AUTHORS: N.H. Hornberger and S.L. McKay TITLE: Sociolinguistics and Language Teaching Teaching PUBLISHER: Cambridge University Press YEAR: 1996 Said Said R Rizi Rizi,, Ph PhD D Depa Depart rtme ment nt of ELT, ELT, East East Medi Medite terr rran anea ean n Univ Univer ersi sity ty,, Northern Cyprus
Summary The objective of this fairly written book is to acquaint the reader – the language teacher in this case – with the field of sociolinguistics and how it can shed some light on language teaching, especially for those teachers who deal with students coming from “linguistically diverse” backgrounds. The The book book stan stands ds out out from from the the crow crowd d in that that it eloq eloque uent ntly ly comb combin ines es sociolinguistics with language teaching in one volume, something that is without antecedent. The book comes with added significance with respect to the incre increasi asing ng suppor supportt for social socially ly embed embedded ded views views of langua language ge and language pedagogy. Very few books ever embark on such a daunting task and the majority treat these two subjects safely separately. Well-balanced in its focus, line of convergence and comprehensiveness, Sociolinguistics and Language Teaching fill fills s a gap gap in the the fiel fields ds of soci sociol olin ingu guis isti tics cs,, appl applie ied d linguistics, and language teaching. Introductory books on sociolinguistics do not usually consider the language classroom, teacher or students; applied linguistic linguistics s collection collections s usually usually only focus on the second/for second/foreign eign language classroom disconnected from its social context (see, however, Philipson, 1992, and Pennycook, 1995, inter alia, alia, which, however, do not focus on intera interacti ctiona onall studie studies); s); and langua language ge teach teaching ing books books focus focus on classr classroom oom peda pedago gogy gy
witho ithout ut
consi onside deri ring ng
any any
such su ch
soc sociol iolingu inguiistic stic
aspe aspect ct
of
teaching/learning and interaction. This collection capitalizes on the social aspect within and toward language classroom interaction, be the language at issue an FL or an L2. 1|Page
The book comes in five sections and 14 chapters in total, with a laudable collection of articles written by some of the most influential figures in the field, including McCay, Wiley, Rickford, Cohen, and Erickson to name a few. few.
Chapter 1, Part I – Language and society This chapter deals deals with three heavy-weight heavy-weight issues in language language pedagogy pedagogy:: languag language e attitu attitudes des,, motiv motivati ation, on, and standa standard rds. s. The chapte chapterr in genera generall exami examines nes the impac impactt of social social and politi political cal conte contexts xts on social social attitu attitudes des towa toward rds s part partic icul ular ar lang langua uage ges s and and lang langua uage ge vari variet etie ies, s, in addi additi tion on to individual motivation to learn a language. Drawin Drawing g on langua language ge as a social social and indivi individua duall identi identity ty constr construct uct,, the author Mary McGroarty reiterates reiterates “teacher accountability” towards certain aspe aspect cts s of lang langua uage ge inst instru ruct ction ion,, upgr upgrad adin ing g him him or her her from from a pass passiv ive e imparter of imparter of linguistic knowledge to a facilitator of success through linguistic mastery, something which is influenced by a myriad of variables, including motivation and attitudes of teachers, students, and their parents. To be fair to applied linguistics collections, it should be added that they sometimes emphasize the social aspect and that is when their theme is bilingual education studies, or the socio-cultural-historic aspect which so expli explicit citly ly appear appears s in minor minority ity bil biling ingual ualism ism studie studies. s. Sociolingu Sociolinguistic istics s and Language Teaching focuses on language teaching in general, combining the fields of bilingual education and foreign language studies instead of looking at them as separate entities. Surprisingly, the collection, does not mention L1 teaching studies, although it does have implications for that area. L1 teaching studies have sometimes also missed out on societal embedding within within the real real world: world: their their textb textbook ooks s have have usuall usually y depict depicted ed ideali idealize zed d language and situations. The same comment applies to FL teaching and FL teachi teaching ng studie studies s which which also also tend tend to be geare geared d towar towards ds a homoge homogenou nous s context that does not exist. Therefore, the book has contributions for a wide
2|Page
variety variety of scenarios scenarios ranging ranging from bilingual/mul bilingual/multilin tilingual gual to bidialect bidialectal, al, to first/second/foreign language classrooms. The The volu volume me is su suit itab able le for a wide wide audi audien ence ce incl includi uding ng coun countr trie ies s whos whose e first/official language is not English. This is an important point in a world where
nations
usually
claim
bilingualism/multilingualism.
to
be
Actually,
monolingual, not
only
a nd is
erase minority
bilingualism/multilingualism invisible in these countries but also minority bidialectalism. This point is well discussed by Shridar (pp. 47–50). All in all, the book should find its place in postgraduate courses in applied linguistics, soci sociol olin ingu guis isti tics cs,, langu language age and and educ educat atio ion, n, lang langua uage ge and and dive divers rsit ity y and and bili biling ngua uall educ educat atio ion. n. It is a su suit itabl able e intr introd oduc ucti tion on to resea esearc rch h for for both both teachers and novice researchers.
