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The Study of MartinDeborah K. Cox Copyright
2001 by Deborah K. Cox Abstract
This study explores the possibility of a healthy four-year-old male, who comes from a bilingual background, regressing in his ability to communicate with others. The boy was referred to special education by his parents because, although his language skills had appeared to be developing normally until age two to two and one-half years, the child stopped talking at this point and became echolalic. At the same time this happened, some relatives (who were refugee immigrants from Kenya and Somalia) had moved in with the family. Upon entering this child in a special education preschool program, the parents expressed their desire that their child’s needs would best be met in a small, structured educational setting. The Cultural Inquiry Process (Jacob, 1999) was used to learn about the student and his family as well as his cultural background and its effects on his learning either the family’s native language or English as a second language. The Student Martin (all proper names are pseudonyms) is a four-year old boy who has been a student in my preschool center-based special education program for children with developmental delays since October, 2000. He receives no additional services other than attending my morning half-day program for five days a week and two home visits on a monthly basis as I target onto goals that are in his Individual Educational Plan (I.E.P.). These goals include the areas of receptive and expressive language, fine motor, and cognition. His parents are bilingual in Somali and English. However, after reportedly using English as the primary language with Martin, his parents were concerned that after he had begun to speak in two-word and three-word simple sentences in English around the age of two years, he had suddenly shown regression in his language skills. This regression occurred after relatives, who were refugee immigrants and spoke only in their native Somalian language, had moved in and lived with Martin and his family for approximately six months. Puzzlement I am puzzled by Martin’s inability to communicate with others. It would seem that he would have picked up more of the language if his immediate family speaks to him in English. In addition, his immigrant relatives have been out of the family home for approximately two years. In considering this, I wonder if there are other cultural or developmental issues contributing to his lack of acquiring language skills.
This study has intrigued me because our school system is ever increasing its population of students who are culturally diverse. As Kauchak and Eggen (1998) state, "Increasing immigration has resulted in an increase in the number of students whose first language is not English[;]…the number…is growing at…4 percent a year — about twice the population growth rate for the nation" (p.49). In addition, according to Morris (1997), "Currently, there are 2.6 million non-English speaking students in the public schools…" (p.4). Summary of What is Known In summarizing those things that I already know about Martin, I find that the following information could have an influence on his language development. These involve using two languages in the family, cultural expectations that cause misinterpretations between school and home, and having another language introduced to Martin before he completely learned the English language that his parents attempted to teach him. The Student According to school records, Martin is four years old and has two siblings. His older brother is in the eighth grade, and his younger sister is 21 months old. He lives in a townhouse with both parents and siblings. The family actively practices the Muslim religion. The father is a computer programmer and has lived in the United States for twenty (20) years. He immigrated from Somalia where he graduated from a university. Martin’s father is bilingual in the Somalian and English languages.
Similarly, Martin’s mother has lived in the United States for the past ten years and is a full-time homemaker in the family. She graduated from a university in India before moving to the United States. She also is bilingual in the Somalian and English languages. According to school records, the parents speak to their children in English, but they speak to each other in Somalian in their home.
Upon recommendation from their family pediatrician, Martin’s parents referred him to Child Find for assessment of possible special education services. Currently, Martin has been diagnosed with a developmentally delayed (DD) label for delays in language, motor, and cognitive skills. According to Valdivia (1999), a "developmental delay refers to a lag in development rather than to a specific condition causing that lag. It represents a slower rate of development" (p.1).
This is Martin’s first experience in a school setting. He has not been in formal daycare or other preschool programs. This connects with research which reports that "most culturally diverse children of preschool age have not interacted extensively in structured group situations" (Santos de Barona, p.367). Santos de Barona (1991) states that for these minority children "most learning has occurred through the family, which itself may be isolated experientially from the mainstream culture" (p.367).
At the present time, Martin is undergoing evaluation for determining the continued need for special education services for next year as he will be entering Kindergarten. The School
Martin attends a special education preschool center-based classroom at Kilburn Elementary School. The class has two other male students with special needs who are both four years old. The class capacity is maximized at eight special needs students.
