{"id":193,"date":"2016-03-25T21:40:41","date_gmt":"2016-03-25T21:40:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/educationalpsychology\/?post_type=chapter&p=193"},"modified":"2016-03-25T21:40:41","modified_gmt":"2016-03-25T21:40:41","slug":"differences-in-cultural-expectations-and-styles","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hvcc-educationalpsychology\/chapter\/differences-in-cultural-expectations-and-styles\/","title":{"raw":"Differences in cultural expectations and styles","rendered":"Differences in cultural expectations and styles"},"content":{"raw":"A culture is the system of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that constitute the distinctive way of life of a people. Although sometimes the term is also used to refer specifically to the artistic, intellectual and other \u201chigh-brow\u201d aspects of life, I use it here more broadly to refer to everything that characterizes a way of life\u2014baseball games as well as symphony concerts, and McDonald\u2019s as well as expensive restaurants. In this broad sense culture is nearly synonymous with ethnicity, which refers to the common language, history, and future experienced by a group within society. Culture has elements that are obvious, like unique holidays or customs, but also features that are subtle or easy for outsiders to overlook, like beliefs about the nature of intelligence or about the proper way to tell a story. When a classroom draws students from many cultures or ethnic groups, therefore, the students bring to it considerable diversity. Teachers need to understand that diversity\u2014understand how students\u2019 habitual attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors differ from each other, and especially how they differ from the teacher\u2019s.\r\n\r\nBut this kind of understanding can get complicated. To organize the topic, therefore, I will discuss aspects of cultural diversity according to how directly they relate to language differences compared to differences in other social and psychological features of culture. The distinction is convenient, but it is also a bit arbitrary because, as you will see, the features of a culture overlap and influence each other.\r\n

Bilingualism: language differences in the classroom<\/h2>\r\nAlthough monolingual speakers often do not realize it, the majority of children around the world are bilingual, meaning that they understand and use two languages (Meyers-Scotton, 2005). Even in the United States, which is a relatively monolingual society, more than 47 million people speak a language other than English at home, and about 10 million of these people were children or youths in public schools (United States Department of Commerce, 2003). The large majority of bilingual students (75 per cent) are Hispanic, but the rest represent more than a hundred different language groups from around the world. In larger communities throughout the United States, it is therefore common for a single classroom to contain students from several language backgrounds at once.\r\n\r\nIn classrooms as in other social settings, bilingualism exists in different forms and degrees. At one extreme are students who speak both English and another language fluently; at the other extreme are those who speak only limited versions of both languages. In between are students who speak their home (or heritage) language much\u00a0better than English, as well as others who have partially lost their heritage language in the process of learning English (Tse, 2001). Commonly, too, a student may speak a language satisfactorily, but be challenged by reading or writing it\u2014though even this pattern has individual exceptions. Whatever the case, each bilingual student poses unique challenges to teachers.\r\n

Balanced or fluent bilingualism<\/h3>\r\nThe student who speaks both languages fluently has a definite cognitive advantage. As you might suspect and as research has confirmed, a fully fluent bilingual student is in a better position than usual to express concepts or ideas in more than one way, and to be aware of doing so (Jimenez, et al. 1995; Francis, 2006). The question: \u201cWhat if a dog were called a cat?\u201d is less likely to confuse even a very young bilingual child. Nor will the follow-up question: \u201cCould the \u2018cat\u2019 meow?\u201d confuse them. Such skill in reflecting on language is a form of metacognition<\/strong>, which is defined as using language as an object<\/em> of thought. Metacognition can be helpful for a variety of academic purposes, such as writing stories and essays, or interpreting complex text materials.\r\n

Unbalanced bilingualism<\/h3>\r\nUnfortunately, the bilingualism of many students is \u201cunbalanced\u201d in the sense that they are either still learning English, or else they have lost some earlier ability to use their original, heritage language\u2014or occasionally a bit of both. The first sort of student\u2014sometimes called an English language learner<\/strong> (ELL<\/strong>) or limited English learner<\/strong> (LEL<\/strong>)\u2014has received the greatest attention and concern from educators, since English is the dominant language of instruction and skill and obviously helps prepare a student for life in American society. ELL students essentially present teachers with this dilemma: how to respect the original language and culture of the student while also helping the student to join more fully in the mainstream\u2014i.e. English-speaking\u2014culture? Programs to address this question have ranged from total immersion in English from a young age (the \u201csink or swim\u201d approach) to phasing in English over a period of several years (sometimes called an additive<\/em> approach to bilingual education). In general, evaluations of bilingual programs have favored the more additive approaches (Beykont, 2002). Both languages are developed and supported, and students ideally become able to use either language permanently, though often for different situations or purposes. A student may end up using English in the classroom or at work, for example, but continue using Spanish at home or with friends, even though he or she is perfectly capable of speaking English with them.\r\n