Chapter 2, Part I – Societal multilingualism Written by Kamal Stridhar, the chapter has an indepth look at the issue of bili biling ngua uali lism sm
and and
mult multil ilin ingu gual alis ism, m,
deal dealin ing g
with with
them them
as
worl worldw dwid ide e
phenomena. The writer distinguished several types of multilingualism, i.e. territori territorial al principle principle of multilingu multilingualism alism in whic which h the the coun countr try y as whol whole e is mult multil ilin ingu gual al but but indi indivi vidu dual als s principle principle
multiling multilingualis ualism m in
are are main mainly ly mono monoli ling ngua uall and and personality whi which
the the
stat state e
prom promot ote es
multi ultillingu ingual al
individual individuals. s. Several Several reasons reasons for multiling multilingualis ualism m are offered: offered: immigrati immigration, on, cultural contact, and annexation or colonialism. Stridhar believes innatist theories of language are inadequately equipped to expla xplain in
mult multil ilin ingu gual alis ism m
and and
a
func functi tion onal al appr approa oach ch
to
lang langua uage ge
as
repr represe esente nted d by Fergus erguson on (1959 (1959), ), Fish ishman man (1972) (1972),, Hallid Halliday ay (1973) (1973),, and Hymes (1974) with considerable attention to the social use of language should be called upon. Whatever approach we select, the notions of verbal repertoire and language language choice choice play play a cent centra rall role ole to the the disc discus ussi sion on of multil multiling ingual ualism ism.. Verbal erbal reper repertoi toire re refer refers s to the total total range range of lingui linguisti stic c resources resources available to an individual or community, where as language use is analyzed in terms of “Who uses what language with whom and for what 3|Page
purp purpos ose? e?” ” We must must bear bear in mind mind that that the the lingu linguis isti tic c resour esource ces s or the the repertoire of a multilingual community are not equally distributed in terms of power, power, prest prestige ige,, vital vitality ity,, or attitu attitude, de, making making some some langua languages ges more more valu valued ed than than othe others rs,, a fact fact that that is capt captur ured ed in the the term term asymmetrical princ principl iple e
of
multil multiling ingual ualism ism. Such
a
principle
can
lead
to
several
sociol socioling inguis uistic tic phenom phenomena ena such such as diglossia, diglossia, code switching, switching, and code mixing. mixing. Thi This s chap chapte terr also also disc discus usse ses s othe otherr soci sociol olin ingu guis isti tic c phen phenom omen ena a su such ch as conver convergen gence ce and transf transfer er . As Stri Stridh dhar ar expla xplain ins s an extr xtreme eme effe effect ct of language contact is linguistic convergence when one language undergoes extensive structural modification in the direction of the dominant language. Such a linguistic diffusion is observed in some parts of India where Urdu belonging to the Indo-European family and Kannada and Telugu from the Dravidian family come into regular contact. Language transfer is a forceful sociol socioling inguis uistic tic phenom phenomeno enon n which which plays plays an impor importan tantt role role in langua language ge change. Language transfer takes place when the interlocutors share the same languages and transfer naturally does not affect mutual intelligibility. intelligibility. At the end Stridhar introduced six implications for language teaching with respect to bilingualism. 1. Biling Bilingual ualism ism is not indicativ indicative e of low level level of intell intellige igence nce as claim claimed ed by some some dubi dubiou ous s resear esearch ch.. Thus Thus teac teache hers rs must must revis evise e thei theirr atti attitud tudes es towards the status of multilingualism. 2. Teach eacher ers s must must reass easses ess s the the sign signif ific icanc ance e of Engl Englis ish h in the the lear learne ners rs’’ linguistic repertoire, recognizing the existence of other equally important languages used by the individual or the community. community. 3. Due to the complementary aspect of language, it is not realistic to expect
native-link competency in all aspects of the language. 4. A certa certain in amoun amountt of famili familiari arity ty with with other other langua languages ges availa available ble to the learners is advised for the teacher.
4|Page
5. Teacher eachers s must must develo develop p a tolera tolerant nt attitu attitude de to code-s code-swit witchi ching ng among among minority group learners. 6. As multil multiling ingual ualism ism signifie signifies s a great great amount amount of give give and take take betwe between en lang langua uage ges, s, teac teache hers rs must must avoi avoid d
expec xpecti ting ng lear learne nerr
to keep eep
thei theirr
languages compartmentalized as code switching is inevitable in those situations.
Chapter 3, Part I – World Englishes Kachru and Nelson introduce discuss the topic of world Englishes and its relat elatio ions nshi hip p with with teac teachi hing ng of Engl Englis ish. h. World orld Engl Englis ishe hes s is seen seen in two two diasporas (Kachru 1992): 1) migrations of English-speaking people from the British Isles to Australia, New Zealand, and North America, 2) colonialization of Asia and Africa Africa by English speakers. speakers. Central to the discussion discussion of world world Englishes Englishes is the concept of dialect dialect and the distribution distribution of power reflecte reflected d through it. Or, as the writers put it “It is my dialect versus your dialect.” Although some 45 countries use English Engl ish as their official o fficial language (Table (Table 1, p 75), it is the English spoken in England and North America (Canada and USA) which is generally accepted without much ado, though it must be remin reminded ded that that other other “stand “standard ard” ” dialec dialects ts are are equall equally y intell intelligi igible ble to the listener/reader. The The write writers, rs, recog recogniz nizing ing the inadeq inadequac uacy y of a presc prescrip riptiv tive e approac approach h to language, promote a descriptive study of world Englishes. Such a study, they they beli believ eve, e, woul would d see see the the true true meri meritt of Engl Englis ish h as a wide widely ly sp spok oken en language in the world today that has empowered people across across the world to communicate with even minimum knowledge of this language. The use and users of English are depicted in three concentric circles comprising of an Inner Circle Circle includ including ing the United United States States,, Britai Britain, n, Canada Canada,, Aus Austra tralia lia,, New Zealan Zealand d order ordered ed in terms terms of their their popula populatio tion. n. The Outer Circle Circle includes countr countries ies where where Englis English h has been been ins instit tituti utiona onaliz lized ed for long. long. This This circle circle encompasses India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Singapore, South Africa, and Zambia. The last and the biggest circle is the Expanding Circle that houses countries 5|Page
in which which Englis English h is studie studied d for specif specific ic purpos purposes. es. Countr Countries ies like like China, China, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Korea, Korea, and Nepal fall into this circle. Considering such a diverse variety of Englishes it won’t be surprising to see that that the the term term native native speaker speaker is subjec subjectt to seriou serious s questi questioni oning. ng. While While speakers of the inner circle seem to be quite tolerant of each other, certain degrees degrees of intoleranc intolerance e are expected expected toward toward speakers speakers of the outer circle. circle. This attitude was specially expected of the speakers of the mother country who would not recognize the fact that English had undergone change in the new settlements, rendering such changes as inappropriate and a result of careless use. The The dive divers rsit ity y of worl world d Engl Englis ishe hes s then then nece necess ssit itat ates es the the recog ecogni niti tion on of context-specific communicative competence within different communities, hence hence callin calling g to questi question on the notion notion of defici deficitt lingui linguisti stics. cs. It is there therefor fore e difficult to render hyphenated-Englishes, Black or Hispanic, non-standard. Anot An othe herr issu issue e rais raised ed by the the writ writer ers s is “int “intel elli ligi gibi bili lity ty”. ”. Draw Drawin ing g on the the definition of dialects as mutually intelligible variants of a given language, it is argued argued that most most of these these world world Englis Englishes hes are undese undeservi rving ng of being being called English since they are not mutually intelligible. World Englishes also contain pedagogic implications. While it is possible to defend the notion of one world one standard, not much can be done to stop varieties of English from spreading through trade, education, and day to day commun communica icatio tion. n. As Davies Davies (1990) (1990) states states,, teachi teaching ng involv involves es giving giving choices. Users must be aware of differences but the choice is totally theirs. The The recog recognit nition ion of world world Englis Englishes hes by “the “the old variet variety y Englis English-s h-spea peakin king g nations” nations” brings them into contact with the potentials potentials of other cultures cultures and their literatures. Even their discourse, written or spoken, can be looked into. And perhaps nowhere does the issue of world Englishes and standardization stand stand but as in assess assessmen ment. t. Lowe Lowenbe nberg rg (1993 (1993)) admits admits that that testin testing g does does indicate proficiency in English as a world language.
