Engaging Second Language Teachers in Questions of Culture and Diversity

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 2
  In Poster Session: Second Language Research SIG Poster Session

Abstract

This qualitative inquiry explores how second language (L2) teachers interpret, rationalize, and integrate culture and diversity in their teaching practices. In this study, 17 instructors at one independent secondary school in the Northeastern United States were interviewed. Findings show that teacher participants often incorporated student cultural, linguistic, and ethnoracial background as informal resources, yet few teachers, three of 17 participants, reported formally including these student characteristics in L2 curricula. Teachers also described 36 variations in cultural and diverse materials that support their practices. These findings, buoyed by empirical literature, suggest that the teachers’ integration of cultural and diversity in language curricula may benefit from additional research. Theoretical and practical implications for L2 teaching are discussed.

Author

• Sheri K. Dion, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health