Linguistic Diversity refers to the presence and use of multiple languages within a specific community, organization, or society.
The Oakwood School community is a diverse community, culturally and linguistically. We celebrate our institutional diverse identity everyday through the truly wonderful work we do, and we are accustomed to the diversity of our school, so much that we sometimes take it for granted and forget there are other languages present right there at every corner at our school. We have students whose parents or grandparents speak a language other than English, and we are honored by having exchange students visiting us from abroad, we are fortunate to have teachers and staff with different national origins. Our school is a vibrant mosaic of heritages and broad perspectives. Different languages carry unique nuances, expressions, and histories, providing a window into the cultural identity of its speakers, our students, and their families.
The Oakwood Oracle newspaper is growing with the school, and this year on the 30th anniversary of our school, there will be a new column, not just for this year but hopefully for the next 30 years as well. The Oakwood Oracle is dedicating a column to publish students’ thoughts and perspectives in different languages. The great team of editors and contributors are inviting students to participate, to contribute to the column in a language other than English. Embracing practices that reflect Oakwood’s linguistic diversity helps us all to gain a deeper appreciation for cultural richness, it helps us foster respect and understanding, and perhaps even ignite a stronger spark of curiosity that encourages learning of other cultures and languages.
