Hence, providing relevant cultural training and professional development for aspiring and experienced teachers becomes even more important.Such training needs to extend beyond traditional multicultural education approaches, or what has been called a “tourist” curriculum characterized by occasional or “highlight” additions.Instead, training for teachers must model a multi-dimensional approach that includes integrating content from diverse cultures and experiences, and critically examining how cultural identity impacts learning.

more research is being devoted to understanding and supporting conditions for equitable learning. Culturally responsive teaching (CRT) is one idea to support these conditions. CRT is concerned with teaching methods and practices that recognize the importance of including students’ cultural backgrounds in all aspects of learning.To date, much focus in the field of CRT draws attention to the need for a greater diversity of role models and learning experiences in the classroom, and an expansion of teachers’ capacities to truly support and affirm diverse students.

Perhaps this is understandable because there are many communities where monoethnic, monolingual communities remain the norm

teaching the English language arts to multiple language groups at the same time within the same educational context is indeed a very complex task

In addition, more large scale, longitudinal studies are needed that document the substantive value and the long-term effects of using particular strategies that leverage AAVE as a linguistic resource for teaching and learning. Primarily due to the lack of sufficient funding to support the work, there is very little recent research that systematically supports the leveraging of AAVE as a linguistic resource for academic learning or for teaching and learning within the disciplines.

Moore-Hart learned, however, that access to multicultural books, resources, and technology was not enough for deep student learning. She found that teachers must use a process approach to learning that provides meaningful learning contexts based in the students’ cultural and personal experiences.

She found that students produced more elaborate writing in both English and Spanish when they were allowed to draw on patterns of language and discourse used in their everyday language practices

Similarly, Martínez (in press) identified parallels between the specific skills embedded in middle school students’ use of Spanglish and the skills that these students were expected to master according to California’s sixth-grade English language arts standards.

The review that follows highlights recent studies that emerged in our search of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) and Social Sciences Index databases from 2000 to 2009 using key word descriptors that included language diversity, Latina/o students, Spanish-speaking students, literacy, and language arts

Across three subgroups that received varying amounts of exposure to and instruction in AAVE, the researchers concluded that all teachers improved their knowledge about and positive attitude toward AAVE.

authors further suggested creating culturally reflective assignments such as tribute speeches that allow students opportunities to further develop proficiency in code switching while affirming their cultural identities

Standardized assessments provide a limited account of AAVE-speaking youth’s knowledge and abilities; alternative and more multifaceted assessments should be explored

Ball found that African American teachers, more so than European American teachers, emphasized the content and quality of students’ ideas and balanced these with writing conventions and forms

verall, the majority of the studies documented the benefits of encouraging AAVE in instructional talk (e.g., Lee, 2006; Sealey-Ruiz, 2007); exploring with students scholarship about language ideologies and sociolinguistics (e.g., Godley & Minnici, 2008); using literature and popular culture materials written in AAVE or hybrid language texts (e.g., Lee); and teaching African American students to code switch both orally and in writing to promote meaning making and communication while maintaining their cultural and linguistic identities (e.g., Williams, 2006).

Concern about the linguistic complexity these students bring to the language arts classroom is a nationwide phenomenon

Rapid changes in student demographics and continuing underachievement of a disproportionate number of students from linguistically diverse backgrounds have increased the need for more critical attention from the research community and improved instruction for these students

the Black linguistics movement of Sinfree Makoni and colleagues has challenged the colonialist assumptions underlying orthodox notions of language, multilingualism, and native language through analysis of the linguistic experiences and practices of the peoples of South Africa and South America

Such research has brought out the implications of different literacies for educational participation and achievement as well as the important role of elite literate traditions in the development of dominant ideologies of language

linguistic and communicational foundations of human sociality and culture, emphasising the role of communicational co-operation in both child development and human origins and history

The relationship between language and culture has long been of interest in different world communities and intellectual traditions. In their close study of the communicational practices of non-Western societies and groups, currents of anthropological linguistics in the tradition of Franz Boas have shown the intimate bonds between linguistic and cultural practice as well as the unlimited adaptability of language and culture across different communities through human history.

cholars have now begun to take account of the new communicational diversities and complexities resulting from globalised patterns of social mobility, migration, and conflict, developing new sociolinguistic concepts (e.g., superdiversity) to address the disruption of traditional connections amongst place, people, and language.

Many strands of research in different academic disciplines, including linguistics, sociology, and anthropology, have thrown considerable light on the interconnections between language, society, and culture in interpersonal interaction as well as at the level of larger scale social organisation.

ot all linguistic varieties are equal in society's eyes, with those of elite groups, particularly within dominant nations, having the highest levels of prestige, whereas those of dominated and ex-colonial peoples and of working-class and ethnic minority communities within elite nations are often invisible or stigmatised

In this entry, some important links between language, society, and culture are noted as well as some of the insights gained through the study of those links.

anguage is generally considered as the primary communicational resource in social and cultural life and, consequently, the foremost communicational medium of children's socialisation

In making the study of language relevant to an understanding of society and culture, scholars have also challenged the social and cultural assumptions informing long-standing traditions of linguistic thought

Ecological linguistics has highlighted the cultural consequences of language endangerment and language death through the disappearance of speech communities or particular linguistic varieties

challenge of working effectively with CLD students continues to emphasize ways to balance students’ personal and academic needs within the larger framework of standardized testing.

Rather than viewing this background knowledge as a deficiency, educators can use it to enhance the educational experiences of all students in the classroom.

Educators who link cultural and linguistic diversity to limited intellectual capability may have low expectations for students and provide less challenging assignments, thus inhibiting their cognitive development

To overcome these challenges and work effectively with CLD students, educators are encouraged to develop an understanding of their student's cultural and linguistic backgrounds and their relevance in classroom instruction and practice.

Culturally and linguistically diverse students often face challenges in the classroom due to perceptions of deficiencies in their intellectual capability linked to the existence of these sociocultural differences

Linguistic diversity itself not only includes language differences but also the use of nondominant dialects and indigenous languages.

Variations in socioeconomic status (SES) are also included as poverty and/or the availability of resources can influence classroom instruction and participation.