Each and every one of us “starts with a foundation of language [we’ve] been building from early childhood. This foundation represents the language and thinking of our family, home culture, and community” (Zwiers, 2008). In my case, as an Iranian Canadian, this foundation of language comes from two very different cultures I was exposed to growing up. I was born and raised in Canada but my parents were born and raised in Iran. Because of my multiculturalism, in certain settings (home mostly) I learned to speak Farsi and English, whereas, in other settings (i.e. school) I only learned and spoke English. Undoubtedly, an obstacle I have encountered growing up in a North American culture as an Iranian Canadian, in terms of language is, like most of my Iranian friends born here, I only learned how to speak Farsi; there was never a need to learn how to write it (in terms of schooling, for example). While I speak both languages fluently, sometime around early adolescence when I became more and more infused with North American culture, I essentially stopped learning Farsi. Instead my focus shifted to learning English at an academic level because like other “students [that] leave the primary grades, [my] academic success [depended] more and more on [my] abilities to use academic language” (Zwiers, 2008).
I mainly speak Farsi (interchangeably with English) at home. By interchangeably I mean, when speaking Farsi I use a few English words (sometimes consciously, sometimes unconsciously) because I cannot remember the Farsi word for something or because the English word comes to me quicker. This, while not a problem at home becomes a problem when I’m speaking English, at school or work for example, and I can’t remember the English word for something but remember the Farsi word instead. However, I don’t usually have the luxury of interchanging between languages those times. As a result, I am able to relate to ELL who are struggling with the material because of the language barrier.
During my practicum I had a few ELL’s in my class and I found that as a beginning teacher it was difficult to find time during class to accommodate their needs; most of my work with them was done outside of class hours. Helping students with multiculturalism is something that I want to continue to improve on, and I will be keeping an eye out for professional development workshops and reading material that will help me do so.
Reference
Zwiers, J. (2008). Building Academic Language: Essential Practices for Content Classrooms. San Francisco, CA: JosseyBass.