Affirming Students’ Right to Their Own Language: Bridging Language Policies and Pedagogical Practice ed. by Jerrie Cobb Scott, Dolores Y. Straker, and Laurie Katz (review)

In Affirming Students’ Right to Their Own Language, a wide variety of authors address the pedagogical implications of the 1974 National Council of Teachers of English resolution on students’ rights to their own language (STROL). This resolution, revisited and reaffirmed more recently in 2003, calls for schools and teachers to respect and draw on students’ linguistic diversity as both a right and a resource. This book, designed for pre- and in-service teachers as well as teacher educators, professional development consultants, and policy makers, does an excellent job illuminating what the editors describe as the “unfinished business” of the STROL resolution: what teachers can do in their classrooms everyday to uphold students’ linguistic rights.

This volume covers research on how classroom practices can give students access to their own languages. These practices are closely described and placed in a national and international context. In Part I of this comprehensive volume, STROL are situated historically and legally in the history of United States policy and legislations. This is done chronologically by the editors and thematically through interviews with authors Joel Spring, Geneva Smitherman, Mary Carol Combs and Christina Rodríguez. These interviews are noteworthy not only for thoroughly contextualizing STROL but also for the vernacular style. Conversational and easily accessible, the interviews provide balance to a largely academic text. In the manner of Alim and Anzaldúa, these authors expand traditional definitions of academic discourse both by what they say and by how they say it.

Part II explores some of the ways that language policies and classroom practices have failed to give students access to their own language, the reasons behind resistance to the 1974 resolution, and the consequences of such resistance. Part III is the most applied of all of the sections, describing teachers’ use of STROL to guide instruction in different contexts and with different populations. In Part IV, the book steps back into the workings of policy, this time in a global context. Part IV serves to contrast the permissive stance towards linguistic rights found in the U.S. with countries whose language policies explicitly acknowledge, protect, and defend linguistic diversity and linguistic minorities. It also highlights the links between the U.S. and other countries in a globalized world. This section serves to expand the readers’ idea of what may be possible in U.S. classrooms, courts, and legislatures.

The book provides an important connection between the ideological commitment to giving students access to their language and the means with which to do this. This goal is well accomplished, particularly in Part III. The authors describe a variety of promising pedagogical techniques. The variety of settings (pre-K through 12) and languages (Spanish, Chinese, African-American Vernacular English, Greek Cypriot) and teachers’ linguistic knowledge made this book useful for a wide range of audiences. Teacher educators in particular will find much of value here, including ideas to inform their research, advocacy, and work with pre-service teachers. A common criticism of edited books is uneven quality; this is not true of Affirming Students’ Right to Their Own Language. The works included are uniformly excellent; all of the chapters are highly relevant, based on sound, diverse methodology. Together, they advance our understanding of how to respect students’ linguistic rights and promote their academic achievement. Moreover, the book includes both a short and long view. It addresses how to support students now, as well as steps to address linguistic prejudices and values for future expansion of what counts as valuable literacy and linguistic practices.

Affirming Students’ Right to Their Own Language encompasses wide territory, perhaps in an attempt to reach the many audiences identified by the editors in the introduction. The book contains multiple theoretical frameworks with which to understand student language, the core of the book...