Language loss<\/h3>\r\nWhat about the other kind of imbalance, in which a student is acquiring English but losing ability with the student\u2019s home or heritage language? This sort of bilingualism is quite common in the United States and other nations with immigrant populations (Tse, 2001). Imagine this situation: First-generation immigrants arrive, and they soon learn just enough English to manage their work and daily needs, but continue using their original language at home with family and friends from their former country. Their children, however, experience strong expectations and pressure to learn and use English, and this circumstance dilutes the children\u2019s experience with the heritage language. By the time the children become adults, they are likely to speak and write English better than their heritage language, and may even be unable or unwilling to use the heritage language with their own children (the grandchildren of the original immigrants).\r\n\r\nThis situation might not at first seem like a problem for which we, as teachers, need to take responsibility, since the children immigrants, as students, are acquiring the dominant language of instruction. In fact, however, things\u00a0are not that simple. Research finds that language loss limits students\u2019 ability to learn English as well or as quickly as they otherwise can do. Having a large vocabulary in a first language, for example, has been shown to save time in learning vocabulary in a second language (Hansen, Umeda & McKinney, 2002). But students can only realize the savings if their first language is preserved. Preserving the first language is also important if a student has impaired skill in all<\/em> languages and therefore needs intervention or help from a speech-language specialist. Research has found, in such cases, that the specialist can be more effective if the specialist speaks and uses the first language as well as English (Kohnert, et al., 2005). Generally, though also more indirectly, minimizing language loss helps all bilingual students\u2019 education because preservation tends to enrich students\u2019 and parents\u2019 ability to communicate with each other. With two languages to work with, parents can stay \u201cin the loop\u201d better about their children\u2019s educations and support the teacher\u2019s work\u2014for example, by assisting more effectively with homework (Ebert, 2005).\r\n\r\nNote that in the early years of schooling, language loss can be minimized to some extent by the additive or parallel-track bilingual programs that I mentioned above. For a few years, though not forever, young students are encouraged to use both<\/em> of their languages. In high school, in addition, some conventional foreign language classes\u2014 notably in Spanish\u2014can be adjusted to include and support students who are already native speakers of the language alongside students who are learning it for the first time (Tse, 2001). But for heritage languages not normally offered as \u201cforeign\u201d languages in school, of course, this approach will not work. Such languages are especially at risk for being lost.\r\n

Cultural differences in language use<\/h2>\r\nCultures and ethnic groups differ not only in languages, but also in how languages are used. Since some of the patterns differ from those typical of modern classrooms, they can create misunderstandings between teachers and students (Cazden, 2001; Rogers, et al., 2005). Consider these examples: In some cultures, it is considered polite or even intelligent not to speak unless you have something truly important to say. \u201cChitchat,\u201d or talk that simply affirms a personal tie between people, is considered immature or intrusive (Minami, 2002). In a classroom, this habit can make it easier for a child to learn not to interrupt others, but it can also make the child seem unfriendly.\r\n
    \r\n\t
  • Eye contact<\/em> varies by culture. In many African American and Latin American communities, it is considered appropriate and respectful for a child not to look directly at an adult who is speaking to them (Torres-Guzman, 1998). In classrooms, however, teachers often expect a lot of eye contact (as in \u201cI want all eyes on me!\u201d) and may be tempted to construe lack of eye contact as a sign of indifference or disrespect.<\/li>\r\n\t
  • Social distance<\/em> varies by culture. In some cultures, it is common to stand relatively close when having a conversation; in others, it is more customary to stand relatively far apart (Beaulieu, 2004). Problems may happen when a teacher and a student prefer different social distances. A student who expects a closer distance than does the teacher may seem overly familiar or intrusive, whereas one who expects a longer distance may seem overly formal or hesitant.<\/li>\r\n\t
  • Wait time<\/em> varies by culture. Wait time is the gap between the end of one person\u2019s comment or question and the next person\u2019s reply or answer. In some cultures wait time is relatively long\u2014as long as three or four seconds (Tharp & Gallimore, 1989). In others it is a \u201cnegative\u201d gap, meaning that it is acceptable, even expected, for a person to interrupt before the end of the previous comment. In classrooms the wait time is customarily about one second; after that, the teacher is likely to move on to another question or to another\u00a0student. A student who habitually expects a wait time long than one second may seem hesitant, and not be given many chances to speak. A student who expects a \u201cnegative\u201d wait time, on the other hand, may seem overeager or even rude.<\/li>\r\n\t
  • In most non-Anglo cultures, questions<\/em> are intended to gain information, and it is assumed that a person asking the question truly does not have the information requested (Rogoff, 2003). In most classrooms, however, teachers regularly ask test questions, which are questions to which the teacher already knows the answer and that simply assess whether a student knows the answer as well (Macbeth, 2003). The question: \u201cHow much is 2 + 2?<\/em>\u201d for example, is a test question. If the student is not aware of this purpose, he or she may become confused, or think that the teacher is surprisingly ignorant! Worse yet, the student may feel that the teacher is trying deliberately to shame the student by revealing the student\u2019s ignorance or incompetence to others.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n

