English Literacy Acquisition: From Cultural Trauma to Learning Disabilities in Minority Students
Author(s):
Trueba, Henry T
Format:
Journal article
Citation:
Linguistics And Education, Volume 1, Issue 2 (1988-10). pp. 125-152.
Language:
English
Abstract:
An 18-month ethnographic study of learning difficulties among linguistic minority children in grades 1-5 is presented. Children (4 Hispanic, 3 Laotian, 3 Hmong, 1 Vietnamese, & 1 Sudanese) were followed across school & home settings. It is shown that cultural conflict may help explain problems in the acquisition of Eng literacy. Eng literacy school activities presuppose cultural knowledge & values that these children & their families have not acquired. Such cultural conflict can manifest itself as a "cultural trauma" that disables children's learning, specificaly, their literacy learning. An argument is made that (1) at the heart of academic failure may be a profound cultural conflict, (2) there are ways to socialize minority children for academic success, & (3) culturally based instructional models can help in the acquisition of Eng literacy for academic success. 3 Tables, 4 Figures, 45 References. HA