Shifting the Discourse from Deficit to Difference

Dr. Gigi Luk

In many schools across the U.S., children who speak a minority language are tasked with learning new knowledge in English, which is their second, developing language. These children's learning outcome, when compared with their English proficient peers, is often described as inferior. Furthermore, children from linguistically diverse backgrounds were also disproportionately represented in special education. The academic achievement gap between children with different levels of English proficiency is complex. Critically, what are the considerations to identify atypical learning mechanisms for children from diverse language backgrounds? In this talk, I will explore education, psychology, and neuroscience research on language diversity, academic achievement, and special education consideration. Taking an interdisciplinary approach in this discussion is necessary to shift the emphasis on performance deficits by recognizing and harnessing children’s strength to enrich learning. Going beyond recognizing language diversity in schools, this shift in emphasis is necessary to embrace language diversity in U.S. schools by providing equitable access to academic knowledge for children who speak a minority language and designing linguistically sensitive pedagogy for all children.