Language, culture, and diversity Flashcards
Language
a cultural tool and symbolic system shaping human activities, relationships, and thinking
language - importance in development
mediates communication, expression, learning, and cultural integration
phonological development
- understanding sounds (phonemes)
- english: 26 letters -> 52 phonemes; turkish: one phoneme per letter
- phoneme differences explain the difficulty of learning new languages
semantic development
- learning word meanings and combinations
- by age 6: expressive vocabulary grow to 2,600 words
receptive vocabulary to 20,000+ words
grammar development
- learning the rules for structuring sentences and words
- includes syntax (e.g. word order in sentences like “this is an interesting class”
Pragmatic development
social and cultural rules for using language in context
involves interpreting communications based on social cues
emergent literacy
the stage where children acquire foundational skills for reading and writing
emergent literacy - two skill categories
- decoding skills: understanding sounds and their connection to letters
- oral language skills: vocabulary, syntax, and storytelling abilites
who is bilingual?
definitions range from native-like competence to functional proficiency in two languages
age of onset
affects language learning outcomes: no critical period for learning grammar, but a sensitive period for pronunciation
additive bilingualism
L2 adds to L1 without replacing it
Subtractive bilingualism
L2 replaces or suppresses L1, common in minority groups
bilingual literacy
first-language listening comprehension strongly predicts second-language reading skills
iceland statistics
15.5% of students have a foreign mother tongue
40% of 15-year olds in Iceland lack basic reading comprehension skills
immigrant students
represent 7% of the student population, with significant socio-economic disadvantages. 86% of immigrants students speak a language at home different from the language at home different from the language of instruction
academic disparities
immigrant students perform significantly lower in reading and math, even after adjusting for socio-economic factors
Socio-economic status (SES)
grouping based on occupational, educational, and economic characteristics
SES effects on education
low SES correlates with fewer resources, higher chronic stress, and lower academic expectations
equity in Iceland
Iceland’s educational system shows relatively small SES-related performance gaps compared to other OECD countries
Teacher preparedness challenges
28% of Icelandic teachers work in multicultural settings, yet only 13.3% feel well-prepared
teacher preparedness reccommendations
improve teacher education to support cultural and linguistic diversity
basic communication skills
everyday conversation, using basic vocabulary and sentence structures
academic language
specialised vocabulary and grammar required for educational success, taking years to develop
