HED4807
ASSIGNMENT 5 PORT
DUE DATE: 14 JAN 2026
,HED4807 ASSIGNMENT 5 PORTFOLIO 2026 DUE 14 JANUARY 2026
Write about 350 -400 words critically reflecting on the role of the language teacher in
applying culturally sustaining pedagogy. Use the table below to guide your writing and
refer to specific language teaching practices and approaches.
Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy in Language Teaching: Brainstorm and Plan
In Assessment 2, I explained how culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP) can be applied in
language teaching to value learners’ linguistic and cultural resources. Critically reflecting on this,
it becomes clear that the role of the language teacher is central to ensuring that CSP is
meaningfully implemented in everyday classroom practice. The language teacher is not only a
facilitator of language learning but also a mediator of culture, identity, and equity.
Culturally sustaining pedagogy originates from the idea of teaching to and through cultural
diversity. This places responsibility on the language teacher to build a classroom ecology where
multilingual learners can make meaning while their home languages are legitimised. In practice,
this means selecting culturally relevant texts, encouraging storytelling from learners’
communities, and using examples that reflect learners’ lived experiences. And doing so, the
teacher makes the teaching process compatible with learners’ sociocultural contexts and frames
of reference rather than forcing assimilation into a single dominant language or culture.
A key language teaching approach that supports CSP is translanguaging. Rooted in multilingual
education and everyday language practices, translanguaging allows learners to draw on all their
linguistic resources to maximise understanding and achievement. The language teacher plays
an important role in building bridges between home and school language practices by allowing
learners to discuss concepts in their home language before producing work in the language of
learning and teaching. Practices such as bilingual word walls, group discussions using multiple
languages, and multilingual glossaries promote meaning-making, agency, and confidence
among language-minoritised learners.
, A pplying CSP requires the language teacher to engage in continuous self-reflection. Teachers
must examine their own beliefs about language, multilingualism, culture, and difference. This
includes recognising that teachers do not need to know all the languages or cultures
represented in the classroom. Instead, their role is to honour, explore, and leverage learners’
existing communicative practices while acting as cultural mediators. Such reflection helps
challenge deficit views of multilingual learners and supports more equitable language learning
environments.
The role of the language teacher in applying culturally sustaining pedagogy is multifaceted and
demanding. It involves sustaining linguistic and cultural diversity, implementing translanguaging
practices, mediating between home and school contexts, and critically examining personal
beliefs. When carried through thoughtfully, CSP empowers learners, liberates marginalised
voices, and promotes inclusive and meaningful language learning.
QUESTION 2 (20 marks)
AI-assisted editing. No content can be created using AI. AI can be used to make improvements
to quality or clarity of student’s own created work to improve the final product. Indicate which
tool has been used and how.
ASSIGNMENT 5 PORT
DUE DATE: 14 JAN 2026
,HED4807 ASSIGNMENT 5 PORTFOLIO 2026 DUE 14 JANUARY 2026
Write about 350 -400 words critically reflecting on the role of the language teacher in
applying culturally sustaining pedagogy. Use the table below to guide your writing and
refer to specific language teaching practices and approaches.
Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy in Language Teaching: Brainstorm and Plan
In Assessment 2, I explained how culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP) can be applied in
language teaching to value learners’ linguistic and cultural resources. Critically reflecting on this,
it becomes clear that the role of the language teacher is central to ensuring that CSP is
meaningfully implemented in everyday classroom practice. The language teacher is not only a
facilitator of language learning but also a mediator of culture, identity, and equity.
Culturally sustaining pedagogy originates from the idea of teaching to and through cultural
diversity. This places responsibility on the language teacher to build a classroom ecology where
multilingual learners can make meaning while their home languages are legitimised. In practice,
this means selecting culturally relevant texts, encouraging storytelling from learners’
communities, and using examples that reflect learners’ lived experiences. And doing so, the
teacher makes the teaching process compatible with learners’ sociocultural contexts and frames
of reference rather than forcing assimilation into a single dominant language or culture.
A key language teaching approach that supports CSP is translanguaging. Rooted in multilingual
education and everyday language practices, translanguaging allows learners to draw on all their
linguistic resources to maximise understanding and achievement. The language teacher plays
an important role in building bridges between home and school language practices by allowing
learners to discuss concepts in their home language before producing work in the language of
learning and teaching. Practices such as bilingual word walls, group discussions using multiple
languages, and multilingual glossaries promote meaning-making, agency, and confidence
among language-minoritised learners.
, A pplying CSP requires the language teacher to engage in continuous self-reflection. Teachers
must examine their own beliefs about language, multilingualism, culture, and difference. This
includes recognising that teachers do not need to know all the languages or cultures
represented in the classroom. Instead, their role is to honour, explore, and leverage learners’
existing communicative practices while acting as cultural mediators. Such reflection helps
challenge deficit views of multilingual learners and supports more equitable language learning
environments.
The role of the language teacher in applying culturally sustaining pedagogy is multifaceted and
demanding. It involves sustaining linguistic and cultural diversity, implementing translanguaging
practices, mediating between home and school contexts, and critically examining personal
beliefs. When carried through thoughtfully, CSP empowers learners, liberates marginalised
voices, and promotes inclusive and meaningful language learning.
QUESTION 2 (20 marks)
AI-assisted editing. No content can be created using AI. AI can be used to make improvements
to quality or clarity of student’s own created work to improve the final product. Indicate which
tool has been used and how.
