Is Language-Sensitive Teaching a Matter of Attitude? Correlations Between Practitioners' Cultural Beliefs and Teaching Practice

• In Event: 14.045 - Roundtable Session 2
  In Roundtable Session: 14.045-8 - Pedagogical Practices for Teachers of Bi- and Multiliterate Students

Abstract

Minor competences in the language of instruction are a common explanation for lower academic achievement of minority group students. Language-sensitive teaching and including students’ first languages are promising strategies to enhance students’ linguistic proficiency and to ensure equal opportunities for all students. The paper investigates the influence of practitioners’ cultural beliefs on their teaching practice. In a quantitative survey, the 487 participating teachers reported a higher degree of egalitarian beliefs than of multicultural beliefs; thus, they tend to neglect students cultural heritage. Practitioners’ teaching is also rather mono-linguistic, as including students’ heritage languages in class was reported to a slight extent only. Moreover, multiple regression analyses showed that there was an influence of teachers’ beliefs on their actual teaching practice.

Author

• Denise Demski, Ruhr University Bochum