In addition, a four-year-old female child, known as a reverse mainstreamed student, with no special needs, attends the class in order to interact and model age-appropriate skills for the other self-contained students. Similarly, Stafford and Green (1996) write:
The preschool is combined with an elementary school that includes grades kindergarten through fifth grade. It is a suburban school consisting of 650 students with a low socio-economic status and a high at-rise student population. Eighty percent of the students receives free breakfasts and lunches. The student population consists of 42% Hispanic, 40% African American, 15% Caucasian, and 3% Other. The Teacher I am the full-time teacher in the class and I have a teacher assistant who works in both the morning and afternoon preschool classes. Furthermore, I have taught for twelve years and six of those years as a preschool special education teacher. I teach the morning session and arrange the other half day in contacting and making home visits to each student’s home in order to maintain a relationship with the parents. Therefore, as stated by Morrow et al (1999), "the importance of the home-school connection in supporting children’s development" is a necessary component in relating ideas and strategies between home and school (p.464). In addition, I was born in the United States and English is my primary native language.
Alternative Cultural Questions
I wonder how cultural mismatches might be contributing to my puzzlement concerning Martin as considered by CIP question 3.3 (Jacob, 1999). Furthermore, I also wonder how mismatches between Martin’s home culture and the school culture and curriculum might be contributing to Martin’s lack of communication skills (CIP question 3.3.2). In addition, if his home culture involves the use of more than one language, I wonder how much that might affect Martin’s language acquisition as he transfers its use at school and in the classroom.
In order to arrange my puzzlement in an orderly manner, I considered other culturally-based questions in regard to Martin as I examined various ways to broaden his acquisition of language. For example, how might the cultural mismatch regarding language be contributing to the lack of Martin’s success in communicating with others in school? In addition, I wonder how the various meanings of words are being comprehended by Martin between home and culture. Although his parents can communicate with me in English, they sometimes misinterpret certain terms in my conversations with them as well. Consequently, I will rephrase my verbal communication with them in order to check their comprehension by asking them to repeat for me what they thought I said in case there is doubt of misinterpretation.
Similarly, I wonder how my cultural attitudes might affect my expectations with Martin. As Jacob (1995) states, "Teachers…bring to classrooms their own cultural meanings and behavioral patterns, influenced by their ethnicity, social class, gender, and profession" (p.455). I routinely expect a child to look at me using direct contact of his or her eyes to mine in order for me to know that the student is focusing and giving me attention. However, I often wonder if Martin, and other children like him in the same cultural backgrounds, has been taught in his culture to not look directly at an adult, especially someone in authority, in order to show respect. Consequently, as stated by Jacob and Jordan (1996):
Another area of concern concentrates on how the parents’ expectations might affect Martin’s acquisition of language in school and at home. The parents have told me that they do not want Martin to have any label assigned to him for next year. They have mentioned several times that their oldest son is in a gifted/talented class, and they feel Martin is capable of doing the same as soon as he learns English more proficiently.
Thus, if they expect him to be in regular education or above, such as gifted and talented, I wonder if they are placing pressure on him to comprehend language terms before he is capable. Their expectations of him may not allow him to have any further special education services, even if it is determined later to be necessary for his success in the American public school system.
Furthermore, how might the other students’ perceptions or expectations of Martin affect his skills? If he cannot effectively converse during free play, I wonder if the other children might think that something is wrong with Martin and choose to ignore him.
Although all of the previous questions could have some amount of impact on Martin’s ability to achieve language skills, I have decided to pursue the question, "Might the cultural mismatches be contributing to the puzzlement according to CIP 3.3" (Jacob, 1999). Gathering and Analyzing Information
I collected information needed to analyze my puzzlement by examining Martin’s school cumulative records, conducting a parent interview, and keeping anecdotal notes during observations as described by the CIP step 4.3.2 (Jacob, 1999). School Records
According to school records, Martin is in good physical health. Additional information, supplied by his parents in the records, indicates a prenatal history that is not significant. Martin was full term and weighed seven pounds eight ounces. He was in good condition at birth. As a result, he and his mother went home from the hospital together.
Developmental milestones appear to have been achieved within normal limits. According to parental reports, he walked at ten months of age and spoke single words at approximately the same time. Furthermore, he began combining words in English at two years of age.
In addition, records indicate that Martin and his siblings were born in the United States. However, his parents had immigrated from Somalia for "a better way of life." As stated by Ogbu and Simons (1998), they would be known as "voluntary (immigrant) minorities…who have more or less willingly moved to the United States because they expect better opportunities...than they had in their homelands" (p.20). Consequently, Davidson (1996) writes, "Immigrant minorities are said to perceive America as a land of opportunity …" (p.24).
