Reaching Out to Latino Families of English Language Learners

David Campos, Rocio Delgado, Mary Esther Soto Huerta

• Publisher: ASCD
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9781416612728
• eBook ISBN: 9781416613893
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

How can teachers of Latino English language learners actively engage their students' families in helping ELLs succeed in school? In this powerful book, David Campos, Rocio Delgado, and Mary Esther Soto Huerta provide guidance and resources to help teachers communicate and collaborate with the families of Latino ELLs.

Reaching Out to Latino Families of English Language Learners includes practical tips and tools, including reproducible form letters in English and Spanish, that can help teachers solicit valuable information about students from their families, extend families' knowledge of how U.S. schools operate, and provide families with ideas for helping students with their schoolwork at home. In addition, the authors

* Offer information on aspects of Latino culture relevant to student learning;
* Provide lists of websites and books on Latino culture and of Latino-themed children's books for use with students; and
* Outline a framework that educators can use to create a "campus task force" for engaging Latino families in student learning.

The more families of Latino ELLs learn about the curriculum, policies, and procedures of their children's schools, the more comfortable they will be collaborating with teachers. Likewise, the more educators learn about their students' backgrounds, the better able they will be to help them in the classroom. This complete resource will enable educators to work diligently and harmoniously with students' families in the service of what really matters: the academic success of Latino students.

Chapter 1

A Critical Reflection: Exploring Self and Culture

The Latino culture is vibrant and complex. Differences within it are influenced by where people live, socioeconomic backgrounds, levels of education, religion, and individual lived experiences. These factors influence how people view and read their world (Gee, 1996; Vygotsky, 1986). As mentioned in the Introduction, we, the authors of this book, are Mexican Americans. Although we share a common heritage, we have different cultural backgrounds and practices that provide us with a unique perspective. Similarly, we ask you, our readers, to examine the experiences that contribute to your own worldview, which includes assumptions and perceptions about Latinos and their culture.

Exploring the Latino culture should begin with an introspective approach. When you take an authentic look at yourself, you begin to understand issues of diversity and become amenable to other points of view. This chapter begins with fundamental questions to guide your understanding of self and follows with a discussion of the variations within the Latino culture.

Taking a Personal Journey

Understanding diversity is a journey that begins at a personal level. Before exploring cultural dynamics and group differences, it is important to examine your unique worldview, which includes assumptions and perceptions. To recognize your own individual differences, consider, for example, the diversity within your family. How different are you from your siblings? How different are you from your parents? How different is your family in comparison to relatives? Exploring these kinds of questions is an initial step in the ongoing effort to develop cultural awareness.

Diversity exists within any cultural group. Even within the white population we see diverse ethnic subgroups (for example, people of German, Irish, or French heritage) whose members maintain and express particular valued cultural practices. These cultural expressions vary based on lived experiences related to such factors as geography, age, religion, and socioeconomic status. Therefore, we urge you to avoid making generalizations based on unexamined assumptions and perceptions that can sustain stereotypes. Overgeneralizations can result from limited or superficial assessments of observed behaviors and practices.

We urge teachers of English language learners to develop self-knowledge by gaining awareness of their "social positioning"—that is, their own power and privilege in relation to others. This is a pivotal step toward gaining respect, acceptance, and equity for groups that have been marginalized by schooling practices. Understanding one's worldview and social positioning engenders curiosity, inquiry, and interest about different cultural groups. In daily instruction, cultural awareness encompasses learning how to build meaningful connections with students and their families. For instance, a teacher's willingness to explore the rearing practices of an African American family, the discipline methods of a Hmong parent, and the dietary habits of a Hindu family exemplifies purposeful cultivation of both cultural and self-awareness. Thus, interest in learning about students helps the teacher design and deliver authentic learning experiences while enhancing cultural sensitivity.

Learning about diversity entails a movement from self-awareness to inquiry to action through advocacy for students who are marginalized by the educational system. In the context of this book, we define advocacy as the act of creating equitable opportunities for Latino parents of English language learners to strengthen their engagement as key stakeholders in their child's schooling.

