In this article, Snow wants to expose the widespread problem most students experience in learning academic language to other students and teachers. She begins by explaining what academic language is and it is something commonly overlooked. She explains academic language as having no real definition. She continues to…
Here in the United States, we, historically, have had countless instances, occurrences, and notable events related to racism, discrimination, slavery, and more. Social (and racial) relations in this nation have been constantly changing since the 16th century. In the decades after civil rights, however, these relations between people of different ethnic and racial backgrounds have improved significantly. Despite this fact, one can still argue that there are racist attitudes that continue to exist, especially in social institutions such as our educational system, where researchers have found that non-native ESL students are facing institutional racism mainly based on the concept of language. Media depictions of institutional language-racism…
He embodied the counsel to “count others more significant” than ourselves, looking “not only to our own interests, but to the interests of others.”…
Throughout our lives we communicate to a vast array of people on a daily basis from teachers to friends to family. Each time we speak to these individuals there tends to be a different “slang” that is used with each yet at the same time still portraying the same message. In groups of different cultures they have a similar voice through language. Even though the languages they speak are different the meanings can be the same. Through this everyone has the ability to show love, anger, sadness, and the ability to teach right from wrong. Two authors from different ethnic backgrounds show how language affects them personally and the ones around them. Kingston, a Chinese author, writes about stories based on the things she heard from her mother and…
Week one of Language and Literacy for Teachers has broadened my thinking about the English language, how vast it is and the different ways people communicate. The first, and most interesting topic for me that was brought up in week one was vernacular language. “A vernacular variety of language is the form of language people use in their “everyday” lives when they are not speaking as specialists of experts of any sort.” (Gee & Hayes, 2011, p. 8). Learning about vernacular language led me to think about and explore the different ways language can change depending on factors such as a social setting, social class or geographical location.…
My thesis statement is grounded on the ideas of the SROTL Resolution, Garrard McClendon, and Ruthellen Crews. The authors of “Students’ Rights to Their Own Language” argue that students should be able to speak and write in their native language because it is more suitable for them and it is easier for them to identify who they are. In addition, they argued that saying the “dialect of one student being unacceptable is like saying that one group is better than the other” (SRTOL Resolution). I agree that as students we should be able to write in our native language because it defines who we are, however, I believe that we should only write in our native language during our years in elementary and high school. What I learned from personal experiences with the English language is that my teachers during elementary and high school never focused on my oral and written skills. Any written assignments during my four years in high school I was never told that my writing was not…
In Neil Postman's "Defending Against the Indefensible", he suggests that our society has been culturally brainwashed. Therefore, Postman has given us seven key elements of critical thinking to help us understand the English language and avoid the manipulation of language: definition, questions, simplicity of words, metaphors, reification, style and tone, and the non-neutrality of media.…
At any moment we are using language we must say or write the right thing in the right way while playing the right social role and to hold right values, beliefs, and attitudes. Thus, what is important is not language, and surely not grammar, but saying (writing)-doing-being-valuing-believing combinations. (484)…
“There is more pleasure to building castles in the air than on the ground.” This quote by Edward Gibbon illustrates the intensity of writing and what gratification it can hold. When one writes, they are not confined to one certain formula. A person is able to express their thoughts and feelings in any way they choose. Language is a border for many people in that some cannot comprehend a certain language, understand how to use it, or recognize what is being said to them. On the other side of the border, they are not viewed as equals or as important compared to those who are not competing with this barrier. In his essay “Coming into Language,” Jimmy Santiago Baca uses his personal experiences to demonstrate how much crossing the border of language can change a person and show them new ways of expressing themselves.…
‘Your use of language sends out lots of little messages, not just about your level of education and where you come from, but about how you would like to be perceived.’…
Language is the cornerstone of all known human societies. It shapes our own personal perspectives and environments while creating bonds with others. We rely on language to create our…
Language is to power as words are to books, with one comes the other. The use of language correctly and fluently gives the speaker power over others; this brings about a moral obligation to use the power given correctly, as well as an opportunity to help others in many different ways. Malcolm X’s autobiographical essay, “Coming to and Awareness of Language”, William Lutz’s “Doublespeak”, and Gloria Naylor’s “Meanings of a Word” are all on the subject of language and power and how that power can be used. They all talk about context, all use personal examples, all are trying to teach or inform, and all only use their own personal learning. They differ in their approaches to writing and the audiences they are trying to reach.…
On page 11, Postman quotes Niels Bohr as saying, "The opposite of a correct statement is an incorrect statement, but the opposite of a profound truth is another profound truth." What does this statement mean? Do you agree with it? Why or why not?…
In the book, “Mother Tongue”, Amy Tan asserts that language is a tool of communication.…
His works include many thought provoking essays, comprehension and epitomisation for overseas students. Recent trends in educational practice, a guide to correct English, and teaching English as a second language are some very important to mention. Hill’s interest in linguistics extends to all human behavior and similarities and variations between different cultures.…