Martin’s father has lived in the United States for the past 20 years, and his mother has lived here for the past 10 years. They report that Somali and English are spoken in the home. Although his parents report in the records that they speak to each other in their native Somolian language, they speak only English to Martin and their two other children. Similarly, as stated by McLaughlin, Blanchard and Osanai (1995), it is often the study in bilingual families that "children may be in an environment where two languages are intermixed in normal adult speech" (p.1).
About that same time period, according to school records, his parents had stated that Martin stopped communicating after other refugee relatives had lived in their home for a period of six months while only speaking to Martin and his family in their native Somalian language. According to Kandolf (1995), "..long visits by monolingual relatives (using a different language) may temporarily disrupt the language pattern a family uses at home" (p.1). In addition, Alverez et al. (1992) reports:
These relatives became primary caregivers for Martin and his two other siblings, and they talked to Martin in their native languages from Kenya and Somolia during the time that he had started to learn to converse in English with immediate family members. The relatives did not speak in English. Consequently, Martin started echoing whatever was said to him. Since Martin had not fully acquired a dominant language during his preschool years, his loss of language skills is consistent with a report completed by Alverez et al. (1992) that states:
According to Martin’s school progress report, he is reported to have mastered 25% of the objectives at the 18-24 month level of the Preschool County Curriculum (PCC) Checklist in the area of receptive language. In the area of expressive language, he is reported to have shown 69% mastery of the objectives at the 18-24 month level of the PCC Checklist. In addition, in the area of fine motor, Martin has shown progress in 100% mastery at the 18-24 month level with scattered skills through the 36-48 month level according to the PCC Checklist. Finally, in the area of cognition, his progress report shows that he exhibits 100% accuracy at the 24-30 month level, 63% accuracy at the 30-36 month level and 53% scattered skills at the 36-48 month level of the PCC Checklist. Parent Interview
I called Martin’s mother and requested an interview with her and her husband. I wanted to make my interview with them at their convenience and thought that they would feel more comfortable in a less threatening environment, such as their own home.
As I entered Martin’s home during the afternoon, the father greeted me at the door and politely directed me to a corner by the front door entrance where I could take off my shoes. I took off my shoes and thanked him for allowing me to visit him and his wife at their home. Then, I sat down on the living room couch, and Martin’s mother entered the room as she held her young daughter. She greeted me and said that Martin was upstairs watching television.
The father excused himself and said that he had to go to work in a short time. He smiled and left the room leaving me with his wife (and daughter) to complete the interview as he prepared to leave to go to his job. Bergen (1994) writes that "parents are naturally involved (with) young children and their participation is essential…" (p.71). Therefore, "the interview with the parent(s) (preferably both, but usually the mother) should be done in a comfortable room" (Bergen, 1994, p.71).
Although I already knew the content of my interview questions, I wanted our meeting to be comfortable and informal as we conversed with each other about Martin. I initiated a question and listened to the mother’s answers. Then, I quickly jotted down her responses that were to be more formally written out after I had left their home.
As we began the interview, Martin’s mother expressed that her pregnancy with Martin was normal. However, she did require a Cesarean section in order to deliver the baby. She told me that both she and her husband speak only English to Martin. However, she thinks that their immigrant relatives have caused Martin to lose his communication skills that he had attained when he was younger.
When I asked her about her background, she reported that she came to live in this country approximately ten years ago. She had completed high school in Somalia and college in India before moving to the United States.
Her husband moved to the United States when he was 30 years old. In addition, he had completed high school and college in Somalia and "works with computers" as a programmer.
As I asked her about the educational system in Somalia, the mother told me that there is no type of special education in that country. The grade levels are kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high school. Furthermore, the females can complete high school but are often encouraged to go to a "domestic-type school" where they learn housekeeping and other domestic skills in order to become better wives as they are expected to marry and have children. In contrast, the males in Somalia are expected to attain higher education.
Moreover, she explained about the civil war that has been going on in Somalia for the past ten years. With so many different groups or tribes trying to take over the country, it was like living in a place that had no rules. Many of the government-owned schools have been destroyed. Upon asking her how anyone went to school if the schools had been destroyed, she stated that various private schools were formed. Many children attended school in seclusion; and, if possible, they left the country to have more opportunities.
