Chapter 5: Some Basic Sociolinguistic Concepts

Michael Stubbs conducted this study in Great Britain.What he does in this chapter is to discuss the relationship between language and education.  "Many people believe that a child's language is a crucial cause of his educational success or failure" (p. 65).  He clearly states four positions on language and defines the distinctions within these positions.

The first is language and the attitudes toward language. Stubbs points out that we hear language through a strong filter of our social values and stereotypes.  Stubbs calls these "linguistic stereotypes" (p. 66). In the example given, he points out that many educated speakers will use what some would call lazy or slovenly speech in their casual conversations.  However, British people are sensitive to the social implications of accent and dialect and so are critical when there is a deviation from standard English and pronunciation. In a series of experiments, people listened to a variety of standard and regional dialects. These people perceived the speakers of standard English to be more intelligent, ambitious, and self-confident. What the listeners did not know was that it was the same speaker.

A study in Canada showed that many teachers will evaluate their students on the basis of their voices and physical appearance, even when they have academics work such as written compositions or art work on which to appraise students.  Stubbs goes on to include an exchange where teenaged students pass judgment on a speaker and a particular phrase the speaker uses--and these girls used the same phrase in their condemnation of the speaker. What Stubbs suggests teachers do is to discuss this phenomenon with students and try to bring awareness to why they feel the way they do about dialects and standard English.

Stubbs completes this section by pointing out that for many years, students were discouraged to use their home language in school and that many times they were punished for using their native tongue (p.70).  However, there have been, in recent years, changes across Great Britain and schools are now actively encouraging students to use their native languages.

Stubbs' second position is that of the primitive language myth.  He points out that linguists long ago dispelled the myth that there were primitive languages and that "all the world's languages have been shown to have vastly complex grammatical systems" (p. 71).  He goes on to state that there are languages that are functionally more highly developed than others, but only because of their wide-spread use and that they are written.
       ...English is an international language, with a highly
       standardized writing system, and is used in a wide range of
       functions from everyday casual conversation to writing
       scientific papers.  Many hundreds of  the world's languages
       have no writing systems and cannot therefore serve the same
       range of functions. (p. 71)
This issue stated, Stubbs goes on to point out that it does not affect the fact that languages and dialects are very complex structural systems.

In his third position, Stubbs discusses standard and nonstandard dialects.  The basic definition of dialect Stubbs provides is that of a regional or geographical variety or a dialect based on a social group.  He goes on to point out that in Britain, the regional and social dimensions are related.  "The higher up the social class scale one goes, the less one encounters regional variation in speech" (p. 72).  He also discusses that standard English is usually base on the written form and not the spoken form of English. Which brings him to the distinction between accent and dialect.  One can speak standard English with an accent, but a dialect will deviate more than in pronunciation alone. 

Stubbs goes on to present the idea of language varieties.  Different languages are used in different situations.  A person will speak to a teacher differently than he or she will speak to a friend or a parent.  He gives some examples of the media in Britain, teachers in a classroom, or students with their friends.

Which brings Stubbs to a sub-point of
correctness versus appropriateness.  Many of us learned that if we used grammatically correct English, our language was correct.  We were taught to avoid slang and non-standard forms of English--that it was "bad English."  Currently, the  attitude has shifted and the use of colloquialisms and non-standard English are not looked at as bad English, there is still the perspective of appropriate usage.  Stubbs gives the example of a students writing to a prospective employer.  If the writer uses non-standard English and slang, he or she may need to be cautioned about the appropriate use of the language--it may not be suited to applying for a job. The converse of this situation would be to use very formal language in a relaxed, familiar setting such as spending time with friends.  Stubbs states "that within standard English...there is a stylistic variation according to social context.  Thus standard English has formal and informal styles in both writing and speech" (p. 76).

Another sub-point Stubbs discusses is that of production and comprehension.  He points out that there maybe times when a teacher observes a child who uses language the teacher may deem inappropriate for the classroom.  However, Stubbs argues that perhaps the child does not know the forms that may be appropriate in the teacher's view or does not realize the form is inappropriate for the situation.  He goes on to discuss that perhaps the child neither knows or understands the situation; that the child does understand but never uses the item in his or her own speech; or that the child understands, but the teacher has not observed the child using the item in his or her speech (p. 77).  He also addresses the fact that many times, children will comprehend what their parents tell them long before they can produce the same forms of speech on their own.

Stubbs concludes this chapter by highlighting the implications of making such distinctions.  He encourages educators to not overgeneralize the relationship of "language" and "education."  We need to be more aware of the nuance of language and how it is produced in the classroom.  Students who use non-standard English are not disadvantaged  or deficient. What is important is that they learn the distinction between standard and non-standard English.  He includes what he calls a cartoon by Feiffer:

I used to think I was poor.  Then they told me I wasn't poor, I was needy.  Then they told me it was a self-defeating to think of myself as needy, I was deprived. Then they told me deprived was a bad image.  I was underprivileged.  Then they told me underprivileged was overused.  I was disadvantaged.  I still haven't got a dime, but I have a great vocabulary.