    Cultural differences in attitudes and beliefs<\/h2>\r\nIn addition to differences in language and in practices related to language, cultural groups tend to differ invarious other attitudes and beliefs. Complete descriptions of the details of the differences have filled entire books and encyclopedias (see, for example, Birx, 2005). For teachers, however, one of the most important differences centers on personal beliefs about identity<\/strong>\u2014the sense of self or of \u201cwho you are.\u201d A number of other cultural beliefs and practices can be understood as resulting from how members of a culture think about personal identity.\r\n\r\nIn white, middle-class American culture, the self tends to be thought of as unique and independent\u2014a unitary, living source of decisions, choices, and actions that stands (or should eventually stand) by itself (Greenfield, et al., 2003; Rogoff, 2003). This view of the self is assumed by educators, for example, when students are expected to take responsibility for their own successes or failures, or when students are evaluated individually rather than as a group or team. As teachers, most of us subscribe to the idea that all students are unique, and therefore take steps to individualize or differentiate instruction. Across a variety of circumstances, teachers tend to believe in an independent self<\/strong>.\r\n\r\nYet many non-white cultures tend to believe in something closer to an interdependent self<\/strong>, or a belief that it is relationships and responsibilities, and not uniqueness and autonomy, that defines a person (Greenfield, 1994; Greenfield, et al., 2003). From this perspective the most worthy person is not the one who is unusual or who stands out in a crowd. Such a person might actually be regarded as lonely or isolated. The worthy person is instead the one who gets along well with family and friends, and who meets obligations to them reliably and skillfully. At some level, of course, we all<\/em> value interpersonal skill and to this extent think of ourselves as interdependent. And individuals within<\/em> any given society will vary in their attitudes about personal identity. The cultural difference between individual and interdependent self is one of average tendency or emphasis, with many non-white cultures emphasizing interdependence significantly more than white middle-class society does, on average, and more than many schools in particular.\r\n\r\nThere can be consequences of the difference in how the students respond to school. Here are some of the possibilities\u2014though keep in mind that there are also differences among<\/em> students as individuals, whatever their background. The following are tendencies, not simple predictions:\r\n
      \r\n\t
    • Preference for activities that are cooperative rather than competitive:<\/em> Many activities in school are competitive, even when teachers try to de-emphasize the competition. Once past the first year or second\u00a0year of school, students often become attentive to who receives the highest marks on an assignment, for example, or who is the best athlete at various sports or whose contributions to class discussion the most verbal recognition from the teacher (Johnson & Johnson, 1998). Suppose, in addition, that a teacher deliberately organizes important activities or assignments competitively (as in \u201cLet\u2019s see who finishes the math sheet first.\u201d). Classroom life can then become explicitly competitive, and the competitive atmosphere can interfere with cultivating supportive relationships among students or between students and the teacher (Cohen, 2004). For students who give priority to these relationships, competition can seem confusing at best and threatening at worst. What sort of sharing or helping with answers, the student may ask, is truly legitimate? If the teacher answers this question more narrowly than does the student, then what the student views as cooperative sharing may be seen by the teacher as laziness, \u201cfreeloading,\u201d or even cheating.<\/li>\r\n\t
    • Avoidance of standing out publicly:<\/em> Even when we, as teachers, avoid obvious forms of competition, we may still interact frequently with students one at a time while allowing or inviting many others to observe the conversation. An especially common pattern for such conversations is sometimes called the IRE<\/strong> cycle, an abbreviation for the teacher initiating<\/em>, a student responding<\/em>, and the teacher then evaluating<\/em> the response (Mehan, 1979). What is sometimes taken for granted is how often IRE cycles are witnessed publicly, and how much the publicity can be stressful or embarrassing for students who do not<\/em> value standing out in a group but who do<\/em> value belonging to the group. The embarrassment can be especially acute if they feel unsure about whether they have correct knowledge or skill to display. To keep such students from \u201cclamming up\u201d completely, therefore, teachers should consider limiting IRE cycles to times when they are truly productive. IRE conversations may often work best when talking with a student privately, or when confirming knowledge that the student is likely to be able to display competently already, or when \u201cchoral\u201d speaking (responding together in unison) is appropriate.<\/li>\r\n\t
    • Interpersonal time versus clock time:<\/em> In order to function, all schools rely on fairly precise units of time as measured on clocks. Teachers typically allot a fixed number of minutes to one lesson or class, another fixed number of minutes for the next, another for recess or lunch time, and so on. In more ways than one, therefore, being on time becomes especially valued in schools, as it is in many parts of society. Punctuality is not always conducive, however, to strong personal relationships, which develop best when individuals do not end joint activities unilaterally or arbitrarily, but allow activities to \u201cfinish themselves,\u201d so to speak\u2014to finish naturally. If personal relationships are a broad, important priority for a student, therefore, it may take effort and practice by the student to learn the extent to which schools and teachers expect punctuality. Punctuality includes the obvious, like showing up for school when school is actually scheduled to begin. But it also includes subtleties, like starting and finishing tasks when the teacher tells students to do so, or answering a question promptly at the time it is asked rather than sometime later when discussion has already moved on. Oppositional cultural identity<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n