Until recently, several of their relatives lived in Kenya and Somalia. However, family members from her side of the family arrived in the United States. Approximately six or seven relatives lived with Martin, his parents, and siblings for several months. They often spoke in loud voices using their native language. The mother stated that the house had been quiet before their arrival; but, during their stay, there was often much fighting and arguing among each other. They often took care of Martin and talked to him in their own language. After the relatives left the house, they moved to a nearby community and visit periodically.
When the mother asked about Martin’s progress, I told her that I have seen some improvement in his participation during our music time. He is starting to imitate the words to the songs. I also stated that I have been teaching him some daily living skills, such as taking off his own coat, taking down and pulling up his own pants in the restroom, and showing him the way to use soap and turn on the faucet to wash his hands. Then, she smiled with a little embarrassment, and admitted that she does everything for him. She said that she knows that she needs to let him become more independent.
Furthermore, she stated that she was pleased with the preschool program. She and her husband have observed Martin saying more words at home. She stated that he will say to her, "Mommy, where are you?" or "What are you doing?"
I told her that I was happy that she was seeing improvement at home. In addition, I hoped that I would soon see more progress at school and reassured her that I was pleased with his acceptance of the learning activities. Furthermore, he was adapting to our class routine and transitions very well. Finally, I told her that I would stay in contact with both of them and talk with them about any concerns of the upcoming evaluation process.
She then restated to me, as both she and her husband had previously, that they do not want Martin to be labeled next year. Moreover, she again mentioned that she feels Martin will catch up and possibly be in a gifted class as is his older brother as soon as he learns English better.
Nonetheless, as discussed by Maldonado (1994), I emphasized to Martin’s mother that the law provides "the education of all…children in the least restrictive environment" (p.127). Consequently, I reassured her that our school wants to work with them. In addition, our assessment team will share our results of Martin’s developmental progress and decide, along with the parents, upon the best option for Martin to be successful as he enters Kindergarten. Moreover, as re The Study of MartinDeborah K. Cox Copyright
2001 by Deborah K. Cox Abstract
This study explores the possibility of a healthy four-year-old male, who comes from a bilingual background, regressing in his ability to communicate with others. The boy was referred to special education by his parents because, although his language skills had appeared to be developing normally until age two to two and one-half years, the child stopped talking at this point and became echolalic. At the same time this happened, some relatives (who were refugee immigrants from Kenya and Somalia) had moved in with the family. Upon entering this child in a special education preschool program, the parents expressed their desire that their child’s needs would best be met in a small, structured educational setting. The Cultural Inquiry Process (Jacob, 1999) was used to learn about the student and his family as well as his cultural background and its effects on his learning either the family’s native language or English as a second language. The Student Martin (all proper names are pseudonyms) is a four-year old boy who has been a student in my preschool center-based special education program for children with developmental delays since October, 2000. He receives no additional services other than attending my morning half-day program for five days a week and two home visits on a monthly basis as I target onto goals that are in his Individual Educational Plan (I.E.P.). These goals include the areas of receptive and expressive language, fine motor, and cognition. His parents are bilingual in Somali and English. However, after reportedly using English as the primary language with Martin, his parents were concerned that after he had begun to speak in two-word and three-word simple sentences in English around the age of two years, he had suddenly shown regression in his language skills. This regression occurred after relatives, who were refugee immigrants and spoke only in their native Somalian language, had moved in and lived with Martin and his family for approximately six months. Puzzlement I am puzzled by Martin’s inability to communicate with others. It would seem that he would have picked up more of the language if his immediate family speaks to him in English. In addition, his immigrant relatives have been out of the family home for approximately two years. In considering this, I wonder if there are other cultural or developmental issues contributing to his lack of acquiring language skills.
