The use of language in the normal American classroom setting is more complicated than it seems to be. I have a strong passion for students who have an unfair disadvantage in the classroom from any circumstance.
Teaching Composition in the Multilingual World: Second Language Writing in Composition Studies by Paul Kei Matsuda
There is a growing population of second language speakers and writers in the U.S. Unfortunately, there are not enough classes being brought into the education system to help these second language writers grow to their full potential. This issue has been overlooked many times, and I can say personally because it has happened to me. Before I discuss that more in depth, there were two main points to the importance of this article that Matsuda brings up.
Matsuda gives two reasons as to why there is a lack of attention to these language issues, and that would be the “disciplinary division of labor” and the “myth of linguistic homogeneity.” The last important point that he talks about is how globalization, (global integration of international trade, investments, information, technology, and cultures), is a critical factor that connects to teaching second language writing. Globalization could be used to teach writing in various fields such as professional or civic that expands beyond academic writing. That is important because second language writing can be taught passed the U.S. and should be international, which Matsuda discusses later in his article.
Generation 1.5
A new term that I learned from this article was “generation 1.5”, which is a term to describe people who came to the U.S. as children and adolescents. Generation 1.5 is the group that is more difficult to grasp learning English writing and the English language as a whole. I even learned that there was a debate over what is considered a second language and what is considered a difference in dialect. One of the varieties of English that were mentioned was African American Vernacular. I have never heard of that term until I entered Graduate School. That is when I realized that I grew up in a home where we spoke “African American Vernacular” but was never considered a second language speaker. However, my writing and bad grammar were always pointed out by my teachers and professors. An example of a second language speaker who speaks a form of English that even English speakers wouldn’t even understand would be from a television show, “A Different World.”
“A Different World” is a television show from the 80s and early 90s about college students who attend Hillman College, which is an HBCU (Historical Black College/University). One of the characters from the show, Lena James, speaks “African American Vernacular” and had trouble understanding “Romeo and Juliet” by Shakespeare in her First-Year English class. Until she realized, it was all about translation. In the clip above, she was able to take an English language and translate it into another form of English, one of which is her native language. This all ties into what Matsuda said about translation. He states, “The use of translation is also a possible resource for second language writers; although the effectiveness of translation as a writing strategy can vary depending on the writer’s second language proficiency level (Kobayashi and Rinnert), it can allow second language writers to tap into the knowledge base they have already developed in another language” (40).
This last video dives more into African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and how important dialect is among cultural groups. From a person who speaks AAVE, I was always told that my English "needed work", even though I thought my dialect and speech was correct. This dialect is not acceptable in a classroom setting. This is just one example of a dialect that has become a part of this larger view of the politics of language in the classroom. For Lucy Laney Elementary School, teachers, students, and intellectuals speak about how Caucasian Americans have used what they consider "correct English speaking and dialect" to turn away students who speak in another dialect. Personally, I was not told that I spoke a different dialect. Instead, I was considered to be dumb or a typical "black person" who does not know how to speak well. Ironically, AAVE is used everyday; not by African Americans but in pop culture, music, and slang. In order to break this barrier and dive into the depths of the politics behind this, educators and teachers must be willing to become more opened minded and accepting of other languages and dialects.
The Stigma of Language by Christina Masucci
Fun fact: I spoke the following little rant into my notes app and edited it/added to it later. There’s something to be said about this method of writing, I think. It’s an option for students who find themselves more able to speak arguments than write them down. This has nothing to do with the topic (honestly it segues into my own); I just find it interesting.
Anyway, I have some thoughts on the politics of language. I don't understand why we judge each other on how we speak, especially when we're speaking the same language. And I don't mean a complete difference in vocabulary, in this case, as everyone has different systems of slang they use; I mean a dialect or an accent.
For those unsure if there is a difference, there is. Dialect is a series of differences in speech dependent on geographical region. Accent is the differences when a person is speaking a language other than their own. If… that makes sense. So like, a Southern (American) dialect v. French accent. The more you know!
I get a lot of students in the writing center where I work who don't speak English as their first language, or who have a very different dialect than what's considered “Standard Academic English.” I go more into multiculturalism and writing in a blog post of mine from during the semester, as a reflection to Paul Kei Matsuda’s Teaching Composition in the Multilingual World. In truth, no one's dialect is or accent is incorrect English—it just is—and that consideration is necessary for my line of work.
Jumping back a bit, if a message is understood, therefore, why is there stigma against the way it sounds? And if it’s not initially understood, what’s the harm in asking for clarification? Additionally, from a different perspective, a difference in dialect or accent just portrays a difference in culture or environment, so… What's the problem? Why do people feel the need to judge something or someone who's different?
The answer to that one is, of course, deeply rooted in years and years of prejudice and ignorance and elitism. So, unfortunately, it’s just that. Prejudice and ignorance and elitism. A fear and/or dismissal of difference.
I just... don’t get how people could be so cruel.
I think the way to combat all this fear and dismissal and ignorance is with questions, with curiosity—naive, honest curiosity—coupled with respectful consideration for those cultural differences. (The latter of which is something that people these days usually, unfortunately, embarrassingly lack.) It won’t solve the stigma, I’m sure, but maybe it could be a start.
Respecting Rhetorical Sovereignty by Jeanne Donohue
“The Movement of Air, the Breath of Meaning: Aurality and Multimodal Composing,” by Cynthia L. Selfe.
The main argument of the essay explores the binary relationship of aurality and writing and the limitations of this understanding in excluding multimodal rhetorical activity(p. 616). Cynthia Selfe traces the history of composition and the development of a single-minded focus on print, which in her opinion has led us to become a culture “saturated by written word.” She explains that sound is undervalued as a composition mode and aurality has become subsumed by and defined in opposition to writing. Selfe declares this a false binary which encourages a narrow understanding of language and literacy. As she clarifies, this should not be an either-or argument. We should encourage students to develop expertise with all available means of persuasion and expression.
Quote Analysis- by Darline Ceus
“In view of the widespread agreement of research studies based upon many types of students and teachers, the conclusion can be stated in strong and unqualified terms: the teaching of formal grammar has a negligible or, because it usually displaces some instruction and practice in composition, even a harmful effect on improvement in writing.” (pg. 105)
In our 21st century society, language is a complex topic to discuss in a school setting. With many students learning other languages at home, English is no longer the primary language. Thus this creates a communication issue between teachers and multilingual students in the classroom. This issue is difficult to solve because teachers want students to speak properly in an academic setting and students are not cognizant of whether their speaking is proper or not. So teachers teach these students how to write proper grammar, in hopes of creating better writers. Even so, teaching students how to write proper grammar is not the best way to solve this issue. In his article Grammar, Grammars, and the Teaching of Grammar, university professor and author Patrick Hartwell further discuss why teaching grammar in the classroom is an ineffective way to solve the issue of language.
Click here to read the article: Grammar, Grammars, and the Teaching of Grammar- Patrick Hartwell
Solve this problem:
Two tomatoes are listening to a lecture in veggie class. The teacher asks one of them to read a passage from their book out loud. The passage includes the word tomato and he pronounces it differently. His friend attempts to correct him but he insists on pronouncing it the way he does. His friend begins to call him tomato paste and in return he gets called tomato soup. The class divide into two groups; the red pasties who support one tomato, and the red soupies who support the other tomato. If you were the teacher in that class, what would be your solution?
a) Conduct a salad exercise and simply observe their behavior.
b) Try to bring the two groups under one banner by calling the class salsa.
c) Kick the two tomatoes from your class.
d) Speak with each tomato individually and trust them to solve the situation on their own.