NAME : AIMI SYAFIQAH BINTI SERBA JALIL
CLASS : 5 PISMP TESL 1/SN
Malaysia has a multi-racial and multi-ethnic culture. Teachers play an important role to ensure that the classroom environment is always culture friendly so that the learning process can be implemented effectively. Teachers also serve to enhance the quality of teaching as well as to create a conducing atmosphere for the students of aborigines, native (indigeneous) and students from rural areas to the school environment to be culture friendly, thereby strengthening national integration. In order to create a culture-friendly environment, teachers play an important role in creating acceptance among the diverse ethnic groups. The feelings of acceptance towards each other’s cultur al and ethnic difference
can be inculcated by creating a culturally conducive classroom environment. It is the best and most important place to teach about different cultures, since the students in the classroom who are from diverse cultures grow up and learn together. If children are exposed to a multicultural classroom environment where they learn to appreciate and respect others’ differences right from the beginning of their academic years, it will be
easier to get along with their peers from other cultures and this would eventually strengthen the relationships of the diverse ethnic groups in the classroom. There are various factors that can help to build a friendly-culture classroom environment. One of the factors that can lead to friendly-culture classroom environment is role of teachers. The government has designed policies and taken measures to ensure a harmonious relationship among the various groups of ethnics. Thus, it is important for teachers to realise these goals. Teachers should take up the challenge challe nge to create a unity among Malaysian and thus create a harmonious relationship among the ethnic groups. In order to accomplish this role, teachers themselves must believe in the importance of creating a healthy multicultural environment which treats everyone as equals. In order to create a culture-friendly classroom environment, teachers need to consider and acquire various aspects. For instance, a good teacher must learn and understand about different cultures for ignorance may lead to intolerance. If the teacher
does not take into consideration about students’ culture background, teacher may do
mistake such as racist comments which are the most sensitive issue and can cause dispute among ethnics. Touching on sensitive issues about one’s religion, e thnics and
customs are the major things that teacher need to avoid and prevent it from occur. Instead, a teacher must encourage a multicultural view and perspective in the students’ minds by embedding elements of different cultures in the curriculum. This can
be done by bringing students together to have a variety of cross-cultural activities which enable students to appreciate others cultures such as exhibition during Culture Day, celebrating different festivals in school, a visit to Taman Mini in Malacca or Independent Day celebration to instill the spirit and feelings of proud being a Malaysian among students. Teacher can adopt and adapt varieties of instructional approaches to meet the need of students from various cultural groups such as the reading materials too. It helps in building relationship among students from diverse ethnic groups on the basis of understanding and appreciation. In addition, there are various strategies that can be used to build a friendlyculture classroom environment. As teachers play major role in creating conducive classroom environment teachers need to practice and adapt these strategies in the beginning of schooling. In order to implement the strategies, the first components that need to be considered is physical aspect of a classroom. Physical aspect does not only involve its infrastructure and physical facilities, it is also the results of the management of the physical environment of the classroom. According to Fred Steele (1973) cited in Modul PGSR, 2010, mentioned that "the effects of physical settings in a classroom is a setting for social interaction, symbolic identification, growth, security, shelter and pleasure". Thus, there are some general physical criteria are needed to create a culturefriendly environment in a classroom. Among some of the criteria that a teacher should give consideration are the arrangement of tables and chairs suitable for students and can be modified according to the needs of the activity. For instance, if the teacher frequently does group activities, it is the best if the tables and chairs are arranged in form of group such as four in group, in U shape or three in a row. It is easier for teacher
to conduct the activity besides, encourage interaction among students from different culture background. Teacher can rotate students seating position every week to avoid students seat with the same peers and encourage them mix with other peers as well. Other criteria that teacher should give consideration is to have good lighting and ventilation. It is important for the lights, fan and window function well to help students learn comfortobly. Teacher need to ensure that all of them works well before entering the class to prevent students lose focus to learn. Teacher also can install curtains with vibrant color, light and soft. When the school hours reach noon, the sunlight might distract the students who seat near the window. Thus, installing curtains help the teacher and students go through the learning process comfortably. As children are easily attracted to colourful and vibrant colours, teacher can paint the walls with cheerful colors and soft hues. Painting classroom wall can be done with teacher and students work together which promotes cooperation, harmonious and culture-friendly classroom. It is also important for teacher to install safety guaranteed such as fire plans and fire extinguishers in classroom as a preparation for students’ safety during any
