Which dialects matter? Depends on what our parents think
The most accurate predictor of a student’s beliefs about what dialects of English are valuable isn’t race or class but the language choices of his or her parents, according to a new study.
In the United States alone, there are more than eight different cultural dialects of the English language. How a person speaks and understands language can have a significant impact on how they learn English in school.
“Language and identity go hand in hand.”
Mike Metz, an assistant professor in the College of Education at the University of Missouri, studied a diverse group of high school students in the San Francisco area with the goal of identifying the root of students’ language beliefs. He found that a student’s belief about the value of Standardized American English, the most dominant variation of English in the US, was best predicted by their parents’ own preferences.
For example, a student whose parents believe that students should only use Standardized American English is more likely to adopt that view. On the other hand, students with parents who believe that many dialects of English are valuable are more likely to believe in the value of the dialects they speak at home, even under a teacher that promotes only Standardized American English.
“Language and identity go hand in hand,” Metz says. “If students who speak alternate forms of English at home with their parents are faced with a different set of language ideologies at school, that can challenge their core beliefs about what form of English is acceptable.”
Metz says English teachers can support students by considering teaching strategies that encourage students to explore how language works in the real world, not just in grammar books.
Metz suggests that teachers be encouraged not to make assumptions based on race or class and that they work with parents to develop more expansive understandings of different dialects of English. One idea is to send students home with materials that explain the systematic grammar rules of different dialects.
“Ideally, English teachers would become language detectives,” Metz says. “We want to engage with students and explore their language choices. It can be a real game changer for their school experience.”
The research appears in Linguistics and Education. Funding came from a Stanford University Diversity Dissertation Opportunity Grant. The opinions of the researcher do not reflect the beliefs of the funding agency.
Source: University of Missouri
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