Differences in learners based on socio-cultural contexts: Impact of home language of learners’ and language of instruction, the impact of differential ‘cultural capital’ of learners

1. Unit 1
Differences in learners based on socio-cultural
contexts:
Impact of home language of learners’ and language of
instruction, impact of differential ‘cultural capital’ of
learners.

2. Socio cultural context of learning
• Socio-cultural diversity is the reality of an Indian classroom. You may find
children from various cultural groups, various socioeconomic backgrounds in
the same classroom.
• Socio-cultural context refers to the idea that language, rather than existing
in isolation, is closely linked to the culture and society in which it is used.
This means when language is learnt, the socio-cultural context in which it is
used needs to be taken into consideration as well.
• Right to Education Act, 2009 has advocated an inclusive classroom.

3. • Socio-cultural diversity in this context includes race, class, ability,
different learning conditions and styles, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual
orientation, religion, nationality and other dimensions that make up
the identity of the individual student and impact his or her learning
experience. (UNESCO, 2011)

4. Impact of home language of learners’
• A home language is a language that is most commonly spoken by the
members of a family for everyday interactions at home. Also called
the family language or the language of the home.
• ‘Home language’ or ‘Mother tongue’ has its own benefits when it comes to a
learner which helps them to understand better and makes the
communication easy with other pupils in the class.

5. • Let’s us see some of the benefits of mother tongue in education for a learner
Children learn better and faster in a language they can understand.
1. They enjoy school more, they feel more at home
2. Pupils tend to show increased self-esteem
3. Parents participation is increased. Parents can help with homework and can
participate in school activities
4. Studies have reported that when children take advantage of their multilingualism
they also enjoy higher socioeconomic status, including higher earnings
5. On average, the schools perform better, reporting less repetition
6. Finally, schools report children stay in school longer

6. What if a classroom is a multilingual
classrooms?
What if in a classroom there is 10 or more mother tongue been spoken?
→ It is not possible to give a full blown bilingual education programme and it would
not be feasible also whereas the best approach would be not ignoring all the
languages and opt for one language which is frequently done in classrooms.
→ Translanguaging is a new pedagogical strategy and shows exciting results when all
languages are valued, when children are offered opportunities to use their home
languages in the classrooms, to make homework assignments in their mother tongue
or to collaborate at school with students who speak the same language.

7. • There is no one model that fits all contexts in which multilingual children are
learning and which meets all of their learning needs.
• Mother tongue based multilingual education can take many forms and each
school and each community should determine what works best for them.
• The longer a child is able to learn in and through his or her mother tongue(s)
the greater the educational benefits that can be expected.

8. Language of Instruction
• The language for instruction is the second language i.e. English language
because it is the gateway to the outside world.
• English as a language of instruction is preferred because in a multilingual
classroom it is difficult to give instructions in every language and as it is
spoken all over the world, it becomes very much suitable as a medium of
instruction.
• Although some of the schools also uses Hindi as the language for instruction
instead of English.
• Many a time the instructor uses the mother tongue while giving instruction
because it makes the learners understand much better when mother tongue is
used but again it is not much feasible in a multilingual classroom.

9. Cultural Capital and its Impact
• Cultural capital is having assets that give us social mobility. These assets are
both tangible and intangible, as with skills and music taste; but importantly,
they are not related to income, net worth, or any financial measure.
• Cultural capital in the realm of education has impacted my own educational
experience due to the tendency for cultural capital to further enable the
successes of the dominant culture by way of embedded class and gender
expectations.

10. • The system tends to reinforce the dominant culture by structuring education
in such a way that reflects the dominant culture and sets expectations based.
• Class based cultural capital can open, or instead close doors to opportunities
and resources which aid in education and success.
• For example in high school those students who came from a higher class
often had an advantage to get on certain teams or gain certain summer jobs
that benefited their resume and their futures due to who their parents were,
or who their parents knew. This creates a social based class bias and enables
further inequality within the education system, but in turn opens doors for
those of which reside in such socially profitable classes, or closes doors for
those who do not.