"I Have Got Something to Say, But I Don’t Know Your Language Yet!": Intermodal Learning in Multi-Cultural Urban Education

112 Pages·2000·0.585 MB·

by  Elisabeth K. Hösli

“I Have Got Something To Say,
But I Don’t Know Your Language Yet!”
Lesley College Series in Arts and Education
Elijah Mirochnik
General Editor
Vol. 2
PETER LANG
New York (cid:121) Washington, D.C./Baltimore (cid:121) Boston (cid:121) Bern
Frankfurt am Main (cid:121) Berlin (cid:121) Brussels (cid:121) Vienna (cid:121) Oxford
Elisabeth K. Hösli
“I Have Got Something To Say, But
I Don’t Know Your Language Yet!”
Intermodal Learning
in Multicultural Urban Education
PETER LANG
New York (cid:121) Washington, D.C./Baltimore (cid:121) Boston (cid:121) Bern
Frankfurt am Main (cid:121) Berlin (cid:121) Brussels (cid:121) Vienna (cid:121) Oxford
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hösli, Elisabeth K.
“I have got something to say, but I don’t know your language yet!”:
intermodal learning in multicultural urban education / Elisabeth K. Hösli.
p. cm. — (Lesley College series in arts and education; vol. 2)
Includes bibliographical references.
1. Children of immigrants—Education—Switzerland—Zurich.
2. Education, Urban—Switzerland—Zurich. 3. Multicultural
education—Switzerland—Zurich. I. Title. II. Series.
LC3747.S9H67 371.826’91—dc21 99-34387
ISBN 0-8204-4587-8
ISSN 1524-0177
Die Deutsche Bibliothek-CIP-Einheitsaufnahme
Hösli, Elisabeth K.:
“I have got something to say, but I don’t know your language yet!”: intermodal learning in
multicultural urban education / Elisabeth K. Hösli.
−New York; Washington, D.C./Baltimore; Boston; Bern;
Frankfurt am Main; Berlin; Brussels; Vienna; Oxford: Lang.
(Lesley College series in arts and education; Vol. 2)
ISBN 0-8204-4587-8
Cover design by Nona Reuter
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability
of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity
of the Council of Library Resources.
© 2000 Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., New York
All rights reserved.
Reprint or reproduction, even partially, in all forms such as microfilm,
xerography, microfiche, microcard, and offset strictly prohibited.
Printed in the United States of America
I dedicate my book to all children, for every child has something to say.
Everyone—there is no exception.

Table of Contents
List of Tables ix
List of Figures xi
List of Photographs xiii
Acknowledgments xv
Preface xvii
1. Children with Foreign Mother Tongues 1
Context 1
Multiculturalism and Education 5
Working with Immigrant Children 11
2. Intermodal Learning 15
Aspects and Phases of Intermodal Learning 17
Important Principles of Intermodal Learning in Education 20
Construction of Realities in Four Languages 23
Requirements for Significant Subjects 25
Goals of Intermodal Learning 26
3. Didactics within Multicultural Contexts 29
First Example: Mask Project 30
Second Example: Opposites 41
Third Example: Intermodal Learning 49
Development of Language—A Summary 53
4. Theoretical Frames 57
An Art Orientated Approach 57
Levels of Language Proficiency 60
The Theory of Multiple Intelligences 64
VIII Table of Contents

The Intermodal Method and the Method of Working
with Core Ideas 68
The Underlying Concept of Development 71
The Concept of Education 77
5. Concluding Reflections 83
Appendix 87
1. The Mask Project 87
2. The Subject of Opposites 90
3. Intermodal Processes 92
Notes 97
Bibliography 99

Tables
Table 1: Frames in Intermodal Learning 22
Table 2: The Four Languages 24
Table 3: The Multiple Intelligences I 65
Table 4: The Multiple Intelligences II 67
Table 5: Concept of Education 79

Figures
Figure 1: Aspects and Phases of Intermodal Learning 18
Figure 2: Hierarchy of Needs According to Maslow 53
Figure 3: Surface and Deeper Levels of Language Proficiency 61
Figure 4: The ‘dual iceberg’ Representation of Bilingual
Proficiency 63

Photographs
Photograph 1: “The Bird Is Flying to Sri Lanka” 10
Photograph 2: Dobrinka on Her First Day 14
Photograph 3: Miri, the Crying Mask 33
Photograph 4: Queen Mitri 34
Photograph 5: Tschim’s Performance with the Chair 35
Photograph 6: Opposites I 44
Photograph 7: Opposites II 45
Photograph 8: Ismail’s Sketch of His Mask 51
Photograph 9: Nuran as Cimona on Stage 85