Michael Byram’s Model of Intercultural Communicative Competence is an effective tool to use when teaching, especially with a multicultural classroom. In my experience, I have always felt it is important to be a culturally responsive teacher. This is something that is encouraged through Byram’s ICC model. You as the teacher need to be aware of various cultural aspects in order to support students…

First I will tackle the first question above: Should teaching be used to achieve communicative competence or for more detailed accuracy? It would depend on my classroom and the goals of the students I am teaching. For example, if I were to consider my students right now, who are roughly ages 9-11 and mostly speak languages other than English at home and at school, I would focus on teaching for…

Data Collection and Results Research was gathered at this specific school setting from Year 4 students (roughly aged 9-11) and the staff working there. Both groups were asked the same questions which are as followed. What is your mother tongue? What language(s) do you use at school? What language(s) do you use at home? What language(s) do you use with your friends? At what age did you start…

She sits in her car for about twenty minutes figuring out her plan. Her route. Even though she had talked this through with her therapist two weeks ago and she’s gone through this in her head every night since before releasing to sleep. First, making sure she had everything she needed for the trip. She looks into her purse to triple check everything was in its place. Phone, keys, wallet, notebook…

"Some people talk to animals. Not many listen though. That's the problem." ― A.A. Milne If you didn't read part one, I highly recommend you do, as this will be discussing my second day at the turtle station so I won't be introducing as much about the place as in the last one! :) The second day, I woke up tired from little sleep, but excited. After seeing that massive, beautiful creature just a…

"Know that the same spark of life that is within you, is within all of our animal friends, the desire to live is the same within all of us." -Rai Aren The dangerous waves crashing to my left. The rustle of the leaves coming from my right. My feet being weighed down by the constant entering sand. My face dripping with sweat from the humidity and the running. My feet tripping over each other as I…

“What are you still doing here? Go home!” Two new coworkers said this to me as they passed the copy room I had already been huddled in for a good hour or so. “But… I still have things to finish for today. It being the first week of school and all, I think I should—” “It’s 4:30, when does your frametime end today?” I was hesitant to respond. “Oh! Um, 2:30, but—” “Oh girl, no. You have to go home…

While the rest of the world tries to figure out the best way to return to education this fall in ways they never have before, Sweden is planning too...as normal. Regardless of Covid-19 and all of the worldwide panic and sickness it has spread, preschools, elementary schools, and middle schools in Sweden have been open and are operating as normal through it all. Every end of July or beginning of…