Unit 5: Incorporating Home Language into Instruction.
There are many different phrases used to describe what is being discussed in this unit; home language, native language, first language, etc. For the purpose of this unit, I will be referring to it as home language.
There are many reasons why it is important to incorporate a student’s home language into their education. For starters, if a student has a strong education in their home language, that can very much benefit their understanding of concepts that may not need to be learned in English. Science, math, history, and even themes of books or ideas in writing can all be learned in other languages and properly understood, regardless of what language it is being taught in. Students will also be able to connect ideas that they learn in their home language to ideas in English if they already have an understanding of the idea.
Another reason why it is important is because it sets forth the precedent that all languages, cultures, and identities are welcome in your room. The reality of the world is that we live in a multilingual society, and that idea should be welcomed in our classrooms. For many students, seeing and hearing their home languages can ease anxieties and make certain tasks feel less overwhelming.
When considering the use of home language in the classroom, one might take a moment of reflection and try to notice what seemingly simple tasks may be a barrier for MLLs. For example, exit tickets, goal sheets, homework trackers, etc. that seem mindless can be difficult for MLLs if they struggle with reading and writing in English. Some ways to combat that could be to include the option for the student to write their responses in their home language, provide the papers in their home language, or the use of technology for smaller tasks.
Incorporating home language into our daily teaching strategies can help students learn in many different ways. For starters, as mentioned above, content is content regardless of what language it is being taught in (for most subjects). For example, if a student is learning about the water cycle, the concepts are the same in English, Spanish, French, or any other language. Therefore, students are not missing out on access to instruction, even though they may be reading/learning about it in a different language.
Secondly, allowing students to collaborate in their home language - if you have enough students - can be very beneficial for their education. This can be especially helpful if a student may be on the lower end of the spectrum of English proficiency. That way, they can both explain and understand each other’s ideas and come up with a way to accurately portray those ideas together. This leads into another reason why incorporating home languages can be helpful. Students can begin by brainstorming their ideas for a question, project, essay, etc. in their home language and then work with a partner or the teacher to bridge the gap and bring their ideas into English. This way, they are not losing any of their ideas due to a language barrier.
If used effectively, home languages can be extremely helpful for students to access content in English. The end goal, of course, is to increase their English language proficiency, this can be done by properly integrating home language into instruction. One way to incorporate home languages into instruction, assessments, etc. is to offer choice. These choices can include how the student shows their mastery and understanding. Examples could include an essay, a portfolio, a project, etc. depending on the topic of the unit/lesson. This can take away some of the pressure of certain assessments for MLLs.
A final way to think about this topic is the idea of incorporating home life and culture into the classroom as well as language. By encouraging students to participate in their home language, you are opening the door to include other areas of their life into instruction as well. Consider different ways to include these areas through events, lessons, experiences, and more, as well as including families. Encourage families to speak to their student about what they are learning in school. It can be great practice for the student to explain what they are learning in both languages.
As with the previous two units, there are many resources out there and many different ideas relating to this topic. I encourage you to take some time for reflection, thinking about your own classroom and students and how you include their home languages into their day-to-day. This may not be happening as of yet, which is okay! Take the time now to consider ways to begin including home languages into your classroom. Consider the following questions for reflection:
- Who are my students and what languages do they speak?
- What is a lesson coming up that I can modify with this intention in mind?
- What is an assessment that I can modify?
- How can I include my student’s languages and cultures into classroom events or activities?
- How can I improve my communication with families?