"American Indian Language Policy and School Success"

The article begins with the explanation of the Native American Languages Act, which has three parts to it: first, it continues the determination that has been effect for the past 20 years. Second, it reverses the supression of the Native American Language that has been imposed over the years. Third, it has caused a reaction to make English the official language in the United States because now, Native Americans are being recognized for thier heratige and how this act with help Native Americans with thier education.

There are problems with Indian education because their language and culture has been supressed so much that the problem becomes "how do we change Indian Education without repeating the mistakes of the past."

The problem also occurs because there is not enouph teachers that are specialized in Indian education. The article states that these type of children memorize thier math, he copries letters or forms, and copy the actions of thier student.

Luther Standing Beear, a student then a teacher, said that "the Indian children should have been taught how to translate the Sioux tongue into English properly; but the Eglish teachers only taught them the English language, like a bunch of parrots. While they could read all the words placed in front of them, they did not know the proper use of them; thier meaning was a puzzle.

The author concludes that we can't always try to "Americanize" people and even the tribes are trying to teach thier children the American language, while preserving thier culture at the same time.

last practice for final

Dear all,

As a last practice for our final exam, please open the Picasa show of four comic slides, and find ONE grammar mistake on each slide (no punctuation)!

Write the four corrected sentences on a piece of paper.
Exchange your piece of paper with your neighbor and let him/her check whether you were right.

Here's the LINK.

Have fun!

Dr. V

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

Today, we are playing the game, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?"

As you come into the classroom today, pick a post-it note and write a number on it from 1-20 in the order of people coming in.

We'll do a lottery (one student will choose a number from 1-20), and the person who wins is selected to become a millionaire: You'll get 10 comic slides with grammar mistakes in them to be displayed on the Smartboard, and you have to find the mistakes in front of the class. The good thing is, you have three JOKERS:

1) you can ask the audience (everyone gets a sheet of paper, and each individual student will write the answer he/she thinks is right on it in fat letters).

2) you can call someone you know on your cell phone, read the text to him/her, and get the answer this way.

3) you can ask the instructor ONE question of the following:
a) Which speech bubble is the mistake in?
b) What kind of category is the mistake?

For each right answer you give, you receive one piece of candy. If you give a wrong answer, you're out, and the person with the lottery number following immediately yours will get to take your place. You are allowed to keep the candy you have already won up to the point where you made the mistake. If you get all 10 questions right, you're the candy millionaire of ENGL300 ;-)

Here is the link to the slide show of 20 comics with grammar mistakes.
We can play the game twice.

The Peculiar Language of the Amish

I chose to read the article "The Peculiar Language of the Amish" not only for its interesting title, but also because I find the Amish culture compelling and interesting. Here in Southern Illinois, in fact, here on the outskirts of Carbondale are a group of local Mennonites. Mennonites are not exactly the same as the Amish, but their upbringing, beliefs, and religion are fairly similar.

In the article, Amish language is discussed at great length. They speak a blend of English and Pennsylvania Dutch or Pennsylvania German with every fifth or so word in English. Because of this immersion of English in their language, American people can typically follow along with what they are saying in the flow of conversation. However, PA Dutch is a highly unwritten language. Typically, when the Amish send letters or write they compose them in English. Likewise, English is used as a base language in their schools. However, growing up, Amish children do not know or speak English until they reach school where they are taught their lessons in English.

The Amish are not only bi-lingual, however, but tri-lingual. They can also speak High German, which is what most of their Bibles are written in and what most of their church services are spoken in. The Amish have a very advanced knowledge of Germanic languages because of this.

The Amish are not the only ones who speak PA Dutch, however. As I mentioned before, Mennonites also speak PA Dutch, as well as non-Amish in the southeastern region of Pennsylvania.

In-Class Activity, April 7th: Readability (Fry Graph)

IQ question: Who can guess at what readability level newspapers in the U.S. are written???

Today, we are going to assess our READABILITY, which means the personal grade level we are writing at. We are going to do this by means of a formula developed by Edward Fry: the so-called "Fry graph."

What we need:

3 text samples written by you with EXACTLY 100 words each.

STEP 1: Go to your class blog, and find three of your comments (or your own reading summary, if you have written one already). Copy and paste the three texts into a blank Word document.

TASK 1:

Now, cut down each of these three 100-words samples down to EXACTLY 100 words. You can use the word count of Microsoft Word by pasting your blog comment into a Word document, or you can copy and paste it into the word count tool. Simply delete all the words over 100, even if you have to stop in the middle of a sentence.

TASK 2:

1) Count the number of sentences in your 100 words sample. (If you had less than 100 words, add more by either inventing them, or pasting another one of your blog comments right behind it. The content does not matter, only the number of words (100). If you had more, just stop after having counted up to 100, and delete the rest.) Estimate the length of your last sentence, even if incomplete, to the nearest 1/10. Example: 5.4 sentences for your first sample of 100 words, 3.7 for your second, and 6 for your third.

