Language, Literacy and the Teaching of Writing
in Multicultural Settings

American classrooms are increasingly becoming “contact zones” where students from a variety of language, class and ethnic backgrounds with multiple “ways of knowing” interact. This contact zone is part of the context for what we as English teachers consider when we “teach” in multicultural settings. Specifically, as we introduce students to academic literacy, we must be aware of the social, political, economic, and cultural forces that shape our communities, schools, students, and ourselves as teachers. How do such forces shape how we teach and what we teach? What does it mean to teach writing in a multicultural setting? What do we need to know about language diversity, literacy, and culture to be effective teachers within these multicultural settings? These are some of the questions that we will examine during this week. We will explore issues of language, literacy, and culture as they relate to the teaching of writing and related skills. At the center of our exploration will be the role of the teacher. We will examine how our cultural backgrounds shape our own language and literacy.

Teachers will participate in Web-based discussions, reader response groups, and in–class presentations. In addition, each teacher will keep a reading-response journal. To make this institute one in which collaboration and discussion are prominent, this institute will be limited to 20 participants. Finally, participants will be invited to follow up the summer institute with quarterly Saturday morning teacher workshops.