The Pros And Cons Of Standard English

Having the insight as a former student and a present educator, Linda Christensen wrote about her views on the way English is taught to students in her essay“Teaching Standard English: Whose Standard?” Christensen

The English language is considered one of the global languages. It is spoken in many countries and is well-known everywhere. But do you ever wonder how many obstacles people face when they speak English as a second language? Or when they speak with an accent or use black vernacular language? In United States (US) people glorify Standard American English (SAE), and it used as a tool to discriminate and oppress. In the Article “8 Harmful Example of Standard American English Privilege”, Hernandez (2015) states that:

While reading chapter six from Beyond Grammar Language, Power, and the Classroom, written by Mary R. Harmon and Marilyn J. Wilson, I began to realize how much we become caught up in the rules of the so-called Standard American English. It is sad because people are being judged on their dialect, which is a representation of who people are and where they are from. I have found myself correcting people that have a different dialect, or correcting people that say words that I have been told were not proper language, such as the word ain’t. Standard American English is something that is embedded in our brains at a young age and as we go through school; language is something teachers are constantly correcting children on. Reading about dialect has

Language is an extensively complex topic. To effectively engage in a variety of social contexts one must be well versed in both the concept of 'Discourse' (so capitalised because of James Gee's discrimination between 'discourse' as "connected stretches of language that makes sense" and 'Discourse,' as a concept made up of various discourses as described by David Green, 2006, pp. 3 ), and the basic principles and 'codes' (Bernstein, 1960, as cited by Green, 2006) of the Discourse appropriate to each situation one encounters. A deficient working knowledge of the situational discourse leaves you vulnerable as what Green continues on to describe as an 'outsider' and therefore subject to being classified and treated as inferior. It is important to avoid a reflectively tyrannical system occurring within the classroom setting, as it leads to devaluing of individual children's culture and home Discourse through the process of placing them in direct conflict with the institutional school Discourse (Gee, 1990, Michaels 1981, as cited by Green, 2006).

Much of the public is misinformed about the existence of nonstandard language varieties, regarding them as “improper” forms of English. AEMP aims to change these views, often held by teachers, by validating nonstandard language varieties, thereby placing pressure upon these teachers to change their attitudes toward the languages, those who speak the languages, and the culture of these speakers. Second-language theorist AEMP classrooms are designed to facilitate interactive communication among students and teachers through cooperative groups using the home language of these children. Put simply, “teachers should talk less (LeMoine, 1999, p. 67). And when teachers must communicate with students for instruction, it is imperative that they allow the children to express themselves in the way that is most comfortable to

Since we are teaching children the standard form of English, it is necessary that all primary teaching is in that form, however, society needs to understand that every child comes from a different background; a child may have grown up using a different form of English or even an entirely different language. Coming from an individual that grew up speaking a different language at home, it is difficult for students like us to make certain connections that children who grew up speaking the standard can make easily. We have a tougher time with seemingly simple concepts because our dialects/languages do not adhere to the same rules that the standard does. Although we have one unifying goal of educating the young in Standard English, all teaching should be based on the child’s background and try to use that to help them learn better and faster. As Pullum described, there is a lot of misconception involving using AAE to implement student’s learning. The point is not to make dialects like AAE a language course in schools or have classes be taught in those dialects, but rather to be used in conjunction with the Standard to efficiently ease children into the desired outcome. Judge Joiner offered a solution to the problem by requiring teachers to dedicate a certain amount of hours to understanding these children’s point of views. Verdelle, on the other hand, seems

English can be used amongst friends or with close family because in some cases they will not expect it from you all the time throughout the weeks but, employees should never use Non-Standard English in a workplace or a formal situation. Using Standard English will earn a person a great deal of respect in a business place. Many will see an individual as a very professional worker and will lead to them getting promoted or offered higher opportunities.

His fifth claim is that different forms of speech do not equate to differing levels of achievement in school. As a sixth claim, he argues that ethnographic assumptions offered by Deutsch, Bereiter, Engelmann are wrong. His final claim, is that training a child to learn the logical manner of Standard English doesn’t guarantee that he’ll succeed. Nonstandard English isn’t the problem to learning; it’s the ignorance of the language and the belief that it’s inferior.

Nowadays, the roles of English around the world have changed rapidly. English only served as the first or the second language of certain countries some years ago. Recently, English has a new role as a language which is used as a means of communication between people with different

The claim, humans are the only animal that can acquire language has been the subject of much debate as scientists have investigated language use by non-human species. Researchers have taught apes, monkeys, parrots and wild children with various systems of human-like communication. Thus, one might ask, what is human language? According to Ulla Hedeager, A universally accepted definition of language or the criteria for its use does not exist. This is one of the reasons for the disagreement among scientists about whether non-human species can use a language. In nature, researchers find numerous types of communication systems, several of which appear to be unique to their possessors, and one of them is the language of the human species. Basically, the purpose of communication is the preservation, growth, and development of the species (Smith and Miller 1968:265). The ability to exchange information is shared by all communication systems, and a number of non-human systems share some features of human language. The fundamental difference between human and non-human communication is that animals are believed to react instinctively, in a stereotyped and predictable way. Generally, human behavior is under the voluntary control,

In contemporary society the Standard variety of English is the most commonly used as it is respected and associated with a higher prestige. Its usage is also advocated by prescriptivists who believe that it is the ‘correct’ and only variety that should be used. Standard English is usually seen in formal settings, where its usage is necessary for official and public purposes. However, contextual factors play a vital role in determining the most appropriate variety to be used, which is supported by the Principle of Appropriateness. Certain contexts where a non-standard variety is necessary are in social media settings and in communities of different ethnicities, where they are undeniably required to create solidarity between speakers.

Globalization has also contributed to an increasing interest in English-language education worldwide. In response to the emergence of English as a world-linking, global language, an increasing number of schools have stepped up English–language requirements, even at undergraduate levels. The argument is that a universal teaching language is necessary as a natural consequence of globalization.

With the development of living standard in society, studying aboard has become more and more popular. Not only because of English as the world language is an agent to connect countries, but also speaking English fluently will be beneficial for the future personal development. In order to study oversea smoothly, the first step is to go through the language--English. Generally speaking, English has been divided into two different types according to the purposes which are English for Academic Purpose (EAP) and General English (GE). It is obvious that EAP teaches the knowledge which will be suitable for a higher education whereas GE is mainly focus on daily communications. Therefore, the teaching style or perhaps teacher’s role in the class is also different. In this essay, the writer will illustrate two different classifications by Harmer and Scrivener, after compare and contrast the two the teacher’s role, the writer will select one of the classification and justify it. Finally, the chosen classification will be put into practice ( justifying with the radios provided).

     “In the world were over seven thousand languages have exisisted, one language had become dominate. This dominant language is English.” “In the majority of countries throughout the world speak English as their second or first language, no longer just America or England.” English has taken many forms, American English, the Queen’s English, Australian, Canadian English, and several others. Even American English has taken several types of English, Jersey English, East Coast English, West Coast English, Southern English, slang English, and Ebonics. All of these languages have major variants between them, but are all of them are still understood aboard. Without English the world couldn’t operate,

English as a medium of instruction has developed as a global trend for a range of reasons. Nowadays EMI is truly a global phenomenon. In this literature review, I look at the historical backgrounds of EMI in three periods prior to a global phenomenon. What is more, I reflect upon the current developments of EMI at tertiary education focusing on the spread of EMI into the global universities, EMI in European universities, EMI in Asian universities and EMI in Thai universities. In each section, I link the current literature review to my initial research at the end of the sections in order to form my research grounds.