Gurpreet Koonar

ETEC 565G

Hands-On Assignment 2: Data on Diversity

Diversity in Home Languages and its Impact on
Student Learning
considered an inner-city school with diverse learners. A
number of district programs are offered at Bear Creek to
support disadvantaged families and students. These programs
include:

Introduction
Cultural diversity holds great significance when teaching
young children. Todays learners are diverse in many ways
such as ethnicity, gender, language, cognitive and social
development, race and socioeconomic status (Tileston, 2005).
In 21st century classrooms the term diversity may refer to
learning styles, language or support at home (Nemeth &
Simon, 2013). Within my own professional context, my source
of knowledge pertaining to cultural diversity is fitting for an
inner-city school. It is an extraneous task to identify gender
and ethnicity; however, what is lacking is the ability to
comprehend the relationship between home languages and
student learning.

District Hard of Hearing Program

Fast ForWord Program for East area schools
Aboriginal Child Care Worker
Community Schools Partnership
Attendance Matters Program

Statistics
English is usually a dominant language in Canada and the
United States (Yildirim, 2013). Immigrant families usually prefer
speaking in their native language in their home and children of
these families can struggle if there is no acknowledgment of
the second language learned in schools (Yildirim, 2013).
According to the Surrey School District 2013-2014 Language
Report, Bear Creek Elementary holds a high percentage of
Indo-Iranian languages (Remedios, 2013).

According to Portier, Peterson, Capitao-Tavares & Rambaran

(2013) homework is a sufficient way for educators to establish
relationships with their students parents. A number of
researchers have found that when parents are participating in
their children's homework, the learning value of the homework
multiplies (Baker, 2003; Margolis, 2005). Feeling overwhelmed
by the school system is one of many barriers to involvement in
schools that immigrant families report (Turney & Kao, 2009).
Educators feel challenged to respond to the cultural diversity
in their classrooms and to communicate to the parents what
their children need for school success while remaining true to
cultural competence as one of their professional standards
(Massing, Kirova & Hennig, 2013, p.5). According to Statistics
Canada 2006 Census, the parents of students whose mother
tongue is not English may have a challenging time contributing
actively in their childs education (Cleathero, 2009).

Figure 1- Diversity of Languages (Remedios, 2013)

This pattern is also indicative of residents who live in Surrey.

The high percentages of non-official languages emphasize the
need to develop effective strategies for parents to ease their
integration into the school system.

Educational context
For this assignment, the educational context whose diversity
was investigated was a set of intermediate classrooms
(Grades 4-7) at Bear Creek Elementary School. Five
intermediate classrooms were examined informally as well as
through data collection. The purpose of this investigation was
to help educators identify the diversity of home languages and
whether or not home support was being provided to students.
This will provide value to educators in this professional context
to help better understand how to encourage a home and
school connection.
Bear Creek Elementary School is one of 101 elementary
schools in Surrey. Its enrolment is near 500 students and is

Figure 2 -Mother Tongue for Surrey (Cleathero, 2009)

Data Collection & Reliability

In terms of diversity data, informal observations which were
made by classroom teachers revealed the inconsistent pattern
of homework support and learning. In order to collect more
information, a questionnaire was distributed to students in 5
intermediate classrooms. The questionnaire was developed by
grade group teachers in an attempt to learn more about the
needs of their students.

As an educator, I have 25 students in my classroom. Of those

students, only 4 or 5 parents have come to visit me to inquire
on their childs progress. This is mostly due to a language
barrier or unavailability, as when I have communicated about
student progress, a translator has often been present. The
patterns of diversity which are prevalent in the classroom
include minimal parental involvement, lack of communication
and incomplete homework.

Questionnaire

What is your first language?

What language do you speak at home?
What language do your parents speak at home?
When you are doing homework, do your parents
understand what you are learning? Yes or No
If you circled No, circle the best answer:
My parents do not understand what I am learning
because...
-the language is too hard
-they do not understand the subject
-they do not have time
-other reason: ____________________
Do you feel your parents support you with your
homework? Yes No
If you said yes, why do you think they help? Is it easy
for them?
If you said no, what do you think they could do to
change?

Most students who indicated they receive parental support with

homework gave the following reasons to why they think this is:
1.
2.
3.
4.

It is because I need help

To bring my grades up
It is easy for them but it depends on the subject
They help me even though it is not that easy but they
try their best
5. They only help when I ask, I learn a lot from my
brothers and sisters
If students answered no, they felt their parents should:
1. Be more available
2. Learn English or try to learn what their homework
means
3. Join an English class or learn from them
4. Send them to tutors

The reliability of this data will assist educators in gaining more

knowledge about their students; however, there may be some
discrepancy in the findings as students may have held some
bias toward their parents and withhold accurate information.

