ERIC EJ1015099: Literature-Oriented Multicultural Education in India. Children's Experiences with a Task-Based Folklore Lesson

2013·1.2 MB·English

by  ERIC

Promising Practices
Literature-Oriented Multicultural Education in India
Children’s Experiences with a Task-Based Folklore Lesson
the Academic Success of Diverse Student Populations
Venu Mehta
Introduction every educational system. Learners in this Literature Education in India
age group are transitioning toward becom- and Multiculturalism
In India, multicultural experience is
ing decision-making citizens of society. Thus
represented by what is called a “unity in Literature has long been considered
it is even more appropriate that they gain
diversity” pattern. This includes the diver- an essential part of the world’s social
familiarity with the fundamentals of multi-
sity of religious communities, languages, machinery. The use of literature in edu-
culturalism and learn the values, attitudes,
ethnicities, and the minority populations cation has served as a traditional form of
and moral beliefs that are desirable for liv-
in each of the states and regions that learning from ancient times through to
ing effectively in a multicultural society.
comprise the nation. Thus theories of this new century. In India, the transmis-
According to Bull (1969) in Moral
multicultural accommodation are one of sion of cultural traditions, social norms,
Education, “late adolescence brings a more
India’s inhered features. Parekh (2000) and morals is typically conveyed through
developed ability for abstract thinking,
remarks when describing India’s diversity literature. The Ramayana and the Ma-
and the search for ideals to which to give
and distinct way of life that “India has habharata, for example, are referred to as
allegiance and around which to organize
a common criminal [law] but not a civil “grandmother’s tales” and are emblazoned
and integrate the self” (p. 166). In this
law” (p. 191). To focus on the concept of in children’s minds from generation to
respect, education through literature can
“multiculturalism” is a matter of exigency generation. The Panchatantra, a collection
be a means to replace ignorance with multi-
for the harmonious and progressive future of fables written by Bishnu Sharma some-
cultural values offering a positive direction
of India, as it is for global classrooms time during the third century BCE, was
toward a multicultural consciousness and
worldwide. once used to teach princes the practices
perspective.
The goal of fostering values of mul- of sociology and governance.
ticulturalism in learners is often a part Now and in recent times, the educa-
Literature:
of school curriculum. However, whenever tion of children remains bound with liter-
A Creative Way to Multiculturalism
these values have been incorporated into ary pedagogy. The intent of placing Eng-
learning materials, it is usually done in a Literature and storytelling have al- lish literature in the curriculum of school
conventional manner resulting in mostly ways endowed identity to life, either by and university education helps to provide
inadequate outcomes. It is important that way of creating it through storytelling or a value-based orientation to the academic,
the young minds of our future citizens by interpreting the life stories that are told. social, and aesthetic purposes of teach-
learn the rich values of multiculturalism. Time and time again manifold endeavors ing. Literature courses, for example, hold
This article illustrates a promising to find and utilize the role of literature in accordance with the learners’ immediate
practice that seeks to teach these values human life have proved to have positive ef- environment. It is an environment that is
through folktale-oriented task-based fects. Literature is a medium that provides physical, social, and cultural. Either as a
literature that focuses on the adolescent a way to bring the universal and individual part of a language course or as a special
age group. The practice described here is puzzlements of life back into order. It is literature course, the position of literature
based on the observational results from a an inherent role of literature to be a key education has secured a prominent place
field trial of this material that was a part element of education. in India.
of my doctoral research. Literature, with its alluring forms,
has long appealed to readers for social, Folktales:
Adolescence: moral, and individual edification. Frequent A Form of Literature
The Age of Concern lack of tolerance and the rise of conflicts That Endorses Multiculturalism
within multicultural societies urgently
The teaching of multicultural values demand an enduring solution. Accordingly, Imagine a child, before starting school,
among adolescents should be a concern of literature, being vital in its ability to con- being nurtured by listening to the folktales,
vey values that reach across communities, fairy-tales, and fables of their culture. This
assumes a significant place in the fostering might be the child’s first interaction with
Venu Mehta is an assistant professor
of multicultural values and offers tangible literature. While there are many genres
in the Department of Communications Skills
solutions to reduce conflict. of literature that have been included in
of the Charotar University
classroom teaching, students find folktales
of Science and Technology
attractive because of several fundamental
in Changa, Gujarat, India.
features that have endured over centuries.
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© Caddo Gap Press 2013
Promising Practices
The timeless qualities of folktales tional cooperation that can sustain the Task-Based Folktale Material
include their universality and infinite idea of multiculturalism.
