In multilingual classrooms, language can be a barrier to learning and communication, especially when students and teachers are not fluent in a global language like English. For this reason, in multilingual classrooms, the use of arts and crafts can be a useful tool for language development and bridging gaps in these classrooms.
Practical Use of Arts and Crafts in Multilingual Classrooms
One language arts activity that can be done in multilingual classrooms is visual storytelling. Through visual storytelling, students can share their experiences, thoughts, and experiences with each other regardless of their language barriers. They use visuals to do this. They create artwork such as paintings, drawings, murals, or collages. They share the stories surrounding their artwork, which helps them learn each other’s languages and vocabulary.
These visual stories help students gain hands-on experience practicing vocabulary, sentence structure, and storytelling, which in turn helps improve their everyday communication skills. In the process, they communicate because their classmates will ask them questions when they don’t understand something. With the help of visual stories, students gain the confidence to share their drawings and ideas, and they will learn to appreciate each other’s languages and cultures.
Building vocabulary is another effective tool for learning new languages, words, phrases and language structures. This is an art and craft activity for teachers as well as students because it is a fun and interactive way to learn from each other. Art and craft materials such as scissors, paints, markers, glue, etc. are used to learn vocabulary related to shapes, textures and colours created with art supplies. Students learn to listen and understand as their teachers give them instructions on how to make their art.
Students also describe and tag their work to other students, which helps students remember new words they have learned. It is also a good idea to tag their work in multiple languages used in the classroom. Doing this keeps them from always relying on research services as they slowly start learning other languages and can write on their own. Teachers like to use vocabulary building techniques to develop students’ languages because some people find it easier to remember context words that have been used. It also enhances the students’ multisensory experience as they are using multiple senses at once.
In multilingual classrooms, another tool teachers use to develop language is collaborative arts. It gets students practicing language as they work on projects together. Students learn how to communicate with each other and develop social skills and empathy. Tasks such as collaborating on art projects, choosing what type of art to create as a group, sharing their perspectives, and coming to an agreement build relationships with each other.
With different art forms such as dance, music, drawings, etc., students can learn each other’s languages and cultural heritage through cultural exchange. Everyone has different perspectives on things, which allows students to learn and try to understand each other’s point of view. This in turn helps them empathize with each other, gain a contextual understanding of things, and become global aware.
Reasons for implementing language development in multilingual classrooms
There are various reasons why language development should be implemented in multilingual classrooms:
Visual context for language learning
When arts and crafts are used to develop language in multilingual classrooms, students can more easily understand the context in which a word is used and why it is used. They are more likely to remember it because the language was used while talking about a particular thing, experience, feeling, etc., making it easier for them to understand the visual representation of the word and the meaning of the word. For example, if a teacher points to a “chair” and calls it that name, a student is more likely to remember the word because they saw a visual representation of it.
Promote collaborative learning
Collaborative art is one way students learn to utilize different languages because they work in groups, and they have to interact with each other and express themselves while creating a group art project. So, when students use multiple ways to communicate such as speaking, drawing, writing, and listening, they can pick up different languages and interact with these languages in a variety of ways, which is good for them. A good example of this is when students come up with different ideas for a group project, write descriptions of their art project, and present the art project in class.
Helps express cultural identity
In a multilingual classroom, one language should not appear to be superior to another so that students feel valued and encouraged to learn other languages. Therefore, it is important to express different languages in the classroom. For example, allowing students to bring their own cultural crafts such as traditional masks, beads, pottery, and other items important to their culture, and having them discuss these cultural crafts in the classroom, and trying to translate them into a target language that the majority of students understand, helps build vocabulary for all students present. When students use arts and crafts to express their cultural identity, it makes them gain confidence in using different languages because they are in a creative environment and are not under any pressure. Therefore, students can speak and write in new languages without fear of being ridiculed.
Supports language development
Teachers use arts and crafts as a language development tool because they stimulate students’ cognitive processes. They can benefit from spatial thinking, problem solving, and fine motor skills, which have been shown to be linked to language development. They also sometimes repeat actions in the process, such as gluing, drawing, cutting, painting, etc., which helps them learn the vocabulary associated with these actions naturally.
conclusion
Arts and crafts are an effective language development tool in multilingual classrooms. Teachers benefit from them because they help unleash students’ creativity, boost their self-confidence, make them feel seen, and help them learn different languages more easily. As more multilingual classrooms adopt these language development methods, students will find it easier to learn and improve their ability to understand other languages.
However, teachers should ensure that students are not ridiculed for not being able to learn a particular language or for forgetting something. Students should be praised when they are able to speak another language because some students will be willing to learn more if they feel appreciated. Most importantly, the learning environment should not be stressful for students.
