Language as a Reflection of Culture | Origin: ED137
This is a general discussion forum for the following learning topic:
Cultural Diversity: Including Every Student --> Language as a Reflection of Culture
Post what you've learned about this topic and how you intend to apply it. Feel free to post questions and comments too.
Language is important in order to communicate effectively, and is influenced by one's cultural upbringing.
Language is a part of a persons culture and it is important to know what is their first language and what other languages they arw learning.
Students learn best in the language they understand. Language is a reflection of one's culture, not literacy.
Each student has a "native" language. Dialects in language contain differences in tone and words used, such as slang. Each student should be permitted resources that enhance their learning in the language of their choice
language can represent where a person is from because certain word or slang words are more prominent in certain culture
I learned that the way students communicate and utilize language can reflect their culture. Understanding a student's way of communicating can help reach and meet students' learning needs.
The difference between language and literacy, and how students can be literate with spoken/written words, but not necessarily academic words. Being able to meet students where they are, with appropriate resources, is important with all students.
You really have to meet the learner way they are... Even if this means indentifying what is the native language and working to ensure the comprehension is happening.
Learned that language can reflect culture and identity, respecting students and how they communicate.
I learned that when evaluating a student's performance, it requires a clear distinction between language and literacy. When educators conflate the two, they risk identifying a student's cognitive abilities and academic potential. Also, I appreciated the fact that students who are orally fluent often mask their literacy gaps. Some may struggle with a written exam, and the instructor may wrongly attribute it to a lack of effort or a learning disability, rather than a lack of academic language proficiency. This was a great read.
Language is important to how different cultures communicate. Make sure your students have the access they need to communicate and express themselves to succeed in your course
In this module I learned that language is an important aspect of all cultures. I also learned that being literate means being able to use the language.
Language is part of their culture, but change/effect how one is able to communicate verbally and in writing.
I better understand the difference between language and literacy and why it is important for helping students have better outcomes.
This went over the connection of language and culture. How the use of their "mother tongue" will help them learn the material as its how they connect and their thought process.
This section helps to make the connection between language and learning; instructors must be able to recognize that students whose first language is not English have to be taken into consideration when making lessons plans and that their ability to understand the meaning of certain words.
We should not assume that someone who is learning English as a second language is struggling or that they have low literacy skills. Inversely, we should not assume that someone who is monolingual in English has better literacy in the language than someone who is bilingual or multilingual.
Also, it is helpful to have bilingual instructors when students are learning another language and they should be encouraged to still have access to their mother tongue.
helps learn more about the student and how to help them
This module reinforced that language is a reflection of culture and identity, not just a communication tool. I learned the important distinction between language and literacy—conversational fluency does not equal academic proficiency, and students who are highly literate in their first language may appear to struggle in a second language.
Moving forward, I will avoid assumptions about understanding, use clear and inclusive language, assess comprehension intentionally, and encourage students to use their mother tongue as a strength. In nursing education, this awareness is critical for promoting student success and modeling effective, culturally responsive patient communication.