2) Count the number of syllables in your 100 words sample. You can use the syllable count tool again to count your syllables.

3) Make a table as seen in these INSTRUCTIONS. Draw this table on the handout I give you, because you will receive points for it, and I will collect it at the end of today's lesson!

4) Do the same for your second and third 100-words sample.

5) Total your numbers, and average them. (A little bit of math ;-)). You can use the Microsoft calculator ;-)

7) Make ONE SINGLE dot on the FRY GRAPH I distributed in class where your personal readability lies. Write your name on the handout with your graph and your table, and submit it to your teacher for grading (I'm not grading the height of your readability, only the fact that you participated and understood the procedure!) There are no make-ups for this assignment.

HOMEWORK for Friday, April 9th (although we won't have class, since I'm at an NCATE meeting!!!):

Post a comment to this blog (100-250 words) about what you think about your personal readability level. Do you believe the Fry graph correctly displays the grade level you're writing at? Why, or why not? What could be missing? What could the readability level be used for? Will knowing your personal readability level change anything about your future writing? Do you think you have a different readability level when you blog than when you write a research article like you did for this class?

Examples of WebQuests ;-)

Here's a link to WebQuests created by grammar300-1 students in spring 2009.
Here's a link to WebQuests created by grammar300-2 students in spring 2009.

Our Own WebQuest-URLs

1) Stile Smith: Railroad Slang

2) Mike McGeady: Mobster Slang

3) Mike Springston: Cockney Rhyming Slang

4) Janelle Medernach: 1920s Slang

5) Joana Balliu: 1920s Slang

6) Samantha Barnes: Computer Slang

7) Abby Morgan: Fan Fiction Slang

8) Josh Evans: Soldier Slang

9) Zach Solomon: 1960s Slang

10) Dan Wainright: Snowboarding Slang

11) Megan McCord: Musicians' Slang

12) Sami Jo: Prisoner Slang

13) Maegan Carey: 1960s Slang

14) Jamie Franklin: Drug Slang

15) Kanika Blair: Drug Slang

16) Tashina Craig: Hip-Hop Slang

17) Guadalupe Garcia: Citizens' Band (CB) Radio Slang

17) Jessica Roby: Prison Slang

"Grammar Without Grammar: Just Playing Around,Writing"

In the article, the author Deborah Dean, talks about how using basic grammar education tactics was useless to her students. She tried to go about different approaches that would best benefit her students until the grammar curriculum was dropped from her school. While helping her students write, she realized that her and her students had to have a "common vocabulary" in order to succeed in improving their writing skills.

That is when she took a different approach. Since the students weren't familiar with grammar, she began to use "imitation" which is an older method in grammar instruction where she would explain grammar without using grammatical terms. When using this approach, her students can learn everything there is to know about grammar but in a fun and exciting way for her students to understand. She would have the students find or make up sentences that dealt with grammatical errors and have them correct them without the students realizing that they were learning about for example, sentence structure, fragments, and incorporating their ideas in more complex sentence structures.

Deborah Dean stated that even though her students learned about grammar, the students couldn't more than likely identify the correct grammatical terms for what they learned. For example he/she could not identify that he/she were correcting fragments or sentence structure, but the approach taught by Dean improved their writing skills.

Intro to WebQuests

This is our second (and last) big project, next to the research essay:

We are going to create a Lesson Plan again; this time focusing on the 6th big E, the E-Search. We will also have a big chunk of Engage and Explore in our Learning Cycle.

Today, we are going to learn a new software tool: WebQuests.

These are meant to be online lesson plans that teachers can use in class, providing their students with links to do research about certain topics. (This is point 6 from our Learning Cycle, the "e-search.") The kids go on a "quest" on www and expand their previous knowledge.

The WebQuests have several different steps the kids have to follow, and they also offer a rubric at the end, so the kids know what they will be graded for. Also, they have a welcome page that explains the topic and what they are going to do.

Our task: WE ARE CREATING A WEBQUEST LESSON PLAN ABOUT THE TOPIC "SLANG."

PROMPT 1:

Read the following 1-page excerpt from the diary of a medical intern, written by Perri Klass. In it, she explains how she had to learn a "totally new language" in order to understand the slang of nurses and doctors. It is like a "secret language," so that the patients won't know what is wrong with them when the medical staff talks about them. Beware - some expressions are quite offensive!

PROMPT 2:

Choose a topic from the following list (or google your own topic) - it needs to be the special language/dictionary of ONE group of society.

soldiers' slang (Slang from Operation Iraqui Freedom)
prison slang
rhyming slang (England; Cockney)
police slang
computer slang
railroad slang
1920's slang
1960's slang
Mountain Bike Slang
Australian Slang
Death Slang
Antarctic slang
drug slang

You can also come up with a topic of your own for which you can find an online dictionary. Past semesters' studens have written WebQuests about skateboarder slang, fashion slang, Clockwork Orange slang, etc.....

