In his chapter in The Skin That We Speak, Michael Stubbs discusses how stereotypes are often associated with languages. He explores the reasonings behind many misconceptions people have concerning languages and users of particular forms of speech. Through experiments and interviews, Stubbs sheds a light into the world of sociolinguistics.
The concepts introduced in this selection were powerful. A concept that struck me as particularly interesting and worthy of attention was the concept of correctness versus appropriateness. Stubbs discussed how situational context plays a role in our speech. He went on to say that while a dialect may not be "appropriate" in a given environment, that does not mean it is incorrect. I feel this is a key concept that should be introduced in education. The question that arose in me was: Why don't teachers teach kids this?
It has become clear that no language is inherently superior or inferior to another and that the concept of a "better" language is a social construct. I believe that if this was taught in schools, both to teachers and students, it would help create a better learning environment. For the students, it would help them understand that they need to learn "standard" English ONLY because it would help them to adapt to more situations in life. It would also help ease the tension of feeling inferior that many students of differing dialects may feel. On the other hand, teachers would learn to think of the context in which students are speaking a different dialect in and base their decision to "correct" them or not based on the context of the situation and not just because they want the student to speak "right." This would create a safe space for different languages and dialects throughout the school. I feel this is the direction we as teachers should be headed toward. If we teach this method in the long run we may be able to change the attitudes of the world because it explores how society views and establishes rankings.
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In light of Delpit's "No Kinda Sense," I completely agree with Newbins. The classroom should be a place for learning for more than those who speak correctly. If students are worried about being corrected in their speech constantly, they will most likely prefer not to speak at all. Class discussion is important to learning. It helps the teacher to know what students have learned well and what they need more work on, individually or as a whole.
ReplyDeleteI still wonder if it would be appropriate to remind student to try to speak in Standard English, however. As of right now, I think that it would be important to let children say what they need to say and if it is not in Standard English, answer them first and remind them to try to speak in SE the next time they voice a question or opinion. I am still afraid that this will make them retreat, but I think it is important so that teachers know that the child can code switch easily, and also so that they know when it is appropriate to use SE.
I guess I simply hope that students know that I'm trying to help, and that is something that I will have to show constantly.
In chapter three Delpit gets to the solution of the problems presented in most of the sections in the book. How can people get over the false superiority of a language?
ReplyDeleteIn Newbins post we can look at the concepts of correctness and appropriateness, but I believe there is something more important left out. Personal gain. Teachers, students, parents, and principals alike should take a good hard look at how much better off they would be if they could understand a different dialect or language. We shouldn't be so focused on how to properly teach students how to speak, but instead on how we can benefit by being able to understand everyone we come into contact with. Language is a powerful tool of persuasion. I don't mean in a political way or anything like that (although that possibility does exist) but in every aspect of our human interaction. We must precisely study the acute differences of every other human's language and pick up traits they would deem thoughtful but not phony. We must start to look at our "lesser" dialects as a way to better communicate, not just artistically but as a valuable tool. To me it's like being bilingual, actually it pretty much is. Everyone who can successfully use more than one language or dialect is someone who is better adapted to their environment than someone who puts faith in the hierarchy of words.
Why would anyone believe that they are entitled to use the language they want to use? Language isn't a truth, it's a tool it's something we use to express anything to another being, why does it matter which beings language is used as long as the expression is understood?