6|Page
Chapter 4, Part I – Language planning This chapter touches upon five major issues under the topic of language planning: 1) the basic assumptions underlying language planning, 2) key definitions and types of language planning, 3) orientations and approaches, 4) goals, and 5) legal challenges. In a discussion of language planning, some questions are raised: 1.
How How do do ass assum umpt ptio ions ns about about lang langua uage ge infl influe uenc nce e lan langu guag age e pla plann nning ing? ?
2.
How How doe does att attribu ributting ing high higher er stat status us to som some varie arieti tie es of lang langua uage ge
affect the status of all varieties? Recognizing that language is used as an instrument of social control it must be then then asked asked “What “What attitu attitude des s do schola scholars rs and laypeo laypeople ple have have toward towards s language diversity? (Crawford, 1992; Haugan, 1973, 1992)” At the definition level, language planning is involved in corpus planning (coining new words, reforming spelling, adopting new script), advocating proper or preferred variety as well as use (Williams, 1992). In addition, the level at which language planning takes place and the ones involved in it need need to be defi define ned d clea clearl rly y. Her Here dist distin inct ctio ion n must must be made made betw betwee een n government and government and the state. state. The state (the apparatus by which the dominant groups maintain power) uses language planning to solidify and expand its power. Language planning can also be defined in terms of implicitness and explicitness. Different views upheld by scholars towards language planning have resulted in development of differing approaches and perspectives towards language planning, some seeing language as a problem, some as right, and others see it as a source (Ruiz, 1984). Whichever view of language I advocated, it must be borne in mind that language planning involves goal-setting which can be langua language ge relat related ed or politi political cally ly and econom economica ically lly orient oriented. ed. The form former er enco encomp mpas asse ses s issu issues es su such ch as lang langua uage ge sh shif iftt poli policy cy,, lang langua uage ge mainte maintenan nance, ce, and langua language ge enrich enrichmen ment. t. The politi political cal goals goals incorp incorpora orate te obje object ctiv ive e su such ch as “nati nation on buil buildi ding ng”. ”. The The econo economi mic c goals goals of lang langua uage ge 7|Page
planning planning are related to internat international ional trade and communica communication. tion. Moreover Moreover,, language planning can affect distribution of wealth and national economy through promotion of literacy. Language in education planning too should be seen een in light ight of soci sociop opol olit itiical cal and and econo conomi mic c fact factor ors s and ove overall all gover governme nmenta ntall policy policy (Judd, (Judd, 1991) 1991) that that may be inclus inclusive ive or exclu exclusiv sive e of minority groups.
Part II – Language and Variation Chapter 5, Part II – Regional and social variation Richards stresses that teachers should study dialects to be better prepared when when deal dealin ing g with with vern vernac acul ular ars, s, and and natu natura rall lly y have have a mor more su succ cces essf sful ul influe influence nce on their their studen students’ ts’ achiev achieveme ement. nt. The chapte chapterr intro introduc duces es the reader, hereby the savvy teacher, with common concepts and terminology in soci sociol olin ingu guis isti tic c stud studie ies, s, su such ch as dial dialec ectt maps maps and and isogl isogloss osses es.. Thes These e imagi aginary nary
line lines s
will
dem demonst onstrrate ate
dial dialec ectt
area area
that hat
are are
lex lexical icallly,
phonologically, and syntactically distinct. Also, the chapter explains reason for language change and appearance of regional dialects. Lang Langua uage ge vari variat atio ion n can can also also tak take plac place e on the the soci social al cont contin inuu uum m with with respect to age, gender, social class and networking. Research by Labov (1991) (1991),, Rickfo Rickford rd (1986) (1986),, Eckert Eckert (1989) (1989) and other other is illumi illuminat nating ing in the respe espect ct.. The The chap chapte terr proc procee eeds ds with with su sugge ggest stin ing g teac teache hers rs mak make us use e of availa available ble resou resourc rces, es, audio audio and video, video, to acquai acquaint nt themse themselve lves s and their their stude student nts s with with regio egiona nall and and soci social al vari variet etie ies, s, and and for for enha enhanc ncem emen entt of individual and social identity.
Chapter 6, Part II – Pidgins and Creoles Nicholas introduces the sociolinguistic phenomena of pidgins and creoles and the consequences for education and for teachers should these varieties be ignored. Attitudes to these varieties are different, and not often quite favorable. Nicholas quotes Harris (1986) who summarizes three conditions for the emergence of a pidgin language: 1) lack of effective bilingualism, 2) need to communicate, and 3) restricted access to target language. Creole, 8|Page
on the other hand, develops when pidgin is nativized and the children of pidgin pidgin-sp -speak eaking ing parent parents s hear hear it as their their most most impor importan tantt langua language. ge. Hugo Schuchardt (1980s) was one of the pioneers of research on pidgins and creol creoles. es. Howeve However, r, Turner urner (1949 (1949)) made made sig signifi nifican cantt compar comparati ative ve studie studies s betwee between n variet varieties ies of Creol Creole e spoke spoken n in Georg Georgia ia and Califo Californ rnia ia and some some languages of West Africa. As with with lang langua uage ge vari variet etie ies, s, teac teache hers rs must must be able able to recog ecogni nize ze and and understand pidgin and creoles even if they are not officially used in the clas classr sroo oom. m.
Vasqu asquez ez,,
Peasease-Al Alva varrez, ez,
and and
Shan Shanno non n
(199 (1994) 4)
see see
such su ch
acquaintance necessary for development of curricula. Use of videos can be help helpfu full to sh show ow to the chil hildre dren how how the their pee peers sp spe eak in diff diffe erent ent geographical settings.
