Designing an Early Childhood Program on Linguistic Diversity

This assignment details the design of an early childhood program centered on linguistic diversity, emphasizing a socially just and anti-bias approach to teaching. The program's rationale highlights the importance of addressing linguistic barriers in the classroom, particularly in multicultural settings. It includes a resource audit, suggesting the use of pens, paintings, and extracurricular activities to promote acceptance and understanding. The core of the program involves three learning experiences: building relationships through interactive sessions, utilizing a multimodal approach to teaching with translation workshops, and incorporating word games and chart-making. These activities are designed to encourage critical thinking, challenge stereotypes, and foster respect for diverse cultures, aligning with EYLF/NQS frameworks. The student reflects on the importance of critical reflection for educators and the value of celebrating diversity within the classroom.

Running Head: EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
Early Childhood Education
Name of Student
Name of University
Author note

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1. Topic and rationale
The assignment aims to design a childhood growth program that adopts a socially just
and unbiased approach to teaching. The selected topic for the assignment is linguistic
diversity and the influence it has on both teaching and learning experience. This topic is
highly important to address since I have felt linguistic barriers to be the most challenging
factor of my career and my readings from Diversity and Difference in Childhood: Issues for
Theory and Practice have led me to identify the extent of Multiculturalism in the Australian
society and how it can be used as a policy and practice for overcoming linguistic barriers.
Australia, like many other nations in the West is an immigrant receiving country with
predominant diasporic identities (Robinson and Diaz., 2005). Schools admit students from
different cultural and linguistic backgrounds and it is often difficult for students to settle
into a culture that is different of theirs. Being a teacher of Black origin in a white-oriented
country is difficult not only in terms of the political and regional differences, but also in
terms of cultural and linguistic differences which becomes a hindrance in the process of
teaching and learning. The primary mode of communication in the classroom is language,
hence discrepancies in it may lead to miscommunication and confusion. The center I am
associated with has students belonging from diverse linguistic backgrounds. The official
language used in school is English and many students, like me, have different mother
tongues. For encouraging them to become individuals who are accepting of differences and
has respect for different cultures, it is important to instill liberal thoughts in them with the
help of productive activities that challenges the dominant discourse of the country and
makes them question stereotypes. The topic of linguistic diversity is essential for growth
and progress of the children, since they need to work harmoniously in groups, eradicating

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all barriers concerning language and avoiding any confusion that may arise due to linguistic
differences.
2. Resource audit
An audit for resources that might initiate dominant discourses concerning linguistic
diversity and the beauty of it is a strategic program that has the potential to help children
develop new perspectives, and challenge the dominant discourses they currently convey.
Some of the resources and the strategies to use them for the purpose are listed below:
 Pens- A teacher uses red pen while the student uses black or blue; the different
colors of the ink indicate the positional difference between the student and the
teacher. The colors of the ink may be different but both the parties use the same
medium for writing and communication; that is the pen. The difference in colors
helps demarcating the teacher from the student, although the mode of expression
is the same. Just as the red ink is only different, not superior to the blue ink, the
English language is just different, not superior to other native languages.
Explained like this, the students will be more receptive and accepting of people
with different linguistic backgrounds.
 Paintings- What makes a painting beautiful is the amalgamation of diverse
elements like mountains, birds, huts, clouds, Pasteur and streams. Featuring
different elements of nature in the frame makes it more appealing than painting
one single object. Similarly, a class becomes more vibrant and inclusive with
students belonging from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Each
student has the opportunity to have a taste of different worlds. This example will

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help them open up to the beauties of diversity and will also boost their social
growth.
 Extra-curricular- Engaging children more in extra-curriculum activities like music
and dance will open up the forum for discussing linguistic and cultural diversity.
Students belonging from different nativities specialize in different forms of
performing arts, this should encourage the students to accept and embrace
differences for the sake of learning new things and engaging in new activities.
Fun activities will keep them engaged and eliminate all the differences of cultural
barriers.
3. Learning experiences
The purpose is to disrupt dominant discourses by encouraging children to think critically
about the topic of linguistic diversity and propagate acceptance, tolerance and respect
towards different cultures. Arranging activities to help children think differently and
challenge stereotypes is a crucial step in eradicating prejudices that arise due to
differences. The activities and their desired outcomes are as follows:
 Building relationships through interactive sessions- If the students interact with
each other frequently enough, they will be able to identify the things they have in
common, notwithstanding the linguistic differences. Group discussions followed
by sessions of film watching, painting and reciting will initiate the required
communication between students from different backgrounds. The activity will
provide the opportunity to each student for sharing their thoughts about a film, a
painting, a poem or a book with the rest of the class and have their opinion
acknowledged or refuted by them. This will encourage productive discourses on

