Plenary Address at the 2011 Low Educated Second Language Literacy Acquisition Symposium, Minneapolis, MN

1. From Cultural Dissonance to a
New Learning Paradigm
Andrea DeCapua Helaine W. Marshall
The College of New Rochelle Long Island University

3. “Culture acts as a filter or set of
lenses through which we view and
interpret the world around us.”
(DeCapua & Wintergerst, 2004)

4. Two Research Strands
• Ways of Thinking
• Individualism / Collectivism

5. Research Strand 1
Ways of Thinking:
• Formal Western-style education
• Informal learning
(Anderson-Levitt, 2003; Flynn, 2007; Grigorenko, 2007;
Ozmon & Carver, 2008 )

6. Formal Western-Style Education
• Abstract knowledge
• Scientific reasoning
• Logical deduction
• Literacy as central
• Formal school settings
(Anderson-Levitt, 2003; Flynn, 2007; Grigorenko, 2007;
Ozmon & Carver, 2008)

7. Informal Ways of Learning
• Revolves around immediate needs of family and
community
• Grounded in observation, participation in the
sociocultural practices of family and community
• Has immediate relevance
• Centered on orality
(Faulstich Orellana, 2001; Gahunga, Gahunga, & Luseno,
2011; Paradise & Rogoff, 2009;

8. Sample Task
(Luria, 1976)

9. Sample Question
What do dogs and rabbits
have in common?
(Flynn, 2007)

10. Academic Tasks
• Definitions
• What is a tree?
• True/False
• St. Paul is the capital of Minnesota
• New York City is the capital of New York State
• Classification
• Categorize these objects

11. Contrasting Ways of
Thinking & Learning
Academic Pragmatic
• Classification • Cooking
• Sorting • Childcare
• Sequencing • Farming
• Compare/contrast • Crafts
• Defining • Religious practices

12. A Continuum of Ways of
Thinking & Learning
SLIFE
Informal Western-style
Learning Formal
Education

13. Research Strand 2
Individualism
and
Collectivism
(Hofstede, 2001; Nisbett, 2003; Oyserman & Lee, 2008; Triandis, 1995; 2000)

14. Individualism
• Personal efforts praised,
rewarded
• Personal interests,
desires, primary
• Personal judgments
• Personal responsibility
• “Self-actualization”

15. Collectivism
• “We” rather than “I.”
• People see themselves as
part of an interconnected
whole
• “Web” of relationships
• Group is more important
than any single individual

16. Cooperative Learning 
Individual Responsibility
SAMPLE ROLES
• Checker
• Datakeeper
• Group Leader
• Keyboard Operator
• Materials Manager
• Messenger
• Permission Giver
• Questioner
• Reader
• Reporter
• Summarizer
• Timekeeper
• Word Analyst
• Writer/Recorder

17. Assumptions of North American
Teachers and Learners
1. The goals of instruction are
a) to produce independent learners
b) to prepare the learners for their future
2. The learner brings along
a) preparation for academic tasks
b) an urge to compete and excel as an individual
(Adapted from DeCapua & Marshall, 2011)

18. (Ibarra, 2001)

19. Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm
MALP
Elements from
• Students’ learning paradigm
• North American learning paradigm
(Marshall, 1998; DeCapua & Marshall, 2010)

20. Two Different Learning Paradigms
Aspects of North American
SLIFE
Learning Classrooms
Immediate Future
CONDITIONS Relevance Relevance
Interconnectedness Independence
Shared Individual
PROCESSES Responsibility Accountability
Oral Transmission Written Word
Pragmatic Tasks Academic Tasks
ACTIVITIES
(Adapted from DeCapua & Marshall, 2009, 2010; Marshall, 1994,1998)

21. MALP
SLIFE North American
Classrooms
Immediate Future
Accept SLIFE
Relevance Relevance
conditions
Interconnectedness Independence
Combine SLIFE
& North Shared Individual
American Responsibility Accountability
processes with
Oral
Transmission Written Word
Focus on new
activities with
Pragmatic Academic
familiar language Tasks Tasks
& content
(Adapted from DeCapua & Marshall, 2009, 2010; Marshall 1994, 1998)

22. Prototypical MALP Project
Class Surveys
Characteristics that foster MALP
• Interpersonal
• Relevant topics likely to emerge
• Natural movement from oral interaction to written product
• Provision for both group and individual task delegation
• Instruction in academic ways of thinking

23. Carol’s Class
• Ages: 15 – 21
• Education:
o 3rd grade to 8th grade
• Classes: Self-contained
o English
o Social Studies
o Math
o Science
• Countries of origin:
Haiti, Dominican Republic,
El Salvador, Guatemala

24. Class Brainstorming

25. Bar Graph
• Class brainstorming
• Five most common
activities
• Interviews in class
• Data gathering
• Graph
• Sentences below graph

26. Betty’s Class
• Ages: 18-61
• Education:
o None to 5th grade
• Classes:
o ESL
o Hmong Literacy
o Life-skills Math
o Problem Posing
• Origin:
Hmong from Laos

27. Class Diagram
• Crossing the Mekong
• Interviewing at home
• Sharing data in class
• Drawing map & flags
• Using sentence frame
• Entering data
• Responding to questions

28. Paj Ntaub