      References<\/h2>\r\n

      Beaulieu, C. (2004). Intercultural study of personal space: A case study. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 34<\/em>(4), 794\u2013805.<\/p>\r\n

      Beykont, Z. (Ed.). (2002). The power of culture: Teaching across language differenc<\/em>e. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Publishing Group.<\/p>\r\n

      Birx, H. J. (2005). Encyclopedia of human anthropology<\/em>. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.<\/p>\r\n

      Cazden, C. (2001). Classroom discourse, 2nd edition<\/em>. Portsmouth, NH: Heineman Publishers.<\/p>\r\n

      Cohen, E. (2004). Teaching cooperative learning: The challenge for teacher education<\/em>. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.<\/p>\r\n

      Ebert, J. (2005). Linguistics: Tongue tied. Nature, 438<\/em>, 148\u2013149.<\/p>\r\n

      Francis, N. (2006). The development of secondary discourse ability and metalinguistic awareness in second language learners. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 16<\/em>, 37\u201347.<\/p>\r\n

      Greenfield, P. (1994). Independence and interdependence as cultural scripts. In P. Greenfield & R. Cocking (Eds.), Cross-cultural roots of minority child development<\/em>, pp. 1\u201340. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.<\/p>\r\n

      Greenfield, P., Keller, H., Fuligni, A., & Maynard, A. (2003). Cultural pathways through universal development. Annual Review of Psychology, 54<\/em>, 461\u2013490.<\/p>\r\n

      Hansen, L., Umeda, Y., & McKinney, M. (2002). Savings in the relearning of second language vocabulary: The effects of time and proficiency. Language Learning, 52<\/em>, 653\u2013663.<\/p>\r\n

      Jimenez, R., Garcia, G., & Pearson. D. (1995). Three children, two languages, and strategic reading: Case studies in bilingual\/monolingual reading. American Educational Research Journal, 32<\/em>(1), 67\u201397.<\/p>\r\n

      Johnson, D. & Johnson, R. (1998). Learning together and alone: Cooperative, competitive, and individualistic learning, 5th edition<\/em>. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.<\/p>\r\n

      Kohnert, K., Yim, D., Nett, K., Kan, P., & Duran, L. (2005). Intervention with linguistically diverse preschool children. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 36<\/em>, 251\u2013263.<\/p>\r\n

