RESOURCES FOR FURTHER STUDY
The Role of Culture in English Learners’ Performance at School
Summary of Cultural Issues for English Learners
An overview of cultural issues that affect ELs’ performance at school written by Joyce Nutta
Multicultural and Culturally-Responsive Education
Interview with James Banks on Multicultural Education
Esteemed Multicultural Education expert defines the term and discusses its classroom application.
NCSALL Discussion of Multicultural Education
Allison Cumming-McCann discusses the elements of Multicultural Education–its goals and approach.
Bill Howe–15 Misconceptions about Multicultural Education
Examines criticisms of Multicultural Education, providing evidence for points made.
Gloria Ladson-Billings article on Culturally Relevant Pedagogy
Seminal article that defines the term, discusses cultural competence and critical consciousness, and describes what it looks like in action.
Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition List of Multicultural Literature
Annotated list of suggested literature for adults, and on a separate tab, for children.
Definitions of Culture
Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition
Cultural Diversity
Cultural Diversity Activities
A variety of activities offered by Brigham Young University.
Non-Verbal Communication Modes
Provides a definition and examples of non-verbal communication, followed by descriptions of differences in non-verbal communication between American and other cultures.
Cultural Adjustment
Cultural Adjustment
Report from Princeton University that describes specific needs of immigrant children in school and the larger community.
Information about Other Countries and Cultures
Exploring Different Cultures
Summaries of various cultures around the globe. Further information on this website is also available under the “World Cultures and Heritage” tab.
CIA World Factbook
Provides information on the history, government, economy, geography, and other facts about 267 world countries. To access information about a specific country, click on a region or continent on the map, and a list of country links will appear. Select the country of interest, and then expand any of the headings for detailed information.
Culture Crossing
An evolving database of cross-cultural information about every country in the world. This user-built guide allows people from all walks of life to share resources for cross-cultural exploration. Each country has a basic section, a business section, and a student section.
A World of Cultures
Access educational materials, multimedia content, resources and links related to world cultures and the study of culture.
Countries and their Cultures
Provides cultural information on world cultures and multicultural America, including references and website links.
Country Studies
This website contains the on-line versions of books previously published in hard copy by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress as part of the Country Studies/Area Handbook Series sponsored by the U.S. Department of the Army between 1986 and 1998. Each study offers a comprehensive description and analysis of the country or region’s historical setting, geography, society, economy, political system, and foreign policy.
Latino Americans
PBS series and instructional resources on the contributions of Latino Americans.
Nation Master
A massive central data source of statistics on all countries.
Stereotypes
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED presentation on “The Danger of a Single Story”
Literature-based discussion of how knowing only one story about different culture causes stereotypes.
Beyond the Model Minority
Commentary by Asian-American educator at ACT on the dangers of stereotyping Asian students.
RESOURCES FOR CLASSROOM USE
Smithsonian Folkways Videos
Organized by areas of the world, this website includes videos of different types of folk music.
Smithsonian Folkways Lesson Plans
Activities to teach about different cultures through music videos.
Peace Corps World Wise Schools Lesson Plans
K-12 lesson plans about cultural diversity and diverse cultures.