THEORY INTO PRACTICE / Autumn 2003
Classroom Management in a Diverse Society
Mary Elizabeth Curran
Linguistic Diversity and
Classroom Management
In spite of the growing linguistic diversity in U.S.
classrooms, many teachers are not being adequately
prepared to work with English language learners
(ELLs). One area of particular concern for teach-
ers is how to manage today’s linguistically diverse
classrooms. This article suggests ways educators
can reflect on English language learners’ needs
and consider the implications for classroom man-
agement. The author focuses on the need to (a)
understand the perspective of ELLs and the natu-
ral responses to being immersed in a second lan-
guage, (b) use pedagogical strategies that aid in
second language acquisition, and (c) create a class-
room climate that affirms linguistic diversity.
M ANY GRADE - LEVEL TEACHERS feel at a loss
when it comes to teaching their English
language learners (ELLs). In spite of the growing
linguistic diversity in U.S. classrooms, teachers in
general are not being adequately prepared to work
with students from diverse linguistic backgrounds.
Reagan (1997) and Zeichner (2002), among oth-
ers, discuss the urgency of providing some train-
ing in applied linguistics in teacher education
programs. Several scholars have responded to this
Mary Elizabeth Curran is an assistant professor at the
Rutgers Graduate School of Education.
THEORY INTO PRACTICE, Volume 42, Number 4, Autumn 2003
Copyright © 2003 College of Education, The Ohio State University
334
need, sharing their knowledge and offering advice
regarding working with ELLs. For example, Fill-
more and Snow (2000) and Reagan (1997) outline
the background knowledge teachers need in areas
such as language and linguistics, language devel-
opment, second language acquisition, cultural diver-
sity, and sociolinguistics. On a more practical level,
Cary (2000) has written, Working With Second Lan-
guage Learners: Answers to Teachers’ Top Ten Ques-
tions. This article adds to the body of literature of
what teachers need to know about working with
ELLs with a specific focus on the implications of
linguistic diversity for classroom management.
Classroom management is of paramount con-
cern for both new and veteran teachers. A teacher’s
management decision-making process becomes even
more complex when she or he doesn’t speak the first
language of students who are new to U.S. classrooms.
The usual tried-and-true techniques that function for
English-speaking students familiar with the culture
of U.S. classrooms may not always work with this
new population of students. However, this does
not mean that a teacher will not be successful. It
simply requires reflection on the specific needs of
ELLs and the implications for management deci-
sions. This will reduce the likelihood for linguistic
and cultural miscommunication and conflict. It will
also help ensure a successful educational experience
that does not discriminate against these learners be-
cause of their English language abilities.

To aid in my discussion, I draw upon my
experiences when I’ve conducted workshops about
working with ELLs to mostly monolingual English-
speaking pre- and in-service teachers. In particu-
lar, I will focus on the need to (a) understand the
perspective of ELLs and the natural responses to
being immersed in a second language, (b) use ped-
agogical strategies that aid in second language ac-
quisition, and (c) create a classroom climate that
affirms linguistic diversity.
Consciousness Raising: What
It’s Like to Be an ELL
When I’m invited to talk to pre- and in-ser-
vice teachers about working with ELLs in U.S.
classrooms, I start my workshops in Spanish. I
speak only Spanish as I introduce myself and write
my name on the chalkboard. As I begin, I notice
that some participants have blank stares, some look
tentatively at me and one another, others giggle
nervously, while others nod along in comprehen-
sion. After a brief description of my background
and my plan for the workshop, I (still speaking in
Spanish) ask the participants to take out a sheet of
paper and number it from 1 to 10. When they give
me puzzled looks, I hold up a sheet of paper, and
they pull out sheets of paper. I count, “uno, dos,
tres,” and they number their pages from uno a
diez. Then I ask them to answer the question:
“¿Quién eres?” I write this on the chalkboard and
use myself as an example:
1. mujer
2. madre
3. esposa
4. blanca
5. maestra, etc.