This study has intrigued me because our school system is ever increasing its population of students who are culturally diverse. As Kauchak and Eggen (1998) state, "Increasing immigration has resulted in an increase in the number of students whose first language is not English[;]…the number…is growing at…4 percent a year — about twice the population growth rate for the nation" (p.49). In addition, according to Morris (1997), "Currently, there are 2.6 million non-English speaking students in the public schools…" (p.4). Summary of What is Known In summarizing those things that I already know about Martin, I find that the following information could have an influence on his language development. These involve using two languages in the family, cultural expectations that cause misinterpretations between school and home, and having another language introduced to Martin before he completely learned the English language that his parents attempted to teach him. The Student According to school records, Martin is four years old and has two siblings. His older brother is in the eighth grade, and his younger sister is 21 months old. He lives in a townhouse with both parents and siblings. The family actively practices the Muslim religion. The father is a computer programmer and has lived in the United States for twenty (20) years. He immigrated from Somalia where he graduated from a university. Martin’s father is bilingual in the Somalian and English languages.
Similarly, Martin’s mother has lived in the United States for the past ten years and is a full-time homemaker in the family. She graduated from a university in India before moving to the United States. She also is bilingual in the Somalian and English languages. According to school records, the parents speak to their children in English, but they speak to each other in Somalian in their home.
Upon recommendation from their family pediatrician, Martin’s parents referred him to Child Find for assessment of possible special education services. Currently, Martin has been diagnosed with a developmentally delayed (DD) label for delays in language, motor, and cognitive skills. According to Valdivia (1999), a "developmental delay refers to a lag in development rather than to a specific condition causing that lag. It represents a slower rate of development" (p.1).
This is Martin’s first experience in a school setting. He has not been in formal daycare or other preschool programs. This connects with research which reports that "most culturally diverse children of preschool age have not interacted extensively in structured group situations" (Santos de Barona, p.367). Santos de Barona (1991) states that for these minority children "most learning has occurred through the family, which itself may be isolated experientially from the mainstream culture" (p.367).
At the present time, Martin is undergoing evaluation for determining the continued need for special education services for next year as he will be entering Kindergarten. The School
Martin attends a special education preschool center-based classroom at Kilburn Elementary School. The class has two other male students with special needs who are both four years old. The class capacity is maximized at eight special needs students.
In addition, a four-year-old female child, known as a reverse mainstreamed student, with no special needs, attends the class in order to interact and model age-appropriate skills for the other self-contained students. Similarly, Stafford and Green (1996) write:
The preschool is combined with an elementary school that includes grades kindergarten through fifth grade. It is a suburban school consisting of 650 students with a low socio-economic status and a high at-rise student population. Eighty percent of the students receives free breakfasts and lunches. The student population consists of 42% Hispanic, 40% African American, 15% Caucasian, and 3% Other. The Teacher I am the full-time teacher in the class and I have a teacher assistant who works in both the morning and afternoon preschool classes. Furthermore, I have taught for twelve years and six of those years as a preschool special education teacher. I teach the morning session and arrange the other half day in contacting and making home visits to each student’s home in order to maintain a relationship with the parents. Therefore, as stated by Morrow et al (1999), "the importance of the home-school connection in supporting children’s development" is a necessary component in relating ideas and strategies between home and school (p.464). In addition, I was born in the United States and English is my primary native language.
Alternative Cultural Questions
I wonder how cultural mismatches might be contributing to my puzzlement concerning Martin as considered by CIP question 3.3 (Jacob, 1999). Furthermore, I also wonder how mismatches between Martin’s home culture and the school culture and curriculum might be contributing to Martin’s lack of communication skills (CIP question 3.3.2). In addition, if his home culture involves the use of more than one language, I wonder how much that might affect Martin’s language acquisition as he transfers its use at school and in the classroom.
In order to arrange my puzzlement in an orderly manner, I considered other culturally-based questions in regard to Martin as I examined various ways to broaden his acquisition of language. For example, how might the cultural mismatch regarding language be contributing to the lack of Martin’s success in communicating with others in school? In addition, I wonder how the various meanings of words are being comprehended by Martin between home and culture. Although his parents can communicate with me in English, they sometimes misinterpret certain terms in my conversations with them as well. Consequently, I will rephrase my verbal communication with them in order to check their comprehension by asking them to repeat for me what they thought I said in case there is doubt of misinterpretation.
