Teaching Standard English in Urban Schools In our society, there are many cultures with language and dialect variations, but Standard English is the language of the dominant culture. Therefore, it is necessary for all students to learn to write and speak Standard English effectively. However, for many students of Urban school districts, especially African Americans, writing and speaking effective Standard English can occasionally pose a problem. Many African American students speak a variation
How Does an Educator Teach Standard English in Urban Schools, and is it Necessary? For the first section of my Inquiry Article, I posed the question: "How Does an Educator Teach Standard English in Urban Schools, and is it Necessary? I chose this question because I plan to teach in an urban school district, and I know urban students often have a difficult time learning to speak Standard English. I also know that speaking non Standard English can affect a student's acceptance and advancement
recognized all around the world is Standard English. As with many languages around the world, American Standard English branches off into several dialects be it Southern, Midwestern, or New England, which are separated by region. American Linguist William Labov published his work The Study of Nonstandard English in 1969. Labov argues that it is imperative that educators contextualize non-standard English using standard English, and that Standard English and Nonstandard English are more closely related than
consider the meaning of the term Standard English and what it refers to. One possible definition of Standard English given by Crystal (2016) is “a distinctive pattern of linguistic features with respect to spelling, grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary”. Therefore, it is understood that the writing of the educated carries the most prestige within that community. As a result, this thus leads to Standard English being widely recognised as acceptable wherever English may be spoken and understood (Merriam
negative connotation throughout the years, academics have started to use the term variety, which is considered more neutral, instead. Therefore, we should start considering the statement according to which ‘A speaker of English is necessarily a speaker of some dialect of English’ . As far as the dialect is concerned, this term refers to ‘varieties distinguished from each other by differences of grammar and vocabulary’ . Despite the fact that the previous explanation can sound complete to the majority
country is controlled by one language: English. English ties everyone together. It expresses our wants, needs, emotions, and everything in between. This language is the platform for most communication, not only in the U.S but also in several other countries. Amy Tan is the daughter of two immigrants, and she, as well as her parents, had to learn English when she came to the U.S. In “Mother Tongue”, she described how people assume that if you don’t know Standard English well, you are not well educated.
The way New Zealand English vocabulary and pronunciation deviate from Standard English is alleged to cause confusion and misunderstanding for Non-New Zealanders. Even though it is claimed that the way New Zealanders speak is just a sign of laziness Jim Mora points out that “a major influence on the development of New Zealanders, through their particular way of speaking, are – consciously or otherwise– asserting a New Zealand identity” (Paul Warren, 2008). Does New Zealand English exist as a new version
Standard English and dictionaries as its council Words are all over the place all the time. They go out our mouths and maybe in our ears, we speak words, we write words and we read words. But, what is a ‘real’ word? Who’s to say? What most the English-speaking population categorises as a real word, is if it is found in the dictionary or not. Many of us see a place in the dictionary as the requirement for a word’s value and legitimacy. Language has always been in constant change; the change
Black English vs. Standard English The distinction between Black Vernacular English and Standard English, occurs at three levels of linguistics, however “AAVE is just like any other dialect of English; has its own innovations but remains strongly influenced by the standard” (Butters 60), this means that Black Vernacular has its own rules in the English language. In contrast, Maynor sees that “they are divergent in the Borazon Valley in Texas” (20), which mean that Black Vernacular and Standard English
very much likely to be embedded in their dialect of writings. Similar to Richard Rodriguez ideas, David Foster Wallace provided a significant discussion about Standard written English as well as the teaching of various English varieties. In ‘Authority and American Usage’, Wallace managed to explore most of the different dialects in English. This is similar to Rodriguez’ ‘Hunger of Memory’ where his stance against Bilingualism is as consistent as his favor for the necessity of assimilation (Lawtoo
of how we understand language today. English changed to Englishes, literacy changed to multiliteracies and variation in languages is major. It’s important to note that the evolution of language was important for teachers to understand and connect with their students. Creating pedagogies that suit specific children and show students the importance of learning Australian standard English to be able to function well in Australia but also to keep any cultural English they may have and make sure they feel
The English language is among the most common native languages in the world. Officially used in 60 sovereign entities and widely chosen as the second language in many aspects of life such as education, business, entertainment etc. and in the Internet, English is now one of the factors that contribute to the trend “globalization”. However, the way English is used in each country is different in terms of grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation or even punctuation. This essay will analyze some lexical differences
all know proper English exists so why do we purposely butcher the English language? The words you choose say something about you; are you intelligent or uneducated. The proposal at De Anza College to let students use improper English in their writing assignments is something that should not be passed. Although texting is changing the English language, disregarding Standard English in an academic setting is not a great idea, since everyone needs to understand how to speak English correctly in order
different languages friend. So English is one of the best languages to communicate with others. Nowadays, English language is an important language of knowledge for anyone and also as an international language at global community. Whether in primary school, secondary school and college, Malaysians almost are in English to learn. Now the children of the first exposed with the language in addition to be their mother tongue, other than that is English. Furthermore, English language also has to use by employees
Introduction The English language has many varieties such as American English, Canadian English, Australian English, etc. Each of these have a standard form as well as additional dialects. Students who begin life with a dialect or vernacular other than Standard American English, though native English speakers, will often have a more difficult time adjusting to school. They may be misjudged as less intelligent, encounter prejudice, and face a more difficult time receiving the appropriate language
American education system. However, ebonics continues to receive mixed responses from the academic communities. The following bill proposes the "Equality in English Instruction Act." The bill would require the State Department of Education to immediately terminate the proficiency in Standard English for speakers of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) program, which is encouraging the teaching of “ebonics” or street slang in our schools. The bill would prohibit the state, its subdivisions, and local
by Tom Leonard and ‘Search for my Tongue’ by Sujata Bhatt are two poems that give people an incite into how a person is perceived by others, by the way that they speak. ‘Unrelated Incidents’ is about how the BBC newsreaders all talking in Standard English and will not have a Scottish person reading the news because the viewers will not understand there accent, Tom Leonard views this as discrimination and shows his dislike to this attitude in his poem. ‘Search for my Tongue’ is about Sujata
in Afro-American dialect, of which he was initially most noted for (Martin and Hudson 16). 	His second volume, "Majors and Minors" was published in 1895. "Majors and Minor" were a collection of poems that was written in standard English ("major") and in dialect ("minor") (Young 373). It was this book that fixed him on his literary path. This book attracted favorable notice by novelist and critic, William Dean Howells who also introduced Dunbar’s next book
instrument of European oppression enforcing the hegemony of the white race, the male sex, and the capitalist class…" From my high school experience, I believe this is not true. At my high school, teachers encourage students to read not only standard English literature, but also to study the great writers of other cultures. There is a great deal of European influence in American society and in American education. Some people, like the Afrocentrists, feel that this influence is too heavy and that
the poem you realise how stupid the fact of someone being a Half Caste is. The poem is about a man from the West Indies and is called Half Caste, which means of mixed race. The poem starts off with a verse off three lines all written in Standard English. Even in this very short part we can see the way the poet is using ridicule when he says ‘standing on one leg’, this is inferring that because he is a ‘half-caste’ he is only standing on one leg and that only one half the white half of him