Being

Culturally Responsive in the

World Language Classroom
OFLA 2015 Annual Conference
April 18, 2015

Presenter: Gary DiBianca

Orange High School
Pepper Pike, Ohio

Gary.dibianca@gmail.com
@garydibianca

Thank you for a;ending the session. Here are the

ideas, ac>vi>es or lessons generated from the
session. I do not think I men>oned today that
when we include all voices and iden>>es in the
curriculum, the research shows those perhaps
marginalized students feel safer and more
welcomed in their school communi>es.
Thank you for helping make schools safer for all.
Gary DiBianca

Inclusive Curriculum in World

Language
Are you including the lives of your
students or their families in your
curriculum?
Create a safe environment through
seKng ground rules and community
expecta>ons with students
Assure there is inclusion of both
dominant culture & minority voices
in all (literature, media, music)

Ethnicity/
Race/Na>onality
Socioeconomic/
Class
Biological Sex
Gender Iden>ty
Sexual
Orienta>on
Age
Ability
Religion
Language

Inclusive Curriculum in World

Language with ***addi>ons
Understanding Media & Bias
Ethnicity/
What would you do situa>ons?
Race/Na>onality
MovieTalking/Describing a lm in target language Socioeconomic/
w/ ques>ons
***Create a Student Interest Survey at the
beginning of the year to nd out about your
students lives and then think of ways to include
such informa>on in your content.
***Pre-teach/provide needed vocabulary for the
topic at hand
***Teach I think that or I believe that and I
agree or disagree early so students can express
their opinions

Class
Biological Sex
Gender Iden>ty
Sexual
Orienta>on
Age
Ability
Religion
Language

Inclusive Curriculum in World

Language
Current Events / News
Understanding Systems of Oppression in Target Culture and in USA
Do searches for keywords of oppression in target language:
Racism - race, ethnicity
Na>onalism ci>zen status
Classism socioeconomic/class
Sexism - biological sex
Genderism - gender
Heterosexism - sexual orienta>on
Ageism - age
Ableism ability
Faithism religion
Linguicism 1st language

BRAINSTORM: What are Ideas for Lessons, Ac>vi>es, Authen>c

Resources, Essen>al Representa>ons for the following WL
themes?

Human Rights
Family
Personal Iden<ty
Fashion, Design and Clothing
Ideals of Beauty
Stereotypes and Images
Todays Societal Genera<ons
(youth, adults etc.)
Privilege and Power

Ethnicity/
Race/Na<onality
Socioeconomic/Class
Biological Sex
Gender Iden<ty
Sexual Orienta<on
Age
Ability
Religion
Language

WL Theme: Human Rights

What are considered human rights viola>ons in your
target culture?
Treatment of Indigenous or marginalized
communi>es give info about 4 and compare
Create a PSA announcement about access to basic
needs like water and food
Find Human Rights based on all !
What are student rights? Rights wanted by todays
genera>on?
How does government aect human rights of its
people?

Ethnicity/
Race/Na>onality
Socioeconomic/
Class
Biological Sex
Gender Iden>ty
Sexual
Orienta>on
Age
Ability
Religion
Language

WL Theme: Family
Use various visual representa>ons of family
structure (single-parent, two-parent, same-
sex two parent, mul>genera>onal families)
Discuss the place of nursing homes v. home
care in culture
Assure all students know that one family
structure is not right or normal
Idea: Since Family and Communi>es is a
theme talk about how religion plays a role in
both ex (Bap>st v. Catholics)
Dene family across cultures/classes

Ethnicity/
Race/Na>onality
Socioeconomic/
Class
Biological Sex
Gender Iden>ty
Sexual
Orienta>on
Age
Ability
Religion
Language

WL Theme: Personal Iden>ty

Show students complexity/ intersec>onality of
iden>ty (mosaic of iden>ty)
Assure there is representa>on and voices of
people of color or those who have been silenced
in literature, lm etc.
Survey Exchange with students and schools in
target culture (could even be Novice)
Include informa>on, vocabulary, prepara>on
and prac>ce for students to talk about Iden>ty
appropriately/safely in target lang.
Create mul>cultural kid-produced movies about
their life (www.bykids.org )

Ethnicity/
Race/Na>onality
Socioeconomic/
Class
Biological Sex
Gender Iden>ty
Sexual
Orienta>on
Age
Ability
Religion
Language

WL Theme: Fashion, Design, Clothing

Ac>vity using Ads for Baby Clothing (or toys) from US
and Target Culture
Discuss how clothing choices dene a person
Religious clothing and its meaning
Show visuals of people in religious clothing and
students explain what their rst thought is: hijab,
clothing in Spain/Guatemala for Holy Week etc.
Essen>al Ques>on: How do your cloths dene you?
How do female (or male) newscasters dress in target
culture v. my culture?

Ethnicity/
Race/Na>onality
Socioeconomic/
Class
Biological Sex
Gender Iden>ty
Sexual
Orienta>on
Age
Ability
Religion
Language

WL Theme: Ideals of Beauty

Social meaning of skin color

Using pictures, how is beauty dened?
How is makeup used in a culture?
Are people with physical or mental disabili>es
considered beau>ful?
Compare anorexic models to holocaust vic>ms: what
are students reac>ons and then explain reac>ons
Use images that include Gender bias (a female being
too masculine or a male being too feminine looking)
or gender-non-conforming
Compare a Barbie doll to reality
Compare adver>sements and images of people in
target culture from the US (which people tend to
look or appear more real)?
France: Recently passed law that modeling agencies
cannot hire anorexic models

Ethnicity/
Race/Na>onality
Socioeconomic/
Class
Biological Sex
Gender Iden>ty
Sexual
Orienta>on
Age
Ability
Religion
Language