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different perspectives and students can be made aware of how different cultural
and linguistic backgrounds shape different thought-processes of individual, it is
therefore a smart step towards making children think in new ways. The
discussions will further help them link some of their interests, passions and
preferences with that of students who speak a different language, this will
provoke them to think of language as an artificially created barrier that stands in
the way of making valuable connections with other people. Equal opportunity to
each student in the class to share their opinions will promote the spirit of equality
among everyone, and encourage them to look beyond the differences in language
and race, to make new bonds and make their school life worthwhile and more
enjoyable.
Questions- Do you feel you would have been able to identify the similar choices and
make connections with these people if they had the same native language as yours?
What do you think has prevented you from approaching a culturally different
individual to strike up a conversation with him/her? Are people with different native
languages different as human beings? If yes/not, then why? Now that you have
learned more about this culturally different group, would like to interact with them
more? If so, why?
EYLF/NQS connection- This activity will help them to interact more meaningfully
with other students and broaden their ideas about the rest of the word. This will
prepare them as effective communicators for the future and develop a sense of
identity within the marginalized section of the class.

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 Multimodal approach to teaching and translation workshops- The multimodal
method of teaching makes use of different modes like audio-visuals, speech, text
or other movement channels for enhancing the learning experience of students.
This approach to teaching would help combat problems arising due to linguistic
differences (Jewitt., 2012). For instance, if a lesson is accompanied with audio-
visuals, it becomes easier for everyone in the class to follow them and avoid any
misinterpretation caused due to dialectal differences. It would also convey the
idea that everyone reacts in similar ways to things; a robbery triggers disgust, a
beautiful scenery appeals to everyone’s senses in similar ways while a delicious
dish leaves people with the craving to devour it. The message is that feelings have
no languages and people are all united in their responses to different things in the
world. Translation workshops is another potentially productive and fun activity
that might bridge the gaps between linguistic differences and extend the horizons
of the students to new cultures and the innumerable possibilities of creating
meanings in a given text. It will be an engaging activity to ask students with
different mother tongues to translate a given piece of English writing and recite it
in front of the class. The students will be excited to learn the new meanings of the
text after translation and that would make them more sensitive and respectful
towards culturally different people. To make the activity more engaging, these
students will be asked to translate some of the poems written in their own
language and share them with the class. The native English speakers of the class
will interpret these translations, they can share their take on the works.

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Questions- Do you think you have more in common with the people you thought were
different? Why? Would you like to have a taste of the culture of these ‘different’
people by getting to know more about their literature and arts?
EYLF/NQS connection- The children have the opportunity to contribute to their
world. The exercise on translation is productive enough to build confidence in
children and give them a sense of importance since they are making notable
contributions to class activities.
 Word games and chart making- Crosswords and puzzles are extremely effective
means of learning, and when it comes to learning a new language, it is best to
involve play in it. The purpose is to inculcate the belief that cultural and linguistic
diversity is beautiful and helps us progress and learn new things. The class will be
divided into teams, and they can work together for solving puzzles and working
out crosswords. This will help the students improve their vocabulary and engage
them in productive teamwork. This will also help them learn new words from
students with linguistically different backgrounds. Working on charts on topics
concerning cultural diversity and its importance will sensitize the dominant
culture towards the marginal ones. For encouraging the students further, the
teacher will arrange for prizes for the best team.
Questions- Do you think the activities would be just as fun if all the team
members spoke the same language and belonged from the same cultural
background? What makes these games so interesting?
Connections with EYFL/NQS- The activity will promote a sense of well-being
and makes children more involved learners. Games have their characteristic