When you have chosen your topic (and your dictionary of a certain slang), you have the FIRST COMPONENT of your WebQuest lesson plan. Here's an overview of all the components you need:

COMPONENTS of WEBQUEST lesson plan:

1. a link to your slang dictionary, and a definition of "SLANG"
2.1 a welcome page (Intro) that tells the kids (address them; let me know their grade level) what the topic of your lesson is (which group you're talking about)
2.2 a TASK page that tells the kids what the purpose of your lesson is (why they need to learn about it), and what they will do
2.2b your purpose: why it is important nowadays to know about this slang
3. an assignment page (Process) with e-search assignments (links) for the kids. Here, you need to tell them how to present their findings (such as, to write down what they researched on a piece of paper, fill in a study guide that you prepare, do a ppt presentation, etc.).
4. a grading rubric



For task 3, the PROCESS, you should have the following components:

3.1 I expect you to define the word SLANG for your students. Give them an example for a metaphor (taken from your dictionary). You can also make them write down their own definitions, and then let them click on a link to an online dictionary that defines those terms correctly.

3.2 Create a brief text using the slang you're talking about (either, write it yourself, or use the translation engine on your website). Let the kids translate it into Standard Written English without looking at the dictionary for help. Then, give them the solutions in a later section of your webquest, to check their responses.

3.3 Give them the link to your dictionary, and their first assignment (e.g., create a 10-item dictionary with words chosen from it on their own, etc.)

3.4 Give them some kind of writing assignment about YOUR insider group's slang that you will grade with your grading rubric (prompt examples: "Write a short story using this slang." or "Write an essay about why it is important to learn a certain slang if one wants to "belong" to a group of insiders." or "Is it better to remain true to one's origins and speak one's own language, or does one have to adapt when joining a different group?" or "Why can the use of metaphors be good/bad sometimes?" or "If you were a patient, would you prefer that the doctors speak clear text with you, or wouldn't you mind them talk in secret language?" or "Is a secret language ment to INCLUDE or EXCLUDE people?" or "Develop your own secret society. Write a short essay about what kind of language you would use." BE CREATIVE!!!)

3.5 Create your Grading Rubric with the online functions that WebQuest offers.


SOFTWARE: modeling how to create WebQuests

Go to the homepage of WebQuest. You need to sign up and register for a "30 day free trial." Then, we'll model together how to create the background template and colors, etc. The online builder is pretty easy and self-explanatory, and will guide you through all steps. Remember to ALWAYS SAVE what you typed before you click on another field; otherwise, you'll lose everything!!! You can also insert pictures (which you should do, depending on the grade level you instruct.)


To give you an idea of layout possibilities:

Here's an example WebQuest about Clockwork Orange "NADSAT SLANG" created by one of my former students: http://questgarden.com/69/77/4/080914190240/

TIMELINE for this project: We will work on it for two to three class periods; the rest will be homework. DUE DATE: to be agreed upon.

Figures of Rhetoric in Advertising Language

In this article written by Edward F. Mcquarrie and David Glen Mick it tries to find through research if there is any difference between simple and matter of a fact and complex and as the writers say, “Artful” rhetorical figures in advertising. While there are other types of use when talking about rhetorical figures in advertising the writers of this article chose to focus on text. This is a consumer research paper on how people view text ads. Mcquarrie and Mick believe that this type of research has been long over looked when talking about the “appropriate text-centered terminology and without access to necessary conceptual tools(e.g., deviation), the longstanding and widespread use of rhetorical figures in advertising has been simply over looked in consumer research.” So what is a rhetorical figure? Well it is a artful deviation in the form taken by a statement. What I believe it means is that it is the description of a product in a text only Ad. So, the question is which is a better way to go about describing your product when producing a type only ad, colorful and complex or just as simple as you can get it. The research in this article is very complex and is broken down into many different categories with the difference really being complex description and the other being rather simple. The difference between the two in the research provided is really divided evenly. Which do you think would be more evective when making a advertisment in text form only?

Slang: A Lesson In Ninth-Grade Compisition

In the article, author Bess Clark talks about how slang originated, why it's used, and why it's usually a bad thing.

Slang, Clarks says, was the language of thieves during the time of Shakespeare. Thieves used this slang in order to conceal the meaning of what they were talking about from other people. Even common terms, such as "kid" is derived from thieves. The word "kid," Clarks says, originally came from "kidnab" or "kid nabbing." Clark says the purpose of language is to express thought, not conceal it. "Why is Lincoln's Gettysburg Address as famous as it is? Because so much is said and so well said in such a few words."

