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Cultural Self-Reflection

Whitney L. Williams

Longwood University

READ 520: Teaching English Learners in a Multicultural Society

Dr. Tammy Parlier

June 13, 2021

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Cultural Self-Reflection

In response to the reflective work in chapter 2 of Fenner and Snyder’s book, I made some

“discoveries” about myself. I determined I am a teacher that comes from an individualist culture

because of the value that is placed on individual students and the encouragement that is placed

on self-expression, in addition to achieving educational milestones on an individual basis, rather

than as a collective effort. Also, coming from a low-context culture, it is noted I am open to

disagreements and direct communication and have better understanding of why some students

may be reluctant to speak out or disagree because of their high-context cultural experiences. I

also identified with the lack of power distance between the teacher and student/parent

interactions because of the informal nature of the relationships with the teacher (Fenner &

Snyder, 2017). This was an interesting exercise, not like any I have completed before, in which

I was able to reflect on and identify some of my cultural beliefs and expectations regarding

education.

Completing this exercise helped me to notice how my cultural beliefs, experiences, and

expectations will often differ from those of English learners. While there were certain aspects of

this exercise that I had previously become aware of, such as the difference in eye contact and

physical space between speakers, there were other components that have brought awareness to

my practices and interactions with EL students and their families. For example, understanding

the difference between collectivist and individualist cultures, as well as the difference between

high-context cultures and low-context cultures, prepares me to appropriately respond and react to

ELs in situations which those students are not responding/interacting in lessons and being

indirect in communication, respectively speaking.

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My personal cultural reflections will impact my work in the classroom in a variety of

ways. Being able “...to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes, you first have to take your own

shoes off,” is a quote that stuck in my mind when considering those students that come f rom

different cultures and backgrounds different than my own (Culture Vision, n.d., p. 3). When

working with ELs, adhering to Fenner and Snyder’s (2017) Guiding Principles (p. 12) to help

facilitate learning, and their guidelines for Culturally Responsive Teaching (p. 40), I will be

upholding my responsibility in helping narrow the achievement gap between ELs and non-ELs.

Additionally, using the suggestions like understanding the stages of cultural accommodation and

the multitude of ways to foster a warm and welcoming environment for ELs will help them

adjust to a new environment (Colorado, 2009).

It is essential to create and navigate a cross-curricular zone in my classroom that supports

learners from diverse cultures. Starting with ensuring my students’ understanding of the word

diversity and identify everyday examples of how diversity plays important roles in our lives.

Extending diversity to defining culture and exploring aspects of the Three Levels of Culture

(Fenner & Snyder, 2017), will help to cultivate understanding, different perspectives, and respect

for those with different views from our own. Being able to form relationships, accept and

respect the individuality of those that formulate the group, or the class, truly then develops an

interdependent community in which everyone learns that no one is superior to another.

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References

Colorado, C. (2009). Creating a Welcoming Classroom Environment. Reading Rockets.

https://www.readingrockets.org/article/creating-welcoming-classroom-environment

(Links to an external site.).

Culture Vision. (n.d.) Cultural Competence Learning Guide. Cook Ross, Inc.

https://www.crculturevision.com/Documents/CultureVisionCulturalCompetenceLearning

Guide.pdf

Fenner, D.S. & Snyder, S. (2017). Unlocking English Learners' Potential: Strategies for Making

Content Accessible. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin. ISBN-13: 978-1506352770