I appreciated this chapter because Stubbs says what I feel most teachers need to hear.  English has many forms and uses, one not being any better than the other, one dialect not more appropriate than the next.  I thought it was interesting how there is a clear distinction in Great Britain with the subtle and not so subtle differences in forms of English.  To me, this chapter, again, made a lot of sense.  I just wish readings such this and many of the others we have done in class were required of all teachers.  There would be a better understanding of our students and ourselves.

Chapter Four: Trilingualism

This chapter is written by Judith Baker, an English teacher at a technical/vocational high school in Boston.  Her students are representative of urban teenagers that come from diverse backgrounds and low to moderate economic levels.  The students are also typically portrayed in a negative light.  They have low test scores and are criticized for having poor formal English skills. Baker feels that her classroom is a place for her to develop teaching strategies for helping students become proficient in the use of standard English.

Baker has a theory that "there are at least three forms of the English language that most Americans need to learn" (p. 51) in order to be successful in society. The three forms are

• "home" English or dialect--language that is used in the home
• "formal" or academic English--language learned in school, through the media, and possibly in well-educated families
• "professional" English--the language of one's  job or profession (p. 51)

These three forms are what make up what Baker calls "trilingualism." She describes how she works to make trilingualism explicit in order to motivate students to want to learn them.  Students can then master the differences between them.

Her first step is to establish respect for the students' home languages.  The home language is the form we use to communicate our connections and regard to our significant others--family and friends. Baker does this because she wants the students' "own usage, vocabulary, modes of expression and their self esteem to survive the language learning process." (p. 52)  She goes on to assert that if students are given choices of the language to use, that they will quickly learn the grammar, sentence structure, and other forms of formal language. 

The project she assigns her students is to examine their home language through a exploration of the language they usually speak at home and with friends.  They are given a checklist of sorts to guide them in what to be looking/listening for as they focus on language used outside the classroom.  Some of the items are

• clipped words
• regional words or expressions
• slang
• use of language other than English
• use of language mixed with English
• accents or tonal features
• use of swear words or curse words--when and why do you use them 

Students are then arranged in groups that have common backgrounds.  These groups meet for an hour on each of two days to plan their presentation.  Baker doesn't give much direction but she does circulate in order to help keep the groups on task. One group found that one of their members, Dwayne, had some of the same speech patterns his father has.  Dwayne had taped his father and as the group was listening to the tape, he had to translate for his father.  One outcome of exploring his father's speech patterns was that Dwayne became more interested in his spelling and found connections between his own patterns and those of the people in his home.

Baker reports on other students who had similar experiences with their home language research.  She goes on to state that she learned about the languages her students used outside of her classroom.  All this examining of home language seemed to validate from where the students were coming and thus helped them understand and feel more comfortable studying language in general.

The next strategy Baker would use was role play.  She presented the situation where a 'student' comes home from college using vocabulary that is not fully understood by the family.  In one variation, the 'student' is chastised by the family--"Oh, you think you are better than us." Another variation is one where the mother is very proud of her college student. 

Another role play is where a student portrays a junior executive at a company who makes a presentation using formal English and then the junior executive gives the presentation using home language. 

After both these role plays, Baker discusses with student what had transpired.  What was revealed was that some of her Latino students revealed that they felt more comfortable when they would present themselves in formal English around non-Latino people; others stated that they felt inauthentic dropping their accents.

Through these discussions, Baker realized that learning formal grammar was a choice that the student would make--not a choice made by the teacher for the student. It seemed the students then became less fearful and more engaged, realizing they had control because of choice.

In finding strategies to engage students in learning their professional language, Baker reported that she had some ideas that she had yet to try.  She wanted to be able to support students with the language they encountered in their technical classes. There was one way she was able to assist.  Students had to give presentations on their chosen profession and actually took on a teacherly role and professional manner.

Baker ends this article describing how she wants to continue to study ways of engaging students in their exploration of their trilingualism.  She wants to use audio recordings of conversations from many different dialect and English variations and have the students analyze and compare them. Baker wants to continue to encourage students to build a foundation for motivating each other to master the formal grammar needed to be successful.  She will do this by respecting what they bring to the class from home.




I liked this article because Baker offered clear strategies for working with students and their exploration of language.  She doesn't have all the answers and doesn't suggest that she does.  And for me, it all makes sense.  Students bring to the classroom a life that is impacted by what happens outside of the classroom, so it just makes sense that exploring their home language in order to begin to understand more formal English builds a deeper respect and understanding of what is needed to be successful.