As you read this book, consider the following questions to guide your journey in understanding Latino parents of English language learners:

• What kinds of interactions have you had with the Latino culture? Think about the context in which you have interacted with Latinos. Were these formal or informal interactions? Were these conversations or one-way communication? What did you talk about? Who did most of the talking? What were your observations during these interactions?
• What have you heard about the Latino culture? Often, informal conversations, including sayings and jokes, may engender and reinforce stereotypes about the Latino culture. Although these stereotypes may be unintentional and lighthearted, be aware that they are never inconsequential.
• What observations have you made about the Latino culture? How do your worldviews, assumptions, or perceptions about Latinos influence these observations? Consider how social factors—for example, socioeconomic status, age, gender, race/ethnicity—can influence your observations. Also, think about whether your responses are based on a single observation or any misinformation. Critical reflection through questioning is at the core of eliminating stereotypes.
• What messages do the media communicate about the Latino culture? Consider how the media, such as sitcoms and other TV shows, magazines, and virtual media, represent the Latino culture and how these images influence your perceptions of the Latino way of life. A discerning person recognizes that the Latino culture is heterogeneous and that media portrayals are frequently based on generalizations and stereotypes.
• How do your background and lived experiences influence your understanding of diverse cultures? Consider your interactions with diverse populations. Traveling to different countries, visiting local cultural centers, and interacting with individuals from diverse cultures can broaden your understanding of how individuals across the globe navigate life. These are opportunities that can enrich your school community. Moreover, students, parents, and communities represent vital resources that you can tap into to learn about the Latino culture.

As you forge new pathways in your journey, we suggest that you keep these critical reflections in mind. The information you gain will nurture your ability to accept and learn about divergent ways of thinking, of interacting with schools, and of expressing what Nel Noddings (2002) has called an "ethic of care," a concept that we cover in detail in Chapter 2.

Recognizing Language Differences

Many Latinos speak two languages, Spanish and English, and this situation is more complex than one might imagine. It is important to understand that Latinos may not be the same linguistically even if they speak the same language or dialect (Gutiérrez-Clellen, Calderón, & Weismer, 2004). For example, two Latina teachers who were team-teaching a student cohort experienced this phenomenon when one reported to the other that the students had not followed her directions when she asked them to put on their coats before going out. Mrs. Castro, who is originally from Guatemala, explained that she had given the following instructions: "Les he pedido a los patojos que se pongan las chumpas." Ms. Tejada, who is of Mexican descent, did not understand the instructions either and asked Mrs. Castro to explain what she intended to say. Both teachers agreed that the reason the students (who were also of Mexican heritage) had not followed directions was because they were not familiar with the vocabulary that Mrs. Castro used. The children used different words for "children" and "coats." The teachers decided to use this as a learning opportunity to enrich their students' Spanish vocabulary and to help them learn English. Mrs. Castro and Ms. Tejada brainstormed a list of Spanish words that have similar meanings in different Latin American countries and provided English translations to their students:

• Words for "children": patojos, huercos, nios, chilpayates, huache
• Words for "coat, jacket": chumpa, chamarra, chaqueta, sobretodo, abrigo

Although both Spanish and English are alphabetic languages (that is, they use an alphabet to represent words, unlike a nonalphabetic language, such as Chinese), each is a distinct language system. Each has its separate cueing system, which includes phonology (sounds), semantics (word meanings), syntax (grammatical structure), and pragmatics (social and culturally appropriate use of language). Additionally, each Spanish-speaking community displays variations within each of these language cueing systems. For example, note these differences in how a Spanish-speaking person may ask a simple question such as "What do you want?" A person of Puerto Rican heritage may ask, "¿Qué tu quieres?" Someone of Mexican heritage will structure the same question differently: "¿Qué quieres?" Each person's speech production will also vary in speed, intonation, inflection (phonology), and other marked characteristics.

Spanish and English have other differences in language structure. For example, English has 44 phonemes (the smallest unit of sound in a language) represented by 26 letters, but Spanish phonemes vary between 22 and 24, depending on whether the language is spoken in the U.S. Southwest, Latin America, or Spain (Pérez & Torres-Guzmán, 2002). Also, Spanish is considered a "transparent" language because it has a close letter-to-sound correspondence, which is not the case with English. These examples enable us to view language as a cultural tool and provide insight about the heterogeneity among Latino speech communities.