When students seem confused, I ask a partic-
ipant who does understand to translate the assign-
ment to the others. “She wants you to write who
you are.” After they begin writing, I ask the stu-
dents if they are finished, tell them to work rápi-
damente, and, after they’ve written their responses
(although some students write nothing and others
stare at me angrily), I finally switch to English,
asking, “Would you mind if I speak English now?”
This question is usually greeted with sighs of re-
lief and laughter.
Curran
Linguistic Diversity
It’s clear to the participants why I have cho-
sen to begin in Spanish: “You want to give us the
feeling that some of our students have everyday.”
“Yes,” I reply. And I ask, “What did it feel like?”
The participants begin to call out comments:
I couldn’t understand you, so I just tuned out
until you spoke English.
I was angry; it seemed like a waste of my time.
I thought I was in the wrong workshop, that this
was going to be completely in Spanish.
It was tiring. I had to strain to catch bits and
pieces of what you said.
I liked it. I could understand you.
I ask them to reflect on the behavior in the group
while I spoke in Spanish. They make comments
such as:
We were laughing; we were off task.
We spoke English together.
Susan translated it into English for us.
It took us a long time to do the assignment.
Then I ask what this brief experience might mean
for those who teach and manage classrooms with
ELLs present. Our discussions have brought up the
following key points and their ramifications for
classroom management.
Implications for Classroom Management
We need to understand, expect, and feel comfort-
able with the natural responses (e.g., laughter, first
language use, silence, and fatigue) that occur when
our students participate in interactions in which
they are not completely proficient in the language.
The participants discussed how the initial ac-
tivity had made many of them feel nervous and
uncomfortable. Their responses (laughter, speak-
ing in English, and expressions of anger) are often
the types of behaviors for which we reprimand our
ELLs. When we hear our students laugh, we may
be quick to respond with a request for silence.
However, this laughter may have a very natural
and therapeutic function for ELLs who feel out of
their element. Moreover, a request for silence may
not allow students of similar language background
the opportunity to support each other through quick
translations of classroom instructions. When we
335
THEORY INTO PRACTICE / Autumn 2003
Classroom Management in a Diverse Society
hear students speak their first languages, we often
demand that they speak only English in the class-
room. Our simulation showed how first language
use can serve as a vehicle for the students to nego-
tiate an assignment and actually help them stay on
task. The results of this simulation coincide with
research that shows that when students’ first lan-
guages are valued and fostered—either through bi-
lingual education or other first language
support—they are actually more successful academ-
ically because they are allowed to draw on a richer
and larger source of background schemata (Cum-
mins, 1980, 1981; Hakuta, 1986).
Often teachers become nervous when students
speak their first language, thinking, “They’re talk-
ing about me.” If a teacher acts threatened by or
displays resentment for the first language, it’s pos-
sible that students will speak about him or her.
However, it is more likely that if a teacher demon-
strates his or her respect and understanding for the
support that occasional first language use provides,
students will have little motivation to speak be-
hind a teacher’s back. It is when a teacher appears
insensitive or uncompromising that students re-
spond with anger. A good approach is for a teacher
to discuss his or her reasons for allowing students to
use their first language in class with the students. For
example, teachers can explain how they understand
that native language use can be helpful in their learn-
ing process. At the same time, they can also ques-
tion students who are busily speaking in their first
language, asking if they are on- or off-task.
Some participants commented on how tiring it
was to try to understand the Spanish used in the sim-
ulation. They discussed the enormous amount of en-
ergy it must take for their ELLs to sit and decipher
hours of classroom discourse and activities. This drain
on students leads to a recommendation to increase
wait time to allow for the processing of input and the
formulation of responses. Teachers need to be espe-
cially patient and comfortable with a few moments
of silence as they give their ELLs extra time. Simi-
larly, student workloads, course assignments, and due
dates may need to be adjusted to ease the demands
made on ELLs. Teachers need to be sensitive to the
increased cognitive and affective demands when one
operates in a second language and plan their class-
room management accordingly.
