Cultural Assimilation, Acculturation, and Pluralism

No lesson on culture is complete without exploring the issues of  assimilation, acculturation, and pluralism and the teacher's role in this process. Read pages 51-52 in your study guide.

Assimilation: "A one way process through which members of an ethnic group give up their original culture and are absorbed into the core culture, which predominates in the host society." (Sills)

Acculturation:  The process by which people of different cultures come into intensive firsthand contact, with resulting changes in the original cultural patterns of one or both cultures but without necessarily a complete loss of the original culture.

Cultural Pluralism:  A process of compromise between two or more cultures in which both groups adopt certain core cultural traits seen as crucial to cultural survival while maintaining unique cultural characteristics.

Answer the following questions about culture. You may submit your answers to the facilitator using either the downloadable document or p. 53 in your study guide.

1. Why do some ESOL students act ashamed of their original culture and claim they cannot speak their native language?
2. What kinds of school experiences may encourage ESOL students to reject their original culture?
3. What are some potential problems for ESOL students who completely assimilate to the dominant U.S. culture in terms of language, dress, diet, etc.?

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