Chapter 7, Part II – Language and gender Rebecca Freeman and Bonnie McElhinny take on a consciousness-raising task task in this this chapte chapterr beginn beginning ing with with an intro introduc ductor tory y sectio section n on femini feminist st moveme movements nts in the United United State States s during during the later later 1960s 1960s and 1970s. 1970s. By examinin examining g and reveali revealing ng “gender “gender-base -based d ideologie ideologies” s” in both written written and spok sp oken en disc discou ours rse e and and soci social al prac practi tice ces s as sh show own n in the the diag diagra ram m by Fairclough (1989), they give us a good place to start from on the issue of gender. Attention is drawn to a number of sexist practices and alternatives in English discourse with examples given from forms of address – Mr., Miss, Mrs., and Ms. – as well as from what Matyna (1983) calls the he/man approach to language with a number of strategies to reform lexical sexism. sexism. But sexual racism, they argue, goes beyond lexical and syntactic choices we make in language use. They way women are portrayed in the press and in medical texts is equally sexist. Stereotyping too is rife in language about wome women’ n’s s sp spee eech ch whic which h if pres presen entt “sil “silen ence ce n’y n’y a”. a”. wome women’ n’s s sp spee eech ch is misinterpreted misinterpreted at times by the very same people who study it. Lakoff (1970) sees it as deficient, while Jenkins (1986) and Painter (1980) believe women “don’t tell jokes.” Others like Holmes (1984) pins women’s use of hedging 9|Page
to their uncertainty. It’s therefore possible to how scholar differ in the way they view women’s language. While Lakoff portrays a helpless picture of wome women, n, Kalc Kalcik ik (197 (1975) 5) beli believ eves es that that wome women n are are mor more nurt nurtur urin ing g and and cooper cooperati ative ve than than men. men. We find, find, howeve however, r, Tannen’ annen’s s dual-c dual-cult ultur ure e model model description of men and women more realistic when she says than men appro approach ach the world world as indivi individua duals ls in a hierar hierarchi chical cal social social order order,, while while women approach the world as individuals in a network. Yet even Tannen’s model has its own critics such Eckert & McConnell-Ginet (1992) who believe power and dominance relations are not involved in Tannen’s model. Thorne (199 (1990) 0) pont ponts s out out some some weak weakne ness sses es in gend gender er stud studie ies s that that lead lead to over overge gene nera rali liza zati tion ons s about about men men and and wome women, n, boys boys and and girl girls, s, when when the the resear researcher chers s get into the habit habit of “get-your “get-your-data-data-and-run and-run” ” type of study. study. Thorne suggests that rather than comparing men with women, each group should be studies separately in their own right. Gender discussion has implications for schools which as the writers discuss are sites where gender-based inequities can be challenged through careful selection of materials and syllabi. Schools themselves are not immune to gender differentiation, and studies show a number of biased practices in mainstream English-speaking classrooms (Swan, 1993).
Part III – Language and Interaction Chapter 8, Part III – Ethnographic microanalysis This chapter looks at the microlevel of both social and linguistic analysis, touchi touching ng upon upon the role role and lingui linguisti stic c reali realizat zation ion of such such phenom phenomena ena as situat sit uated ed co-me co-membe mbersh rship, ip, contex contextua tualiz lized ed cues, cues, sociol socioling inguis uistic tic transf transfer er,, interp interpret retiv ive e
misma mismatch tch,,
and
opposit opposition ional al
discour dis course se
in
face face-to -to-f -fac ace e
interaction. This chapter begins with an overview of the perspective method and findings of the ethnographic microanalysis of social interaction also known as microethnography. The writer briefly traces the intellectual roost of microethnography and proceeds to highlight the emphases on nonverbal as well well as verb verbal al aspe aspect cts s of inte intera ract ctio ion, n, on the the impr improv ovis isat atio iona nall and and 10 | P a g e
situat sit uation ionall ally y strate strategic gic aspect aspects s of intera interacti ction, on, on the impor importan tance ce of the interlocutors’ activity in connection with the activity of speaker, in addition to the importance of the power and politics in immediate social encounters. Eric Ericks kson on iden identi tifi fies es two two emph emphas ases es that that have have a sign signif ific ican antt bear bearin ing g on language teaching. One is the situated character of communication in social inte intera ract ctio ion n as obse observ rved ed by Goffm Goffman an (196 (1964) 4) who who desc descri ribe bed d the the soci social al situation as the basic unit in which everyday life finds substance. The other emphasis emphasis in the microethn microethnograph ographic ic perspecti perspective ve involves involves the immediate immediate ecology of relations between participants in a given situation. Being eclectic in its origins, ethnographic microanalysis combines five types of work work,, i.e. i.e. contex contextt analy analysis sis,, the ethnogr ethnograph aphy y of commun communica ication tion and interaction sociolinguistics, Goffman’s approach to interaction, conversation analysis, and continenta continentall discourse discourse analysis. analysis. The first approach, approach, context context analysis, takes an ecological or system approach to the study of interaction. Ethnographi Ethnographic c microanal microanalysis ysis developed developed by linguistic linguistics s anthropolog anthropologists ists lays the emphasis on variation in language form and in language function, the purpose of speaking and the implicit meaning of stylistics choices speakers make. The third approach comes from the work of Goffman (1959) who view viewed ed inte intera ract ctio ion n in ter terms of stra strate tegy gy and and ritu ritual als, s, emph emphas asiz izin ing g the the impor portanc tance e
of
sit situati uation on..
The
four fourth th
cont contrribut butor
to
ethno thnogr grap aphi hic c
micr microan oanaly alysis sis comes comes from from conver conversat sation ion analy analysis sis in sociol sociology ogy known known as ethn ethnoo-me meth thod odol olog ogy y as a react eactio ion n to the the theo theorretic etical al assu assump mpti tion ons s of struct structur ure-f e-func unctio tional nalism ism.. The fifth fifth emphas emphasis is takes takes roots roots in contin continent ental al discourse analysis as carried out by Hebermas (1979) and Fauclt (1979). It studies paths of habitual practice in everyday life while emphasizing power relations. With respect to the behavioral organization of verbal and nonverbal activity in interaction and symbolic or political construction of situation, four issues are are disc discus usse sed. d. 1) List Listen enin ing g in relat elatio ion n to sp spea eaki king ng – revie eview w of tape taped d audi audiovi ovisu sual al inte intera ract ctio ions ns has has revea eveale led d that that list listen enin ing g by no mean means s is a 11 | P a g e
pass passiv ive e
acti activi vity ty and and
invo involv lves es cons consta tant nt diss dissem emin inat atio ion n
of infor informa mati tion on
including affirmation, disapproval, indifference, interest, etc to the speaker and and othe otherr list listen ener ers s invo involv lved ed.. 2) Rhyt Rhythm hm and and cade cadenc nce e in inte intera ract ctio ion n – analysis of the conduct of speech and nonverbal behavior in interaction has reveal revealed ed fascinati fascinating ng discoveri discoveries es regardi regarding ng timing timing and synchroni synchronizatio zation n of interlocutors in terms of pitch, speed, body movement, eye contact, etc between the participants. 3) Situated social identity – it is the analysis of the relat relation ionshi ships ps betwee between n the social social backgr backgroun ound d of speak speakers ers and their their speech style in terms of dialects, politeness, and indirectness. One reason why why we cons consta tant ntly ly adju adjust st our our sp spee eech ch with with respe espect ct to the the mili milieu eu is the the mult multid idim imen ensi sion onal alit ity y of our our iden identi tity ty as sh show own n by Goffm Goffman an.. 4) Cult Cultur ure e diff differ eren ence ces s as boun bounda dary ry or bord border er – Bart Barth h (196 (1969) 9) iden identi tifi fies es betw betwee een n situat sit uation ions s in which which cultur cultural al differ differenc ences es in inter intereth ethnic nic relat relation ions s work work as boundaries between unpoliticizied power-sharing groups or as problematic border between different-power holding groups. Ethnographic studies contribute to the success of language pedagogy by informing the teacher of the importance of listening in relation to speaking, the role of rhythmic organization of conversation and synchronization in inte intera ract ctio ion, n, the the effe effect ct of situ situat atio ion n on inte interl rloc ocut utor ors’ s’ iden identi tity ty and and comember bersh ship ip,,
and
the
sign signif ifiicanc cance e
of
the the
cultu ultura rall
diff differ eren enc ces
in
comm commun unic icat atio ion n styl style e regar egarde ded d as bound boundar ary y or as bor border betw betwee een n the the participant.