WL Theme: Stereotypes & Images

Use video/visual images that dene stereotypes of
Ac>vity: Based on stereotypes create a
stereotypical person
Ac>vity: Using magazines, cut images that show
stereotypes
What are stereotypes of a certain ethnicity? Use
visuals.
Read childrens stories and look for gender bias/
images
Deconstruct Gender in target culture/ Womens
rights
Look at LGBT Stereotypes in the Media and US and
then compare to target cultures

Ethnicity/
Race/Na>onality
Socioeconomic/
Class
Biological Sex
Gender Iden>ty
Sexual
Orienta>on
Age
Ability
Religion
Language

WL Theme: Stereotypes & Images

Create a survey for your school or community about how

students (of a minority ethnicity or other aspect of
diversity) feel they are stereotype or their culture is
stereotyped. Discuss the results
Find out why immigrant young people generally come to
the US or perhaps those in your community. Find out
about their experiences in the community and how they
see the world.

Ethnicity/
Race/Na>onality
Socioeconomic/
Class
Biological Sex
Gender Iden>ty
Sexual
Orienta>on
Age
Ability
Religion
Language

WL Theme: Todays Societal Genera>ons

(youth, adult, senior)

Compare the todays youths values/goals/

perspec>ve from people in their 20s, 30/40s,
50/60s, 70s and beyond
Use memes/infographics/Ads/
commercials and determine whose genera>on is
the target audience
Reality of each genera>on in target culture
Socra>c Seminar Topic: Why is Catholicism so
important in La>n America? History,
Imperialism
Compare how your age (or any issue) is to your
parents or how it is compared to people in
other countries
Prompt or Discussion: What did your parents
think about _____ when they were 20?

Ethnicity/
Race/Na>onality
Socioeconomic/
Class
Biological Sex
Gender Iden>ty
Sexual
Orienta>on
Age
Ability
Religion
Language

WL Theme: Privilege and Power

Use sta>s>cs to show who has power in government
Do privilege role-play scenarios
Look at main-stream Newspapers and Magazines and
see who is the target audience

Ethnicity/
Race/Na>onality
Socioeconomic/
Class
Biological Sex
Gender Iden>ty
Sexual
Orienta>on
Age
Ability
Religion
Language

CULTURE & the 3 Ps

Products
Often tangible items, food, dcor,
symbols, could be a song, piece of
literature

How do these products affect these

practices? !

" How do these practices affect these

products?

Practices
Something that people do, their
behaviors, rituals, ways of
celebrations, body language

How do these
practices affect

How do these
products affect
perspective?

perspective?

How does perspective affect

products & practices?
Analyzing Culture:
Perspective(s)
Products
Practices

Perspective(s)
Ideas, attitudes, values, how a culture sees the
world they know and the world in general

How are these

similar and/or
different from
your culture?

YOU

CULTURE & the 3 Ps

Products

How do these products affect these

practices? !

Practices

" How do these practices affect these

products?

How do these
practices affect

How do these
products affect
perspective?

perspective?

How does perspective affect

products & practices?
Analyzing Culture:
Perspective(s)
Products
Practices

Perspective(s)
How are these
similar and/or
different from
your culture?

YOU

How to be an Educator Advocate to

ALL students
Be conscious of your own bias, prejudice, power,
and privilege
Do not make assump>ons or rely on stereotypes
to shape your thinking
Remember how complex iden>ty is and all of the
social-iden>ers of your students
Dont make unrealis>c promises to students
Honor conden>ality of your students unless
there is physical/mental harm being presented to
them or others

How to be an Educator Advocate to

ALL students
Use & respect the Preferred Gender
Pronouns/Name a student requests
Respond to An>-social iden>er language,
harassment, or bullying you witness
Do not feel you have to have all the answers
Seek out knowledge when needed

New Resource/Reference
New ACTFL Publica>on Dec. 2014:
Words and AcCons: Teaching Languages Through
the Lens of Social JusCce
by Cassandra Glynn, Pamela Wesely, & Beth Wassal
Content:
-Crea<ng Social Jus<ce Units
-Adap<ng Curriculum in Textbooks
-Planning Daily Lessons
-Self-Assessment and Reec<on
-Planning Templates
-Social Jus<ce Themes

Resources

Please Complete
the Evalua>on on Event Mobi Look
there for todays brainstormed ideas
Being Culturally Responsive in the
World Language Classroom
OFLA 2015 Annual Conference
April 18, 2015

Presenter: Gary DiBianca

Orange High School
Pepper Pike, Ohio

Gary.dibianca@gmail.com
@garydibianca

Today you need to:

Picture sources
h;p://jus>ceanimale.wordpress.com/
2010/05/06/listen/
h;p://wri>ng.wikinut.com/img/
jdi5fevi80edxepw/Reect-in-your-eyes
h;p://halfdone.wordpress.com/2009/03/03/the-
thinker/thinker/
h;p://annecbrink.com/urbanhealing/gallery.html

WL Theme: Gender Issues

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Ethnicity/
Race/Na>onality
Socioeconomic/
Class
Biological Sex
Gender Iden>ty
Sexual
Orienta>on
Age
Ability
Religion
Language

WL Theme: Heroes/Heroines
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Ethnicity/
Race/Na>onality
Socioeconomic/
Class
Biological Sex
Gender Iden>ty
Sexual
Orienta>on
Age
Ability
Religion
Language

WL Theme: Poverty and Hunger

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Ethnicity/
Race/Na>onality
Socioeconomic/
Class
Biological Sex
Gender Iden>ty
Sexual
Orienta>on
Age
Ability
Religion
Language