Clark says slang came from the Scandinavian "slenja" meaning "to sling the jaw" or "talk abusively." She says that slang is a way of bad mouthing people and hurting their feelings. That is the reason, Clark says, that most slang does not stick around for long periods of time.

Clark goes on to say that 99 percent of slang does not stick around in language. She says the reason for this is that it is offensive and people's feelings are hurt by it. Clark uses the example of a "bug house," which is another term for an insane asylum. "If you had a dear friend or a relative, and he was judged insane, you'd see why "bug house" is offensive."

Boundary Dialects

The analysis of regional dialect differences has traditionally relied on production data, but researcher Erica J. Benson feels other factors, such as attitudes about dialect varieties, could also contribute toward understanding dialect usage. Her study focuses upon Ohio, where various studies have yielded different results. One researcher identified a speech pattern labeled as the Northern Dialect was concentrated in the northeast corner of the state, although other dialect maps extend that dialect further west. The other dominant speech patterns in the state are identified as North Midland and South Midland on one map. Researcher Craig M. Carver has dismissed the existence of a Midland dialect, identifying the transition zone between Northern and Southern dialects as Lower North. This dialect, which reflects influences from both Northern and Southern cultures, runs through a band of Midwestern states that includes our southern Illinois region. The North and South Midland dialects identified in other linguist maps also appear in other Midwestern states such as Illinois, with the southern Illinois dialect identified as South Midland.
While the north-south dialect differences were consistent among maps, Benson questioned whether Ohio also had different dialects based on an east-west divide. To survey differences, respondents were asked to circle on a hand-drawn map areas where people spoke differently. The measurements used were that people spoke the same, a little differently, somewhat differently or differently.
Respondents identified differences in regions of Ohio, although the extent of differences and the identified regions varied according to the area from which the respondents hailed. All of the respondents noted similarities that traveled across state lines, with some northern Ohio dialects associated with Pennsylvania and Michigan and some respondents grouping the dialect used in regions of southern Ohio with Kentucky and West Virginia.
Benson attributed differences in dialect perception to several factors: exposure to speakers from other regions, the travel experience of respondents and sample size of the study. Benson also identified a factor termed “linguistic security.” People in the northern regions identified their dialects as “good plain English,” while respondents whose dialect was identified in southern terms exhibited less security about their linguistic abilities. In describing the dialects of others, the more Midwestern areas of northwestern and central Ohio were rated highly by all respondents. Respondents from northwestern and central Ohio tended to group southern Ohio speakers with those from West Virginia and Kentucky. Some even called this dialect “hillbilly slang.” This mirrored a study by Michigan respondents who had a negative opinion of southern speech.
Along with the stigma associated with southern Ohio dialects, Benson found respondents in southern Ohio tended to identify fewer dialect differences and were more prone to identify their speech pattern with northern Ohio speakers. Another study found similar responses by southern Indiana speakers, who tended to align their dialects with northern states. All of the Ohio respondents identified a dialect boundary at the Ohio River, which separates Ohio from the southern states. The major dialect boundary by respondents who did not view Ohio as a single dialect region was near the city of Columbus.
Benson said some conclusions that could be drawn by analyzing dialect perceptions are that Ohio has east-west dialect differences, there is a transition area between the northern and southern dialect regions, and a Midland dialect does exist. Benson concludes perceptual studies of dialect can help provide a more complete picture of speech communities and their relationship to other communities.
The Ohio examples provide some parallels with dialects in Illinois, as both states have large urban areas and regions which border southern states. Benson did hint at perceptions of eastern dialects in Ohio, but did not discuss those speech patterns in great detail. The Ohio respondents who called their dialect “good plain English” reflect a common perception that the Midwestern states contain speakers with accentless speech patterns. More study could have been done on the Ohio urban areas to ascertain whether there is a perception that Cleveland and Cincinnati residents have dialects that differ from rural areas. In Illinois, there is a noticeable difference between the Chicago dialect and speech patterns in rural areas. Is that a north-south difference or one involving an urban-rural divide?

Look there is Katie Holmes, said Tom starry-eyed

Samantha Barnes
Megan Mccord
Dionne Jackson

in-class activity on first day after spring break

USING ADVERBS ABUNDANTLY: TOM SWIFTIES...

Today, we are going to talk about "adverbs." Instead of a mini lesson, we will start with a little grammar exercise, and then become creative ;-)


Here are some GUIDELINES about the order of adverbs in a sentence:

THE ROYAL ORDER OF ADVERBS
Verb	Manner	Place	Frequency	Time	Purpose
Beth swims	enthusiastically	in the pool	every morning	before dawn	to keep in shape.
Dad walks	impatiently	into town	every afternoon	before supper	to get a newspaper.
Tashonda naps		in her room	every morning	before lunch.

First task:
Take a quick overview of what ADVERBS are.

Second task: take this short online quiz about adverbs.