Similarly, I wonder how my cultural attitudes might affect my expectations with Martin. As Jacob (1995) states, "Teachers…bring to classrooms their own cultural meanings and behavioral patterns, influenced by their ethnicity, social class, gender, and profession" (p.455). I routinely expect a child to look at me using direct contact of his or her eyes to mine in order for me to know that the student is focusing and giving me attention. However, I often wonder if Martin, and other children like him in the same cultural backgrounds, has been taught in his culture to not look directly at an adult, especially someone in authority, in order to show respect. Consequently, as stated by Jacob and Jordan (1996):
Another area of concern concentrates on how the parents’ expectations might affect Martin’s acquisition of language in school and at home. The parents have told me that they do not want Martin to have any label assigned to him for next year. They have mentioned several times that their oldest son is in a gifted/talented class, and they feel Martin is capable of doing the same as soon as he learns English more proficiently.
Thus, if they expect him to be in regular education or above, such as gifted and talented, I wonder if they are placing pressure on him to comprehend language terms before he is capable. Their expectations of him may not allow him to have any further special education services, even if it is determined later to be necessary for his success in the American public school system.
Furthermore, how might the other students’ perceptions or expectations of Martin affect his skills? If he cannot effectively converse during free play, I wonder if the other children might think that something is wrong with Martin and choose to ignore him.
Although all of the previous questions could have some amount of impact on Martin’s ability to achieve language skills, I have decided to pursue the question, "Might the cultural mismatches be contributing to the puzzlement according to CIP 3.3" (Jacob, 1999). Gathering and Analyzing Information
I collected information needed to analyze my puzzlement by examining Martin’s school cumulative records, conducting a parent interview, and keeping anecdotal notes during observations as described by the CIP step 4.3.2 (Jacob, 1999). School Records
According to school records, Martin is in good physical health. Additional information, supplied by his parents in the records, indicates a prenatal history that is not significant. Martin was full term and weighed seven pounds eight ounces. He was in good condition at birth. As a result, he and his mother went home from the hospital together.
Developmental milestones appear to have been achieved within normal limits. According to parental reports, he walked at ten months of age and spoke single words at approximately the same time. Furthermore, he began combining words in English at two years of age.
In addition, records indicate that Martin and his siblings were born in the United States. However, his parents had immigrated from Somalia for "a better way of life." As stated by Ogbu and Simons (1998), they would be known as "voluntary (immigrant) minorities…who have more or less willingly moved to the United States because they expect better opportunities...than they had in their homelands" (p.20). Consequently, Davidson (1996) writes, "Immigrant minorities are said to perceive America as a land of opportunity …" (p.24).
Martin’s father has lived in the United States for the past 20 years, and his mother has lived here for the past 10 years. They report that Somali and English are spoken in the home. Although his parents report in the records that they speak to each other in their native Somolian language, they speak only English to Martin and their two other children. Similarly, as stated by McLaughlin, Blanchard and Osanai (1995), it is often the study in bilingual families that "children may be in an environment where two languages are intermixed in normal adult speech" (p.1).
About that same time period, according to school records, his parents had stated that Martin stopped communicating after other refugee relatives had lived in their home for a period of six months while only speaking to Martin and his family in their native Somalian language. According to Kandolf (1995), "..long visits by monolingual relatives (using a different language) may temporarily disrupt the language pattern a family uses at home" (p.1). In addition, Alverez et al. (1992) reports:
These relatives became primary caregivers for Martin and his two other siblings, and they talked to Martin in their native languages from Kenya and Somolia during the time that he had started to learn to converse in English with immediate family members. The relatives did not speak in English. Consequently, Martin started echoing whatever was said to him. Since Martin had not fully acquired a dominant language during his preschool years, his loss of language skills is consistent with a report completed by Alverez et al. (1992) that states:
According to Martin’s school progress report, he is reported to have mastered 25% of the objectives at the 18-24 month level of the Preschool County Curriculum (PCC) Checklist in the area of receptive language. In the area of expressive language, he is reported to have shown 69% mastery of the objectives at the 18-24 month level of the PCC Checklist. In addition, in the area of fine motor, Martin has shown progress in 100% mastery at the 18-24 month level with scattered skills through the 36-48 month level according to the PCC Checklist. Finally, in the area of cognition, his progress report shows that he exhibits 100% accuracy at the 24-30 month level, 63% accuracy at the 30-36 month level and 53% scattered skills at the 36-48 month level of the PCC Checklist. Parent Interview
I called Martin’s mother and requested an interview with her and her husband. I wanted to make my interview with them at their convenience and thought that they would feel more comfortable in a less threatening environment, such as their own home.
