cross-cultural awareness, and expectations for learning. Curricular needs and career preparation are also discussed.

Is society's approach to diversity superficial?

What would it take for school staff to have authentic conversations about diversity? What should be the end goal of such conversations?