Third task (everyone on his/her own):
This is what happens if one uses adverbs abundantly... ;-)
Go to the following website and learn what "Tom Swifties" are.


Task 2:

Get together in groups of 3-4. Go to the following webpage. Your group's task is to create a 5-item test for another group that this group has to solve. Get the emails of the one member of the other group (your partner group), and email this person your quiz. The group that solves most of the 5 items it gets from another group wins!! You need to retype the Tom Swifties that you find on the webpage, but you leave out the last word, i.e., the pun, for the other group to fill in the blank. Don't invent them yourself yet!!!

Examples:

1. How do you start a model-T Ford without a battery?" asked Tom _____________ .

(answer: CRANKILY)

2. "I have to wear this cast for another six weeks," said Tom _________________ .

(answer: DISJOINTEDLY)

3. "I'm shocked," said Tom _____________________ .

(answer: ELECTRICALLY)


You should select sentences that people are able to guess when they think hard.

EMAIL me your 5-item quiz (with solutions). Only one per group, please! Indicate your group members names in this email (because you'll all get participation points for the quiz).


Task 3:

Now, invent 1 Tom Swifty on your own!!! Publish it as a comment to this blog. If you work in groups, indicate all your names on your blog entry. You can also work by yourself. If you can't finish in class, do it as homework for Wednesday, March 17th.

If you missed class today, invent a Tom Swifty by yourself, and publish it on the blog by Wednesday, March 17th, for homework.

How can AAE speakers become effective SWE Writers?

When it comes to teaching AAE speakers how to become effective SWE Writers there are some teachers who don’t even bother to SWE at all. They think that it is a waste of time, and that AAE speakers are too dumb or deprived to master it. Some teachers are motivated by the language barrier refrain from teaching SWE rather than force AAE speakers to adopt “a strange or hostile set of cultural values”.

Some argue focusing on SWE skills will stifle student’s fluency and creativity, so they just encourage students to “edit out” SWE errors on their own. Some teachers just simply gave up, because of conflicting theories. With these laissez-faire approaches, virtually the only AAR speakers who learn to “edit out” SWE errors are those who intensively read and write SWE texts outside of school. Students have to recognize SWE errors in order to “edit them out”, and such recognition normally requires some sort of instruction when Standard English is not the language of the home. There are variety strategies for teaching AAE speakers Standard Written English. The strategies range from the traditional approach, which excludes AAE from the curriculum and classroom, to the bridge approach, which uses AAE to build a “bridge” to SWE. These are only one aspect of writing instructions, like other composition students, AAE students need to read carefully, write frequently, and address different audiences for meaningful purposes.

ASL and Grammar

The ASL and Grammar article, was explaining how the American Sign Language is different from English. The article explains how ASL is different from English by showing examples of their differences. ASL is different because of the sentence structure that it has. In English, people use articles like an, are, the, of and by. In ASL they don't use them, because to ASL articles are not necessary. An example that was used was the English say "I am a student", while ASL, says "I student". Another difference is that in ASL, they use the topic first, so that the person that they are talking to establishes what they are talking about.

Other things that the article said that ASL do was using the "wh" signs. The "wh" signs are who, what, when, where, and how. The "wh" signs were signed at the end of the sentence. Also, they use time signs like "yesterday" to set the tense of a sentence, so that a person visually knows the time period that is being discussed.

As well as ASL sentence structure, the article was about facial grammar. Facial grammar is also called "non-manual markers". When it comes to ASL and answering yes/no questions the facial expression is to raise head forward slightly, and hold the last sigh in the sentence. When a ASL has a "wh" question, they lower the eyebrow, lean head forward, and hold the last sign in the sentence that is usually the "wh" sign.

The article made an important note, which was, when watching someone do sign language the other person should watch and focus on the signers face. Also, that approximately 60% of ASL conversation is based on expressions.

Down's Syndrome and Grammar

Roger Brown and colleagues conducted a study on children with down’s syndrome. They specifically looked at the development of morphemes and ages in which children acquired their language. Three children from middle class American families were selected for this research. The children were examined for two years. Brown concluded that between the ages of two and four children include many different morphemes in their speech. In all three children, there was a similarity in which these morphemes occurred. He studied the fourteen morphemes in which they appeared. The first being the ing affix on verbs. The second being the preposition on and the third is the preposition in. Fourth is the plural form of words, such as dogs. Fifth is the irregular past tense of verbs. Sixth is the possessive form of nouns, seventh is the form of be, and eighth is articles. Ninth is past tense verbs, tenth is third person present tense, and eleventh is the irregular first person present tense verbs. Twelfth is another form of be, thirteenth is the use of abbreviations where possible, and the fourteenth is using abbreviations for the form of be.

