Twenty-third International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations

Abstract

Education is an essential tool to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and bi/multilingualism. Today more than ever, it is fundamental to foster bi/multilingualism for inclusion in education and society. Languages and bi/multilingualism can be used as powerful tools to advance inclusion and create more caring and respectful societies. Language learners, especially those from minority groups, need to be provided with the opportunity to participate in activities where they can use and continue to develop their home language and learn more about their culture. Also, students should be given the opportunity to discover their own talents, for instance, through discussions, debates, artistic works, creation of poems, singing of songs, games and teamwork activities while using both their native and the target languages. Also, critical thinking skills can be developed through the use of this type of activities which can be artistic and fun and can bring the community together. It is important for students to find their own voices, discover their own knowledge and wisdom, and become aware of their own talents and capacities to share, learn, inquire, analyze and create. Also, these activities can provide students with a voice to embrace their cultural and linguistic richness. The ideas that will be discussed in this presentation are based on a qualitative research study conducted at a Spanish-Indigenous bilingual school in Chiapas, Mexico. The findings of this ethnography show that indigenous children are active agents of cultural and linguistic preservation and promotion.