Chapter 6
Instructor’s Manual
This chapter covers:
An introduction to the school and the teacher as major forces in the perpetuation of
language ideology
The instructional goals of the school in regards to literacy and standard language
ideology
How the notions of appropriacy and communicative competence can be connected to
linguistic discrimination in education
The arguments that many educators have for why children should be taught *SAE
The effects of appropriacy arguments on speakers of devalued language varieties
A discussion of language policy in education from the mid–nineteenth century to the
present
The educational policies and social expectations related to teachers’ speech
Studies examining university students’ reaction to L2 accents in teaching assistants and
lecturers
A few examples of schools and educators who resist the standard language subordination
process
Sample answers to the questions from the text and the website
From the textbook
1. Write your own linguistic history. Where did your influences come from? What ideologies
were you exposed to? Which did you accept, and to what degree? Have you studied any foreign
languages? Do you feel as though you could survive in a country where that language is spoken?
What would it take?
2. Do you have any memories of being corrected for the way you said something? Who did the
correcting? What reason was given, and how did you react? Anger? Shame? Confusion?
3. Describe your own experiences in school. Were there speakers of stigmatized varieties of
English in your classroom? Were you one of those speakers? How did perceptions make things
easier or harder for them (or you)?
4. Search online in communities that discuss education and look for terms such as “standard
English,” “non-standard English,” “dialect,” “grammar,” and “ugly.” Was it easy or hard to
find discussions of the issues covered in this chapter? What trends (if any) did you come across?
5. Interview a friend who has never taken a linguistics class. Ask that person for definitions of
“standard” and “non-standard” English, and be sure to ask for examples. Don’t give away your
thoughts or reactions, just record what your informant has to say, no matter how much you
agree or disagree. Compare your findings with others in the class.
6. Consider this diagram:
How accurate do you think this is? What might be missing?
7. Have the materials in this chapter raised questions for you? Doubts? Do you feel the same
way you did before this course on matters of language in the classroom?
Sample answer: After this chapter, I feel torn about how I feel about teaching *SAE. Before
INSTRUCTOR’S PERCEIVED ACCENT > STUDENTS NEGATIVE EXPECTATIONS
||
COMMUNICATIVE BREAKDOWN > POOR CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE
8. Write a short list of guidelines you might go over with a biology class where all of the
teaching assistants are non-native speakers of English. How can the students contribute to
making communication work? Are there concrete steps to take when communication breaks
down?
9. Interview a graduate teaching assistant or a professor or instructor who speaks English with a
strong accent of any kind that contrasts with the average person on campus. For example,
someone with a strong Texas accent teaching in northern California, or someone whose first
language is Japanese teaching in Cincinnati. Ask what experiences they have had because of
accent. Positive, negative, neutral?
Sample answer: I interviewed a Korean teaching assistant who helped teach the political science
class I took last fall. He said that most students are neutral to his accent, but he has had some
From the website
Audio
1. Listen to the samples of Appalachian English, British West Indian English, Sea Islands Creole,
Gullah, Mexicano English, and Hawai’i Creole English. What kind of experiences do you
imagine speakers of these varieties would have in a classroom that focused on *SAE?
2. Listen to the samples of Hawai’ian Creole English and AAVE. Do you think it would be
inappropriate for a law student to ask a question in class using these language varieties? Why or
why not?
3. Listen to the samples of South Carolinian English and Spanish-accented English. Then revisit
the quotes from actual speakers of these varieties on page 91. How do these speakers’ comments
fit in with this chapter’s discussion of language subordination and the appropriacy argument?
4. Listen to the samples of speakers with Greek, Bostonian, Alabaman, Japanese, Cantonese, and
other Asian accents. These accents were all relevant to the discussions of whether teachers with
foreign accents or devalued L1 accents should be allowed to teach children and college students’
reactions to instructors and teaching assistants with accents. Do you think people with these
accents should be allowed to teach young children? Do you think people with these accents
should be allowed to teach at the university level? Explain why you feel the way you do. Can you
back up your opinions with research that supports your position?
1. How does the content of this video illustrate the language subordination process and
appropriacy arguments around standard and non-standard dialects?
2. Chapter 6 discusses two main reasons to justify teaching *SAE to schoolchildren. What are
those two arguments, and which one does Garrard McClendon support?
Sample Answer: The first main argument to justify teaching *SAE to schoolchildren is based on
Suggested activities and discussion questions
1. Ask the students if they think *SAE should be taught in schools. What arguments can they
think of in support of teaching *SAE in schools? What arguments can they think of in opposition
to teaching *SAE in schools? How do the students feel about teaching *SAE in schools?
2. Ask your class to consider the following question posed in Chapter 6 (page 88):
If by magic it were possible to make every school-aged child in the nation
instantaneously bilingual, equally proficient in English and in their native language,
would the problem of discrimination in the schools go away?
What answers do the students have for this question? Ask them to explain why they feel the way
3. Ask the students if they have ever had a teacher with a foreign accent. What grade were they
in when they had this teacher? What impact do they think that teacher’s accent had on the quality
of his or her class? Do they feel any differently about these teachers after reading this chapter?
4. Have the students interview their friends or classmates in other courses about their opinions
5. Find out which students have children or want to have children in the future. Ask these
students if they want their children to learn *SAE in school and why they feel the way they do.
What would your students think about their children having a teacher with a devalued accent?