Abstract Perhaps more than any other debate in education, the study of language brings up questions of power and identity. How teachers and classmates view the home language of students and their families plays a major role in teachers' expectations and respect for a student's culture, as well as how easily the student will be able to learn and meet long-term educational goals. The paper shows that solving the complex social and economic problems in the U.S. that limit the educational opportunities of African Americans, particularly males, is not an easy task. Still, many educators are introducing new practices targeted specifically to the unique needs of this group. The paper shows that many researchers agree that one of the first steps that must be taken in advancing the educational level of African-American students is to implement Ebonics into inner city curricula. This paper examines the role of Ebonics in cultural identity in an effort to determine whether or not Ebonics should be implemented in classrooms or curricula.
From the Paper "By implementing Ebonics into school curriculums, teachers are fine-tuning the learning process towards the unique needs of African American students, rather than drilling them on the proper use of grammar and dialect. For example, teachers could use mini-lessons according to the dialect learning needs that students demonstrate. If the students agree that Standard English is appropriate for classroom interaction and for writing, lessons like these would help students reach their language development goals."
Tags: Standard, English, Proficiency, SEP, AAVE, Kwanzaa, Maat
Abstract The United States is currently going through a period of turmoil regarding whether English should be the only language spoken in the country. The rationale given for insisting that everyone speak English is that 'if people chose to come here, they should learn our language'. This paper examines the effects of this policy on smaller ethnic groups such as the Native American Navajo's who view speaking their native tongue as a kind of spiritual freedom. The paper also looks at the way Yiddish has almost disappeared from the Jewish culture due to this type of integration policy. Other cultures discussed include the Chinese and the Cajuns.
From the Paper "One other subculture demonstrates the relationship between culture and language. The Chinese have been coming to the United States since the early 1800?s, when they came here to work as agricultural workers or in railway construction. The Chinese come from an ancient and highly accomplished civilization, and their culture contained elements that helped them be successful in their new country. Industry and resourcefulness are highly prized traits in Chinese culture, behavioral traits that tended to aid success in their new land. In addition, they valued the extended family, and so were quick to support and help one another (Author not given). However, the dominant culture inadvertently encouraged the Chinese to maintain their language, and the maintenance of language and requirement that they live together encouraged the maintenance of their culture as well. The motivation for this was racial, but allowed the Chinese-American culture to hold on to cultural traditions and language for several generations while other immigration groups were tending to assimilate."
Abstract The purpose of this discussion is to analyze the impact of language, culture and community on education. The main focus of the paper is an analysis of the importance of a common language within the classroom. The paper begins with a discussion of the definition of language. The writer believes that as America continues to grow in diversity, the education system will have to deal with problems associated with language and cultural differences.
From the Paper "Language is one of the most important components of any society and allows individuals to communicate with one another. In the educational environment speaking a common language is essential to the learning process. When teachers and students speak and understand the same language the results can be dramatic. Students are able to learn more comprehensively and teachers are able to communicate more effectively with parents."
Tags: teacher, student, family, ethnic, speech, education, class
Abstract This paper talks about the effects that race, class, and ethnicity have on the development of one's language and speech patterns. It looks at how speech, dialects, intonation, and even vocabulary, change within different regions and how this causes people to make quick judgements regarding anyone speaking with certain accents, vocabulary etc. In particular, the paper focuses on the prejudices associated with a "black-sounding" voice and the consequences of these prejudices.
From the Paper "A very old saying tells us not to judge a book by its cover. Presumably this bit of advice also applies to the way an individual speaks or sounds. Yet, in the same way as we form an opinion of a book simply by glancing at the picture on its cover, so too do we prejudge individuals by the manner in which they speak and express themselves. There is educated speech and upper-crust speech. There is literate speech and ignorant speech. Middle Class, Working Class, and Lower Class Speech. People from different regions or cities pronounce the same language in different ways, and use different accents and intonations. Different races and different ethnic groups within a dialect region have their own distinctive ways of rendering the spoken word. We answer the phone, and in an instant we know where the caller is from, what is his educational background, his socio-economic status, and even?whether his Black, White, Puerto Rican, or Chinese."
Abstract This research paper begins with an introduction to cooperative learning strategy. The author then chose three articles that show how research over the years examine the way cooperative learning in bilingual classrooms benefits limited English proficient students and what activities teachers can integrate in classrooms in order to meet the needs of diverse language learners. The summary of the articles is followed by a discussion, specific examples of the implications for classroom practice, and ways that one can apply theory to practice.
From the Paper "It is a challenge today for educators to meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students. Yet, cooperative learning instructional strategy is found to be one of the most effective ways to promote successful academic achievement, language acquisition, and social development for English language learners. When classroom activities are meaningful, interesting, and relevant, learning is occurring at every level. In successfully organized groups, language minority students will gain proficiency in English, and their native language."
Abstract This paper examines how there are several different ways to expose children to a second language. It looks at how some children are exposed to two languages since birth and how others are exposed to a second language once they enter a school program. It discusses how the process of double language acquisition is not so smooth and how there are a few discrepancies in fluency and language confusion to be taken into account.