Chapter 9, Part III – Interactional sociolinguistics Deborah Deborah Schiffrin Schiffrin reviews reviews the intellec intellectual tual underpinnin underpinnings gs of interacti interactional onal soc sociol iolingu inguiistic stic appr approa oach ch,, depi depic cting ting to us what hat lie lies at the the cor core of interacti interactional onal sociolingui sociolinguistics stics,, that is, Goffman’s Goffman’s idea about how self and society are maintained in everyday social interaction as well as Gumperz’s view of language as a socially and culturally constructed system of symbols that can be utilized in ways that reflect macrolevel social meanings and crea create te
micr microl olev evel el
soci social al
mean meanin ings gs..
Key
conc concep epts ts
of
inte intera ract ctio iona nall 12 | P a g e
soci sociol olin ingu guis isti tics cs
are are
explo xplorred
her here
such su ch
frame
a nd
footing
and
contextualized cues, contextual presuppositions, and situated inference. inference. Inte Intera ract ctio iona nall
soci sociol olin ingu guis isti tics cs
offer offers s
a
theo theorretic etical al
and and
meth method odol olog ogic ical al
pers perspe pect ctiv ive e on stud studyi ying ng lang langua uage ge us use e in ever everyd yday ay life life inte intera ract ctio ions ns.. Goffman’s analysis of face-to-faceinteraction has provided insight into ho part partic icul ular ar soci social al life life cir circums cumsta tanc nces es refle eflect ct and and give give mean meanin ing g to this thise e circumstance. Goffman’s theories draw upon the works and ideas of Emile Durkheim who argued that society can be studied not as a sum of its individuals but as a unit sui gensis. gensis. Goffman also was inspired by George Simmel (1950) and his analysis of form and meaning in small social groups. The unique focus of Goffman is on the relationship between self and society at a microlevel of analysis. He proposes that one way of viewing the self as a social construct is through the notion of face defined as the positive social valus a person effectively claims for him/herself. Gumperz (1982) on the other hand, as he mentions in the introduction to his his coll collec ecti tion on of essa essays ys,, seek seeks s to deve develo lop p inte interp rprretiv etive e soci sociol olin ingu guis isti tic c appr approa oach che es
to the the
anal analy ysis sis
of real tim time
proc proce esses sses in
fac face-to-to-fa face ce
encounters. His research is grounded in the assumption that the meaning, structure, and use of language are socially and culturally relative. Gumperz defi define nes s two two type types s of code code swit switch chin ing g – situational situational code switching switching and metaphorical code switching. switching. In the former, switching is done in accord to changes in participants’ definition of each other’s rights and obligations whil while e in the the latt latter er swit switch chin ing g is done done with within ing g a situ situat ation ion to conv conver ery y a diff differ eren entt
view view of that that situ situat atio ion n and ther ther relat elatio ions nshi hip. p. Gump Gumper erz z also also
deve develo lops ps conn connec ecti tion ons s betw betwee een n cult cultur ure, e, soci societ ety, y, indi indivi vidu dual al,, and and code code (1982a) which is a framework built upon his earlier ideas about culture, society, language, and self. self. Gumperz
identifies
conversational
mechanisms
which
he
calls
contextualized cues, cues, aspects of language and behavior that relate what is said to contextual contextual presupposit presuppositions ions or backgroun background d knowledge knowledge that allows allows 13 | P a g e
situated
inferences
to
be
made
about
the
intelocutors ors’
intent.
Contextualized cues can affect the basic meaning of a message and are almo almost st neve neverr cons consci ciou ousl sly y obse observ rved ed or give given n conv conven enti tion onal al mean meanin ings gs.. Gumperz believes that when listeners share such cues interactions develop smoothly. In sum, we should say Gumperz’s concept are both rooted in the individual and gounded in the view of self and what is does as a member of a social and cultural group and a participant in the social construction of meaning. Inte Intera ract ctio iona nall soci sociol olin ingu guis isti tics cs can can intr introdu oduce ce a new new pers perspe pect ctiv ive e to the the understanding of classroom interactions which can also positively affect our teaching. Evidently, there is more to leaning a language than taking in a list of vocabulary and grammar rules. As the chapter demonstrates language is a system of norms and rules that are embeddd in the culture. Hence reaffirmation of the emphasis on teaching students to develop communicative competence. Lessons, therefore, should include discussion of the possible social meanings of different forms of interaction, and how different words, into intona nati tion on,, sy syst stac acti tic c for forms, ms, and and so on help help defi define ne mean meanin ing g in any any interaction. In addition to providing guidelines for materials developers and currilculum designers, interactional sociolinguistics will help studens and teachers better understand the interactional dynamics of their classroom, which which will in trun do its share share it helping helping students to develop develop the requir required ed level of communicative competence in the arget language.
Chapter 10, Part III – Intercultural communication Int his chapte chapterr Keith eith Chick Chick constr construct ucts s a bridge bridge exten extendin ding g betwe between en the previ previous ous two chapte chapters rs on ethnog ethnograp raphic hic micro microana analys lysis is and inter intercul cultur tural al sociol socioling inguis uistic tics s and the follow following ing two chapte chapters rs on the ethnog ethnograp raphy hy of cimmuication and speech acts. Here he provides a contrastive review of the speech speech act approac approach h which which extra extracts cts paticu paticualr alr lingui linguisti stic c featur feature e froma froma lala lalarg rge e corp corpus us for su subs bseq eque uent nt cate caterg rgor oriz izat atio ion n and and coun counti ting ng with with the the approach of interactional sociolinguistics which analyzes a limited number 14 | P a g e
of whole interactions in a bid to uncover the interpretative or inferential proes proesses sess s of the interloc interlocuto utors. rs. He uses uses his resea researc rch h in South South Afric Africa a to illustriate his ideas an show how sociolinguistic transfer as well as other kind kinds s of inte interp rprretat etativ ive e mism mismat atch ch icld icldui uing ng mism mismat atch ches es in inte interp rprretin eting g cont contex extu tual aliz izti tion on cues cues,, fram frames es of refer eferen ence ce,, and face face need needs, s, prod produc uce e intercultural miscommunication. In the end he calls for awareness training, in particular critical awareness training, so that language learners will be able to make profound and reflective choices. This chapter is mainly concerned with three research research questions: 1.