Findings
The data collected included information from 73 males and 49
females. The ages ranged between 9 and 11 years old. The
findings revealed that English is the more dominant language
spoken by students and most parents. At first glance, this data
seemed surprising as the high level of English speaking parents
was not expected. However, when students were asked
whether they felt their parents understood what they were
learning, the data was very close in numbers (70=Yes, 52=No).
This information led me to assume that the level of English
proficiency is not certain. Non-official languages spoken in the
home language included:
-Punjabi -Hindi -Farsi -Tagalog -Arabic Tigrinya
-Portuguese -Urdu -Chinese -Djibouti -Spanish
(See data on page 3)
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It can be presumed that the cultural differences have shaped

the education of these children. In the educational realm,
cultural competence has been defined as the ability to
successfully teach students who come from different cultures
other than [their] own (Diller & Moule, 2005, p. 2). In order to
be sensitive to the diverse cultural needs at Bear Creek
Elementary School, it is essential for parents to be aware of the
services which are available to assist them in learning a
second language.
In addition, it is important for educators to develop curriculum
material which involves parents in the learning process.
According to Nieto (2008), students may experience positive
attitudes toward the English language learning process when
they are provided constructive educational experiences that
incorporate appropriate second language accommodations and
strategies (p.4).
Barillas (2000) discuss the importance of literacy at home and
how to strengthen cultural competence through writing.
Effective strategies are what parents need to become more
involved in their childs education. Parents shy away from
providing support as many teachers believe the inability speak

English is a problem (Barillas, 2000). It is essential

that we request parents to support their childs
learning by asking them to share their experiences
and knowledge of their culture. By doing this, we are
not only honoring parent voices, but are also ensuring
that parents collaborate with teachers (Barillas,
2000, p.302).

that the teacher, first, plan home activities with

parents' participation in mind and, second, require that
the assignments be carried out (p. 103).These
assignments required parents to share their ideas in
their home language to alleviate any stress, while the
child translated the text into English.

In her book A Magical Encounter (1990), Flor Ada

explains

Setting ones personal biases and assumptions aside

is the key to assisting educators to become culturally
competent individuals; while still addressing the
diverse needs of parents and students.

Although parents are not always able to visit the

school to discuss their children's education, teachers
can enlist parental involvement by designing activities
to be carried out at home... She agrees that these
tasks should be as interesting and enjoyable
as possible, but goes one step further by proposing

What is Your First Language?

English
19, 17%

Punjabi

2, 2%
5, 4%

10, 9%

Hindi

3, 3%

4, 3%

1, 1%

1, 1%

Farsi
Tagalog
Arabic

10, 9%

3, 3%
1, 1%
1, 1%
1, 1%

61, 54%

Tigrinya

Portuguese
Urdu
Chinese
Aboriginal
Dijibouti
Spanish

What Language Do Your Parents or

Guardians Speak at Home?
50

47

40
30

28

20

2
Spanish

Dijibouti

Chinese

Urdu

Portuguese

Tigrinya

Farsi

Hindi

Punjabi

English

Tagalog

Arabic

10

Tagalog

12

What Language Do Your

Parents or Guardians
Speak at Home?

When You Are Doing Homework, Do

Your Parents Understand What You Are
Learning?
Yes

52, 43%
70, 57%

No

Reasons Why Parents Do Not Understand ?

Other Reason

Do Not Have Time

7
Reasons Why Parents Do Not
Understand ?

Do Not Understand Subject

17

Language is Too Hard

26

10

15

20

25

30

References
Alma, A.F. (2003). A magical encounter: Latino childrens literature in the classroom. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Baker, L. (2003). The role of parents in motivating struggling readers. Reading & Writing Quarterly: Overcoming Learning Difficulties, 19, 87106.
Barillas, M.R. (2000). Literacy at home: Honoring parent voices through writing. The Reading Teacher, 54(3), 302-308.
Cleathero, J. (2009). A Demographic Profile of Children and Families in Surrey and White Rock. Retrieved from
http://surrey.ca/files/demographic_profile_of_surrey_children.pdf
Diller, J. V., & Moule, J. (2005). Cultural competence: A primer for educators. Cincinnati, OH: Wadsworth.
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https://www.surreyschools.ca/EducationalPrograms/AboriginalEd/Pages/default.aspx
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