Outline
Introduction
How Children Learn Two Languages
Stages of Development
Code Switching
Language Mixing
Two Languages, One Sentence: Not a Sign of Confusion
Language Imbalance
Language Loss and Semilingualism
Conclusion
From the Paper "For some bilingual children, code switching is a normal language phenomenon. While some children acquiring a second language appear to confuse the two languages at first, code switching is a normal aspect of second language acquisition. Young bilingual children tend to insert single items from one language into the other (McClure, 1977), primarily to resolve ambiguities and clarify statements. Children over nine and adults, however, tend to switch languages at the phrase or sentence level, typically to convey social meanings. Studies of code switching in adults show it to be a sophisticated, rule-governed communicative device used to achieve goals such as conveying emphasis or establishing cultural identity."
Abstract This paper examines five methods of bilingual education methods. These are the audiolingual method, the Total Physical Response method (sometimes referred to in the literature as TPR), the Silent Way Method, the natural approach method, and the Soviet-inspired "Suggestopedia" method. The writer explains that each of these has been relatively influential in various parts of the world, and many successful bilingual programs today use derivatives of one of these methods or draw elements from each to compose spin-off styles.
From the Paper "Once upon a time, perhaps, the art of teaching was relatively strait-forward. Each teacher used their own style, or that which had been handed down to them by those they learned from. While certainly a certain degree of theory has always been involved in teaching (after all, the so-called Socratic method of teaching was debated centuries before the birth of Christ, and is still cropping up as a controversial pedagogy), it was not until very recently that a great deal of academic attention was turned not just to the subject matter in schools, but to the way in which they were taught. Even so, the methodology of teaching second languages, as a separate study from general pedagogy, is even more recent. ?The designer methods emerged in the 1970's, a period of great enlightenment as many would describe.? (Brown, 1994) According to Jack Richards (2001), ?The method concept in teaching -- the notion of a systematic set of teaching practices based on a particular theory of language and language learning -- is a powerful one, and the quest for better methods was a preoccupation of many teachers and applied linguists throughout the twentieth century.? "
Abstract This paper discusses and analyzes the essay, "Mother Tongue," by Amy Tan. The paper describes how the author uses rhetorical strategies to make her argument, while critiquing cultural standards. The paper states that Amy Tan writes of the different forms of English she uses in her life and illustrates the myriad ways that people express themselves, depending on their audience and their needs.
From the Paper "Throughout Amy Tan's essay, she compares the English she uses everyday, to the English she uses with family and close friends. She uses the English she has learned as a tool to express the stilted English that makes up her cultural memories and the words of her mother. She writes, "But to me, my mother's English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural. It's my mother tongue. Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, direct, full of observation and imagery. That was the language that helped shape the way I saw things, expressed things, made sense of the world" (Tan). Therefore, some of Tan's earliest memories include memories of her mother's stilted English, which is both comforting and cultural to her. She knows her mother's education and ideas are not stilted, but also recognizes that her limited way of speaking might make her appear "limited" or less than perfect to other listeners."
Abstract This paper tidentifies and analyzes the important contributions made by Noam Chomsky to the field of lingusitics. It looks at important concepts such as generative grammar, I-language and universal grammar. The resistance to the behaviorist approach to understanding language is ultimately linked to his anti-establishment politics.
From the Paper "The idea of universal grammar is a central one to Chomsky's linguistic theory. Inherent to this idea is the concept that human beings are equipped with a distinct language faculty in our minds; this faculty is governed by an innate understanding of universal grammar, "All the minds of human beings include the principles that movement is structure-dependent and that heads are on certain sides of phrases; they are part of the common Universal Grammar. It is not relevant to UG theory that English has a particular set of properties, French another, German another; what matters is what they have in common" (Cook & Newson, 1996, p. 32)."
Abstract This paper discusses the controversy surrounding bilingual education. The paper explores the stance taken by politicians on this issue and contends that, since the issue is within the educational system and within the schools themselves, it only makes sense that the solution will be found there and not in the halls of state or federal government. The paper presents the opinions of those who support bilingual education and of those who oppose it.
From the Paper "The controversy over the concept and practice of bilingual education is hardly new. Although most people trace the beginnings of the debate to the 1970's Supreme Court finding that non-native English speakers (particularly new immigrants), were not receiving the equal education guaranteed them by the law (CPJ, 1997), the debate has actually long been a part of United States History. Interestingly, however, most American voters have little knowledge about the long history of bilingual education, and instead somehow imagine that the best and only "logical" way to immerse new immigrant students into the "mainstream" is to immediately place them in an all English setting. Although this is the view of many, it is particularly telling that large numbers of politicians and political parties jump on the bilingual bandwagon-either for or against, seemingly pointing to a larger issue of the importance of "assimilation" that has nothing to do with academic success."