What are the sources of intercultural miscommunication? miscommunication?
2.
What What ar are the the soci social al fac facto tors rs of of such such mis misco comu muun unic icat atio ion? n?
3.
What What can can be done done to impr improv ove e int inter ercu cutl tlru rual al misc miscom ommu muni nica catio tion? n?
As Chick Chick expla explains ins the souces souces of inter intercul cultur tural al misco miscommu mmunic nicati ation on can be traced traced back back to the dis distin tinict ictiv ive e natur nature e of the value value system systems, s, pervas pervasiv ive e configuarion of social relations, and dominanat ideologies of cultural groups. Chick Chick provi provides des examp example les s of sociol socioling inguis uistic tic resea researc rch h that that addre addresse sses s the three questions listed above. Chick’s main concern in the first example lies in a study of the selectd speech acts some researchers have chosen for their studies as a basis for addressing the questions about the sorues and conse onsequ que ence nces
of
int interc ercultu ulturral
misc scom omm munic unicat atiion. on.
One
sour source ce
of
intercultu intercultural ral miscommu miscommunicati nication on is sociolingui sociolinguistic stic transfer transfer which refers refers to the use of rules of speaking one’s own speech community or cultural groups when interacting with members of another community. Wolfson (1983), for examp example, le, refer refers s to the high high frequ frequenc ency y with with which which marica maricans ns compli complime ment nt lead leads s to thei theirr bein being g per perceiv ceived ed as “eff “effus usiv ive, e, insi insinc ncer ere, e, and and poss possib ibly ly motivated by ulterior considerations” (1989, p 23). Another potetialsoruc of intercultural miscommunication as suggested by the results of different studies is the differecen in the frqunecy of choice of the compli complimen mentt respo response nse strate strategy gy of no acknowledge acknowledgement ment . This is of 15 | P a g e
par partic ticular ular use to SL SLA A and and with with respe espec ct to the the gene generrall ally obse obserrved phenomenon among languge learners who opt to remain silent when they believ believe e their their laingu lainguist istic ic resou resourc rces es are are not adequa adequate te to form form a respo response nse suitable to the situation they are in. although no acknowledgement is acknowledgement is itself a response strategy, it is still regarded as absent of response, and has the potential to be misunderstood if it occurs too frequently f requently. Interactional sociolinguistics and intercultural communication studies allow to trace trace connec connectio tions ns betwe between en patter patterns ns of sociol socioling inguis uistic tic behavi behavior or and ideologies and societal structures. Because they rely on limited number of intera interacti ctions ons and examp examples les,, they they do not show show the cumula cumulativ tive e effect effect of mult multip iple le sour source ces s of inte interrcult cultur ural al misc miscom ommu muni nica catio tion. n. In this this appr approac oach h idealization of the source is limited and data is analyzed in fine detail. Citing the examp example le from from a post-e post-exam xamina inatio tion n inter intervie view w betwee between n a native native South South African frican Englis English-s h-spea peakin king g profe professo ssorr and his ethnic ethnicall ally y divers diverse e studen students, ts, Chick identifies several sources of intercultural miscommunication, one of which involves a mismatch of interpretative frames of reference. Another source of miscommunication has to do with the fact that one language is tone while the other is not. Chick however refers tot doubts about the significance of sociolinguistic studies of intercultural miscommunication and whether the findings may lead to psotive social change or whether they reinforce the status quo. In addition, the deterministic interpretations offered by sociolinguists on some occasions and of their failure to take into account the economic and political factors sufficiently cast further doubts on the outcome of these studies. As a result, it is suggested that if sociolinguists wish their studies to be used for for eman emanci cipat pator ory y rath rather er hege hegemo moni nic c purp purpos oses es,, the the need need to put put mor more emphasis on the relationships between sociolinguistic conventions and the social order. However, as Wolfson (1989, p 31) argues “the acquisition of sociolinguistic rules can be greatly facilitated by teachers who have the necessary information at their command and who have the sensitivity to 16 | P a g e
use us e thei theirr know knowle ledg dge e to in orde orderr to guid guide e stud studen ents ts and and help help them them to interpret values and patterns which they would otherwise have difficulty in interp interpre retin ting. g. Fairclo airclough ugh (1992) (1992) too ins insist ists s tht it is not enough enough to foster foster awareness but also critical awareness. Learners need to know there is a cost involved in being unaware of sociolinguistic conventions that may lead to thei theirr bein being g assi assign gned ed to soci social al iden identi titi ties es with with whic which h they they are are not not comfortable.
