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Introduction
- University of Michigan Press
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- Additional Information
1 Introduction Language fascinates and captivates. I have never met an adult who could not or would not talk about language. Everyone seems to have an opinion on language, dialects, and grammar, and few people seem interested in changing any of their linguistic opinions.When people find out that I am an English teacher (and a linguist), they feel free to tell me all sorts of things about language, yet they are never quite sure how they came to this knowledge, despite being steadfast in their opinion. They know, as do linguists, that language occupies a central place in our lives, and they cling tenaciously to their views about language and its role in society. Unfortunately, myths and misconceptions abound when it comes to language. Often what people tell me and what I see in the mainstream press are inaccurate, misleading, and, in the worst cases, dangerous. In this book,I expose linguistic ideas that are held by the general public and even some educational policymakers. English as a second language (ESL) and mainstream teachers need to understand language so they can help shape better language policies on a variety of issues: bilingual education , non-standard dialects, accents, Ebonics, language change, slang, and the role of grammar in language education.These are perennial hot topics for educators, parents, and politicians and are commented on by countless pundits in the popular media, and these comments influence public opinion as well as teacher attitudes.The aim of this book is not to settle all language issues but rather to highlight popular linguistic fallacies and how they influence debates regarding language, and how these ultimately affect language policies in and out of the classroom. The thesis of this book is simple: ESL teachers should work to debunk popular and misguided myths that dominate the general public’s understanding of language.These myths are spread by the modern media and 2 HOW MYTHS ABOUT LANGUAGE AFFECT EDUCATION ultimately have real-world repercussions in that they affect classroom practices and educational policies. Linguists Laurie Bauer and Peter Trudgill (1999) question how language is so misunderstood today despite all that has been learned over the years about language and how it functions as a system. Somewhere there is a breakdown in the dissemination of linguistic knowledge and, unfortunately, the inaccurate opinions and reports are often more influential than the accurate ones. Bauer and Trudgill (1999) suggest the breakdown comes from people tuning out the esoteric works of professional linguists who rarely write for non-linguists.Like most professionals, linguists forget a general audience when they write.If we look at some of the best-selling books on language and linguistics—The Story of English (McCrum, MacNeil, & Cran, 1986),The Mother Tongue (Bryson, 2001), Do You Speak American? (MacNeil & Cran,2005)—note that none were written by a linguist (Bauer &Trudgill,1999).This is not to say that these books contain misleading information,only that they were not written by those who know the most about language. Because linguists are focused on conducting their own and keeping up with others’research, they lack time to write for non-linguists.So myths continue and are spread by“word of mouth”and,ultimately,some misconceptions reach the status of urban legends. This book clarifies some of the most common myths about language and language acquisition, particularly those that affect ESL teachers and the decisions they make when they teach English language learners (ELL).These language issues are not relevant to only ESL teachers.They also apply to mainstream teachers given the fact that so many classrooms have not only ELLs but also dialect-minority students (native English speakers who use a non-standard dialect) in their classrooms. A reasonable case could be made that language is at the core of all education; Popular (and uninformed) opinions on language exist. Mass media repeats and disseminates the misconception. Erroneous ESL policies are developed. + = [3.237.51.235] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 12:52 GMT) 3 Introduction thus, there is a need for a clear understanding of language. This task of helping ELLs is becoming not only a responsibility of the ESL teacher, but all teachers because ELLs are becoming more prevalent in all schools and in all classes. The National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition notes that between 1995 and 2006, the number of ELLs grew 57.17 percent (2006).There is every indication that this trend will continue. So what are some examples of...