Abstract This essay argues that Brian Friel's play, "Translations," is about the power and importance of language in keeping a cultural identity true to itself. The play concerns efforts of the British Army to rename Gaelic place names in a small Irish village with proper English names. The true purpose of the translations, however, which is to Anglicize the map of Ireland and undercut Irish power and nationalism, is kept from the Irish citizen. The paper also examines the concept of alienation that is created when characters are forced to deal with the loss of their cultural identity. The inability to completely translate the place names so that they retain their original meaning is ultimately a symbol of instability in the effort to enclose a subculture within a larger, foreign culture.
From the Paper "Another theme explored in the play is the way in which members of a society living under a colonialist government find themselves forced into varying forms of alienation in order to deal with the gradual loss of their own system of civilization (Brown, 196). This is clearly represented in the ways in which many of the characters in the play withdraw or wish to withdraw in some way out of social interaction. For instance, there is Sarah, who has withdrawn into herself so deeply that even the simple act of saying her name out loud becomes an almost joyous occasion. One way to escape the imprisonment of colonial domination is, of course, to leave the place being dominated, and this form of alienation is dealt with in the character of Maire, who longs to emigrate from Ireland to America."
Abstract In December 1996, the Oakland School Board decided that it was going to accept and recognize Ebonics, or what is known as African-American Vernacular English (AAVE), as a valid dialect and would use it in teaching African-American children. This paper examines the linguistic controversy surrounding this decision, showing the pros of using AAVE in schools across the United States.
From the Paper "AAVE is a fact of life and it is creating a linguistic and cultural disunity in the United States by allowing teachers to stereotype black students and by ensuring that black students do not acquire Standard English fluency. The introduction of AAVE as a tool language of instruction simply means accepting that fact of life and using it to correct current problems facing African Americans in the educational system." Educational psychologists, such as William Labov, have determined that the primary obstacle to academic progress for most African American students is their inability to fully understand what is communicated to them or, in turn, communicate what they are thinking in a dialect that teachers can comprehend (10)."
Abstract This paper discusses the importance of communication between countries and government representatives that is efficient and effective and does not require the the aid of expensive translators. The paper further argues that the only way to achieve this important and essential efficient communication is through the adoption of a universal language, which all the people of the world understand and speak. Finally, the paper contends that such a language should be an artificial language, such as Esperanto, because it is politically neutral and not linked to any specific country, culture, or political ideology; is easier to learn than any other language; and is well-developed enough as a language to fulfill the action of communication for all purposes. A complete outline and an annotated bibliography is included with the paper.
From the Paper "In the era of globalization and increase of interaction between the global population, the importance of an international language increases. The numbers reported by Kep Enderby, the author of "The Problem of Language In International Affairs," and a former government minister and judge, support this argument. Enderby informs readers that the world's 5.2 billion people speak 3,000 different world languages and 7,000 dialects (par. 2). As global cooperation is necessary, thousands of people from across the world attend over 2,000 international conferences a year (par. 26). Since they do not have a common language, at least four different languages are officially used, with translators still needed (Enderby par. 33). People and governments do not have a common language, and this results in misunderstandings, waste of time and waste of money. In the age where all countries are connected and dependant on one another, and where representatives of governments have to meet regularly and often, it is essential that communication between them is efficient and not requiring the aid of expensive translators. The only way to achieve this important and essential efficient communication is through the adoption of a universal language which all the people of the world understand and speak. Furthermore, a universal language will have the practical objective of giving all people, from all countries, a global identity. Most people agree with this idea but disagree on whether this universal language should be a natural language such as English, or an artificial one such as Esperanto. Although many people favor the adopting of English as an international language, believing that it is an obvious choice because it is already a popular and widely spoken second language, that is easy to learn, it is not a good alternative. The best choice for an international language is an artificial one like Esperanto because it is politically neutral, not linked to any specific country, culture or political ideology, is easier to learn than any other language, and is well-developed enough as a language to fulfill the action of communication for all purposes. However, the success of adopting Esperanto as a "lingua humana," like Gardner Ralph White calls it in "Towards the Construction of A Lingua Humana," (113) is greatly dependant upon its introduction into the educational systems of countries as a second language and the chances for its success are poor."
Abstract Prior to 1957, the two most popular ways of analyzing grammar were the methods of prescriptivism and structuralism, or structural grammar. The paper examines how all this changed with the release of Noam Chomsky's "Syntactic Structures" in 1957 in which he introduced a new way to analyze grammar called 'transformational grammar'. The paper discusses how Chomsky publicly destroyed Skinner's theories and argues that Chomsky's ability to explain certain quirks of the English language, such as ambiguity, and the behaviorists' utter lack of a retort, makes it clear that Noam Chomsky deserves his title as a living legend among linguists today.
From the Paper "Chomsky makes clear that the input-output approach is better and different from the approach of the behaviorist, because he points out once again how it can handle certain nuances of the language such as ambiguities. "Whatever a habit-structure is, it's clear that you can't innovate by habit, and the characteristic use of language, both by a speaker and a hearer, is innovation" (103)."