      Macbeth, D. (2003). Hugh Mehan\u2019s \u201cLearning Lessons\u201d reconsidered: On the differences between naturalistic and critical analysis of classroom discourse. American Educational Research Journal, 40<\/em>(1), 239\u2013280.<\/p>\r\n

      Mehan, H. (1979). Learning lessons: social organization in the classroom<\/em>. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.<\/p>\r\n

      Meyers-Sutton, C. (2005). Multiple voices: An introduction to bilingualism<\/em>. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers.<\/p>\r\n

      Minami, M. (2002). Culture-specific language styles: The development of oral narrative and literacy<\/em>. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.<\/p>\r\n

      Rogers, R., Malancharuvil-Berkes, E., Mosely, M., Hui, D., & O\u2019Garro, G. (2005). Critical discourse analysis in education: A review of the literature. Review of Educational Research, 75<\/em>(3), 365\u2013416.<\/p>\r\n

      Rogoff, B. (2003). The culture of human development<\/em>. New York: Oxford University Press.<\/p>\r\n

      Tharp, R. & Gallimore, R. (1989). Rousing minds to life<\/em>. New York: Cambridge University Press.<\/p>\r\n

      Torres-Guzman, M. (1998). Language culture, and literacy in Puerto Rican communities. In B. Perez (Ed.), Sociocultural contexts of language and literacy<\/em>. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.<\/p>\r\n

      Tse, L. (2001). Why don\u2019t they learn English?<\/em> New York: Teachers\u2019 College Press.<\/p>\r\n

      United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. (2003). American community survey<\/em>. Washington, D.C.: Author.<\/p>","rendered":"

      A culture is the system of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that constitute the distinctive way of life of a people. Although sometimes the term is also used to refer specifically to the artistic, intellectual and other \u201chigh-brow\u201d aspects of life, I use it here more broadly to refer to everything that characterizes a way of life\u2014baseball games as well as symphony concerts, and McDonald\u2019s as well as expensive restaurants. In this broad sense culture is nearly synonymous with ethnicity, which refers to the common language, history, and future experienced by a group within society. Culture has elements that are obvious, like unique holidays or customs, but also features that are subtle or easy for outsiders to overlook, like beliefs about the nature of intelligence or about the proper way to tell a story. When a classroom draws students from many cultures or ethnic groups, therefore, the students bring to it considerable diversity. Teachers need to understand that diversity\u2014understand how students\u2019 habitual attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors differ from each other, and especially how they differ from the teacher\u2019s.<\/p>\n

      But this kind of understanding can get complicated. To organize the topic, therefore, I will discuss aspects of cultural diversity according to how directly they relate to language differences compared to differences in other social and psychological features of culture. The distinction is convenient, but it is also a bit arbitrary because, as you will see, the features of a culture overlap and influence each other.<\/p>\n

      Bilingualism: language differences in the classroom<\/h2>\n

      Although monolingual speakers often do not realize it, the majority of children around the world are bilingual, meaning that they understand and use two languages (Meyers-Scotton, 2005). Even in the United States, which is a relatively monolingual society, more than 47 million people speak a language other than English at home, and about 10 million of these people were children or youths in public schools (United States Department of Commerce, 2003). The large majority of bilingual students (75 per cent) are Hispanic, but the rest represent more than a hundred different language groups from around the world. In larger communities throughout the United States, it is therefore common for a single classroom to contain students from several language backgrounds at once.<\/p>\n

      In classrooms as in other social settings, bilingualism exists in different forms and degrees. At one extreme are students who speak both English and another language fluently; at the other extreme are those who speak only limited versions of both languages. In between are students who speak their home (or heritage) language much\u00a0better than English, as well as others who have partially lost their heritage language in the process of learning English (Tse, 2001). Commonly, too, a student may speak a language satisfactorily, but be challenged by reading or writing it\u2014though even this pattern has individual exceptions. Whatever the case, each bilingual student poses unique challenges to teachers.<\/p>\n

      Balanced or fluent bilingualism<\/h3>\n

      The student who speaks both languages fluently has a definite cognitive advantage. As you might suspect and as research has confirmed, a fully fluent bilingual student is in a better position than usual to express concepts or ideas in more than one way, and to be aware of doing so (Jimenez, et al. 1995; Francis, 2006). The question: \u201cWhat if a dog were called a cat?\u201d is less likely to confuse even a very young bilingual child. Nor will the follow-up question: \u201cCould the \u2018cat\u2019 meow?\u201d confuse them. Such skill in reflecting on language is a form of metacognition<\/strong>, which is defined as using language as an object<\/em> of thought. Metacognition can be helpful for a variety of academic purposes, such as writing stories and essays, or interpreting complex text materials.<\/p>\n