The learning material that follows
meaningfulness, their ability to represent
u Development of human values such seeks to develop and enhance the concept
a variety of different cultural aspects, as liberty, freedom, justice, and equality
of multiculturalism by using various inter-
the complex interplay of realism, fantasy, that are essential to the development of
active tasks that are integrated with the
and symbolism, and the beneficial linking a multicultural perspective.
literary form of the folktale. I have several
of popular culture with many academic
u Acceptance of cultural diversity for a reasons to justify my use of task-based
subjects and skills that enhance the transi-
peaceful co-existence. material.
tions from childhood to adult life.
Exposing learners to folktales is an u Development of decision-making skills, First, it is very important to design
critical thinking, and moral reasoning, and develop the folktale-oriented lit-
ideal way to approach the teaching of
which enable citizens to make clear erature material methodically as a way to
cultural understanding and multicultural
choices in their everyday lives. make it a learner-friendly lesson.
values. During adolescence, learners find
Second, developing materials that
themselves with a variety of opportunities u Development of RAAA: Recognition, Ac-
to belong to many different groups while at ceptance, Appreciation, and Accommoda- focus on task-based learning is supported
tion of cultural/ethnic diversity. by the argument that such an approach
school. Within these groups, each student
provides a purpose for the learning and
is searching for personal identity while at u Reduction and removal of cultural,
the use of the content, and it is therefore
the same time looking for guidance and ethnic, and racial discrimination, conflict,
more educationally effective. Materials de-
direction to find the right path. prejudice, and bias stereotyping.
veloped using task-based learning allow for
Stories such as those found in folk-
u Management of peace, harmony, and a learner-centered classroom situation.
tales offer these learners the freedom to co-operative living.
Third, task-based learning facilitates
use their imaginations to gain knowledge
and experience that will help them deal u Development of sympathy and empathy learners to engage with cognitive and af-
skills. fective activities and procedures.
with the various social and multicultural
Fourth, this method encourages the
situations that will come their way. The op- In support of the above mentioned
attitudes, values, and skills necessary for
portunity to learn about other cultures will values, folktales can provide a basis for
multiculturalism by relying heavily on the
help make these learners well-rounded social, psychological, and cultural attitudes
learners’ involvement and places emphasis
individuals, eventually leading to fulfilling of multiculturalism that allow learners to
on the experiences that the learners bring
the role of being a responsible citizen. engage in the following areas:
to the classroom. In task-based learning,
1. Cultural awareness. the facilitator can make the most of each
Folktales Uphold Values
learner’s involvement as a way to contrib-
of Multiculturalism 2. Cultural studies.
ute to the teaching process. As a result,
As a main source of socio-cultural 3. The understanding and reduction of task-based material requires the organi-
information, utilizing the multifaceted culture shock. zation of the literary text around various
elements of folktales can help learners to 4. Intercultural communication/dialogue. classroom tasks.
understand the values of multiculturalism,
5. The development of intercultural
as follows: Categories of Task-Based Learning
competence.
Various classroom tasks can result
u Development of a sense of democratic 6. Acculturation.
citizenship with the ability to re-contex- in different outcomes by using a range of
tualize in the context of a multicultural 7. The abolishment of social distance. steps in the presentation of the material.
society. I use six categories of tasks in the mate-
rial development—predicting, listening,
u Development of a sense of human rights
questions and answers, discussion, evalu-
with the intention of building interna-
Table 1
Categories of Task Step in the Task Function of Task Expected Outcomes from Task
Predicting Pre-task. To anticipate what is to come. Provides a lead-in towards task-preparation stage.
Listening Pre-task. Task-preparation. To receive instructions, ideas, and views. Comprehension of instruction, ideas, and views.
Task-realization.
Question and Answers Pre-task. Task-realization. To create information, and Understanding of the theme of the text. Ability to write
explore the theme and concepts of the text. and speak about personal opinions and decisions.
Discussion Task-realization. To narrate and to describe. Sharing of personal experiences and opinions. Exploring
and explaining attitudes. The exchanges of views.
Evaluating and Analyzing Task-preparation. Task-realization. To think about the given situation and Strengthens decision making and problem solving skills.
problem, analyze hypothetical situations. Encourages the development of moral reasoning.
Vocabulary Pre-task. Task-realization. To explore new words and phrases. Increased vocabulary. Broader understanding of the
and Language work To work with language exercises. meaning of words and expanded use of language.
MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION
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Promising Practices
ating and analyzing, and vocabulary and u Describe empathetic behavior towards share lion, tiger, verse of poetry
language work. These task categories are a foreigner. rub God
described in Table 1. cheese a thing
u Develop a deeper global understanding jug world
and appreciation for cultural differences
door a string
Method and Procedure as students study stories from around
bus enough
the world.
