In "Teacher's Attitudes toward African American Language" by Laura Jones, multiple studies among teachers regarding African American Language (AAL) and its use, place and practice in American schools were studied in conjunction with one another in order to find common themes and gain a better understanding of AAL's place in our society's educational system. While no definitive outcome was found, Jones hypothesized that it would while it is important and even necessary to have a positive outlook on AAL, it is not enough and that there are other facets, mainly student achievement, which guage improvement in the classroom.
This paper researched many studies on the subject and was presented to a Linguistics professor, therefore it is understandable to not to have examples of AAL and LWC (the Language of Wider Communication) in discussing the two. However I personally have never differentiated the two, and thus I suppose have a hindered understanding of the subject. I had never imagined there to be a grammatical rulebook for AAL, I suppose because I have never been presented with that idea. Walking into a classroom, I would feel much more confident that my job was being done successfully and correctly with more knowledge and understanding of not only AAL but any other language or dialect outside of LWC. Why isn't there more exposure in both the media and educational system of actual differences in language? Why does one have to get to an English or Linguistics course to realize the factual differences of the two. Misinterpreting communication has lead to many, many problems in humanity's history; understanding the other side will always be beneficial to communication.
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ReplyDeleteI can agree that it is not enough to be aware that AAL has validation different from LWC; educators need to be aware of just exactly what AAL is and recognize it as something other than a stigma. To those who are more tuned to what spoken LWC, or in this case standardized English, sounds like, it is easy to find fault in the quotes Meacham’s “The Clash of ‘Common Sense’: Two African American Women Become Teachers” uses from Linda’s interview. At times, her responses may even seem a bit difficult to understand in the transcriptions. However, Linda has been educated and encouraged to gain higher intelligence via AAL. While her speech may have caused educators to question her intelligence, her writing, using standardized English, shows that she is not at all lacking in intelligence. It is a key example of why, what may be perceived as “messed up” English is not a sign of an inability to learn (193). It simply proves that people are more prone to speak what they have heard around them everyday throughout their lives. Therefore, teachers need to be able to distinguish that AAL is not poor or misunderstood English. A poor grasp of English, related to a weak understanding of English language for communication, will not result in writing that is academically clear and successful.
ReplyDelete"A poor grasp of English, related to a weak understanding of English language for communication, will not result in writing that is academically clear and successful."
ReplyDeleteYep, you've hit on an important reminder. There ARE students who struggle with language in general, and it's NOT an issue of their speaking a non-standard dialect. Sometimes it's hard for teachers to distinguish between students who are linguistically competent but speak another dialect, and those who have language impairments. You hit one way of telling, which is to consider writing. But what about when students write in a different dialect as well? It gets a bit sticky there, and we'll talk more about that later in the semester.