HowtoApplyEquityandInclusioninLanguageTeaching

MoLijuan

It is a typical Tuesday morning. I am sitting in the back of a classroom and observing an English reading class. As usual， the teacher first introduces some new words， asking students to read after her and then moves to analysis of the chosen text. By analysing I mean the teacher is translating sentence by sentence for the students， after which students are required to answer questions listed under the text in unison. These questions are all text-based and close-ended， leading to predictable and seemingly perfect students performances. I was one of the victims of this way of teaching one decade ago. Yet Chinese teachers now are still using the same old way to teach students， never stopping for just one second and thinking about whether this is effective to teach a language. They just copy what was set to be done one decade ago and repeat the routine day in and day out.

I have been working in this field for more than four years. Along my path， I am surprised to see how many teachers in China are still puzzled about what matters to day-to-day teaching and hesitated to take actions to turn things around. In language teaching， the bottom line is that teachers can prepare students for their future academic lives so that they can meet complex career requirements. To be exact， instead of teaching students only content， focus should be more on a practical approach of building skills. It is hard to achieve this end since most instructions are rigid and rote as I described above. Without considering individual needs and then tailoring day-to-day practice to meet individual needs， students found them studying in a hostile setting： advanced students cannot get enough practice whereas the low English proficiencies are still struggling in class. Feeling excluded and discriminated， no one will benefit from this way of teaching. To offer equity and inclusion in language teaching for a class of 35 to 40 students with mixed abilities， one way to realize this is to adopt differentiated instruction. Three main aspects need to be taken into consideration when practicing this way of teaching.

Initially， when planning lessons， teachers need to think about students learning style. Most teachers here in China are using the way best suited with reading and writing learners who prefer to digest information displayed as words， neglecting the fact that visual learners， aural learners and kinaesthetic learners are learning differently. Using only one way to teach language denies the opportunities to learn efficiently for those who are unable to adjust this way of teaching. To avoid this， the easiest way is to display information via various media. Take vocabulary lesson as an example. When introducing a new word， one needs to write it down on the board so that reading learners could see. Teachers need to pronounce this word so that aural learners could hear. To meet visual learners needs， a video could be incorporated. Teachers could even bring a real-life object so that kinaesthetic learners could touch and smell.

Secondly， it is necessary for teachers to design their lessons based on students abilities. Some of advanced teachers have come to realize that rote memorization will not pose positive influence on students acquisition of a foreign language for the long run and these teachers have begun to design class activities to diversity teaching styles， in the hope that students could apply what is leaned right away. Nevertheless， they forget to group students by common interest， topic or ability for assessments. If a speaking class is about sports， assigning students working in pairs to discuss football and then to display the discussion will lead nowhere.

Lastly， managing the classroom to create a safe and supportive environment is as equally important as the above two aspects. A classroom is a place to learn， not a place to sit through 45 minutes. Instead of leaving classroom walls blank， teachers could decorate the classroom in a full English-immersion way by posting topic-related vocabulary， graphic and students work. For those who have low English proficiencies， posted vocabulary could ease the pain of communication and understanding obstacles； for intermediate language learners， graphics could aid to deeper understanding towards certain concepts and structures； displaying different students work of achievement in the classroom brings about growing dependence and trust between teachers and students， which in turn leading to greater motivation of engagement.

What is stated above are fundamentals that construct equity and inclusion in language teaching. It would be even more complicated if students are from multiple cultural backgrounds. Therefore， studying in a program that values equity， inclusion and diversity would certainly prepare me for further development and better application of these principles in the field of language teaching.

【作者簡介】Mo Lijuan， 1990， VIA International Department， Research Direction： ESL Teaching.