English 326: Blog #4

The article starts by describing the problem that the rest of the work will address and what actions can be taken to fix the problem. It states that the classroom is a major influence on students and how they grow. If only one language is taught in the classroom as correct or acceptable, then it will greatly hinder students’ ability to appreciate and utilize their own distinct variety of speaking and writing.

The article then continues to describe a difference in how English is perceived in the world today. Metropolitan Englishes (as it is referred to) is English spoken in countries than traditionally claim ownership over the language such as Britain, Australia, and the United States (Aside set off by parentheses. I decided to put the statement in parentheses because although I wanted to mention that the article referred to Metropolitan English in such a fashion, I didn’t want it to overpower the sentence. It was a side note). On the other hand World Englishes are described as versions of English that are in countries not normally associated with the English language. These languages, although they are just as well constructed as Metropolitan Englishes, are considered lesser and not fit to be taught in schools because it is “improper.” As the article points out however, World Englishes are growing and will soon overtake people who speak “proper” English.

It then goes on to describe how individuals who speak multiple languages are more likely to meet others in the middle when it comes to communicating. While ME speakers expect those around them to conform to their own form of the language, WE speakers are more likely to compensate, allowing for a blend of the languages to occur. This is described as a major advantage for WE speakers because this ability helps them to be much better negotiators.

The article also describes a situation where teaching “proper” English in schools proves ineffective. Students are made to feel that their speech or writing is “broken English” and that they are not learning the language properly. An example is given of one student who stays silent in class out of fear of failure, but communicates avidly with others online in English. Here he is fluent and comfortable and, using his own interests, he begins to learn the language in a way that works for him.

Lastly, the focus at the end of the article is centered on a shift in how to teach language. Rather than simply making students learn a specific dialect and having them join that group, students should be taught how to “shuttle” between different styles of a language. Rather than being stuck with one “right” way of speaking or writing, students should be able to read a situation and adapt their own language to fit that circumstance.

I found this article interesting because I never thought about people that might have learned their own form of English since birth but because it is not a mainstream English dialect, people see it as broken. It had never occurred to me that such a large power differential could become present simply based on how people use the same language. It is rather sad in a sense that this hierarchy has been constructed.

These are important lessons to know going into teaching a middle or high school English class because it really rearranges your priorities. Rather than drilling students to learn the “correct” way to speak one very specific type of English, it would be in their best interests to learn how to swap between different styles of English. This does not mean that one must abandon teaching the rules of Standard English, rather it simply serves as a reminder that there are different styles of the English Language, and pigeonholing students into a singular one will do them no good.