336
We need to structure classroom activities and use
strategies to support language acquisition and com-
prehension of classroom activities for ELLs.
In response to the simulation, some partici-
pants reacted by tuning out and not paying atten-
tion until I began to speak in English. This reminds
us how we need to acknowledge that students’ be-
havior we interpret as bored, inattentive, or lazy
may very well be simply a natural response to an
inability to comprehend classroom input. Instead
of responding with a disciplinary measure or a
change of attitude toward the student, we can fo-
cus our energy on structuring our classroom activ-
ities to support language acquisition. It is essential
to find ways to engage these students. A Chicago
public school teacher mentioned to me how her
middle school ELLs, who as recent immigrants are
quiet and no trouble in class, can become trouble-
makers, the students she needs to worry about, af-
ter they have been forgotten or ignored. These
students, bored and idle, may turn to making trou-
ble to gain attention and keep interested in what’s
happening around them.
After the simulation, some participants said
they were able to follow best when I used gestures
and visual representations (e.g., holding up a piece
of paper and writing my example answers to the
“Who are you?” question on the chalkboard). Clear-
ly, visual support is essential to help contextualize
classroom discourse for the ELLs. Teachers can
provide this support by using the chalkboard, rea-
lia, and other visual aids. In addition, teachers
should provide models for classroom procedures
and practices for their ELLs. They can either pro-
vide this model themselves or call on students to
model exercises and activities before beginning.
In the same way, routines are especially help-
ful to ELLs, as they reduce the likelihood that a
learner will become lost in unexpected transitions.
Because many ELLs come to the United States
with experience in different classroom cultures,
predictable routines are more easily learned and
understood and can help anchor them in the new
culture. In addition, these new routines “may be
the first stable feature some students have experi-
enced in a long time, especially if they have re-
cently immigrated under adverse circumstances”
(Peregoy & Boyle, 2000, p. 16).

These routines are also excellent opportuni-
ties to provide comprehensible input, as students
repeatedly hear messages such as “Please hand your
homework to the front,” “Take out your daily cal-
endar,” and “Friday is library day.” These regular
messages, combined with the actions that accom-
pany them, constitute powerful language learning
opportunities (as they hear and see the language in
context) for the students. ELLs may rely heavily
on these routines, so when there are transitions or
changes to the plan, we need to provide clear in-
structions (ideally with visual support). These in-
structions should be given before students are
divided into groups to help eliminate distractions
and increased noise level.
Peregoy and Boyle (2000) suggest that teach-
ers can also ease new immigrant students into class-
room routines by assigning them a personal buddy.
Ideally, this buddy would be a student who knows
the newcomers’ language. His or her job would be
to accompany the new student through the day,
providing a model for appropriate behavior and a
resource for support. For example, this student
could explain classroom procedures (e.g., how to
line up for the bus, pay for lunch, etc.) and pro-
vide an up-close language model as the ELL ob-
serves his or her interactions with other students
and the teacher.
It is important to point out that all of the
above, the use of gestures and visuals, modeling,
routines, careful instructions, and partnering, will
not be helpful if ELLs are not considered active
members of the classroom community. This means
that they must be included in classroom activities
(not given other projects—a worksheet, for exam-
ple—to work on while the other students engage
in group activities). To signal ELLs’ full member-
ship in the classroom community, these students
should be seated toward the middle and in front of
the classroom. That way they will be immersed
within the various interactions between the stu-
dents and teacher. They will have the opportunity
to observe their more experienced classmates, while
the teacher will also be able to observe and assess
their level of comprehension and adaptation.
