Research shows that curriculum in U.S. schools reflects middle-class, Caucasian cultural norms. This can be a huge roadblock to English language learners (ELL), said Emma Violand-Sanchez, because they may have no reference point for the culturally embedded language concepts they are attempting to learn. In her session, "Inclusive Instruction for English Language Learners: Strategies That Work," Violand-Sanchez stressed that language learning is inextricable from cultural learning. Teachers' awareness of this, and of differences in their ELL students' cultures, is key to teaching language in an authentic way.
Originally from Bolivia, Violand-Sanchez notes that she was more likely to be sung to than read to as a child, because children's books in her homeland were expensive. As an educator in Arlington, Va., she remembers encountering kids in ELL classrooms confounded by U.S. interpretations of holidays or children's literature mainstays like Clifford the Big Red Dog. "How can rabbits lay eggs?," they would wonder of the Easter Bunny. And who would want a giant dog in their house? Pets can be rare in other cultures because of limited housing space and perceptions that animals are wild and should be strictly kept outdoors—or that they're for food.
Conejos No Ponen Huevos (Rabbits Don't Lay Eggs)
“You can't use an off-the-shelf assessment with kids who've been using portfolios and varied assessments.”
—Emma Violand-Sanchez on the problems with NCLB's assessment mandates
Also, when students immigrate to the United States, they often must leave other family members behind. They may or may not be reunited at some later point, and this reunion will have a huge effect on students. Violand-Sanchez says teachers need to understand and value these sorts of differences to be culturally responsive English language educators.