Disputes in Child L2 Learning KEI,I.FEN TOOHEY

Disputes in Child L2 Learning by Kei, I Fen Toohey

Something I have noticed in my class is how some children are natural leaders while others are always quiet and in the background. This reading about disputes in children, highlighted that there is a thing such as domination and subordination amongst children.

In short:
Children that can stand their ground in material, opinion and play disputes, have more opportunities to develop their language, syntax and social organisation.  Sadly, racism can also influence how children interact or not interact with each other, which will also influence their opportunities to learn a new language.

What can we as teachers do to improve our classrooms' communities of learners?

We could:
1. Model peaceful ways of resolving conflict.
2. Address the question of domination and subordination, by recognising the expertise of children, and assist them in speaking from a powerful desirable position.
3. Discover each child's competencies so that they can sometimes be experts, and sometimes be learners.

So what?
I feel like I have more questions than solutions after reading this article. Such as:
How do you assess competencies?
What is a peaceful way of resolving conflict in a 6 and 7 year's mind?
Does making children experts and others learners mean,  that mixed ability groups is essential for learning? Or does it mean I should put children with similar strengths in one group?
How do you assist children to not let social organisation influence how they treat others?

What now?
My research in UDL(Universal Design for Learning) should address these factors. One of the engagement strategies are to optimise engagement and community. I would love to have a class culture of teamwork, support, and self -regulation. However, I realise, that this should be taught. In order to do that, I need to find answers to my questions above, research what UDL is and find ways of how to implement it in my classroom.