Ain nobody sing like Tina.

Hi everyone!

This week's reading covered Black English and Spanglish as forms of literacy. I actually just got finished with a class that covered this very topic and you can see some of what I learned in last week's blog post. I'd like to start my discussion with this quote:

"By identifying connections between students’ everyday use of Spanglish and specific skills highlighted in the English Language Arts Content Standards for California Public Schools (California Department of Education, 1998), I do not wish to reify these standards, nor do I mean to suggest that I view academic literacy as a neutral form of literacy or the only form of literacy that students should aspire to cultivate. On the contrary, these standards, like similar standards in other states, reflect the socially constructed—and socially situated—nature of academic language and literacy."

All three articles touched on the nature of prejudice with alternate forms of English other than academic English, the rules and organized structure of African American Vernacular English, and the use of Spanish-English code switching in academic settings. (See Zuidema's "Linguistic Prejudice," Jordan's "Nobody Mean More," and Martínez's "Spanglish" article for the full readings).

I want to touch on a couple of thoughts regarding the articles, the first one being linguistic prejudice. Zuidema talks about linguistic prejudice and of how deeply it is ingrained in our society. The article attacks notions of "What is correct grammar." The emphasis here is that we should not be so quick to try and define correctness on the standards of academic language, because many other forms of English have their own correct rules. Nor should we believe the idea that just because the language is changing means it is getting worse. This is an easy idea to grasp when you take into consideration how English uses a hodgepodge of other languages' rules: Greek and Latin prefixes and suffixes, words borrowed from other languages. If anything, these two proofs showcase how fluid language is.

Second, I want to address code-switching- This definition can be applied by anytime there is a synthesis of two different languages to express a single thought. We as teachers of English should be able to recognize this and understand the intent and purpose for it. Perhaps it should be asked, can this be used as a strength when teaching English language learners new rules?

When it comes to teaching students about grammar and academic English, how do we go about teaching students this without wiping out their own native languages? Are we supposed to teach students when and where certain languages are called for (this is my opinion, but I want to hear what others have to say).

All the best,

~E