Part IV – Language and culture Chapter 11, Part IV – The ethnography of communication In this chapter Murriel STroike reviews the basic concepts, methods, and language teaching applications of the ethnography of communication as introduced by Dell Hymes in 1962. Seville identifies the principle concerns of this approach, to be 1) the relationship of language form and use of patt patter erns ns and and func functi tion ons s of comm commun unic icat atio ion, n, 2) to worl world d view view and and soci social al organization, 3) to linguistic and social universals and inequalities. Servill maintains that the significance of the ethnography of communication goes beyond cataloging of human communication behavior, and may unltimately lead lead to formul formulati ating ng a truly truly adequa adequate te univer universal sal theory theory of langua language ge and human behavior. The The conc concer ern n for for patt patter erns ns and and func functi tion ons s of comm commun unic icat atio ion n is basi basic c to ling lingui uist stic ics s in that that it has has also also been been disc discov over ered ed that that much much of ling lingui uist stic ics s behavi behavior or is rule-g rule-govr ovrned ned which which means means it can descri descripti ptivel vely y formul formulate ated d (Dit (Dittm tman an 19 1983 83). ). In su such ch a stud study y the the goal goal is to disc discov over er and and formu formula late te context-spc context-spcific ific rules rules which which can be desecript desecriptive, ive, statement statements s of recurri recurring ng regularity, or prescriptive, metagonitive statements of how people should act. Together Together such rules form expectations that are shared by members of a speech community. Research on rules for language use, ethnomethodology, has traditionally focused on small units of communication such a telephone conversations, servi service ce encoun encounter ters, s, etc. etc. In contra contrast, st, an ethnogr ethnograph aphy y of commun communica icatio tion n 17 | P a g e
appr approa oach ch has has a larg larger er view view of lang langua uage ge and and look looks s for for stra strate tegi gies es and and conven conventio tions ns that that affect affect larger larger units units of commun communica ication tion throug through h a more more holist holistic ic appro approach ach.. In other other words, words, the ethnog ethnograp raphy hy of commun communica icatio tion n is interested in communicative conventions which operate at a societal level. Interestingly enough, even within a society in which rules of phonology, gramma grammar, r, and vocabu vocabular lary y are are share shared, d, strate strategie gies s langua language ge use can be employed to demonstrate power relations as well as socioenconomic strata. In addition, use of different languages or language variations can serve as a social social identifica identification tion function that would determine determine one’s position position on the social strata. Another dimension on the ethnography of communication is the speech community which is deined as sharing the same language (Lyons 1970), sharing rules of speeking and interpretation of speech performance (Hymes 1972), 1972), and sharin sharing g sociol sociologi ogical cal unders understan tanding ding and pres presump umptio tions ns with with regard to speech. Any community in a complex society might be part of a larger larger one or, conver conversel sely, y, subdiv subdivide ided d into into smalle smallerr group groups. s. It’s It’s also also not expected that a community be linguistically homogenous. It will include a communicative repertoire or range of languages, language varieties, and cultureal dimensions. On the other hand, individuals may simultanesouly see seek membe embers rshi hip p of more ore than than one one comm ommunit unity y be it dis discre crete or overlapping. The The defini definitio tion n of speech speech commun community ity become becomes s more more comple complex x when when it is expa expand nded ed from from firs firstt to seco second nd lang langua uage ge situ situat atio ion. n. Thus Thus dist distin inct ctio ion n is inevi inevitab table le regar regardin ding g learn learning ing a standar standard d langua language ge or leanri leanring ng a foreig foreign n language. For speakers of nonstandard varieties, learning involves adding a schooled schooled variety variety to their their communica communicative tive reperto repertoire ire.. Unlike Unlike standard standard lae learners, students of a foreign language within the context of their mother cultur culture, e, have have little little opportun opportunity ity to intera interact ct and as a resul resultt to develo develop p a communicative repertoire. repertoire. Students of a second language, however, will not be learning it automatically as apart of enculturation of enculturation,, but of acculturation of acculturation or 18 | P a g e
second second cultur culture e learn learning ing and adapta adaptatio tion. n. Excep Exceptt for those those who begin begin as childr children, en, few of these these second second langua language ge learn learners ers become become fully fully-fl -fledg edged ed members of the second language speech community. Having recognized the intrinsic relationship of language and culture and the ways patterns of communicative behavior and cultural systems interact, it is interesting to see see how how the the voca vocabu bula lary ry of a lang langua uage ge cata catalo logs gs the the thin things gs that that are are important to a society, an index of the way experience is categorized and a record of past contacts and borrowings. Examples of thes can be seen in how how NNSs NNSs and and NSs NSs assi assign gn colo colors rs name names s to diff differ eren entt segm segmen entt of the the spectrum. This has the potential for a big number of misunderstandings when languages are intepereted differently. The grammar of a language reveals reveals how time and speace are segmented and organized. For instance, in Classical Greek future was regarded an event behind us since we cannot see it but the past is in front of us since we see it. Withi Within n the ethnog ethnograp raphy hy of commun communica icatio tion n the notion notion of commun communica icativ tive e compe ompete tenc nce e
(Hy (Hymes
196 966 6)
play plays s
a
cent entral ral
role ole.
Comm ommuni unicat cative ive
competence involves leaning not only the language code but alsowhat to say and to whom. This concept has important implications for selection and sequencing in language teaching curricula. Traditional linguistic description has genera generally lly been been inter interest ested ed in phonolo phonology, gy, gramm grammar ar and lexic lexicon on of a lang langua uage ge,,
whic which h evid eviden entl tly y cons consti titu tute te part part of a sp spea eak ker’s er’s code code for for
comm commun unic icat atio ion. n. To this this,, we sh shou ould ld add add para parali lingu nguis isti tic c or nonnon-ve verb rbal al phenomena, comm commun unic icat ativ ive e
a nd
knowledge
comp compet eten ence ce
of
variants.
Another
invo involv lves es inte intera ract ctio ion n
skil skills ls..
dimesion
of
For examp xample le,,
knowing who may or may not speak in a certain settings, what rounines should be taken in turn taking, how requests should be made, etc. are some of the interactional skills at a speaker’s command. To this dimension we need to add cultural competence, the total set of knowledge and skills which speakers being into a situation.
19 | P a g e
Doing the ethnography of communication is an arduous task that requires fieldw fieldwork ork includ including ing aboser aboservat vation ion,, interv interview iews, s, joing joing group group activ activiti ities, es, and testing the validity of one’s perception. Such research specially benefits from comparative studies. Dtra is collected in a naturalistic setting. Data can can be coll collec ecte ted d throu through gh seve severa rall mode modes s su such ch as obse observ rvat ation ion,, libr librar ary y research, archalogical and sociological surveys, folkloric analyses, and so on. The communicative units involved in such stuies are situation, situation, event , and act . The situation is the context within which the communication takes place. The event has a unified set of components, some participants, some general purposes, some general topic, some tone/key. The communicative act is synonymous with a single interactional function, such as referential statement, a request, or command. Ethnogr Ethnography aphy of commun communica icatio tion n has strong strong applic applicati ations ons for educat educationa ionall issues. Research by Erickson and Mohart (1982) for instance shows that some some classr classroom oom practi practice ces s may have have a negati negative ve impact impact on lear learner ners s who come from different cultural backgrounds. Ethnographic investigations are also of value to the study of both first and second language acquisition. Such studies have increased our understanding of strategies children use to communicate with one another in spite of limited skills (Wong, Fillmore, 1976, 1979). In addition, reading and writing skills can largely benefit from ethnography of communication. And finally, it contributes to the cultivation of a different rather than a deficient view toward student performance.