dangerous situation and mishap. Safety is one of students’ need during learning and when it is fulfill by the teacher, students will be motivated to learn thus promote a conducive classroom environment. Besides, in order to optimize learning among students, teacher can provide a reading, learning or Multimedia corners at the back of the classroom. Storybooks, novel, dictionary, magazine, CD-ROM and newspaper can be install in the reading and learning to provide reference for students to learn and helps to fill their free time beneficially. Teacher also must ensure computers provided in each classroom are working well so that easier for students to access information and do their tasks. Besides that, other strategies that should be considered when teachers want to organize classroom so as to create a culture-friendly environment is socio-emotional management strategies. According to Leonard & Leonard (2006), between the relationships that a teacher puts with their students, there is a social interaction that bonds them and emotional foundation which enables each party to understand each other. Thus, a teacher significant role is in guiding and assisting students with their
needs, social i nteractions and group dynamics. Students’ emotions should be managed effectively since it influences the students’ ability to control his or her emotions, thoughts
and behaviours and thus affects learning in the classroom. In Malaysian context, the role of the teacher is more challenging where teachers should address the socioemotional development of students from various ethnic groups of different cultural background. The question is how would teachers implement the socio-emotional management strategies among different cultural background in order to create friendly-culture classroom environment? There are several ways on how to do this. Some of the ways which teachers can implement in developing the socio-emotional environment in the classroom are to establish relationship with each individual based on trust and mutual respect. Teachers can help children to understand themselves and others through classroom experiences and by using activities
such as discussion, singing, poetry,
language scripts, stories, art and craft which promote social competencies and cooperation. Furthermore, teachers can provide opportunities for social interaction and providing more structures for learning social relationship skills. For instance, teachers can help children attain social competence by looking at the total environment such as the social environment, the physical and the content of teaching. Besides, teacher can create a conducive socio emotional learning environment which is a friendly, non threatening environment where the children feel they are supported by both peers and teachers. Such environment make the students feel confident, comfortable, appreciated and valued. In addition, they listen to one another and welcome a diverse number of views from their peers from diverse cultural groups. It is also important for a teacher to be a good example for students. Teachers can be the role model where students of diverse cultural groups can modeled behaviours that are appropriated in the classroom. For instance, teacher always use appropriate name to address students and avoid giving racist comments or examples which contains sensitive issues such as skin colours, hairs or religions. If teacher keep addressing students using inappropriate names other students will think that it is
appropriate to call their peers with such names. If this issue not being prevented, it may become the habits of students and portary our society as insensitive, rude and not a unity. Next, other strategies that can be used to build a friendly-culture classroom environment are management of teaching and learning in the multicultural classroom. Teachers must know how to motivate, communicate and work effectively with students who have different levels of skills and come from culturally diverse backgrounds. Managing multicultural classroom is crucial where it involves the processes of planning, implementing, evaluating and taking iniative to improve the process. There are several aspects that teacher should take into consideration such as planning effective teaching and learning for students from different cultural background. This is to ensure that the needs of students from different cultural background is fulfilled and no sensitive issues arouse during learning and teaching process. Then, teacher have to implement learning and teaching as planned and making necessary modifications. For instance, students from different cultural background may want their culture to be centralized or be look up. Thus, teacher can modified the lesson to fit every culture and stress every cultures strengths, uniqueness, festivals, foods and clothing but never look down on any cultures. Teacher can also evaluate the effectiveness of teaching and learning process through students product during activity and how they respond to each questions. Lastly, teacher can take follow-up action based on the evaluation and making necessary changes. Some parts of lesson may not suit students’ different cultural needs and teacher should improve to help o ptimize their
learning. Thus, it helps to build friendly-culture classroom environment. Besides, in order to have a smooth flow of teaching and learning process, there are different stages of the management of teaching and learning such as before the teaching and learning process, during the teaching and learning process and after the teaching and learning process. These are important to create a friendly-culture classroom environment. As a teacher who is dealing with multicultural students, teachers need to make thorough prpearation before starting teaching and learning sessions. Preparation prior to teaching and learning including planning of Daily Lesson
includes several aspects such as learning outcomes must be accurate and clear, use appropriate teaching methods for students from diverse cultural groups, using adequate and appropriate teaching resources, use effective teaching aid materials and the steps in the teaching and learning process must be clear. Role of a teacher in ensuring the teaching and learning process can promotes friendly-culture
classroom
environment
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aids.