The results of this investigation were somewhat predictable. The first six of the morphemes were acquired by the children with down’s syndrome at a much later date. Those children were also producing their first ten words at a later age. Typically, children with down’s syndrome are about twelve months behind children without a retardation. Of the morphemes, the seventh, tenth, and twelfth, were not ever acquired by the children with down’s syndrome. Two out of those three involve the forms of be. These children might not understand the form of be because of how their mother’s speak to them. Mothers tend to speak more directly to children and not really give them the chance to pick up on the different forms. Not acquiring the morphemes as early in life will have a great affect on the children.This study informed us of how children with a retardation learn grammar at a much slower pace.

Survey Topics and Links

2. Samantha Holland:

4. Jessica Roby:

5. Joana Balliu: "Differences in Grammar between Native and Non-Native English Speakers"

6. Josh Evans:

7. Stile Smith:

8. Samantha Barnes:

9. Mike Springston:

10. Dionne Jackson:

11. Dan Wainright: "Relationship Between Gender and Grammar"

12. Abby Morgan:

13. Janelle Medernach:

14. Jamie Franklin:

15. Guadalupe Garcia: "Grammar and Retention"

16. Kanika Blair:

17. Tashina Craig:

18. Zachary Solomon:

19. Mike McGeady:

Twins and Language Development

Jennifer Ganger’s article on twin language capabilities compared with singletons of the same age provides insight into the common belief amongst psychologist that twins are at a disadvantage in language development. Ganger summarizes several studies that are used in determining this assumption. She points out flaws in the experiments themselves. Although she points out that there is evidence to support twins are at greater risk of having language problems, there is nothing that is concrete about any of the experiments in her opinion.
Ganger produces several case studies on the subject of twin language. Twin development versus singleton development has been studied since at least the early 20th century according to Ganger. She summarizes these early studies have problems with unintentional biases towards the twins.

The first two studies analyzed were Day and Davis. The Day Study concentrated on early childhood development, while The Davis Study focused on children from age five to nine. The Day study concluded that twins are likely to be up two years behind children without a twin. The Davis study, which was essentially the same study with older children, concluded the language deficiencies were almost always corrected around the age of five to nine. However, twins in the five to nine age groups were still more likely to have articulation problems. There were a few problems with these studies according to Ganger. One of the biggest problems was the twins studied were not always studied separately. This would skew the results, because the singleton children tested were alone. A few other problems were found and tested in other studies. Other issues that were not taken into account were birth weight, order of birth, time of gestation. These problems directly correlate to learning in all children.

Ganger shows more recent studies have concluded that there are a number of problem with the idea that twins will have language issues simple because they are twins. These more recent studies take into account the weight of the children at birth, the order of their birth, and the gestation period. Researchers took these problems into consideration and found evidence to support the theory that twins are more likely to lack their peers in language development. These studies found the cause of this problem is not simply because twins are born at the same time to the same mother, but the factors that causes slower development in children is usually present in a household with twins. For instance, twins have to share time speaking with adults. This gives the individual twin less time developing language skills. Twins also have a smaller birth rate than singleton children, which is a factor that causes slower development. The cause of a twin’s slower development is not by the presence of another, but the factors the other twin can bring.

The article concludes with a reminder that these tests are averages and do not doom people who are twins. There are many factors that can account for language delays. The language development of twins can be greatly influenced by the parents or guardians. Granger reminds her readers that nothing is concrete or exact in this type of study.

(by: Josh Evans)

Embracing Ebonics and Teaching Standard English

This article is a interview with Carrie English who is a teacher at a school called Prescott in Oakland.

During the interview, Carrie English explains the CACSEA (Center For Applied Cultural Studies and Educational Achievement) and SEP (Standard English Proficiency Program).

Carrie English explains that the CACSEA program highlights nine cultural aspects that permeate African-American life: spirituality, resilience, emotional vitality, musicality and rhythm, humanism, communalism, orality and verbal expressiveness, personal style and uniqueness, and realness. These concepts help teach students which leads to the SEP Program.

SEP is a program that recognizes Ebonics as a language that stands on its own rather than as a dialectical form of English. Carrie English explains that she is teaching Ebonics as a second language but not fixing the language that is brought to school from the homes of the students that she is teaching. The three cornerstones to the SEP Program is culture, language and literacy which is basically meaning that the program itself dosnt only focus on Ebonics as a language
grammatically but also relating it to the students everyday lives and backgrounds. Even though Carrie English is teaching Ebonics as a language , she also encourages the students to practice English most of the instructional time which means that she also enforces that her students know the correct way to use and write English as well as Ebonics.

While thinking about Ebonics as a whole or even reading this article, think about if you agree with Carrie English and the SEP/CACSEA programs. Do you think that the SEP/CACSEA programs work? Do you think that Ebonics could indeed be a second language and could be taught in unison with the English language or is Ebonics just street slang?

The Order of Words, by Ken Macrorie

The article talks on the order of words and how they effect meaning. There are basic rules and sentences that most people educated with some grammar wouldn’t make, such as:

“Johnny and Bill has his own bike.”