As I entered Martin’s home during the afternoon, the father greeted me at the door and politely directed me to a corner by the front door entrance where I could take off my shoes. I took off my shoes and thanked him for allowing me to visit him and his wife at their home. Then, I sat down on the living room couch, and Martin’s mother entered the room as she held her young daughter. She greeted me and said that Martin was upstairs watching television.
The father excused himself and said that he had to go to work in a short time. He smiled and left the room leaving me with his wife (and daughter) to complete the interview as he prepared to leave to go to his job. Bergen (1994) writes that "parents are naturally involved (with) young children and their participation is essential…" (p.71). Therefore, "the interview with the parent(s) (preferably both, but usually the mother) should be done in a comfortable room" (Bergen, 1994, p.71).
Although I already knew the content of my interview questions, I wanted our meeting to be comfortable and informal as we conversed with each other about Martin. I initiated a question and listened to the mother’s answers. Then, I quickly jotted down her responses that were to be more formally written out after I had left their home.
As we began the interview, Martin’s mother expressed that her pregnancy with Martin was normal. However, she did require a Cesarean section in order to deliver the baby. She told me that both she and her husband speak only English to Martin. However, she thinks that their immigrant relatives have caused Martin to lose his communication skills that he had attained when he was younger.
When I asked her about her background, she reported that she came to live in this country approximately ten years ago. She had completed high school in Somalia and college in India before moving to the United States.
Her husband moved to the United States when he was 30 years old. In addition, he had completed high school and college in Somalia and "works with computers" as a programmer.
As I asked her about the educational system in Somalia, the mother told me that there is no type of special education in that country. The grade levels are kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high school. Furthermore, the females can complete high school but are often encouraged to go to a "domestic-type school" where they learn housekeeping and other domestic skills in order to become better wives as they are expected to marry and have children. In contrast, the males in Somalia are expected to attain higher education.
Moreover, she explained about the civil war that has been going on in Somalia for the past ten years. With so many different groups or tribes trying to take over the country, it was like living in a place that had no rules. Many of the government-owned schools have been destroyed. Upon asking her how anyone went to school if the schools had been destroyed, she stated that various private schools were formed. Many children attended school in seclusion; and, if possible, they left the country to have more opportunities.
Until recently, several of their relatives lived in Kenya and Somalia. However, family members from her side of the family arrived in the United States. Approximately six or seven relatives lived with Martin, his parents, and siblings for several months. They often spoke in loud voices using their native language. The mother stated that the house had been quiet before their arrival; but, during their stay, there was often much fighting and arguing among each other. They often took care of Martin and talked to him in their own language. After the relatives left the house, they moved to a nearby community and visit periodically.
When the mother asked about Martin’s progress, I told her that I have seen some improvement in his participation during our music time. He is starting to imitate the words to the songs. I also stated that I have been teaching him some daily living skills, such as taking off his own coat, taking down and pulling up his own pants in the restroom, and showing him the way to use soap and turn on the faucet to wash his hands. Then, she smiled with a little embarrassment, and admitted that she does everything for him. She said that she knows that she needs to let him become more independent.
Furthermore, she stated that she was pleased with the preschool program. She and her husband have observed Martin saying more words at home. She stated that he will say to her, "Mommy, where are you?" or "What are you doing?"
I told her that I was happy that she was seeing improvement at home. In addition, I hoped that I would soon see more progress at school and reassured her that I was pleased with his acceptance of the learning activities. Furthermore, he was adapting to our class routine and transitions very well. Finally, I told her that I would stay in contact with both of them and talk with them about any concerns of the upcoming evaluation process.
She then restated to me, as both she and her husband had previously, that they do not want Martin to be labeled next year. Moreover, she again mentioned that she feels Martin will catch up and possibly be in a gifted class as is his older brother as soon as he learns English better.
Nonetheless, as discussed by Maldonado (1994), I emphasized to Martin’s mother that the law provides "the education of all…children in the least restrictive environment" (p.127). Consequently, I reassured her that our school wants to work with them. In addition, our assessment team will share our results of Martin’s developmental progress and decide, along with the parents, upon the best option for Martin to be successful as he enters Kindergarten. Moreover, as reported by Santos de Barona (1991), I have emphasized that Martin’s educational needs will be "considered relative to (his) unique cultural and linguistic backgrounds" (p.371). Thus, as stated by Santos de Barona (1991), I am attempting to "focus on highlighting issues without being judgmental, as well as providing information and options to make good decisions" (p.2). Observational Notes
Upon classroom observation, I noted that whenever Martin would enter my classroom, he would not look directly at me when I talked to him. He quickly went from one activity to another, had a short attention span by not focusing on any particular game or activity, and did not answer questions from others. These characteristics are often demonstrated by preschoolers of various backgrounds. Moreover, as defined by Bodrova et al (1999), "Most preschoolers and many kindergartners cannot follow direction or sustain attention throughout" various activities (p.44).
