A new graduate certificate that educates and trains graduate students from various disciplines to collaborate and enact multilingual multicultural awareness and understanding in their professional practices will be offered at the University of 贬补飞补颈驶颈 at M膩noa starting in summer 2022. The (MMPP), a 15-credit interdisciplinary program, is the first cross-college certificate programs in the 糖心视频 System by 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补鈥檚 (COE) and the .
鈥淲e use the term 鈥榤ultilingual鈥� to be consistent with current perspectives in the field of second language studies,鈥� said Second Language Studies Professor Graham Crookes, one of the designers of the program. 鈥淚nstead of using terms such as 鈥楨nglish Language Learner,鈥� multilingual emphasizes the cultural and linguistic assets of people and recognizes the need for fostering heritage language maintenance and language acquisition broadly, not just English. These perspectives can lead to educational, social and economic benefits both for professionals and for the communities they serve.鈥�
MMPP engages other 糖心视频 M膩noa professional schools, such as the William S. Richardson School of Law, to promote social justice, equity and sustainability. Part of the , the certificate cultivates a strong sense of place, building upon 贬补飞补颈驶颈鈥檚 unique cultures and languages, while also preparing graduate students to be leaders in multilingualism, multiculturalism and linguistic human rights.
Connecting courses to professional field
Structured so students across diverse disciplines will share two core multilingual multicultural courses, the remaining three courses of the MMPP program will be elective multilingual multicultural courses connected to their professional field in the context of 贬补飞补颈驶颈. Hawaiian culture, history and language are foundational across the curriculum. Students will collaborate on an integrative final project drawing on their newfound multilingual multicultural understanding of their professional field.
鈥淚t will be exciting to see students network across different disciplines, professions and orientations, to identity problems and create solutions and programs to better serve our multilingual multicultural communities,鈥� said Professor Patricia Halagao, one of the program designers and chair of the COE, which is administering the certificate.
Working with multilingual multicultural populations
The MMPP certificate offers important knowledge and skills that professionals, including lawyers and educators, need to work effectively with multilingual multicultural populations.
For educators, MMPP coursework addresses essential local policies and national professional standards to ensure they have the needed knowledge, skills, and values to support their multilingual multicultural learners in 贬补飞补颈驶颈.
Brook Chapman de Sousa, COE Institute for Teacher Education associate professor and collaborating designer, said, 鈥淲e鈥檝e designed a specific set of coursework aligned to the 贬补飞补颈驶颈 Department of Education place-based policy and the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages () standards. We are in the process of seeking approval from the 贬补飞补颈驶颈 Teacher Standards Board so MMPP graduates may earn their TESOL 濒颈肠别苍蝉别.鈥�
The 糖心视频 M膩noa vision statement, Ka lamak奴 o ke aloha 驶腻颈苍补: A leading light of aloha 驶腻颈苍补 for 贬补飞补颈驶颈and the world, is central to this certificate.
鈥淭his graduate certificate is grounded in the belief that 糖心视频 M膩noa should be a leader in this respect and must cultivate deep understanding, respect for, and competencies in this place鈥檚 cultural and linguistic diversity and interconnectedness,鈥� said Dina Yoshimi, associate professor and director of the 贬补飞补颈驶颈Language Roadmap. 鈥淭his vision will only be enhanced if we better understand each others鈥� languages, cultures and various 鈥榬ich knowledge systems鈥� to serve our local and global communities.鈥�
This program is an example of 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补鈥檚 goal of (PDF), one of four goals identified in the (PDF), updated in December 2020.
For more information about the application process and program, contact Halagao at phalagao@hawaii.edu.