Following are the components and chalk junction
tasks that correlate with the material in u Understand the value of being sympa- goal round
this sample lesson. thetic, understanding, and helpful. pass near
suffer travel
u Understand the spirit of citizenship.
Components
2. Glossary:
7. Note to the teacher: First explain
1. Literature genre: A Short Story
what a “folktale” is and what its character- sweetmeat—any sweet food or delicacy
(Folktale).
istics are. Explain that reading folktales can prepared with sugar or honey
2. Title of the folktale: “One Man’s be for both educational and entertainment to grab—to take or snatch suddenly
Pleasure.” purposes. Explain to the students that it
is important to understand the particular to gobble—to eat quickly
3. Time: 180 minutes. people and environments represented
wander—to move or go without plan or
when studying folktales, yet there are also
4. Age group: Adolescent. fixed destination
universal themes about human nature,
5. Concepts taught: values, and morality that relate to all of to mount—to climb up on something; es-
pecially to get on the back of a horse, on a
humankind. Help the students locate the
u That there are differences in language, bicycle, etc. for riding
primary theme of the tale—that of being
culture, custom and religion. That physi-
cal characteristics are a natural phenom- generous to the community. The learner procession—the act of proceeding; a num-
enon of the human race and are a fact of should recognize an act of “giving” in the ber of persons moving forward, as in a
the world. story, describe how the common good is parade, in an orderly, formal way
u How to respect another’s language, enhanced through this act, and identify the lawbreaker—a person who breaks the law
culture, customs, and physical charac- main character’s motivation for giving. or goes against the law
teristics. Develop with the students the theme
pile—a mass of things bundled together
that it is important to understand people
u How to understand that foreigners and and their environment when studying folk- accompaniment—anything that accom-
immigrants may face problems when
tales. In a brainstorming session, have the panies something else; thing added with
abroad.
learners describe each location of Kabul something
u The knowledge that Natives are often and India by listing recognizable cultural
fall to—to begin; start
expected to understand them and help features and human characteristics—land-
when needed.
forms, culture, language, life-style, rituals, 3. Literary Text (Folktale)
u How to demonstrate sympathetic, and law and order, inhabitants, settlement
empathetic, and moralistic behaviors to patterns, religions, and ways of making a One Man’s Pleasure
foreigners and immigrants. living. Keep in mind the values conveyed
A man from the city of Kabul in
and the lessons learned in this exercise
u How to develop attitudes, values, and Afghanistan once visited India. Walk-
skills necessary to be a responsible citizen, to guide the students’ actions and further ing along an Indian street, he came to a
including the skill to comprehend and develop their character. sweetmeat shop where all sorts of sweets
react to critical incidents.
of different shapes and sizes were neatly
Tasks
6. Summary of objectives: Students displayed.
will be able to: 1. Introduction: We find people who He knew only one or two words of
are different from us in our everyday life. Hindustani. He went up to the vendor of
u Identify and recognize the difference and People are different in many ways. Some sweets and pointed at one particular kind
similarities of cultures.
of these basic differences we find are: that looked especially delicious. The man
u Understand that every culture is thought he was asking its name and said
A different language.
unique. “khaja.” The word means both “sweets” and
A different religion.
“eat it up.” The man from Kabul knew only
u Compare and contrast different cul- A different way of life.
tures. Different physical characteristics. the second meaning and so he fell to, grab-
bing handful of sweets and gobbling them
u Understand that another’s way of life Let us talk about differences in the up with pleasure.
should also be valued and respected. languages. Here are some words that,
The vendor of sweets asked the strang-
when pronounced, sound the same in Urdu
u Develop critical thinking and abstract er to pay for them. But the visitor didn’t
reasoning. and English, yet have totally different understand what he was saying and hap-
meanings:
pily wandered away. The angry vendor
u Use geographic themes of location,
place and human-environment relations English Word Meaning in Urdu complained to the police, who came and
to describe the settings and cultures rep- arrested the man from Kabul. The chief
sir head
resented in folktales. officer ordered that his head should be
so hundred
shaved clean and covered with tar, and that
rose everyday
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Promising Practices
he should then be mounted on a donkey and 3. Do you justify the punishment given that there may be more than one appropri-
run out of town in a procession to the sound to the man? ate answer for each.
of drums, so that everyone would know how
4. Do you think that the punishment given I. When people from different cultures
a lawbreaker is punished in that part of to the man was insulting? meet, they may find it difficult to com-
the world. Though it is considered brutal
prehend the characteristics of another
5. Do you appreciate the man’s answer
punishment in India, the man from Kabul one’s culture.
about India?
thought it was fun. He even felt charmed
This kind of situation is ….
and honored by this treatment and the at-
6. Vocabulary: Here are some words a. common
tention he got in the streets.
that have similar meanings: to respect, b. problematic
On his return, people asked him, “How
accept, sympathy, help, and understand. c. natural
was India?”
