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Do You Read Me? (Do You Understand Me?)

GRADE LEVEL: 11-12

SUBJECT: Social Studies, Language Arts

INTENDED UNIT: Systems & Power

ESSENTIAL QUESTION:

  • How have people historically, and in the present, challenged systems of oppression?

  • How can we identify and analyze the systems of power affecting our lived experience?

CENTRAL QUESTIONS/BIG IDEAS:

  • Importance of language access for all especially in institutions of power and influence (government, corporate, academia).

  • Do our communities do their best to cater to English learners and non-English speaking? (advertising/marketing, education, businesses, social services, employment, street signage, legal etc.)


CONTENT OBJECTIVE:

Knowledge:

  • Students will be able to identify ways representation and language comprehension matters in our ever growing, diverse society.

  • They will also understand that many residents in the USA struggle with English language comprehension, which leaves them vulnerable to many aspects of society: labor, education, socializing etc. Without support and resources many are left without the means to learn, understand, and move upward in society.

Skills:

  • Creating new counter-narratives to the established rules and narratives.

  • Listening and commenting on current laws and standards in the USA.

  • Communicating and responding to classmates in an academic environment through discourse.

  • Questioning current processes and how they do/do not apply to every person in the USA.

Habits:

  • Students will learn to be aware of their communities and the populations that live in their borders.

  • They will learn to explore census data and see the movement of different ethnic and racial populations and trends in their growth and struggles in the USA.

  • Students will be aware of ways we can support those who struggle with English.

  • Build empathy.


GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT AREA STANDARDS:


CA ELD STANDARDS:


IEP/504 ACCOMMODATIONS:

  • School laptops/computers available to view online content. Printouts of content available upon request. Links to materials available for outside viewing. Printouts of outsheets. Slides.

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

  1. Slides (link)

  2. Betty Duong Oral History (45:45 >> 51:16)

  3. Census Data API Identities (link), (pdf)

  4. Census Languages Spoken In the USA (link), (pdf)


LESSON IMPLEMENTATION SEQUENCE:

Step 1: Brief Overview of the Lesson

Duration: 10 minutes

Purpose: This exercise is to show native English language learners the difficulties of reading, deciphering, and understanding a language that you are not familiar with, or accustomed to reading/speaking.


Implementation:

Go over the flow of the class and the important ideas/topics to consider.


Step 1: Brief Overview of the Lesson

Students will view a series of signs in different languages. Students will be asked to guess/interpret what each of the items say and what they could mean.

Instructor will show the answers at the end. Ask students if they found the exercise difficult and why? Written language/characters? Unfamiliar signage and placement? Unrecognizable color choices and/or meaning? Were there context clues to help you decipher the photo? What if spoken language was introduced? Or imposed cultural/religious customs for men and women facing individuals.


Resources/Materials: Slides 1-26


Assessment: Decypher activity

Step 3: Watch and Reflect

Duration: 10 minutes

Purpose: Students will analyze and reflect on Bettys experiences and put into their own thoughts the issues Betty is expressing for Vietnamese Americans, and other non-English speakers within the judicial system.


Implementation:

Watch/read the excerpt from Betty Duong’s interview and her thoughts on language access, representation, awareness of her status as a Vietnamese American female lawyer (the rarity of it), and the microaggressions immigrants/children of immigrants go through to survive living in the USA.

Have students answer these questions as they watch/read:

From Betty’s account, what were some reasons you think there were few Vietnamese lawyers and interpreters in the judicial system?

What are some of the obstacles that could impede English language learners/non-English speakers from receiving proper legal counsel, preparing for/winning a case, and/or navigating the legalese of the American government?

From Betty’s interview, do you think the legal system is accommodating to a wide variety of ethnic groups where English is not the predominant language spoken?


Resources/Materials: Slides 27-28 (transcript in notes)


Assessment: Discussion questions

Step 4: Improve a Service with Current Technology and Resources

Duration: 30 minutes

Purpose: This exercise will have students work together to evaluate a current service and identify the ways the system could be improved and use current technology/resources to improve the equity and efficiency of the service.


Implementation:

Have students work in groups of 2 to 4. In this exercise students will use either paper and a writing instrument or use Canva, Figma, or PowerPoint to analyze and improve a current public/commercial service with the technology and resources that are currently available today and how they can better serve people who may struggle understanding English.

Students should implement blue-sky thinking and imagining. There are no constraints to the cost and size of their ideas. Just as long as they are effective, practical, and easy to use for someone who has limited English and technological comprehension.

  1. Students will first choose their public/commercial service to improve. This can be either the DMV, the courts, airports, restaurants, academic institutions etc.

  2. Students will list all known services and processes for their chosen institution. In their evaluation they should pinpoint problem areas where English language learners/non-English speakers would give pause, and provide suggestions for improvement.

  3. Students will illustrate or grab images from the internet to create their brand new service models. Students should be able to explain the need for the technology/resource and its function in improving the service and quality of life for the patrons/customers/guests.

  4. Have teams do short presentations on their chosen service and the improvements they made.


Resources/Materials: PowerPoint


Assessment: N/A

Step 5: Reflection

Duration: 10 minutes

Purpose: Students will reflect on the waysweasa society can help our fellow citizens navigate their everyday’s lives through kindness, empathy, and supporting one another.


Implementation:

Have students think about the ways they can help their fellow students/community members who struggle with English and to navigate their everyday lives in the USA. Empathize that there are factors that we know and don’t know which may be holding them back from learning English or having the resources and support to learn English.

Native English speakers/learners may not realize the difficulties non-native English speakers have when it comes to communicating, doing daily tasks, and fitting in. Being patient, helpful, and kind goes a long way.


Resources/Materials: Slide 30


Assessment: Lesson reflection