In our system of English, the words he, she, or they that have prepositions in front of them show their relationship by switching to the object form (him, her, or them). The author goes on to explain that one problem we have in grammar is when somebody says something like:

“You and me should go get some coffee.”

A lot of sticklers for grammar might be quick to correct the person who says this and demand they say:

“You and I should go get some coffee.”

J. D. Salinger had his character Holden Caulfield talk in a strange sort of manner that addresses this issue – Caulfield often saying things like: “I think I probably woke he and his wife up…”

Most editors find the following problems in writing: confusing word order, lack of clear signal by pronouns, and verbs that don’t signal the nouns they belong to.

An example of a word order signal choice given is: “When green, I love the woods most of all.” The problem with this sentence is that because of the word order, it isn’t clear on the meaning of the sentence. Does it mean that when I’m feeling sick I love the woods more than anything, or does it mean I really love the woods when they look green? The word order must be changed and thought upon to construct meaning here, as you can make two different meaning sentences with this – either:

“I love the woods when green most of all.”

Or

“I love the green woods most of all.”

The goal of a writer is to master their writing, which is usually done by having a hold of the rules of grammar to near perfection. However, like Salinger used his character Holden Caulfield to great success through his careful and deliberate choice of words, so can other writers. English writer William Hazlitt began a paragraph on an essay on Sir James Mackintosh with: “To consider him in the last point of view first. As a political partisan, he is rather the lecturer than the advocate.” True, the first sentence doesn’t really show who’s doing the considering, and it’s questionable as to how much of a sentence it really is, but it works.
The author gives another example from Hazlitt in how word order can be used to create more impactful sentences that defy traditional structure. He shows that Hazlitt wrote of Sir Walter Scott: “The old world is to him a crowded map; the new one a dull, hateful blank.” If this were rewritten in a traditional order, he would have made the less impactful “The old world is a crowded map to him; the new one a dull, hateful blank.” The way Hazlitt had it written, the “essential” words were put at the end of the sentence where they gathered power and achieved parallelism. Moving words out of the normal position, when used effectively, can surprise the reader in a good way.

The article sums up that writers need to gain an ear for regular and correct word order, because if they continue to scramble it, it’ll confuse the readers instead of surprise them, which is sometimes the writer’s goal that just doesn’t come out right. The author then recommends this strategy: repeat and vary – vary the normal pattern but only on occasion.

(by: Zach Solomon)

What is AAE?

I do apologize for the lengthy summary--the article itself was pretty extensive.

In this article, the writer (whose name does not appear on the handout) argues that naming and labeling is extremely important, and is no less important when discussing AAE. AAE is short for African American English, and in the past has been labeled as "broken" English, "Black English" and "Ebonics", among others. AAE, he or she estimates, is spoken by about eighty to ninety percent of African Americans, but other races and ethnicities, though in the minority, are also a part of the AAE speech community.The article aims to point out that AAE is either a dialect or a language, not simply slang or "broken" English. Though the writer concedes that AAE appears to break the rules of Standard American English, he or she argues that there is no universal standard for speaking English in the United States. There is a formal written standard known as SWE, or Standard Written English. In accordance with SWE rules, AAE implements errors such as subject/verb disagreement, misuse of verbs, and poorly constructed sentences.

Many have attacked AAE as an incorrect form of English, through which attacks there are implications that AAE speakers are uneducated or lack the intelligence to learn Standard English. However, linguist John Rickford argues that AAE speakers are, in fact, implementing their own rules in the dialect or language. These rules simply differ from those of Standard English. The writer then shows an example of someone trying to replicate AAE unsuccessfully because they fail to follow the rules of the language. She also states that AAE compares to many other forms of language, and specifically cites that AAE is much like French--as AAE stems from English, so does French stem from Latin.

The author then further attempts to prove AAE is not slang by showing that slang is a short-lived group of words shared by a particular group of people. However, AAE has endured and evolved for centuries. He or she then attempts to prove AAE is either a dialect or a language, showing that a dialect encompasses rules of English while at the same time varies in systematic ways. A language, he or she states, consists of phonology, semantics, and syntax. While a dialect can encompass these as well, many try to distinguish between a dialect and a language by implementing the use of mutual intelligibility--that is, if AAE, Appalachian English, and Standard English speakers can understand one another, it must be a dialect. However, mutual intelligibility has proved unreliable, as Chinese speakers from different dialects do not always understand each other, just as those from different Swedish languages are able to. He or she states that, more than anything, distinguishing dialects and languages is more of a political judgement, not a linguistic one.

Finally, AAE incorporates camouflaged forms of phrases--ones that look similar to Standard English but possess unique meanings in AAE. AAE speakers also invent their own slang from previously known phrases. For example, the phrase "get my groove on" was adapted for slang to encompass phrases such as "get my chill on" (relax) or "get my grub on" (eat).