Find the appropriate word for each and
He answered, “Terrific! It’s a charming II. When a person is unable to understand
write it down under it in Table 2.
country, and a rich country. You get every- our language,
thing for nothing there. You go to a shop and fellow
we should ….
point to a pile of sweets you like, and they feeling
a. avoid the person
tell you to take all you want and eat it. Then esteem b. try to make him understand
acknowledge
the police come with drums and pipes, give patiently
reverence
you a shave, dye your head with hair-dye, c. understand that the person is
stand by
and give you a nice donkey to ride through unfamiliar with our language.
honor
town to the accompaniment of lovely Indian accommodate
II. When a person does not know our na-
music. And all for nothing! Lovely country, perceive
tive customs,
generous hosts, beautiful people!” compassion
humanity we should ….
4. Understanding the Text: Answer the befriend a. make fun out of the person
following questions based on the text: uphold b. try to make the person aware of it
fathom c. be broad-minded and understand
1. Where did the man come from? comprehend his/her ignorance
recognize
2. What do you understand by the line:
IV. If a person differs with our thinking,
“He knew only one or two words of Hin-
7. Language Work: Here are some
dustani”? we should….
phrases that are used in the English
a. also try to understand the person’s
3. The word “khaja” in the text has two language to indicate the attitude of and a view point
meanings. Which are they? sense of sympathy, help, and understand- b. fight with the person
4. Which meaning did the man know of ing. Consider each of them and make two c. try to talk and help the person
the word “khaja”? meaningful sentences for each. understand our thoughts
5. What did the man say to the people sympathetic attitude: V. When a person is of another religion,
about India when he returned back to
u live and let live we should….
Kabul?
a. try to accept the difference
helping attitude:
b. try to create awareness about the
5. Analyze and Write: Analyze the
u lend a hand person’s religion
following questions. Give reasons for your
c. hate the person because the person
answers. attitude of understanding: is from different religion
1. What were the reasons for the misun- u take one’s meaning
9. Discuss—Express Your Views: Read
derstanding between the man and the
vendor? 8. What Should You Do? Look at the the following statements. Indicate whether
situations and the behaviors described you agree or disagree with them. Discuss
2. Do you think that the man from Kabul
was really a lawbreaker? below. Mark the appropriate answers. Note your answers with your teacher and class-
mates.
Table 2
respect accept sympathy help understand
Table 3
name of the religion name for place of prayer name of the religious festival / celebration
MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION
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Promising Practices
a. Foreigners who go to live in a new write the information in sequence on the able learners to develop a recognition of
country should give up their habits and ovals rather make it random. Write the and respect for diverse cultures and the
adapt to the new country as soon as name of the state on the inner circle. For values of multiculturalism. This type of
possible. example: Inner circle 1 = state’s name, task-based lesson using folktake literature
b. Minority members of any population middle circle 2 = native language, middle could well become a promising practice
should adopt the customs and values of circle 3 = fair, festival, or dance, and the with worldwide benefits.
the majority. outer circle 4 = attire and craft.
To play the game: Mismatch all the References
10. Activity for a Bulletin Board: Look circles and tell your classmates to spin the
around your school, you will see many circles and match the ovals with the correct Abraham, H. J. (1973) World problem in the
students from different religions. Ask state. See Figure 1 for the layout. classroom. Paris, France: UNESCO.
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religion. Make a chart and fix it on the Discussion and Conclusion curriculum reform. In J. Banks & C. Banks
(Eds.), Multicultural education: Issues and
bulletin board. See Table 3 for an example
It has been observed during the field perspectives. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
of a chart.
trial of my doctoral research that, in the Banks, J. (1992). Multicultural education: Ap-
proaches, developments, and dimensions.
practice of learning the values of multicul-
11. Design a Spin Wheel—Ring Around In J. Lynch, C. Modgil, & S. Modgil (Eds.)
turalism, the use of literature in the form of
India: Cut three large cardboard circles Cultural diversity and the schools, Vol. 1,
folktakes has received a positive response
in three different sizes: the first should Education for cultural diversity: Convergence
be 4 feet, the second should be 3 feet, and from students. Lessons of this type have and divergence (pp. 83-94). London, UK:
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Now collect information about the Press.
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Appendix:
Samples of Student Work
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