How to Get to Know Your Diverse Students

It is very likely, given the variety and mobility among second language minority groups, that most teachers will at some point in their teaching career encounter students whose language and culture they know little about. Such a challenging situation requires not only fact finding but also continual observation and interpretation of children's behavior.

Getting Basic Information When A Student Arrives
1. Find out facts about the child:
• What country is the child from?
• How long has s/he lived in the USA?
• Where and with whom is the child living?
• What language or languages are spoken in the home?
• If the child is an immigrant, what were the circumstances of immigration?

2. Obtain Information about the Child's Prior School Experiences:
• School records may be available if the student has already been enrolled in a US school.
• Obtain English proficiency information from the district office.
• Find out if the student had prior school experiences in the home country.
• Find out whether or not the child is literate in her/his native language.

3. [BBecome Familiar with the Basic Features of the Child's CultureB]
• Religious beliefs,
• Customs,
• Food preferences and restrictions,
• Roles and responsibilities of children in the family.