Another way to include ELLs in classroom
activities is to plan collaborative learning and pair-
work projects in which students work together in
Curran
Linguistic Diversity
both their first and/or second languages. Allowing
students to work in groups provides learning op-
portunities through social interaction. Second lan-
guage acquisition specialists have discussed the
importance of this social interaction (Krashen,
1982; Long & Porter, 1985; Fillmore, 1982, 1985),
which provides students with large amounts of com-
prehensible input. Input becomes comprehensible
to language learners when language is used in
meaningful ways within authentic contexts. Group
projects, unlike abstract teacher talk, may provide
rich learning opportunities for language learners
as the students observe and engage in communica-
tion with a purpose. Moreover, working in small
groups with classmates also provides ELLs the
opportunity to produce language. The opportunity
for speech production is also an important part of
the language acquisition process (Swain, 1985). As
students turn to one another to ask or provide as-
sistance, share information, and check comprehen-
sion, their interactions provide the authentic fodder
for language acquisition to occur.
We need to build a strong sense of community and
affirmation of linguistic diversity.
We would all agree that it is of utmost im-
portance to build a strong sense of community
among students. Creating a classroom environment
where students feel safe, secure, and a sense of
belonging will help reduce fear and anxiety. This
is especially important for ELLs who may have
recently immigrated under very stressful or trau-
matic conditions. Krashen and Terrell (1983) dis-
cuss the importance of lowering what he has called
the affective filter (the level of fear and anxiety),
which can be a barrier to language acquisition. Even
when a teacher doesn’t speak the first language of
his or her students, small details, such as learning
to pronounce students’ names correctly, display-
ing welcome signs in many languages, and making
eye contact with students, can help convey to ELLs
that they are important members of the classroom
community. Allowing students to work in cooper-
ative groups (especially groupings that remain un-
changed for long periods of time) may be another
way to help create a sense of belonging.
Making an effort to connect with parents or
guardians of ELLs will also send the message that
ELLs belong and are an important part of the school
337
THEORY INTO PRACTICE / Autumn 2003
Classroom Management in a Diverse Society
community. Because there may be difficulties com-
municating with ELLs’ family members, it is help-
ful to draw on support offered through schools (in
the ESL, bilingual, or guidance programs, for ex-
ample) that help direct teachers to appropriate par-
ent liaisons or translation services to aid in
communications. If a school does not provide in-
stitutional support for communication with the fam-
ilies of ELLs, a teacher may need to assume an
advocate role and lobby for this support on their
behalf. The existence of these programs causes stu-
dents’ languages and cultures to gain status and,
as such, increases the ELLs’ and their families’
sense of belonging and the likelihood for academ-
ic success.
Most importantly, teachers need to learn about
their students. Because learning is built on previ-
ous learning, it is essential that teachers make an
effort to learn about and build on the cultural and
linguistic backgrounds their students bring from
home. Often these different backgrounds are seen
as deficits or problematic (McKay & Wong, 1996),
while ironically, it is these students who have the
potential to leave our school systems as bilingual
and bicultural. When teachers learn to see the di-
verse backgrounds of their students as resources,
these students’ experiences can serve to promote
the multilingualism and multiculturalism of all the
students and the teacher.
Teachers can find many creative ways to learn
about their students. They can foster relationships
with community mentors who are willing to share
information about their communities. They can
watch videos or read literature written by or about
the communities of their students (see Watkins-
Goffman, 2001, for a helpful list). Teachers can
familiarize themselves about the countries from
which their students immigrate, making it a point
to learn where the countries are, which languages
are spoken, and other important information about
the students’ backgrounds. Teachers may have stu-
dents from many different countries, so they can
choose to concentrate on one area at a time.
Taking the steps to promote ELLs’ positive
experiences with regard to their social relations
and self-esteem will lay an important foundation
for their English language acquisition (Peregoy &
Boyle, 2000). As we know, if students’ social and
338
emotional needs are not met, it is very unlikely
that they will be able to turn their attention to the
intellectual demands made of them in our class-
rooms. This necessitates making the inclusion of
ELLs a deliberate priority in the curriculum.