However, he did not follow oral directives and would look to see what others were doing in order to imitate them. Likewise, as Gopaul-McNicol et al. (1998) point out, "A second-language learner may have difficulty following directions…or… processing language due to his or her level of proficiency…" (p.77). In addition, the only times that Martin spoke was to repeat what had been said to him. For example, if I asked him, "What’s your name?" he would repeat "What’s your name?" As a result, my assistant and I would model directives that we were requesting from him in order to assist him in improving his cognitive and receptive language comprehension.
Interventions
During my parental interview, I became aware that this information that I was collecting would result in creating interventions to use with Martin. As I gained some insight into his cultural world, I learned that incorporating those cultural issues that were familiar to Martin into our preschool curriculum might become beneficial in his exhibiting progress in his language development.
The CIP step 5.3 (Jacob, 1999) suggests that I should consider "developing appropriate interventions related to mismatches between cultures as they relate to" Martin’s communication skills. One of the areas that I focused on primarily resulted in "developing interventions related to mismatches between" Martin’s cultural background and my preschool curriculum as described by the CIP step 5.3.2 (Jacob, 1999).
The first intervention involved maintaining home visits each month in order to become more aware of the experiences that involve Martin on a level that he often encounters in his daily life. In addition, as I continue to visit Martin and his parents at home, I can learn about the functions of his household through "participant observation" and "come to know the culture from which" Martin emerges (Gonzales, 1995, p.3). Moreover, the parents have become comfortable with me and are demonstrating trust in my capabilities as Martin’s teacher.
The second intervention that I have practiced includes observing Martin at school as well as in his home in order to enable me to detect his strengths and interests. In that way, I can "develop (better) curricula and teaching techniques that have roots in the experience and forms of knowledge" of Martin (González, 1995, p.3). These include using his interests as a communication tool, such as displaying them in pictorial form and having Martin make choices with those pictures. As he becomes familiar with the pictures, I model the English words connected to them as I engage him in imitating and learning those terms through prompts and repetition until he can communicate those terms independently and know their meanings.
The third intervention is through the use of informal interviews with the family. Likewise, as González (1995) states, as I include open-ended questions about the family and daily activities, I am able to "probe for further insights, especially on topics…as possible links to the school curriculum" (p.4).
Monitoring the Process In monitoring the first intervention of maintaining and participating in home visits that include Martin and his family, I have seen improvement in his parents’ involvement with his education. As we communicate with each other, the parents and I have grown closer in understanding each other’s attitudes about our respective culture. We have become more collaborative in our strategies and are more of a team working together for the best interests of Martin.
I observed Martin in the classroom and in his home environment. As my observations continued, I was able to maintain anecdotal records of Martin’s language skills with his peers in class and compare them to the skills he used with his family at home. In that way, I could formulate those experiences that were encouraging his language development and concentrate those ideas into lessons that would encourage his interaction of language skills and comprehension. Through any improvements denoted in my anecdotal writings, I can exhibit concrete samples of Martin’s communication skills in various environments in order to formulate school progress reports periodically.
Finally, as I interviewed the parents through the year, I was able to maintain routine contact with them as they informed me of any progress that they have seen at home. Upon my request, the mother kept a running list of words and phrases that she heard Martin use at home. Then, we compared his progression of language skills at home and at school. She saw more improvement in his language skills than I did at school. However, it caused me to concentrate more on what I was hearing Martin say to me and to others. His voice is very low. Although, I had thought he was using unintelligible language, I started hearing him say more words as I concentrated on listening to his low voice tone more intently. Thus, I was better able to monitor his progress on his IEP goals and observe progress in his language skills. In addition, I have noticed a remarkable improvement in his language skills as he is not echoing as much as he did when he entered school. Moreover, he is interacting more appropriately with his classmates and initiating words and simple phrases independently.
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