In today’s society, there are over thousands of different languages or dialects speak around the world. And because America is such a diverse country with many individuals capable of speaking two or more languages, they tend to forget the importance of speaking English in America. As an American living in America, it’s not important whether they speak English or not, but what’s important is which language they choose to represent themselves freely.…
James Baldwin, in his essay "If Black English Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me What Is?," wants readers to understand that, even if a language has a different "dialect" from its "common" form, it is still a valid language. The language in dispute here being "Black English". Baldwin presents various arguments to solidify his points. Baldwin touches upon the point how a language "evolves" to form different versions of the same language. He cites the example of how a "Frenchman in Paris" would have an abstruse time comprehending what a man from Marseilles or Quebec is saying.…
Mary E. Blake and Meta Van Sickle, professors at the College of Charleston, conducted a study at Sea Island High School for high school students who had trouble passing the South Carolina Exit Exam and displayed dialect diversity. The purpose of the study was to allow linguistic learners to share what they know and to provide them with instructional strategies to code switch. The two students discussed in the case study, Demain and Josiah are both native speakers of the African American English dialect, known in Charleston as the Sea Island Dialect. The researchers wanted to provide the students with strategies to code switch between the Island Dialect and Standard English. Demain and Josiah failed the SCEE more than once, so the researches…
I agree with this idea because coming to a mutual agreement between the teacher and the student would help the student become confident in his or her ability to communicate with others not just with people in their community. The teacher must also understand the language of that student to help teach them proper grammar. During my sophomore year, I became more confident in my ability to write because of the understanding I had with my professor. Although, I still write in a non-standard way it is not a frequent mistake for me. I think that this would be the most effective approach to teaching a Black Student how to speak standard American English because it shows the student that his or her dialect is respected by the teacher, but it is not right if you want to succeed in mainstream…
Nearly every American speaks some dialect of English that varies from Standard American English (SAE); however, although dialects are entirely acceptable variants of English, some dialectal speakers experience increased difficultly, such as negative stigmas and intelligibility issue, due to their speech patterns. This is often the case for speakers of African American Vernacular English (AAVE), which is spoken by most but not all African Americans. AAVE differs from SAE in the syntax, phonology, semantics, and pragmatics (Pearson, Conner, & Jackson, 2012). Moreover, due to the differences in the language systems, children speaking AAVE often experience difficulty when entering school. Specifically, African American children often struggle when learning to read and spell and have decreased phonological skills when compared to their SAE speaking counterparts. Due to the dialectal differences, some children are misdiagnosed with a learning or language disability when one is not present.…
Schools should encourage students to keep their dialects throughout the school development because it gives them a better sense of belonging and acceptance within their peers. It is crucial for students to feel accepted while learning because their skills can be the main focus in schools rather than trying to change their dialects to meet standards. As for writing, it should e rather similar because it would not be in the favor for every single teacher or professor to go out and learn as many dialects as they can, just to make a few students feel like they belong. As I have previously mentioned, the feeling like one fits in an environment can make the difference in their education and how well or not they learn. The dialects that teachers should focus on getting used to are the most common ones. These include, but not limited to Spanish, Chinese, and French. More problems have to be addressed when exposing teachers to more languages. These include the different dialect within those languages, and of course it will be too much to…
Mrs. Jones "still has up a winter scene and February's calendar." How significant is this? Explain. (13 May, p. 158)…
American students should definitely be required to learn a second language in school. It has economic benefits, it would facilitate global affairs, and it improves brain activity. The requirement that Americans students be bilingual would have international benefits.…
The Conference on College Composition and Communication discusses two very important and controversial questions within their article “Students’ Right to Their Own Language”: “What should the schools do about the language habits of students who come from a wide variety of social, economic, and cultural backgrounds?” (2), and “Should the schools try to uphold language variety, or to modify it, or to eradicate it?” (2). While for academic writing purposes students should be expected to use standard American dialect, it is important to respect the diversity and various heritages throughout the country by allowing students to use the dialect they choose when speaking.…
I speak English, living in New York all my life. If not all, majority of my family is from the Caribbean island of Jamaica. Our language is not so much different from the American accent, but it has its many differences. They call the language we speak a mix between the British English and Irish, along with the English accent. I wouldn’t really say I have been learning it, but if you would have to call being around it since born learning it, then 18 years it has been. I would never use that form of language in school because it is never needed, therefore no need for me to use it. I would only use it if my friends can speak it or use it as a joke amongst them. The English language is not difficult, so the readings, the writings, and understanding it are comfortable for me. I would mostly prefer it,…
EOP has successfully helped many low income students strive for and education and success for many years. However,there are various reasons why powerful politicians want to end the funding of EOP. Many of these powerful politicians who have authority don’t come from a place of empathy. They are unfamiliar with struggle. Many of these powerful politicians were fortunate enough of being born into a wealthy, driven family. Education was always an option for them. It was always possible. It was never a doubt or impossible task to achieve the way it is for those in EOP. The lack of experience they have with struggles makes them unfamiliar with what those who are in EOP have to go through daily. Many don’t know how take into account the lives…
First I begin with the belief that every student can learn if you use their Native language instead of English. As teachers we need to try and reach our students through a variety of ways and language is one way. But again the younger generation and I need to learn our language because we are stuck between not being fluent in English or Navajo. Integrating our language into our classrooms with English will help students become proficient English speakers. It is another way children could grasp the different content areas by relating it to our…
The benefits of learning a foreign language go beyond learning a different culture or being able to communicate with people of different backgrounds. It is essential that Americans speak languages other than English in order to compete internationally, keep the country safe, and prepare children to be world citizens. Several language organizations, educators, and policy makers have recommended the introduction of a second language at the elementary school level as a way of assuring a high level of language proficiency (Pufahl and Rhodes 273).…
Teaching children with Emotional Behavioral Disorder (EBD) can be extremely difficult but very rewarding too. EBD students are often seen as the most demanding and complex students. EBD teachers are detectives, counselors, mental health professionals, and much more in order to determine the cause of a student’s behavior. Many teachers feel that their college courses did not prepare them properly for dealing with EBD students. Therefore, there is a high turn-over rate and shortage of “highly qualified” EBD teachers at least where I live in Washington State. I believe, teachers that teach in EBD programs require more patience, understanding, support, and training than other teachers. Some strategies that are necessary for teaching EBD students…
I believe that this is a huge issue today, and if given enough attention, it could be fixed. The fact that 40 percent of Hispanics don’t graduate high school because they lack proficiency in English is outrageous. That should never be a reason. I blame the programs, and public schools that allow other native languages to be spoken on campus. If a student is trying to learn how to speak English but is being spoken to in their native language, then how are they ever going to learn? They’re not. We spend…