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A useful book on how to help multilingual students in university courses
Integrating Multilingual Students into College Classrooms provides faculty in all disciplines with practical advice and suggestions on how to help multilingual students with the challenges they face in university courses and the expectations they need to meet when completing a variety of academic tasks.
The book begins with a general introduction to language and cultural backgrounds of multilingual students in university classrooms and provides context for faculty and staff about different cultural classroom practices as well as some basic insights into language learning. The second and main part of the book focuses specifically on academic language skills such as writing, reading, listening and speaking as well as provides tips for doing group activities and assessing students from different language and cultural backgrounds.
A key feature of the book is the approach the authors advocate in not viewing multilingual students as deficient but aiming to support diverse students to be successful in college while at the same time valuing their linguistic and cultural backgrounds. As the authors write in the introduction, “we must reject the assumption that the ‘norm’ on university campuses today is, or should be, the monolingual English speaker… A new vision of, and new strategies for, integrating multilingual students into the academy must emerge. A goal of this book is to imagine such a vision and outline strategies for moving toward it” (p.1).
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This book is available as a free download from ProQuest for all Hunter College faculty, staff, and students. Click below for log-in instructions or download link.
In Chapter 2, the authors expand on insights and findings from applied linguistics and language acquisition research to explain four fundamentals of language learning that are important for all educators to know. They include:
1) Languages are dynamic (add further description to each fundamental);
2) Identity plays an important role in language acquisition;
3) Everyday language and academic language are very different;
4) Multilingual students do not become “native” English speakers.
A key goal of the book is helping faculty and staff learn about the backgrounds and abilities of multilingual students so they can better help their students learn the linguistic expectations of university classrooms.
Chapter 1 does this by introducing readers to different educational cultures and classroom practices as well as dispelling some common myths about multilingual students such as the myth that multilingual students will slow a class down.
Chapters 3-8 provide detailed advice, classroom activities, and example assignments that provide support for multilingual students.
Chapters are focused on the four language skills (speaking, reading, writing, and listening) as well as working in groups and providing meaningful assessment of student work.
In Chapter 2, the authors expand on insights and findings from applied linguistics and language acquisition research to explain four fundamentals of language learning that are important for all educators to know. They include:
1) Languages are dynamic (add further description to each fundamental);
2) Identity plays an important role in language acquisition;
3) Everyday language and academic language are very different;
4) Multilingual students do not become “native” English speakers.
A key goal of the book is helping faculty and staff learn about the backgrounds and abilities of multilingual students so they can better help their students learn the linguistic expectations of university classrooms.
Chapter 1 does this by introducing readers to different educational cultures and classroom practices as well as dispelling some common myths about multilingual students such as the myth that multilingual students will slow a class down.
Chapters 3-8 provide detailed advice, classroom activities, and example assignments that provide support for multilingual students.
Chapters are focused on the four language skills (speaking, reading, writing, and listening) as well as working in groups and providing meaningful assessment of student work.