Teaching and learning management begins with the planning and preparation of appropriate teaching aids. The use of effective and appropriate teaching aids is very important to help teachers explain difficult and abstract concepts to students. "The use of teaching aids can help to explain a concept" (Hiebert, Weame & Taber, 1991; Kozma, 1991 cited in Modul PGSR, 2010, ). Among the examples of teaching aids that are often used are material, photographs, graphics, mind maps, diagrams, radio, computer, video, flash card, diagrams, newspapers, magazines, audio visual aids, model, prototype or historical materials. Teachers must also select teaching resources which are suitable for students from different cultural background. Teachers who are prepared with information from various sources are not only able to give clear explanation to the students but also to make connections between ideas, propose new ideas and challenge students with high order thinking questions. Among the learning resources that can be used are textbooks, reference books, the Internet, information newspapers, magazines, radio and television, journals, prospectus, phamplets and brochures, research reports, official statistics and informations from interviews and questionnaire. Sources that are accurate, appropriate, and sufficient can challenge students' minds and inspire their interest to understand the subject better. Thus, the selection of the teaching and learning resources has to be appropriately done. Meanwhile, during the teaching and learning process, teachers must acquire various culturally relevant teaching strategies. The selection of appropriate teaching strategies can also ensure that the delivery of information and implementation of teaching to be more effective. Especially for activities that involve active interaction of students from different cultures and backgrounds. There are several important aspects
that need to be given consideration in order to create an effective and conducive teaching and learning atmosphere for students from different cultures. For instance, achieving the learning outcomes, the use of appropriate
assessment procedures,
inculcation of appropriate cultural values, creating a physically and psychosocially conducive teaching and learning environment for students from diverse cultural background, practising a good disciplinary procedure based on students from diverse cultural background and conducting remedial and enrichment classes. After the teaching and learning process, teacher should carry out process of assessment to determine the effectiveness of teaching. Teachers must carried out a culture-based assesment which is fair to all students. We should be aware that even the most knowledgeable teachers may not necessarily be able to identify culture-relevant elements in the teaching and learning process or even design a culture-based assessment tools. Thus, teachers must be sensitive to the fact that there are several characteristics that need to be given emphasis when designing the assessment tools to accomodate the needs of students from diverse cultural backgrounds. In the context of culture-based assessment, formative assessment that is designed or constructed should revolve around the same context or issues as in teaching and learning with the purpose of gathering data to assess the effectiveness of teaching. Besides that, the assessment tools design should focus on matters that are not sensitive to students from any cultural background. In fact, teachers should not create any kind of cultural sensitivity or biasness in the assessment procedures or even in any of the items. One of the important characteristics that can affect the performance of students is the language used in the assessment tool.
Language has a great
influence on the way students respond to tasks. Teachers must also implement appropriate methods and techniques of teaching and learning in multicultural classroom. Teacher can use collaborative and cooperative learning methods which is more student centered. It encourages students to discuss with members of multicultural groups. For instance, in a discussion group composed of members like Hafiz, Ah Chong, Kevin and Ravi, they are encouraged to interact and work together in an atmosphere of mutual respect. Teachers need to facilitate the group
in order to create multi-cultural harmony. Collaborative and cooperative elements need to be nurtured during primary school level in order to create a healthy learning environment which can integrate pupils of various cultures in the classroom. Another teaching strategy or method is discovery method. For instance, a discussion of the topic on “ Different Festivals in Malaysia ” where teacher allocate
different festivals to members of another cultural group. Hafiz and Aina are assigned the topic on festivals in Chinese culture, Ah Meng and Liew Sun are asked to find the festivals in Indian culture whereas Ravi and Lalitha are given the topic about Malay culture. Cross-cultural strategy requires students to explore and develop the knowledge and experience of other cultural groups. It encourages students to mingle with each other and by obtaining information about each other’s cultural practises they will be able to understand each other better and this will lead to a harmonious living among members of different cultural background. Besides, project is also one of the method or strategy which teacher can use to build friendly-culture classroom environment. This method requires each group to comprise of students of all races and cultures. Priority should be given to topics that symbolize cultural diversity. For instance, students can be asked to find informations on the topic related to marriage customs, traditional foods and clothes. Members of the group which consist of students from different races can share experiences and informations based on the different communities. Through this, students gain further knowledge about the different cultural practises. Thus, it is important for teachers to avoid putting students from the same cultural background in the same group. The use and selection of reading materials is also crucial to promotes friendlyculture classroom environment. For instance, when teaching reading skills teachers must select reading materials that are culture-friendly. This is important because the selection of reading materials that are culture biased may lead to a conflict among students. An effective reading program must bridge cultural differences and give students space to think positively about cultural differences. In order to implement this, teachers must choose reading materials that can be associated with the experience of every student in the classroom, use appropriate teaching and learning strategies,
sensitive to the use of statements that may offend students’ cultural understanding , create or find appropriate reading materials for all students with different cultural background and encourage students to read and understand the cross-cultural material. Moreover, the ability of the teacher to manage the classroom effectively is vital in order to create a conducive teaching and learning environment. Instead of having a good reading materials, the teacher himself or herself must have good characteristics and personality. There are several characteristics of an effective teacher who are able to create a conducive and friendly-culture teaching and learning environment. A teacher must always stay alert and aware of surrounding situation, has systematic in planning and evaluating, be patient in handling students from all backgrounds, has a good time management, be prepared to change and flexible and always bring effective communication. Finally, teachers play major role in Sociolinguistic aspects too. Teachers can organize various activities of language, literature and culture among students which can be done in the classroom or outside of the classroom to instill elements of cultural heritage of other ethnic groups. For instance, teacher can use Kadazan ethnic folklore in teaching language or use Iban ethnic songs in teaching and learning music. Teachers can also use traditional games as an approach of "games based learning". This will not only foster understanding among students of multi ethnic but it also encourage students to learn and master the vocabulary of other ethnics from peers. Through this every ethnic group will not feel left out and helps narrow the gap between ethnic groups thus, create better understanding between ethnic groups. As the conclusion, teachers play an important role to enhance the quality of teaching as well as creating a friendly-culture classroom environment. Students should be given exposure to the various culturally elements so that students can equip themselves to deal with multicultural classroom situations. When students learn in a classroom environment which always culture friendly, the learning process can be implemented effectively thereby, strengthening national integration.