In addition to fostering a sense of community,
it is important for all teachers to promote the affir-
mation of diversity in their classrooms. This topic is
covered in depth in the multicultural education liter-
ature (see Nieto, 2000), so I will focus on it only in
terms of linguistic diversity for this article. Teach-
ers need to model a respect for all languages. One
of the most powerful ways a teacher can do this is
by learning and using a second language. This will
both demonstrate the teacher’s respect and open-
ness for languages other than English and provide
the teacher the opportunity to undergo the process
of learning another language. This may move the
teacher beyond seeing linguistic diversity as a threat
or problem to be avoided or feared in the class-
room and sensitize the teacher to the needs of lan-
guage learners. The hope, as a result, is that
teachers will not make their classroom manage-
ment decisions based on fear or ignorance with
regard to teaching their ELLs; instead, the goal is
that they will choose to funnel their classroom de-
cision-making through a culturally responsive class-
room management model, like the one proposed in
Weinstein, Tomlinson-Clarke and Curran (in press).
This will reduce the chances that management de-
cisions are guilty of perpetuating linguicism, or
discrimination on account of language. Linguicism
(lesser known than its cohorts, racism, sexism, clas-
sism, etc.) refers to “ideologies, structures, and prac-
tices which are used to legitimate, effectuate, regulate
and reproduce an unequal division of power and re-
sources (both material and immaterial) between
groups which are defined on the basis of language”
(Skutnabb-Kangas, 1988, p. 13).
There are many cases of what I mean by lin-
guicism. For example, a middle-school Spanish
teacher told me about a conversation at one of his
faculty meetings. A monolingual English-speaking
teacher had complained about the use of Spanish
in their school, citing an occasion when a group of
boys had been teasing a girl in Spanish. The teach-
er feared that something inappropriate had been
said to the girl. She told her colleagues that she

hadn’t known how to handle the situation and sug-
gested that the school ban the speaking of Spanish.
If the teasing had occurred in English, I feel
fairly confident that the penalty contemplated would
not have been to ban the speaking of English for
these students. Why then would a disciplinary mea-
sure be appropriate for Spanish-speaking students,
but not English-speaking students? Moreover, this
differential treatment appears to punish students
for speaking Spanish, instead of for teasing.
We also see linguicism in action when we
hear of teachers who ignore their newly emigrated
students, seating them in the back of the room to
fill out worksheet after worksheet “because they
just don’t understand,” while the rest of the class
engages in cooperative learning activities. We see
it when notes to parents go home only in English
when many students come from communities large-
ly populated with Spanish, Hmong, or Chinese
speakers. These examples show how classroom
management decisions can discriminate and reduce
the likelihood of inclusion, learning, and achieve-
ment because of students’ language backgrounds.
To counter linguicism, teachers and schools
need to take an active role in implementing anti-
racist pedagogy in the curriculum. We know that
“substantive changes in attitudes, behaviors, and
achievement occur only when the entire school
environment changes to demonstrate a multicul-
tural atmosphere” (Diaz-Rico & Weed, 2002, p.
214). We need to be aware that ELLs, especially
post-September 11, may meet racism or anti-im-
migrant sentiments in the classroom and elsewhere.
Educational administration can support the
achievement of their ELLs through their support
of linguistic diversity as well. For example, a school
district can engage in affirmative action to pro-
mote the hiring of a linguistically diverse faculty.
They can ensure the translation of important docu-
ments into the students’ home languages. They can
offer programs that support first and second lan-
guage maintenance and growth. And, they can fos-
ter their relationships with communities for whom
English is an additional language.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is possible that teachers may
encounter learning and behavior difficulties among
Curran
Linguistic Diversity
their ELLs. In this article, I’ve shown that this can
be expected as part of the normal linguistic, cul-
tural, and academic learning process required of
ELLs. This article suggests that being aware of
students’ natural responses to this process, using
strategies to make classroom activities more com-
prehensible, and creating a linguistically affirma-
tive classroom climate are ways we can successfully
manage students’ learning environment. When I
speak on these issues in workshops for pre- and
in-service teachers, someone in the audience usu-
ally comments on the obvious: the suggestions
made here for managing classrooms of linguisti-
cally diverse students hold for all students as well.
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