African American Linguists

• Learning mediums such as DVDs that teach toddlers a foreign language can be found and obtained online
• Click here for classroom resources.

Dr. Tyrone Parker of Baltimore City Public School System presents on the Namibia Afro-German Culture at the 2006 ACTFL Convention.

Dr. Reginald Bess of Morris College, SC speaks on the German SIG's efforts to diversify German programs to include Afro-German cultures.

Dr. Zena Moore presents at the 2006 ACTFL Convention on African-American Students' beliefs on world language study. She is a forerunner as a researcher who investigates African-Americans in World Language Programs. Dr. Moore is also the Chair of the ACTFL SIG: Educators of African-American Students.

Krishauna Hines-Gaither is available for classroom/departmental presentations, public speaking, trainings and workshops (click here).  

In the spirit of Black History Month, AAL looked for ways to globalize the discussion so that it goes beyond the borders of the United States and is inclusive of the African diaspora.  In order to broaden the discussion of African-Americans, AAL joined with world language departments of the public school system to do presentations on Afro-Latino & Afro-Francophone cultures. The purpose of the presentation is two fold 1) to educate all students about the diversity Spanish and French Speaking Countries. 2) to create a link between the African-American community and the African diaspora. AAL hopes that this connection will encourage and influence more African-Americans to pursue the study of world languages so that they may become more marketable in a global society.

Krishauna Hines-Gaither does an Afro-Latino presentation for Mrs. Angie Nelson-Pico's 5th grade classes at Bolton Elementary School in NC.

Krishauna,

Thanks for a wonderful presentation. The kids loved you. It was easy to see the way they crowded around you at the end and reacted during the presentation. Thanks for making a positive impact on their day. I guarantee that you made an impression that some will carry with them always not just today. That is one of the best benefits of being a teacher.  Angie

Krishauna Hines-Gaither gives Afro-Latino/Afro-Francophone Presentation to Carver High School, NC Foreign Language Department..

Comments from AAL Members:

• I mentor students by telling them about myself and that if I can do it as a Black woman anyone can. I let them know that there are not many certified Black teachers and we need Spanish and language teachers who look just like us. I let them know that I was once where they are, not knowing a word in Spanish, but if they keep trying and practicing they will succeed. Because my teachers supported and encouraged me, I want to do the same for them. Mildred Smith-Chang, NY
• It is high time that African-Americans demanded high quality FLES (Foreign Language in Elementary Schools) Programs. All children deserve to have access to world language education from the kindergarten to college/university level and beyond. Charity Dell, NJ
• My advice to African-American students would be to stay engaged. Try a non-romance language. Language acquisition is difficult but well worth the effort. Michele Battle-Fisher, OH
• With my students, I make it a priority to use visuals that show blacks in Latin American countries as supplements for lessons in culture. Especially with students under 18, I believe it is imperative to show them people in the world who look like them so that they will develop an interest in communicating with them. Also, I believe it is important to show the cultural and linguistic contributions of Black people in the world to their native cultures (i.e. music in Cuba, Brazil, and so many others). Tanya Hickson, GA 
  

Krishauna Hines-Gaither was invited to Cook Elementary School in NC to do a presentation on Afro-Latinos.

To construct the most invaluable experience for African-American students, the educator must...

• Express culturally relative and socially significant content
• Incorporate culturally established traditions (oral tradition, narrative)
• Address the historical struggle of African American people
• Answer the politically incorrect questions of class, gender, racism etc
• Select literature for identity development
• Create spaces for oral performance and public talks
• Encourage emergence of identity in activities and lessons
• Understand the bonds of kinship in the African-American community
• Understand the bonds of fictive (fictitious)  kinship based on common struggles, friendships & personal relationships outside of marriage or descent
• Evoke community 
• Evoke the concept of "it takes a village to raise a child "
• Use culturally familiar discourse (call & response, narratives)
• Allow students to experience their present in light of their past
• Display explicit cultural props, symbols & products
• Ensure pedagogy focuses on a clear goal performance and specify the desired achievement
• Organize literacy practices as an extended conversation or elaborated activity (skit, reenactment, story with props or puppets)
• Find African-American adaptations of literary works (Flossie & the Fox as a re-appropriation of Little Red Riding Hood, African-American movie version of Cinderella)
• Use cultural models to develop capacities that require thoughtful application of knowledge (narrating, analyzing, interpreting, mathematical reasoning)

• Delpit, L. (1995) Other people's children: Cultural conflict in the classroom 
• Freire, P. (1970) Pedagogy of the Oppressed
• Madhubuti, H & Madhubuti, S (1991) African centered education: Its value, importance and necessity in the development of Black children
• Murrell Jr, P.C. (2002). African-Centered Pedagogy: Developing Schools of Achievement for African American Children
• AAL Booklist

To create the most effective environment for African American students in our world language classrooms, the educator must...