Asian ESL Learners

Imagine you are a high school teacher and correct the following essay excerpt by an ESL student. Spot the mistakes. Which ones are characteristic for Asian ESL learners, according to the research essay you have read for today, and which ones are just mistakes anyone could make??? Which grade would you assign for this writing?

The Beijing is a modern city and there are a lot of places to visit. First, there are many new building was build. One of the new buildings, it looks like a bird’s nest. Then, it have a big history. You can visit a lot of old buildings to know the history, just like “the summer Palace”. Finally, many people come from different country, there are kinds of restaurant. You can eat which you want to taste. Beijing is a nice place.

A Contrastive Guide to Teach English to Chinese Students

Chinese students not only have a hard time learning English because of the language itself, but also because their culture, tradition, and values differ as well. Most students that are Chinese tend to be shy, do not do face-to-face conversing, or are afraid to speak in public because their English is not always the best. Studies have shown that many Asian students also do not associate themselves with American students, which does not allow them to practice their English skills. A final problem for Chinese students arises where they work. Many have jobs at Asian restaurants, where poorly educated employees discourage them from going to school and learning the English langage. The language difficulties that the Chinese endure prevent them from taking advantage of all educational opportunities. Learning problems come into play here. Aspiration, or allowing breath to flow while speaking, is important in the Chinese language. Many Chinese people identify "p,t,k" as always aspirated, even when they are not. Chinese people do not understand the difference between voice and voiceless sounds, so they have a hard time distinguishing the difference between "dog/dock," "bag/back," and "cup/cub." They also have no equivlent for sh as in she, so they substitue the s sound for she. Many cannot distinguish the difference between round/wound, road/wood, and consonant clusters including, "pr," "br," "pl," and "bl." For example, "the r disappears in Brooklyn and becomes Booklyn." The Chinese tend to add extra syllables at the end of final consonants. For example, "finish" becomes "fi-ni-shi" and "have" becomes "ha-vu." Unstressed syllables in the English language also pose a problem for Chinese speakers as well. There are no articles, definite or indefinite, in the Chinese language, and the Chinese have trouble with negatives. They cannot distinguish the difference between "no" and "not." Most Chinese students cannot use the words, "too," "either," or "also," correctly, and prepositions are problematic because there are very few in the Chinese language. They are also limited in use. Finally, the word, "there," is troublesome as well, as it is not used as an introducer in the Chinese language. For example, an American would say, "There are a lot of problems here." A Chinese student would say, "A lot of problems here." The Chinese language differs from ours greatly. There are four different tones, which can change the meanings of each word. The repetition of the same subject in one sentence is acceptable, and Chinese adverbs and adjectives can be before or after the subject. There are four different types of verbs and fourteen different types of punctuation marks. Adjectives can be used as verbs as well. As for writing the Chinese language, symmetry and sequence of strokes are extremely important. Each separate character is vital to the meaning of the whole context. Asians read from right to left and top to bottom in Chinese, while in English, we read from left to right, and horizontally, not vertically.

Sharpening, by Ken Marcrorie

Sharpening, in Ken Marcrorie's words means to give life to your writing. He states most beginning writers and some veteran writers use in excess the verb is(and all other forms of to be). Is by itself is meaningless, linking too many adjectives and nouns together deflating the life from the sentence. For example, Ken Marcrorie quotes Shakespeare's 'Macbeth':
"This tyrant whose sole name blisters our tongues,
Was once thought honest."
If Shakespeare incorporated excessive forms of to be, the line would read:
"This tyrant whose sole name is a blister on our tongues,
Was once thought to be honest."
He uses Is-ness and It-ache as explanation of a writer's inability to free themselves to use powerful words.
It & there take the place of an otherwise powerful noun leaving adjectives and adverbs without meaning or effect. Which type of sentence intrigues readers, passive or aggressive?
Passive sentences inhabit the is-ness and the it-ache. For example, Ken Marcrorie mentions this sentence:
"The object that was stepped on by me was a ladybug with lavender spots."
An aggressive (sharpened) sentence would read:
"I stepped on a ladybug with lavender spots."
Ken Marcrorie also stresses the use of verbs with more meaning than just the basic verb get or make, etc. Enlighten the reader, invite them in. Don't leave them yawning.
He also touches base on weasleries. He states, "There is a time to be cautious and a time to be bold." Don't apologize for your words. In his example, "She was unusually hideous." He claims the writer lessens the power of hideous with the weak word unusually.
His statements aren't intended to massacre the use of it & is, only raising attention to excessive use, enticing writers to give more meaning to their words. His moral is not to do away with all uses of the cited words, but to learn where to look for possible weak spots in your sentences.
When reviewing your writing ask yourself, "If the adjectives and adverbs are pulling their weight? Do the words around them render unnecessary?".