      Unbalanced bilingualism<\/h3>\n

      Unfortunately, the bilingualism of many students is \u201cunbalanced\u201d in the sense that they are either still learning English, or else they have lost some earlier ability to use their original, heritage language\u2014or occasionally a bit of both. The first sort of student\u2014sometimes called an English language learner<\/strong> (ELL<\/strong>) or limited English learner<\/strong> (LEL<\/strong>)\u2014has received the greatest attention and concern from educators, since English is the dominant language of instruction and skill and obviously helps prepare a student for life in American society. ELL students essentially present teachers with this dilemma: how to respect the original language and culture of the student while also helping the student to join more fully in the mainstream\u2014i.e. English-speaking\u2014culture? Programs to address this question have ranged from total immersion in English from a young age (the \u201csink or swim\u201d approach) to phasing in English over a period of several years (sometimes called an additive<\/em> approach to bilingual education). In general, evaluations of bilingual programs have favored the more additive approaches (Beykont, 2002). Both languages are developed and supported, and students ideally become able to use either language permanently, though often for different situations or purposes. A student may end up using English in the classroom or at work, for example, but continue using Spanish at home or with friends, even though he or she is perfectly capable of speaking English with them.<\/p>\n

      Language loss<\/h3>\n

      What about the other kind of imbalance, in which a student is acquiring English but losing ability with the student\u2019s home or heritage language? This sort of bilingualism is quite common in the United States and other nations with immigrant populations (Tse, 2001). Imagine this situation: First-generation immigrants arrive, and they soon learn just enough English to manage their work and daily needs, but continue using their original language at home with family and friends from their former country. Their children, however, experience strong expectations and pressure to learn and use English, and this circumstance dilutes the children\u2019s experience with the heritage language. By the time the children become adults, they are likely to speak and write English better than their heritage language, and may even be unable or unwilling to use the heritage language with their own children (the grandchildren of the original immigrants).<\/p>\n

      This situation might not at first seem like a problem for which we, as teachers, need to take responsibility, since the children immigrants, as students, are acquiring the dominant language of instruction. In fact, however, things\u00a0are not that simple. Research finds that language loss limits students\u2019 ability to learn English as well or as quickly as they otherwise can do. Having a large vocabulary in a first language, for example, has been shown to save time in learning vocabulary in a second language (Hansen, Umeda & McKinney, 2002). But students can only realize the savings if their first language is preserved. Preserving the first language is also important if a student has impaired skill in all<\/em> languages and therefore needs intervention or help from a speech-language specialist. Research has found, in such cases, that the specialist can be more effective if the specialist speaks and uses the first language as well as English (Kohnert, et al., 2005). Generally, though also more indirectly, minimizing language loss helps all bilingual students\u2019 education because preservation tends to enrich students\u2019 and parents\u2019 ability to communicate with each other. With two languages to work with, parents can stay \u201cin the loop\u201d better about their children\u2019s educations and support the teacher\u2019s work\u2014for example, by assisting more effectively with homework (Ebert, 2005).<\/p>\n

      Note that in the early years of schooling, language loss can be minimized to some extent by the additive or parallel-track bilingual programs that I mentioned above. For a few years, though not forever, young students are encouraged to use both<\/em> of their languages. In high school, in addition, some conventional foreign language classes\u2014 notably in Spanish\u2014can be adjusted to include and support students who are already native speakers of the language alongside students who are learning it for the first time (Tse, 2001). But for heritage languages not normally offered as \u201cforeign\u201d languages in school, of course, this approach will not work. Such languages are especially at risk for being lost.<\/p>\n

