The Sociolinguistic Challenge

The rapid emergence of sociolinguistics as a discrete subdiscipline in the 1960s and early 1970s was driven largely by two promises implicit in work in the field. The first, the result of methodological and analytic innovation, offered answers to unresolved questions about the mechanisms of language change. The second, the consequence of a focus on the vernaculars of nonmainstream groups (e.g., African Americans, Hispanics, and residents of Appalachia), offered help in meeting the challenges faced by these groups as they sought full participation in the American educational system.

The discipline has clearly made good on the first promise--our understanding of the mechanisms of language change has advanced significantly over the last 30 years. The second promise remains largely unfulfilled, however. For instance, in spite of some three decades of intensive sociolinguistic research on the speech of African Americans and Hispanics, both groups still have significantly lower high-school graduation and college participation rates than non-Hispanic whites (i.e., Anglos) do. Further, by virtually all measures, reading achievement among both groups remains significantly below that of Anglos. While knowledge about African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and the varieties spoken by Hispanics has expanded dramatically over the last 30 years, the expanded knowledge base has not yet led to practical educational solutions.

Although the promise of help for linguistic minorities in achieving educational parity remains unfulfilled, the goal is more important than ever. In fact, over the next 30 years demographic changes currently affecting the United States make the educational disparities faced by African Americans and Hispanics, on the one hand, and Anglos, on the other, one of the most important challenges the country will face. A brief look at the changing demographics of Texas reported by Murdock et al. (1997)--changes which are quite similar to those taking place in other large-population states, such as California, New York, Florida, and Illinois--will demonstrate just how great the challenge will be.

Assuming patterns of net migration similar to those from 1980 to 1990, the population of Texas will grow to almost 39 million over the next 30 years, a figure that represents a 99% increase during the 40-year period from 1990 to 2030. That growth will not occur equally among all segments of the population, however. Growth among minorities will account for more than 85% of the population increase. For instance, while the Anglo population is projected to grow by 5.3% over the next decade, the African American population is projected to grow by 13.9% and the Hispanic population by 39%. If these figures are accurate, by 2008 the Texas population, like that of California, will be less than one-half Anglo. Although the rate of growth among all segments of the population is expected to decrease after 2010, non-Anglo populations will continue to comprise the vast majority of the population increase, and growth among Hispanics is expected to exceed 30% per decade through 2030. Again, assuming patterns of net migration identical to those from 1980 to 1990, by 2030 Hispanics will comprise 45.9% of the Texas population, while Anglos will comprise 36.7% and African Americans 9.5% (with other groups, primarily Asians, comprising the remaining 7.9%).

These changing demographics will have enormous consequences for public education in the state of Texas. The most obvious consequence will be the increasing ethnic and linguistic diversity of public schools in the state. Over the next 30 years the number of students in bilingual education programs is projected to increase by more than 160%, while the number of those involved in some type of English as a Second Language instruction is projected to rise by some 200%. Neither Texas nor the rest of the United States produces enough qualified teachers to handle the increase. The importance of addressing the linguistic needs of these students cannot be overestimated, though. Students who encounter language barriers often do not learn to read well, and those who do not...