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tendency to make people feel more lively and productive in their activities
(Kilderry et al., 2017). Crosswords and puzzles are highly engaging activities that
stimulates the brain and makes proper use of imagination and memory. The
activity will promote a sense of well-being, while making charts on the said topic
will open up their minds to diversity and make them more accepting of
differences, given they are working with people belonging from diverse
backgrounds.
Fraser opines that building relationships between students is one of the
primary means of eradicating prejudices that arise due to cultural differences, the
activities are developed to build harmonious relationships among culturally
diverse students. Further, the activities adhere to Summer’s notion that
interrupting dominant perspectives lays the foundation for new ones and prepares
the young mind to challenge the stereotypes concerning race, culture, language
and religion (Summer., 2014).
Personal reflection
The main ideas that I have been presented in the subject materials are that of my three
learning experiences where I have continued to disrupt the dominant discourse by encouraging
my students to think in critical manner about linguistic diversity. I have made use of different
activities by means of which I have implanted the sense of importance of celebrating diversity
within the students. To my viewpoint, I think it is very important to critically reflect our
assumptions and knowledge to become socially just teachers in front of the students. This is due
to the fact that critical reflection develops and sense of confident and trust within the individuals.
Critical reflection is very important in the field of student learning. By collecting information

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and ideas of several scholars and people concerning what went on in the classroom and taking
time for analysing them from a distance, we, as a teachers will identify more what worked better
and what did not. With the same, we will also be able to look at the unexpressed or the
underlying beliefs and principles which define the way in which we work. In my view, the type
of self-awareness is a very strong pool of a teacher, particularly when so much of how and what
we teach could be changed in the very moment. I think reflecting the way we teach is much
about just summarising what has happened inside of the classroom. Hence, if we spend all our
time discussing the events of any lesson, or critically reflecting on our bias, beliefs, knowledge
and experience, it is possible to jump to an immediate or sudden conclusions regarding why the
things have happened as they did. This will create a sense of trust among the students for their
teachers and in this way we could become socially just teachers.
Connection to EYLF- The exercises will help me to become more flexible and vibrant for my
students. It will invite discovery, initiate conversations and collaborations. It will also engage the
children in meaningful learning experiences strengthen the bond between me and my students.
References and bibliography:
Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority [ACECQA]. (2017). National
quality standard. Retrieved from http://acecqa.gov.au/national-quality-framework/the-

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national-quality-standard
Child Australia. (n.d.). What is pedagogy? How does it influence our practice? Retrieved from
http://www.childaustralia.org.au/
Creaser, B., & Dau, E. (1995). The Anti-Bias Approach in Early Childhood. Australian Early
Childhood Association, Inc., PO Box 105, Watson, Australian Capital Territory 2602,
Australia.
Cummings, T. (2016). Diversity and difference in early childhood education [EEP304 Modules].
Retrieved January 3, 2018, from Charles Sturt University Website:
https://interact2.csu.edu.au
Inoue, M., O’Gorman, L., Davis, J., & Ji, O. (2017). An international comparison of early
childhood educators’ understandings and practices in education for sustainability in
Japan, Australia, and Korea. International Journal of Early Childhood, 49(3), 353-373.
Jewitt, C. (2012). Technology, literacy, learning: A multimodal approach. Routledge.
Kilderry, A., Nolan, A., & Scott, C. (2017). ‘Out of the loop’: early childhood educators gaining
confidence with unfamiliar policy discourse. Early Years, 37(4), 341-354.
Maxwell & P. Ninnes (Eds.), The context of teaching (2nd ed.) (pp. 135-156). Armidale, NSW:
Kardoorair Press Ltd.
McConaghy, C. (2000). Constructing aboriginality, determining significant difference. In T. W.
Maxwell & P. Ninnes (Eds.), The context of teaching (2nd ed.) (pp. 135-156). Armidale,
NSW: Kardoorair Press Ltd.
Robinson, K., & Jones Diaz, C. (2005). Diversity And Difference In Early Childhood Education:
Issues For Theory And Practice: n/a. McGraw-Hill Education (UK).
Summer, M. (2014). “You Are a Racist”: An Early Childhood Educator's Racialized
Awakening. The Social Studies, 105(4), 193-200.

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Summer, M. (2014). You are a racist: An early childhood educator’s racialized awakening. The
Social Studies 105(4), 193-200. DOI: 10.1080/00377996.2014.894903