FARAH ATHIRAH

HANIS WARDAH
NURUL ATIQAH
NURUL ADIBAH
SITI HAWA

CREATING A
CULTUREFRIENDLY
CLASSROOM
ENVIRONMEN
T

All men are pretty much alike.

It is only by culture that they re
set apart.

Confucius

What is

Culture?
the values, traditions, social and worldview
shared by a group of people bound together by a
combination of factors. (Derman and Sparks)

What is Culture?
Cultureisthegluethatbindsagroupof
peopletogetherDouglas-Brown,1994
Cultureisanelusiveconstructthatshifts
constantlyovertimeandaccordingtowhois
perceivingandinterpretingit.LindaHarklau
CultureiscentraltolearningItplaysarolein
conveyingandreceivinginformation.Itplays
aroleinshapingthethinkingprocess.

Diversity of Learners and

Multicultural Education
the major goal of multicultural education is to
transform the school so that the male and
female students, exceptional learners, as well as
students coming from diverse cultural, socialclass, racial and ethnic groups will receive an
equal opportunity to learn in school.
-James Banks

Students may differ in:

Race

Ethnic or religious groups

Economic status
Languages spoken
Family background
Some could be stricken by poverty,
unemployment, relocations, etc.

In the midst of this diversity, students are

supposed to receive equal opportunities
to education.
In order to do this, we need:
Curricular and instructional modifications
(Different) Teaching styles
Re-examination of teachers attitudes, beliefs and
perception

This movement called

MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION
enables teachers and educators to give
value to the differences in prior
knowledge, experiences of learners from
diverse background and familiarity with
students histories of diverse cultures.
(Haertel, 1998)

Goals of
Multicultural Education:

1
2 Improve academic achievement of all students
Help the students to develop the knowledge, attitudes
skills needed to function within their own and other
3 and
micro cultures, and within global community
4 Provide opportunities to gain cultural competency
Develop and foster a democratic and just society where
all groups experience cultural democracy and
empowerment

How do we achieve these

GOALS?

To achieve these goals, it is very

important for teachers to be
knowledgeable about differences in
cultures, religion, ethnicity, and even the
language spoken by the students.

Suggestions to understand multi-cultural

learners: (Fraser-Abner, 2001)
Learn as much about and become as sensitive
to and aware of racial, ethnic, cultural and
gender groups other than your own
Never make assumptions about an individual
based on their perception of that individuals
race, ethnicity, culture or gender

Suggestions to understand multi-cultural

learners: (Fraser-Abner, 2001)
Avoid stereotyping
Get to know each student as a unique
individual: Walk in the footsteps of all your
students

Other suggestions include:

Look into your own conscious and subconscious biases
about the people who are different from yourselves
Plan your activities within a multicultural framework
while making your classroom a safe and secure place
for all the students
Infuse multicultural instructional materials and
strategies in your teaching
Foster collaboration and cooperation among your
learners, parents and teachers

Start from Day 1

Oneofthemostimportantdaysinaclassroomisthefirst
day.Makesureyousetthetonethatyouwanttohavefor
theentiretermrightfromtheget-go.Youshouldestablish
some ground rules,butyoushouldalsoestablish
aclassroom community feelingearlyon.Icebreakersarea
greatwaytoaccomplishthisonthefirstday.Warmingup
withafewofthesewillgetstudentsmingling,talking,and
connectingwiththeirpeers

Learn
Let students share about their different
cultures.Towardsthebeginningofthe
term,allowstudentstointerviewone
anothertounderstandeachotherbetter.
Workfactsfromtheircountryorculture
intoyourteachingexamples(i.e.grammar
sentences,quizzes,etc)

 Thishelpstobreak down walls between

studentsfromothercultures.Additionally,worktimein
eachclasstoletstudentsshareabouttheirdailylives.
Thisletsstudentsgettoknowoneanotherandpractice
languageskillsatthesametime.As the teacher, dont
be afraid to share real things from your life too.Most
ofall,dontbeafraidofdifferences;celebrate the
diversity in your classroom!

Its All About Respect

Respect is the foundation for a
successful classroom environment.
Fromearlyon,stresstheimportanceof
respectinyourclassroom.Studentsneed
tounderstandhowtorespectoneanother
andwhythisisimportant.Asateacher,you
shouldmodelthisforyourstudentsright
fromthebeginning.

 Respect is a two-way street, and students know when

theyre not being respected.Thisisespeciallyimportantif

youreteachingadult EFL students;althoughtheirlanguage
productionislimited,theyrenotchildren,andtheyshouldnt
betreatedassuch.Adultsandchildrenalikewillgivemore
respecttoeachotherandtotheteacherprovidedtheteacher
alsorespectsthem.Studentsknowwhenateachergenuinely
caresabouttheirsuccessandwilloftenworkharderwhen
theyfeeltherespectandsupportfromtheirteacher.

a caring environment will always

enhance academic achievement.