      Cultural differences in language use<\/h2>\n

      Cultures and ethnic groups differ not only in languages, but also in how languages are used. Since some of the patterns differ from those typical of modern classrooms, they can create misunderstandings between teachers and students (Cazden, 2001; Rogers, et al., 2005). Consider these examples: In some cultures, it is considered polite or even intelligent not to speak unless you have something truly important to say. \u201cChitchat,\u201d or talk that simply affirms a personal tie between people, is considered immature or intrusive (Minami, 2002). In a classroom, this habit can make it easier for a child to learn not to interrupt others, but it can also make the child seem unfriendly.<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Eye contact<\/em> varies by culture. In many African American and Latin American communities, it is considered appropriate and respectful for a child not to look directly at an adult who is speaking to them (Torres-Guzman, 1998). In classrooms, however, teachers often expect a lot of eye contact (as in \u201cI want all eyes on me!\u201d) and may be tempted to construe lack of eye contact as a sign of indifference or disrespect.<\/li>\n
      • Social distance<\/em> varies by culture. In some cultures, it is common to stand relatively close when having a conversation; in others, it is more customary to stand relatively far apart (Beaulieu, 2004). Problems may happen when a teacher and a student prefer different social distances. A student who expects a closer distance than does the teacher may seem overly familiar or intrusive, whereas one who expects a longer distance may seem overly formal or hesitant.<\/li>\n
      • Wait time<\/em> varies by culture. Wait time is the gap between the end of one person\u2019s comment or question and the next person\u2019s reply or answer. In some cultures wait time is relatively long\u2014as long as three or four seconds (Tharp & Gallimore, 1989). In others it is a \u201cnegative\u201d gap, meaning that it is acceptable, even expected, for a person to interrupt before the end of the previous comment. In classrooms the wait time is customarily about one second; after that, the teacher is likely to move on to another question or to another\u00a0student. A student who habitually expects a wait time long than one second may seem hesitant, and not be given many chances to speak. A student who expects a \u201cnegative\u201d wait time, on the other hand, may seem overeager or even rude.<\/li>\n
      • In most non-Anglo cultures, questions<\/em> are intended to gain information, and it is assumed that a person asking the question truly does not have the information requested (Rogoff, 2003). In most classrooms, however, teachers regularly ask test questions, which are questions to which the teacher already knows the answer and that simply assess whether a student knows the answer as well (Macbeth, 2003). The question: \u201cHow much is 2 + 2?<\/em>\u201d for example, is a test question. If the student is not aware of this purpose, he or she may become confused, or think that the teacher is surprisingly ignorant! Worse yet, the student may feel that the teacher is trying deliberately to shame the student by revealing the student\u2019s ignorance or incompetence to others.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Cultural differences in attitudes and beliefs<\/h2>\n

        In addition to differences in language and in practices related to language, cultural groups tend to differ invarious other attitudes and beliefs. Complete descriptions of the details of the differences have filled entire books and encyclopedias (see, for example, Birx, 2005). For teachers, however, one of the most important differences centers on personal beliefs about identity<\/strong>\u2014the sense of self or of \u201cwho you are.\u201d A number of other cultural beliefs and practices can be understood as resulting from how members of a culture think about personal identity.<\/p>\n

        In white, middle-class American culture, the self tends to be thought of as unique and independent\u2014a unitary, living source of decisions, choices, and actions that stands (or should eventually stand) by itself (Greenfield, et al., 2003; Rogoff, 2003). This view of the self is assumed by educators, for example, when students are expected to take responsibility for their own successes or failures, or when students are evaluated individually rather than as a group or team. As teachers, most of us subscribe to the idea that all students are unique, and therefore take steps to individualize or differentiate instruction. Across a variety of circumstances, teachers tend to believe in an independent self<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

        Yet many non-white cultures tend to believe in something closer to an interdependent self<\/strong>, or a belief that it is relationships and responsibilities, and not uniqueness and autonomy, that defines a person (Greenfield, 1994; Greenfield, et al., 2003). From this perspective the most worthy person is not the one who is unusual or who stands out in a crowd. Such a person might actually be regarded as lonely or isolated. The worthy person is instead the one who gets along well with family and friends, and who meets obligations to them reliably and skillfully. At some level, of course, we all<\/em> value interpersonal skill and to this extent think of ourselves as interdependent. And individuals within<\/em> any given society will vary in their attitudes about personal identity. The cultural difference between individual and interdependent self is one of average tendency or emphasis, with many non-white cultures emphasizing interdependence significantly more than white middle-class society does, on average, and more than many schools in particular.<\/p>\n

        There can be consequences of the difference in how the students respond to school. Here are some of the possibilities\u2014though keep in mind that there are also differences among<\/em> students as individuals, whatever their background. The following are tendencies, not simple predictions:<\/p>\n