Resist "Americanizing" immigrant students. "Let them learn and appreciate the customs and language of their new country without surrendering the customs and languages of their country of origin," says Erwin Mitchell, co-founder of The Georgia Project.
Educate yourself. Seek out information — online, from books, from leaders within immigrant communities — to learn about the norms and traditions of your students' cultural backgrounds.
Ask questions. What did your hometown look like? What was your journey like from your home country? Did you leave relatives behind? How are schools/stores/food/clothing different here?
Avoid tokenizing. Remember that immigrant and refugee students are individuals with their own unique perspectives. Be thoughtful in how you inquire about their culture, to avoid tokenizing them or generalizing what they say. "Members of minority cultures aren't necessarily experts on our people," says teacher Be Vang. "A lot of times, teachers will ask, 'Why do Hmong people do that?' I'll tell them, 'This is what I think.' Don't turn me into a generalization."
Model language learning. Learn a phrase or two in your students' native language. One Minnesota teacher learns a phrase in each of the dozen languages spoken in his school. Hearing the teacher say something imperfectly in their native language allows students the comfort to make mistakes in English, too.
Visit language classrooms. Observe an ESOL class in your school to better understand the learning environment that English language learners need. Ask an ESOL teacher for classroom suggestions (like explaining concepts in multiple ways, mixing instruction with activities to break up the amount of English your ESOL students must comprehend at one time, and making lessons visual).
Look beyond culture. Don't expect a cultural explanation for everything a child says or does. "Step back and ask, 'Is this a cultural thing or a kid thing?'" says one 5th-grade teacher from Minnesota. "Too often, teachers don't look at them as students; they look at them as immigrant students. But kids are kids, no matter what country they're from."
