Podcast Script:

Host 1: Hey everybody welcome to Breaking the Barrier I’m your host Amanda

Host 2: and I’m your second host Jyotsna. So today we will be talking about the growing issues of language discrimination in schools by focusing on ways teachers and students can change this problem, and how we could bring awareness to it.

Host 1: For our viewers who don’t know what Language discrimination is when someone is treated unfairly or differently because they speak more than one language.

Host 2: This has honestly been a big problem in schools with very little awareness.

Host 1: It really has. We actually have a few guests for today's show. Our first guest is Alyssa , a teacher from Garden City Middle School.

Host 2: Welcome Alyssa!

Teacher 1: Hi everyone, thank you for inviting me to be here today. I am looking forward to talking about my perspective on language discrimination in my school.

Host 1: No thank you for coming and agreeing to speak up about this issue. So why don’t we start off with a couple of questions.

Host 2: How do you see language discrimination in your school? And how does it affect the students?

Teacher 1: Yeah, I have seen other teachers not respecting student’s languages other than English. They tend to discourage the way students talk, when they struggle with a language barrier. Most of the time, their teaching materials, like powerpoints and worksheets were only in English. I think that straying away from translating our resources really held back our students.

Host 1: Isn’t that called translanguaging?

Teacher 1: Yes, that's exactly right. Teachers here at Garden City were very unaccepting of this idea for sure.

Host 1: Many of our viewers may not actually know what translanguaging is and how to identify it. Do you mind giving us a little explanation?

Teacher 1: No not at all! So translanguaging is when a multilingual student goes back and forth between their home language and English, as they begin to work through their understanding of a new language. I notice it in my bilingual classrooms when a student is trying to give an explanation in English and sometimes there are some words in their native language mixed in.

Host 2: Great thanks! Can you also share some ideas you have to prevent language discrimination in your classroom?

Teacher 1: I think the first and foremost is just being accepting and open minded. Without that, school can quickly turn into a very judgemental environment, rather than one kids look forward to. Another is for teachers to shift their perspective on bilingual students. Rather than viewing our bilingual population as a “problem that needs fixing” they can find ways to incorporate their students' cultures into the classroom and acknowledge the fact that their students are multicultural.

Host 1: That’s a great point. In order for students to feel comfortable in the classroom and for them to understand the material being taught we have to find ways to connect and communicate with them.

Host 2: Alyssa, thank you so much for coming today and speaking about difficult topics like this. We really appreciate the work you're doing in the classroom.

Teacher 1: Thank you so much for having me!

Host 1: For the next segment on our show, we have another special guest, a student from Garden City.

Host 2: Let's welcome Adrianna ! Hi Adrianna

Host 1: Welcome Adrianna, do you want to tell us a little about yourself?

Student 1: Thank you for having me. I’m a student at Garden City Middle school and I’m in 7th grade. I speak three languages, Spanish, French, and English.

Host 2: Wow, that’s amazing! Do you feel your school helps you express yourself by allowing you to speak your languages?
Student 1: No, my school doesn’t allow me to express myself. I feel limited whenever I speak because they don’t adjust to me. Before I learned English, I felt left out with my peers in school.

Host 1: Do you think the school's curriculum is catering to your needs as a multilingual speaker or do you feel like you're at a disadvantage to those who speak fluent english?

Student 1: When I first started at this school, I didn’t know any english. The school didn’t make adjusting easy at all and I did fall behind. There wasn’t any effort being made to help me understand the language and what was going on. I was definitely at a disadvantage since there was no translation, multilingual signs, and other students weren’t expected to help me.

Host 2: I’m so sorry you had to go through that. What do you think can be done to prevent this from happening to other students like you?

Student 1: I think the school should change its curriculum to benefit multilingual students. By doing this, students could feel more comfortable and included with their peers and barely feel left out. I think if schools embrace their students’ languages, they will feel more accepted with themselves and we would feel more safe.

Host 1: I agree! Schools need to change their curriculum to accept students and their multilingual identities!

Host 2: Thank you so much for coming to talk about such personal experiences, we appreciate your perspective on this growing issue.

Student 1: Thank you so much for having me and I really hope this helped spread some awareness to this issue.

Host 2: Wow. It’s unfortunate that these recurring problems are happening in our schools and there's not much being done about it.

Host 1: We live in such a diverse world. Things like this need to change.

Host 2: Absolutely, should we bring on our next guest?

Host 1: Of course, we have another teacher here today from Hempstead High School.

Host 2: Welcome Emily Pinkhasov

Host 1: Welcome!
Teacher 2: Thank you for having me! I look forward to sharing a little bit about my teaching experiences today.

Host 2: and we are looking forward to hearing about it. Do you feel that your school is inclusive towards multilingual students?

Teacher 2: I would say Hempstead does make an effort to make our multilingual students feel comfortable. We offer a bunch of clubs and organizations that students can join. Also, multilingual students who are learning English are paired up with a peer mentor to help them feel comfortable and accepted as they acclimate to the school environment.

Host 1: Wow! That’s really nice to hear that your school offers that to multilingual students.

Teacher 2: Yeah, the mentor program we have here really helps students adjust. Plus, teachers here realize that multilingual students will experience translanguaging, because that's all part of the learning process. This really has helped eliminate some of the judgment and discrimination that could take place.

Host 2: Do you think students that don't have these resources or programs are affected by language discrimination?

Teacher 2: I saw this in an article and it said that “linguistic oppression is traumatic to children”. When I read that line I felt very disappointed that some schools don’t make a change to help multilingual students feel more connected. I am lucky to be working at a school that is inclusive to all students, which makes me feel that I’m being a better teacher to my students.

Host 1: It's so sad that all schools haven’t made changes to help our multilingual student population, when ignoring their needs can definitely disrupt the learning process.

Teacher 2: I hope schools learn and listen to this, to implement these ideas to help them be more inclusive to multilingual students.

Host 2: Yeah, I hope they find out about it as well. Thank you for coming on and talking about your experiences!

Host 1: Thank you so much for sharing your perspective with us today, Emily. Onto our next guest, we have a student from Hempstead high school who can share their experiences as a student mentor, welcome Isabel Babayev!

Host 2: Hi Isabel! To start off, can you share a little bit about yourself?
Student 2; Hi! Thank you for having me. As you said before I am a mentor for multilingual students at Hempstead high school, which I enjoy doing. I am also a senior and I am going to college to major in education.

Host 1: That's great! Would you mind telling us more about your experience as a student mentor? How do you feel like this program has been helpful to multilingual students at your school?

Student 2: Yes of course! This program is beneficial to students to make them feel more included. I love that my school offers this to students because we don’t make anyone feel uncomfortable. I have a couple of friends from this program, and they told me how they feel more appreciated and accepted with their languages, and how they weren’t looked down upon because of it.

Host 2: This sounds like such a great program and I think it would really be great to see this expand into other schools as well.

Host 1: I agree, in order for students to thrive, it starts with them feeling welcomed and comfortable.

Student 2: It is warming to see students that speak multiple languages being heard, and cherished at Hempstead.

Host 2: Thank you so much for sharing. It has been great to hear about this program that your school offers, and that you are a part of.

Host 1: And thank you to all of our special guests for joining us on today’s episode. It was nice to hear about different ideas that schools can use to be more inclusive to multilingual students.

Host 2: Thank you guys for listening! See you next Wednesday on Episode 2 of “Breaking the Barrier”.