Understanding Cultural Practices

The construction of culture occurs within family units through caretakers. Over time, children learn the language, traditions, attitudes, behaviors, and institutions associated with their culture. The intimate languages shared among caretakers and young children are known as "primary discourses," and these facilitate the learning of cultural rules and norms particular to children's speech communities (Brisk & Harrington, 2007) and how they use language and literacy (Heath, 1983). Children who grow up in a bilingual environment also understand the distinctiveness of the cultures in which they function (García, 2009).

Celebrations further highlight distinctiveness among Latino cultures. Many Mexican Americans in the southwestern United States, for example, celebrate Easter by decorating cascarones, which are a variation of the plastic Easter egg common to mainstream culture. Cascarones are colorfully decorated eggshells filled with confetti. On Easter Sunday, the fragile cascarones are hidden, and an egg hunt ensues. After collecting the cascarones, children crack them over their loved ones' heads in a celebratory gesture. This cultural expression may not be practiced in other Latino communities, which may celebrate Easter by attending church services or sharing a meal with family members; and some may not observe Easter at all.

Food is another expression of distinctiveness. Fried plantains, for example, are generally found in Cuban and Puerto Rican American cuisine but are not common among other Latinos. Teachers can use these distinct features within Latino communities as vehicles for learning more about the cultures of students in the classroom. For example, when studying about indigenous civilizations, a 3rd grade teacher encouraged her students' families to share edible products that they—like the Aztecs and the Mayans—made from corn. Students learned about Colombian arepas, Salvadoran pupusas, and Mexican gorditas and discussed similarities and differences among these dishes from Latin American countries and their ancient civilizations.

Learning About Students' Cultural Background

The variations in Latino culture underscore why it is important to learn about students' backgrounds rather than making assumptions, and learning about students' lived experiences is easier if you establish a partnership with each family. Getting to know each student as an individual enables you to do the following:

• Communicate effectively with parents once you find out how parents and children self-identify.
• Begin instruction by integrating students' prior knowledge gained at home and at school.
• Access background information from parents regarding their children's interests, aspirations, strengths, and weaknesses to design instruction that scaffolds their current knowledge.
• Choose teaching strategies that complement the styles and preferences for learning that individual students make apparent.
• Facilitate an understanding among your students about how diversity begins at home and occurs among family members.
• Validate all students' heritage. This can be done by providing learning opportunities that enable all students to learn about many cultures. Intentional planning of multicultural content is an additive approach that includes everyone as a learner, and deep learning experiences enable students to explore how diversity sustains democratic principles.

In sum, the more you know about each student, the more insight you gain not only about the Latino cultures represented in your classroom but also about the range of student abilities, knowledge, interests, and areas where growth is needed. All serve to inform your instruction and to build relationships with parents. With academic success as the communicated shared goal, parents will likely be motivated to support the learning goals and objectives that you establish.

An example of how strengthening home-to-school connections can improve instruction comes from the experience of a 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Williams, who took a proactive step by making a home visit to learn more about one of her students, Mario. Although she had been providing Mario with ample direct, explicit instruction to support his work in math, he was not making significant progress. When she visited her student's home, Mrs. Williams observed how Mario learned vicariously and through modeling. She noticed that when Mario and his dad were working on the family car, his father used one-word commands and wordless gestures. Drawing inferences from implicit information, Mario intuitively understood his father's intents. Mrs. Williams discovered from speaking to Mario's mother that he did not have previous experience working on cars; however, Mrs. Williams had observed how he performed successfully as an apprentice to his father. In this scenario, the teacher gained deep insight about her student, including different approaches to solving problems, multimodal uses of communication, and how family values influenced teaching and learning preferences.

Other ways to learn about individual students' cultural background include using students as resources, creating project-based assignments, conducting focus group meetings with parents, spending time in the community, reading about Latino culture, and using Spanish-language media. We briefly discuss these approaches here because all are essential components in any consideration of ways to familiarize yourself with the Latino culture. We also discuss them in greater detail in subsequent chapters to guide systematic implementation.

