16:34:23 Okay, so welcome to our podcast today we have Katie and emily whom we will ask questions about
16:34:31 linguistic diversity in classrooms.
16:34:33 So Katie's up first.
16:34:36 I'd like to ask, what is your name, major, year?
16:34:40 nationality and are you bilingual? If so.
16:34:43 Was English your second language?
16:34:46 So my name is Katie LaVarbara. I'm a psychology major in the STEP program for early childhood education. I only speak English. I'm not bilingual and
16:34:54 That's just how I like I only grew up speaking English.
16:34:57 Yeah. Okay.
16:34:59 And in your own words, what is linguistic discrimination?
16:35:04 Linguistic discrimination is when individuals are treated unfairly just because of like their accent or the language they speak, the syntax of their language.
16:35:12 And linguistic diversity can be shown in a lot of different ways, basically just like being denied access to different services or
16:35:18 in schools or different public spaces.
16:35:22 Right.
16:35:21 It also can be shown through like bullying and just like being forced to like not be able to use their first language or speak in their own accent.
16:35:30 Makes sense.
16:35:32 And how does linguistic diversity contribute to richness of classroom learning?
16:35:38 Linguistic diversity can contribute to the richness of classroom learning because it's direct exposure to students of different cultural backgrounds and
16:35:46 welcoming like unfamiliar ideas to them
16:35:49 It also allows students to build their awareness of different languages and linguistic perspectives.
16:35:53 and just kind of use it in their everyday education and like own personal lives.
16:35:58 True, yeah. Okay.
16:36:00 Why do you believe linguistic diversity in the classrooms are often undervalued?
16:36:06 I think they can be undervalued when teachers focus on only using one main language in the classroom while they're teaching and not including
16:36:13 any sort of linguistic diversity into their strategies while teaching
16:36:17 And neglecting linguistic diversity can also be present when students
16:36:21 when students home languages are ignored or not valued as much, the language being spoken inside the classroom
16:36:27 it can just create like an environment where students feel that they can't show their own culture and identity to their full extent.
16:36:33 Great.
16:36:32 And kind of just feel pressure to only speak like one language while they're learning.
16:36:36 Yeah, makes sense.
16:36:38 Okay, well, thank you so much, Katie. And next up, we will have emily
16:36:46 Hi, I'm Emily Cabotelli.
16:36:48 Hello. So again, I'll just like for you to introduce yourself. What is your name, major?
16:36:54 year, nationality, and are you bilingual? If so, was English your second language?
16:37:01 Yeah, so hi, I'm Emily. I am a psychology major along with being in the STEP program for early childhood.
16:37:12 Hmm.
16:37:09 I am not a multilingual. English is my first language and my only language, yeah.
16:37:15 Yeah, okay, cool.
16:37:18 And…
16:37:19 Do you believe that there are long-term effects of linguistic discrimination on students academic and social development?
16:37:31 Yes, I do. I think…
16:37:35 that there are long-term effects of that. Some students not being able to choose what language they speak can ruin how they learn like academically and how they learn
16:37:45 Sometimes not letting the student decide allows them to develop into their culture and not even in school but at home too.
16:37:52 Yeah.
16:37:53 Okay, and you said that you only speak English. Have you ever witnessed anybody else face any linguistic discrimination?
16:38:01 Yeah.
16:38:03 In with like my own eyes, no. I've seen them on like social media and stuff like that um someone
16:38:13 Right. Okay. And do you believe that standardized tests and language policies in school contribute to linguistic discrimination?
16:38:25 Sometimes I think that if a student is not comfortable with English being their first language, it can really hurt like it can mess them up. But I think that
16:38:36 But I think that
16:38:39 if the student is
16:38:42 like their second language is something else they should be able to take the test in that form of
16:38:47 Right. Makes sense. Yeah.
16:38:47 In that language. Yeah.
16:38:50 Yeah, okay. And so as a teacher, what strategies or approaches would you use to address and overcome linguistic discrimination in your classroom?
16:39:00 I would, if a student is more fluid in a different language, I would meet like the worksheets, like the tests in whatever language that they
16:39:08 are most comfortable with. And then I would have maybe like
16:39:13 them go and talk to someone that is more fluent in the language that they're fluent in to help them out and
16:39:18 make sure that they're on the right path, but I'll let them decide if they want to stick with that language or if they want to learn some
16:39:24 English as well.
16:39:27 I love that. I actually love the idea of pairing up students because I know what happened to me in sixth grade.
16:39:32 I had a girl come in and she literally did not know
16:39:36 any English and she spoke Arabic and I spoke Arabic. So my teacher paired us up together. And till now it's like been seven years and we're still best friends and she now knows English and it's been so well because I was able to help translate like every assignment, et cetera. So I think that would be really good to incorporate in classrooms.
16:39:55 That's so cool.
16:39:57 Yeah. All right. Well, thank you all for listening into our mini podcast. I hope somebody learned something.