• Learn & appreciate the culture (people, practices, beliefs, traditions & products)  relative to the students that s/he is teaching. To teach a child, you must know him.
• Utilize resources to gain insight into the African American community if it is not your own or if you have not had such experiences.
• Consider resources such as the AAL booklist, faculty in an African American Studies Department, faculty in the history department, community activists & spokesmen, school staff, ministers, faculty & students from local HBCUs, civic organizations, NAACP representatives etc.
• Create a survey instrument for all students to get to know them better.
• Meet privately with all students to establish a rapport and gain background knowledge to shape pedagogy.
• Make relevant connections from an African American perspective to the world language being studied.
• Make linguistic, historical & cultural connections and comparisons to the world language being studied. 
• Gain knowledge of the African diaspora and its implications for world language pedagogy.
• Utilize culturally diverse representations (realia) in the classroom of people of color (Afro-Latino, Afro-European, Afro-Caribbean).
• Speak to the contributions of Africans throughout the diaspora (not only music, dancing and food, but the contributions of plumbing (aqueduct systems), architecture, mathematics, science etc).
• Recognize the richness of the African American Dialect/African American Vernacular English and how it can be used to enhance bilingualism.
• Recognize the link between the African American Dialect/African American Vernacular English and west African languages such as Yoruba, Hausa, Twi, Ibo, Efik, Fulani, Ewe, Wolof, Mende, Mandinka  and many others.
• Understand the matriarchal influence on the African American child. The maternal parent may be the most influential in her child's educational choices.
• Educate the parents on the benefits of world language study (cognitive processing, linguistic enhancement of first language structure, implications for improvement of literacy etc).
• Educate the students on the benefits of world language study.
• Encourage diversity and minority recruitment of students and faculty to serve as a model for the African American child.
• Inquiry! Inquiry! Inquiry! Read the latest empirical research findings on related topics.

• Guillaume, A. (1994) Whose Language is it Anyway? Minority participation within our reach. ADFL Bulletin, 25, 65-68
• Moore, Z (2005) African-American Students' Opinions about Foreign Language Study: An exploratory study of low enrollments at the college level. Foreign Language Annals, 38, 191-199
• Wilberschied, L & Dassier, J. (1991). Increasing the number of minority FL educators: Local action to meet a national imperative. Modern Language Journal, 79, 78-82
• AAL Booklist

Consider various modes of knowing to ensure the conditions for success are created for all learners.

• Linguistic learners think in words and love reading, writing, telling stories, playing world games etc.
• Logical-Mathematical learners think by reasoning and love experimenting, questioning, figuring out logical puzzles, calculating etc.
• Spatial learners think in images and pictures and love designing, drawing, visualizing, doodling, etc.
• Bodily-Kinesthetic learners think through somatic sensations and love dancing, running, jumping, building, touching, gesturing, etc.
• Musical learners think via rhythms and melodies and love singing, whistling, humming, tapping feet and hands, listening, etc.
• Interpersonal learners think by bouncing ideas off other people and love leading, organizing, relating, manipulating, mediating, partying, etc.
• Intrapersonal learners think deeply inside of themselves and love setting goals, meditating, dreaming, being quiet, planning etc.

• Armstrong, T (1994). Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom
• Gardner, H. (1991) To Open Minds
• Gardner, H. (1993) Multiple Intelligences: Theory in Practice
• AAL Booklist

In the interest of diversifying instruction, educators must be aware of a few precautions.

• Avoid over generalizing, create opportunities to get to know your students as individuals.
• Evenly integrate diverse pedagogy throughout the entire quarter, semester, or year so that it is not so obvious to students that you are emphasizing any particular group.
• Avoid waiting until African American History Month, or Cinco de Mayo to incorporate diversity.
• Develop a syllabus that explores multiple perspectives on topics.
• Avoid singling out students to serve as spokespersons for their entire race, ethnicity, nationality, religious group, gender etc.
• Do your best to be sensitive to terminology as it changes over time ie. from Orientals to Asian Americans.
• Whenever possible select texts and readings whose language is gender-neutral and free of stereotypes.
• Use "hot moments" as powerful learning experiences. Plan/anticipate how you would handle these moments in advance. Devise a strategy.
• Speak up promptly if a student makes a distasteful remark, even jokingly.
• Recognize any biases or stereotypes you may have absorbed.

• Davis, B.G. (1999) Tools for teaching. Jossey-Bass
• Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning; Harvard University
• Graham, M.J. (1999). Mis Education: The need to develop effective educational strategies for young people of African descent
• AAL Booklist

• Results of AAL study on the Strategies for the Retention of African American Students in World Languages (to be presented at ACTFL)
• AAL Booklist