Use Students as Resources

Latino students can be a direct source of information that enriches your understanding of the Latino culture. For example, to prepare students to write about one of their cultural celebrations, you could invite older students to discuss and answer questions about such events. Students can share information about particular cultural values and beliefs by telling stories, explaining rites of passage, and describing ceremonies associated with celebrations.

For example, a Mexican American quinceañera is a celebration, similar to a debutante ball, that inducts a young girl into society, marking a transition into womanhood on her 15th birthday. Some of the Latino students in your classroom may be familiar with this cultural event and will draw connections between their lived experiences when completing their writing assignment. In one Texas school, 4th grade students were working on writing descriptive essays about a family event. Esmeralda decided to write about her sister's quinceañera. The teacher understood the value of using students' experiences as resources and invited Esmeralda's sister to speak to the class. The sister shared highlights of the festivities and answered questions about this important family event. By taking this approach, the teacher gained personal insight about this celebration and created an opportunity for her students to write about a culturally relevant topic, which sparked their interest and engaged them as writers.

Another approach might entail establishing casual and ongoing dialogues with upper-grade students during recess, in the hallways, or during club meetings. Mrs. Ruiz was talking to students on the playground one day when Guillermo mentioned that he bought a kite at the pulga (flea market) over the weekend. As he excitedly described his prized acquisition, Mrs. Ruiz asked him to tell her more, which enhanced this particular student's communicative abilities. This informal conversation also boosted Guillermo's self-esteem and motivated him to converse more frequently. After surveying the students who had been to the pulga, Mrs. Ruiz created instructional connections in math by guiding students to create various graphs using the survey results. She also helped them brainstorm ideas about items they had acquired at the pulga or visits they had made there with their families to guide their writing about the topic during language arts instruction.

Create Project-Based Assignments

Project-based assignments that involve students in conducting research about their own heritage can become effective ways to show that you value cultural diversity within the school setting. Obviously it is important to always proceed with empathy and sensitivity. Some families may be unwilling to participate, especially if they are undocumented immigrants, have sought political asylum, or are war refugees. If it is feasible to proceed, however, children will engage and develop important academic skills as they conduct research and interview their parents, grandparents, and other community members. As a schoolwide effort, students can share completed projects through cultural fairs, panel presentations, performances, participation in focus group discussions, cuisine parties, fashion shows, dances, and games.

Student projects can also involve researching famous Latinos. By conducting web quests or web searches on the Internet to retrieve information on well-known figures, students engage in learning opportunities that value the many positive contributions of Latinos. The possibilities are numerous, and the following list is by no means all-inclusive: actors Rita Moreno, Anthony Quinn, Ricardo Montalbán, Ricardo Antonio Chavira, and Hector Elizondo; writers Sandra Cisneros, Alberto Baltazar Urista Heredia, and Reinaldo Arenas; social activitists César Chávez, Dolores Huerta, Judy Baca, and Martin Espada; musicians Jerry and Andy Gonzalez, Juan Luis Guerra, and ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• Dedication
• Foreword
• Introduction: Why Reaching Out Matters
• Chapter 1: A Critical Reflection: Exploring Self and Culture
• Chapter 2: Engaging Latino Parents Through an Ethic of Care
• Chapter 3: Partnering with Latino Families: An Asset-Based Approach
• Chapter 4: Using Multiple Sources to Gather Information
• Chapter 5: Using Cultural Knowledge for Asset-Based Instruction
• Chapter 6: Involving Latino Families in Homework
• Chapter 7: Identifying Community Assets
• Chapter 8: Designing Campuswide Plans for Parental Engagement
• Afterword
• Appendix A: Reproducibles
• Appendix B: Websites Devoted to Latino Culture
• Appendix C: Books on Latino Culture
• Appendix D: Children's Books for Latino Students
• Appendix E: Examples of Homework Policies
• References & Resources
• Related ASCD Resources: English Language Learners
• About the Authors
• Study Guide
• Copyright