There remain great challenges facing education professionals working with students with learning and behavior problems, especially those from diverse language and culture backgrounds. There are 7 steps to follow when addressing these concerns.
7 Steps for Separating Difference and Disability for Diverse Learners
1. 7 Steps for Separating Difference and
Disability for Diverse Learners
Dr. Catherine Collier
@AskDrCollier
catherine@crosscultured.com
www.crosscultured.com
www.Slideshare.net
7. Local Stats
0 20 40 60 80 100
Students with Disabilities
State Target
Percent Graduating
8. Definitions
The concept of
things that
particular people
use as models of
perceiving,
relating, and
interpreting their
environment.
The process by
which individuals
perceive, relate to,
and interpret their
environment.
Culture CognitionLearning Disability
A disorder in one or more
of the basic psychological
processes involved in
understanding or using
language. May manifest
itself in an imperfect ability
to Listen, think, speak,
read, write, spell, or do
mathematical calculations
9. ELL Representation Patterns
• Students in English
immersion programs
are referred at higher
rates than those in
bilingual programs.
• ELLs who are “parent
waivers” are the most
likely to be referred and
placed.
12. Linguistic Context: Krashen’s Critical Elements
for Language Acquisition
1. Provide Comprehensible
Input in Target Language
2. Lower the Affective Filter
3. Maintain Subject Matter
Education
4. Maintain and Develop
Student’s Base Language
13. Growth in Native Born LEP
40%
40%
20%
First Generation Second Generation Third + Generation
14. Linguistic Context:
The Deadly Plateau
• Texts are frequently at i + 10,
not i + 1
• Growth in reading and
academic achievement levels
off
• Motivation decreases
16. Legal Context: Language & Culture
If the native language or other mode of
communication of the parent is not a
written language, the public agency
must take steps to ensure...
• that the notice is translated orally or by
other means to the parent in his or her
native language or other mode of
communication;
• that the parent understands the content
of the notice; and
• that there is written evidence that these
two requirements have been met.
27. Teacher’s Resource Guide of Language Transfer Issues
for English Language Learners
• This booklet is part of the On Our Way to
English series published by Rigby.
• It is an excellent stand‐alone resource for
ELL and K‐12 teachers working with
speakers of ten languages.
• The booklet contains background
information about the populations
speaking these languages as well as
specific grammar and phonics transfer
issues.
• 2004 Rigby: A Harcourt Achieve Imprint,
$3.85 www.rigby.com ISBN
978‐0757869662
• Spanish
• Vietnamese
• Hmong
• Haitian Creole
• Cantonese
• Korean
• Khmer
• Russian
• Arabic
• Tagalog
32. LD Behaviors SLA Behaviors
Difficulty following directions Difficulty following directions in English
Difficulty with phonological
awareness
Difficulty distinguishing between
unfamiliar sounds
Slow to learn sound/symbol Confusion with sound/symbol
correspondence in English
Difficulty remembering sight words Difficulty remembering sight words
when unfamiliar with meaning
Difficulty retelling a story in sequence May understand more than can say in
English
42. Language Transfer “fitness”
Sound Transfers Spanish Cantonese Vietnamese Hmong Korean Khmer
Short Vowels
/a/ as in cat approximate approximate ✔ ✔
/e/ as in net ✔ approximate approximate ✔
/i/ as in kid approximate approximate ✔
/o/ as in spot approximate approximate approximate approximate approximate ✔
/u/ as in cup approximate approximate ✔ ✔ ✔
LongVowels
/ā/ as in lake,nail, bay ✔ approximate approximate approximate
✔ ✔
/ē/ as in bee,meat, cranky ✔ approximate
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
/ī/ as in kite,tie, light,
dry
✔ approximate
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
/ō/ as in home,road, row ✔ approximate approximate
✔
/ū/ as in dune,fruit, blue ✔ approximate
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
/yü/ as in mule,cue ✔ approximate ✔