Office of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Education

Student Services

  • One-on-one consultations for:
    • Reading, studying, writing, and oral presentation strategies
    • Workshopping assignments, including but not limited to: research papers, lab reports, critical analyses, reflections, creative works, oral presentations, etc.
    • Graduate school, internship, and job applications, essays, resumes
    • Fellowship Advising: Princeton in Asia, Princeton in Africa, Princeton in Latin America, and Banyan AIF (India) Fellowships
  • Global Scholars Program
  • Teaching English domestically or abroad after graduation
  • COTESOL or other teaching and language centered professional organizations

Faculty Services

  • One-on-one or department wide workshops on culturally and linguistically diverse approaches to working with, teaching, and assessing CLD students
  • One-on-one consultations for syllabus, course, and assessment design
  • Faculty research and scholarly work consults

STUDENTS

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) is a preferred term (versus ESL, ELL, etc.) for an individual or group of individuals whose culture and language differ from that of the dominant group (Herrera, 2016).

This terminology:

  • decenters English and English proficiency
  • appreciates the inseparability of language and culture in the learning environment
  • recognizes cultural and linguistic variance as an asset in learning and teaching

 

To schedule an appointment, email cwalter@coloradocollege.edu. Appointments scheduled 24-48 hours in advance have the best likelihood of meeting your availability. Walk-ins (Tutt Library 214) are also welcome but subject to availability.

 

The Office of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Education is located in Tutt Library 214.

The Office of CLD Education recognizes that the land we are on today is the traditional and ancestral homelands of the Ute people. We value the voices and stories of the Native peoples of this region, and we are committed to forming relationships with the many Native tribes and individuals in the greater Colorado Springs community.

The Office of CLD Education supports all students, first-years through seniors! Our support ranges from cultural-academic transitions to college to senior thesis, capstone projects, and post-graduate fellowships.

YES! There is no cost to interface with any of the Colket Center for Academic Excellence's offices.
Great! There are many ways to teach abroad and many factors to consider. Three great places to start your search are the Career Center's Education and Working Abroad webpages and TEFL. You can also use this guide as you consider your options and TEFL's World Guide to browse country-by-country information. Additionally, you can browse TESOL's Career Center for current openings. 
Feel free to contact cwalter@coloradocollege.edu to set up a time to talk about your options!

Dr. Walter advises for the Princeton in Asia, Princeton in Latin America, Princeton in Africa, and AIF Banyan (India) fellowships. Contact her at cwalter@coloradocollege.edu to set up a time to learn more.

CC has many other fellowship opportunities for students. Fulbright, Watson, and JET are a few other fellowships that support applicants going abroad post-graduation. Check out a full list of fellowships and campus advisors here.

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EDUCATORS

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) is a preferred term (versus ESL, ELL, etc.) for an individual or group of individuals whose culture and language differ from that of the dominant group (Herrera, 2016).

This terminology:

  • decenters English and English proficiency
  • appreciates the inseparability of language and culture in the learning environment
  • recognizes cultural and linguistic variance as an asset in learning and teaching

 

If you believe a student you know may benefit from working with the Office of CLD Education, please email cwalter@coloradocollege.edu, carbon copy the student on the email, include the reason for the referral, and any course-specific context that may be useful. The Office of CLD Education, student, and professor will then be encouraged to work collaboratively on pursuing academic success. Please see below for next steps.

A few notes to keep in mind:

The Office of CLD Education rebukes the traditional remediation model that has structured, and plagued, academic support for CLD students in many higher education contexts for decades (Shapiro, 2011). In a remediation model, students’ challenges are not often addressed by accommodating pedagogy or classroom instruction. Instead, students are referred to academic support services to be remediated. This approach is ineffective. Instead, we adopt a shared responsibility model in which support services and classroom pedagogies work together to best support CLD students.

Traditionally, CLD students, especially international CLD students, are viewed as successful if they participate in a western academic community by using English and cultural conventions fluently. This assimilationist perspective views a one-way transfer of language and culture: students should acclimate to English and western academic contexts and leave any other language and culture behind. In contrast, through a culturally and linguistically responsive lens, CLD students’ differences are recognized as strengths in their learning which should be supported and nurtured alongside their new academic experiences.

Reading, writing, listening, and speaking in another language demand a higher cognitive load than doing so in one’s first language. Higher cognitive loads require greater processing time. Thus, allowing CLD students extra time on an assignment or assessment is an equitable, linguistically responsive practice. Students and instructors should discuss with each other to determine realistic expectations and assessment modifications. The Office of CLD Education can also assist with this process.

There are several ways pre-existing course materials and content can be easily modified to best facilitate learning for CLD students.

Here are a few ideas to get started:

For a course-specific question, email cwalter@coloradocollege to talk specifically about your context.

The Office of CLD Education provides the following for educators:

  • One-on-one or department wide workshops on culturally and linguistically diverse approaches to working with, teaching, and assessing CLD students
  • One-on-one consultations for syllabus, course, and assessment design
  • Faculty research and scholarly work consults

Linguistic racism is a form of discrimination based on accent (spoken or written), dialect, or speech patterns (Dovchin, 2020). Linguistic racism can also be defined as the ideologies and practices that are utilized to conform, normalize, and reformulate an unequal and uneven linguistic power between language users (Skutnabb-Kangas 2015).

Linguistic prejudice is often reinforced by penalizing students for using their own voices and Englishes in their work. An emphasis on “standardized” Academic American English without educational opportunities to study such form of English can be problematic. 

Read more about combating linguistic bias and racism here, herehere, and here.

The Office of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Education is committed to facilitating equitable academic experiences for the CLD population at Colorado College, including international and domestic students, staff, and faculty by providing academic and cultural support via courses, consultations, programming, pedagogical support for faculty, and campus partnerships. The Office of CLD Education unequivocally upholds the antiracism, diversity, equity, and inclusion (ADEI) mission of the College and uses the mission to guide our work.

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Report an issue - Last updated: 06/27/2024

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