Cross Cultural Communication in Early Childhood Education - Admission/Application Essay Example

Cross Cultural Communication in Early Childhood Education The description of the case study child Neil is a 6 year old Maori boy who used to live in a close-knit community prior to coming to Australia. Neil is a cheerful and energetic child who has grown speaking his native language and he has also been exposed to English and various dialects. However, he has not acquired standard English, his articulation is poor and he resorts to baby talk when he is under pressure. He does not have the chance to speak English when he is home as his father is the only parent who is literate in English. Neil has to be reminded to stay on task as he is an extroverted child who prefers to interact with two other boys. He has trouble acquiring basic vocabulary and formulaic language, but he is very interested in learning how to write. He dutifully copies from the blackboard and other materials. However, when homework is assigned, he does not return it. Description of the school and classroom context (150 words) This is an Australia based private Public-Private Partnership (P3) school that has several foreign students. The community does not have much appreciation of the importance of language and culture and they do not understand the need to understand the cultural background of the students at school, which is extremely important if the students are to comply with the classroom program. Neil is not the only non English speaking child who has problems with the language. There are two other students who clearly need constant, specialist attention. A few parents seem to be worried about this situation. These parents feel their own children might be held back in their learning. The class curriculum is varied and includes several subjects, such as art, English and sports. The school organizes parent-teacher conferences to check their children’s progress, but Neil’s mother has never attended any of them. Justification for the design and content of your lesson plans and development of the supportive teaching resource (200 words) According to Stella Vosniadou, children should be active learners, collaborate with other students and to use authentic materials. In order for students to learn and to acquire new skills and knowledge, they have to pay attention, to observe, to memorize, to understand and to set goals. Students can only accomplish this by actively participating and by becoming engaged in the tasks and activities carried out during class. Teachers also play an important role in children’s learning, for they have the responsibility to encourage students to participate in classroom activities and to explore new territory. Instead of making children listen passively, teachers should provide students with hands-on activities and have students participate in collaborative activities (Vosniadou, 2001).In the first lesson plan, the teacher decided to use magazines because children are familiar with them and magazines show scenes of daily life. When the students are told to choose photos from these magazines, they will decide for themselves which photos they like best, which will make them more motivated to participate. In the second lesson plan, the teacher decided to have the students wear costumes, so that the students had the chance to use authentic material and to do role plays, which is very a very useful activity to enhance learning. A critical discussion of aspects of the child’s culture and language and, identification and justification of the key implications for his or her learning of the second or foreign culture in question and the language learning involved (650 words) Neil and his family are Maori and they had strong ties to their community before they moved to Australia. The Maori people are Polynesian who migrated in canoes around the 9th century to the 13th century AD. Their native language is Maoritanga, which is related to Tahitian and Hawaiian. The Maori people preferred disseminate their culture and to pass down literature orally to succeeding generations. The Maori have traditions that are very different from those in Australia. For instance, the traditional Maori greeting involves pressing noses as opposed to a kiss. Another prominent feature of the Maori culture is the tattoos (there are men with full faced tattoos, which is called Moko) amongst the Maori tribes. Today an increasing number of Maori opt to be tattooed in an effort to preserve their culture and identity. Another feature of their culture is a traditional form of cooking called Hangi, which is a feast cooked in the earth. This feast is very popular as many people, including family and friends, participate in its preparation. All this indicates that the Maori people are very sociable people who like to participate in community activities. Therefore, it is not surprising to learn that Neil likes to socialize with other children at all times, which might hinder his and the other children learning. Neil has to learn to focus and to learn that there is a time for everything. He has to made aware that while socializing is a good way to learn new things and to put into practice everything he has learned, he will be able to learn even more if the devotes time practicing and studying. Maori families are typically very close and large families are commonplace. It is not surprising to learn that Neil has spent a lot of time with many relatives who speak a myriad of dialects with their own idiosyncratic and grammatical rules, which might explain why Neil has trouble acquiring basic vocabulary and formulaic language in English. It is safe to think that English is vastly different from Maoritanga and the other dialects Neil has been exposed to. Once a person is used to using a set of grammar structures and rules, it is very difficult to adapt and learn a completely new group. Additionally, not only does Neil have to learn new grammar structures and rules, he also has to learn new phonemes and new phonetics patterns in order to improve his pronunciation. This represents a new challenge. Neil is a young child who is still learning to master his native language. This process is made even more difficult as he has been forced to learn a new language. One important issue to be taken into consideration is the fact that Neil’s mother can speak very little English. It is safe to assume that Neil spends most of his free time with his mother (which is extremely common among young children), which means that he gets little help from her when he has to do his homework and when it comes to practicing the new language. If Neil’s mother cannot talk to him in English and does not help him with his homework, the learning process is going to be even slower. All this makes it imperative for the teacher to have the child work hard at school. The only way a teacher can encourage a child to try his or her best is to keep him or her motivated. As previously mentioned, children learn by doing. The teacher should try and have him participate by teaching a few things about the Maori culture. A good idea would be to try and compare Maori and Australian cultures. The teacher should engage Neil’s attention by incorporating games and activities that are related to his hobbies and interests, which tend to revolve around the arts and sports. Pictorial lesson plan (only pictures to be submitted) Links: http://www.eslkidslab.com/flashcards/set2/singularflashcards/pluralsingular%20flashcards.pdf http://www.abaresources.com/images/irregularplurals.jpg http://eflfrog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/bodytn.gif http://www.earlyword.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/blackbook.jpg http://valesulfilo.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/el-libro-negro-interior3.jpg http://valesulfilo.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/el-libro-negro-interior.jpg http://23.media.tumblr.com/7f8RZgNuUlzahmevJljA9LuJo1_400.jpg Works cited Vosniadou, S. (2001). How Children Learn. Retrieved      May 25, 2009, from International Bureau of Education      Web site: http://www.ibe.unesco.org/fleadmin/user_upload/archive/publications      /EducationalPracticesSeriesPDF/prac07e.pdf Read More