Chapter 12, Part IV – Speech act In this chapter Andrew Cohen introduces a research approach based on ethnography of communication that focuses on the identification and cross cultural comparison of speech acts. He draws on the work of philosophers Aus usti tin n and and Sear Searlle, who defi define ne sp spe eech ech act act as a func functi tion onal al uni unit in communication. Cohen takes on defining speech acts and explains how this fiel field d of dico dicosu surs rse e has has been been appl applie ie to SLA SLA.. Ac Acco cord rdin ing g to Au Aust stin in (196 (1962) 2) utterances have three types of meaning including preposional/locutionary, 20 | P a g e
illocutionary, and prelocutionary . The process of ddefining speech acts has undergone a shift in the recent years from an intuitively-based anecdotal approach to a moe empirical one, in which the main task of the researcher has been to determine the speech act sets – the set of strategies NSs use. To do so, it is necessary to determine the pre-conditions and interactional goal goals s of the the sp spee eech ch act act to iden identi tiffy the the perf perfor orma mati tive ve and and sem semanti antic c prerequisits prerequisits for the realization realization of the goals. In additi addition, on, empiri empirical cal resea researc rch h has demons demonstra trated ted that that succes successfu sfull sue of speech acts depends on certain sociolinguistic and sociolcultural abilities, the sociocultural ability refers to selecting speech acts which are 1) statusconscious
2)
culture-bound, nd,
class/ class/occ occupa upatio tion-c n-cons onscio cious. us. Data Data
3)
age-sex
collec collectio tion n
appro propriate,
method methods s
involv involve e
and
4)
natura naturally lly
occurring data, role plays, discourse completion tools, and verbal report interv interview iews. s. The comple complexit xity y of speech speech acts acts and their their reali realizat zation ion requi require re careful development of research methods for describing speech acts. Despite the great interest in speech act theory, relatively few studies have been carried out in this regard, and even fewer on untutored acquisition of oral oral sp spe eech ech act acts beha behavi vior or amon among g nonnon-na nati tiv ve sp spea eak kers. ers. As for for the the implication of such studies and the speech act theory, we come across what Wolfson indicated regarding the extent to which ethnographic analyses and studi studies es can can be us used ed to enhan enhance ce teac teachi hing ng and and impr improv ove e comm communi unica cati tive ve competence. Cohen too ends the chapter with a word of encouragement and caution to language teachers, casting doubts on whether those speech acts that are highly culture specific and context bound are in fact teachable.
Chapter 13, Part IV – Literacty and Literacies Sandra Mckay relates the form and use of literacy to culture and social context. She emphesizes two views of literacy, one as a social practice and as an individual skill and the other as a comibination of a variety of research research methods, surveys, ethnographic research, and text analysis. The dominant assumption is this chapter is that literacy is multidimensional. 21 | P a g e
The view of literacy literacy as a skill envisages envisages four levels levels of literacy literacy according according to Wells (1987): formative, functional, informational, and epistemic. However, listeracy as an individual skill is often realized in the relationship between written and oral language as well as the relationship between literacy and cognitive cognitive developm development. ent. From the sociocultur sociocultural al perspecti perspective, ve, it is observed observed that that soci societ etie ies s atta attach ched ed diff differ eren entt valu values es and and that that it actu actual ally ly mean means s throug throughout hout his histor tory y. This This value value shi shift ft is in positi positive ve corre correlat lation ion with with rising rising literacy in a given society. As result, literacies become more complex and include higher levels of knowledge and skills. Street Street (1991), (1991), however, distinguishes distinguishes between between what he calls ideological literacty literacty and autonomous autonomous model of lite litera racy cy.. He argu argues es the the beli belief ef that that liateracy per se is beneficial to cognitive development, and that these are new forms of interaction that eventually promote it. On another dimesion, Langer (1987) believes believes that the development of mass media and computers as well as the internet has affected the narrow definition of literacy which has traditionally been synonymous with the ability to read and write. MaKay also identifies different research methods that commonly correspond correspond to a particular view of literacy. In his view, a view of literacy as a skill often makes use of surveys, while proponents of a social-practice view of literacy employ an ethnographic research method. However, those who emphasize the social aspect of literacy are more in favor of text analysis, which is also used by those who want to examine texts for power relationships. Literacy can also affect society by determining who can read and write and for what purpose. By looking at the literacy history of a community we can find out about the literacy distribution in that particular community community.. In addition we can also study communities in the way that deal with texts. For instance, Heath Heath (1983) (1983) found out that Trackton, rackton, a working working class African-A African-Ameri merican can community, used writing only when they had to. Ball Ballar ard d and and Clan Clanch chy y (199 (1991) 1) argu argue e that that a cult cultur ure’ e’s s atti attitu tude de towa towarrds knowledge can be demonstrated along a continnum that ranges from those 22 | P a g e
who values conserving knowledge to those who value extending it. Literacy and power power seem seem to be intert intertowi owined ned as well. well. In Fairclo airclough ugh’s ’s opinio opinion n all linguistic interactions reflect social order which can be used to maintain to change the status quo. In a more recent and stronger tone, there is the Freirian view to cirtical approach to literacy that advocates all education involves intervention. McKay McKay lis lists ts a number number of impli implicat cation ions s for the litera literacry cry classr classroom oom.. First, irst, collaborative involvement with text on the part of students is necessary. Second, Second, as liter literact acty y is connec connected ted with with power, power, studen students ts need need to devel develop op critic critical al readers eadership hip.. There Therefor fore e it is import important ant that that teache teachers rs encour encourage age collaborative literacry skills in the classroom and help students read with a critic critical al eye. eye. McKa McKay y shows shows in this this chapte chapterr that that the view of litera literacy cy as an islo islola late ted, d, indi indivi vidu dual al skil skilll link linked ed to cogn cognit itiv ive e deve develo lopm pmen entt has has been been superseded by a recognition that literacty practices are part of a wider socioc socioclut lutura urall practi practices ces that that involv involve e talk, talk, intera interacti ction, on, values values,, and belief beliefs s (Gee, 1992).
Chapter 14, Part IV – Language and education In the closing chapter the co-writer of this book, Nancy Horberger, offers her insights and experiences while writing this book. She gives examples pf vignettes that illustrate the ways in which language and culture interact with policy and program. She states that the book began with a conceptual framework that distinguishes between societal and linguistic perspectives and macrol macroleve evell and miscr miscrole oleve vell of analys analysis. is. But the book ends ends with with an attempt to bring together all the highlighted sociolinguistic dimensions that are important in a learner’s language and literacy development. development.
References
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Ball, Martin J. (2005). Clinical Linguistics. Malden, USA. Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Chambe Chambers, rs, J. K., Trudgil rudgilll P & Schill Schilling ing-Es -Estes tes N (2003) (2003).. The Handboo Handbook k of Language Variation Variation and Change. Maiden, USA. Blackwell Publishing. Eckert P, McConnell-Ginet, S (2003).Language and Gender. New York. Cambridge. Holmes, J and Meyerhoff , M (2003. The Handbook of Language and Gender. Gender. Maiden, USA. Blackwell Publishing Llamas, C, Mullany, L & Stockwell, P (2007). The Routledge Companion to Sociolinguistics. New York. Routledge. Philipson, R. (1992). Linguistic Imperialism. London: Oxford University Press.
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