Language Diversity

Attitudes toward language (see speaker's notes)
Gary's background
- I have done research on bilingual/multicultural language programs in Canada, U.S., Nigeria and the Sudan
- I worked on a sociolinguistic survey in Cameroon on language diversity
- I have worked on computer software for teaching English in China and Chinese in the U.S.
- I have done research on first and second language acquisition
- I have learned French, Spanish and German (from best to worst)
- My children completed 1st (son) and 3rd (daughter) grade in a two-room school in the French Alps (1987-88)
Sources of Language Diversity
- Geographic isolation
  - mountains, rivers, oceans, national boundaries
  - not unlike speciation in biological evolution (noted by Darwin)
  - Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Romanian, Romansch all descended from Latin (mostly separated by mountains)
  - most languages of India and Europe descended from a single language "Proto-Indo-European" (some European exceptions: Basque, [Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian])
  - no clear distinction between languages (larger differences) and dialect (smaller differences)
    - Spanish and Portuguese (officially different "languages") are more similar to each other than certain "dialects" of Chinese
    - used to be possible to work across Europe and never notice an abrupt change in language (Portugal -> Spain -> France -> Germany -> Austria -> Poland)
    - "A language is a dialect that has an army."
- Social isolation
  - people living in same location can speak different language and dialects
  - different languages have origin from different geographic locations (immigration)
  - different dialects due to
    - isolation by social class
    - isolation by racial, ethnic and/or cultural differences
- Gender differences
  - due to isolation?
  - evolutionary psychological explanations
- No natural human language has been found to be in any fundamental way inferior to any other language
  - all human languages share basic similarities
    - verbs
    - nouns
    - case assignments (subject, direct object, indirect object)
    - syntax
    - Universal Grammar
  - two types of grammar
    - descriptive grammar (linguists): describes a language or dialect
    - prescriptive grammar (teacher): indicate how one "should" speak (usually the descriptive grammar of the "standard" language
      - "It is I."
      - Hypercorrection: *"Between you and I."
Implications for Education in U.S.
- 2000 census form shows shift from European immigrants to Latin America & Asiawhat languages
  - Spanish, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Chinese and Korean
- Increasing numbers of children in U.S. schools speaking other languages and other dialects (Hispanic English; Black English Vernacular or BVE or Black English or Ebonics)
Limited-English-Proficient Children
- What role should the first language (L1) of a limited-English-speaking (LEP) student play in his or her education?
  - 0. None -> Immersion: immerse students in regular all-English classes
  - 1. Limited -> "Structured or Sheltered Immersion": teacher understands students L1 but uses English almost exclusively
  - 2. More -> Transitional BE: use L1 for limited time (along with ESL) to transition student to English; do not maintain L1
  - 3. Still More -> Maintenance BE: maintain and continue development in L1 along with English
  - 4. Most -> Two-Way BE: minority and majority children learn each others' language
  - ==========
  - Which approach do you favor? (write number on index card along with unique name or codename or codeword)
  - Form groups of four heterogeneous students with number for each student
  - State and explain position to group
  - Be prepared to tell class
    - What values guided you in your discussion and decision?
Black English Vernarcular
- What role should Black English Vernacular (BEV) play in the education of African-American (AA) students?
  - 0. None: require BEV-speaking students to use only Standard American English (SAE)
  - 1. Limited: require teachers to be familiar with BEV for understanding and initial communication with BEV-speaking students
  - 2. More: Transitional use of BEV: use BEV for limited time to transition BEV-speaking students to English; do not encourage or maintain BEV
  - 3. Still More: Maintenance of BEV: maintain and continue development of BEV among BEV-speaking students along with SAE
  - 4. Most: BEV-speaking students and SAE-speaking students learn each others' dialects
  - ==========
  - Which approach do you favor? (write number on index card along with unique name or codename or codeword)
  - Form groups of four heterogeneous students
  - state and explain position
  - be prepared to tell class
    - What values guided you in your discussion and decision?
Gender Differences
- From Hulit & Howard
  - 325.3 "Speech {by boys} is used as a tool of aggression, not only to establish one's status, but to defend one's position when verbally attacked."
  - 325.4 girls less competitive and aggressive; play in small groups and pairs; emphasize sharing and not winning
  - 326.1 "Speech {for girls} is used as a means for interacting with other people and for sharing feelings and thoughts."
  - 326.3 * Tannen: men do "report talking" while women to "rapport talking"
  - 327.3 Tannen: men willing to give information but reluctant to see it; women willing to seek information
  - {no mention at all of possible role of biological evolution for men's use of language to establish power and status; competition; women for cooperation}
- Show beginning of Tannen video, "He said, she said"
  - preface with question: expected differences between males and females of pairs of same-sex best friends at 5, 10 and 15 years of age
  - summary of differences
- Why do these gender differences appear? What does these differences mean for parents, teachers and education?
Whole-class discussion
- Some points
  - Gradualism (ladder)
    - how I supplied it for Anne-Marie in 3rd grade French school
    - race
    - ethnicity
    - social class
    - language
    - attitudes toward school and gender differences
  - We all use different styles of English in different settings; sociolinguistics studies language variation
  - Children can learn many languages at once without major difficulty (balance theory refuted).
  - There is a sensitive period for learning L2
    - after age of 10 there is much variation in L2 learning, unlike L1 learning
    - difficult to learn a language after age of 10 or so without an accent
    - adults can learn L2, but harder
      - how to teach Japanese adults difference between /r/ and /l/ in English (McClelland research)
  - Increasing numbers of LEP children entering our schools
  - What can be done
    - two-way bilingual education
    - BEV and standard English
      - linguistic study of BEV