We examine learning as movement as a utopian methodological approach that reorients how we shape and understand literacy learning ecologies with youth who are racialized as non-white. Understanding linguistic practice as integral to learning, and to common beliefs of what it means to be human, we consider how static notions of language are…

This paper is meant to illuminate the possibility of how world Englishes within an international setting could become similar to the confusion encountered in the Bible record of the Tower of Babel. Presented here is the trend of world Englishes as a part of an English as an international language paradigm. The discussion then proceeds to address…

Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) scholars have recently drawn on critical race theory (CRT) to critique and understand the propagation of Whiteness as a norm associated with native English speakers. However, the area of language studies, more broadly defined, has yet to develop the same link with CRT. To this end, this…

Maltese, the national language of Malta, is, without doubt, the dominant language of most Maltese in most domains of language use in Malta. It however shares official status with English, which is also in regular use. Most Maltese can, in fact, be said to be bilingual to differing degrees. This article begins by providing some background…

Christensen discusses why teachers need to teach students "voice" in its social and political context, to show the intersection of voice and power, to encourage students to ask, "Whose voices get heard? Whose are marginalized?" As Christensen writes, "Once students begin to understand that Standard English is one language among many, we can help…

Students with learning disabilities have significantly lower achievement in math and science than students from the general population. If these students with learning disabilities also are English Learners, the challenges for success in math and science are even more difficult. Teachers need to infuse best practices into their classrooms to…

This paper takes up three topics for discussion. The first is whether the Kachruvian three-circle model can accommodate the possible change of English use (e.g. native/non-native to individual proficiency, a special talent to a basic skill). The second is what transformation English would undergo if it survives as English as an international…

Despite the Hong Kong SAR (Special Administrative Region) government's determination to implement the "mother tongue education" policy amid strong social resistance one year after the handover, English remains a prestigious language in society. The need for Putonghua (Mandarin/Standard Chinese) is also increasing following ever-expanding…

Various risks involved in teaching Standard English and the role that a dialect could play while teaching it more effectively are discussed. Some of the general principles and specific strategies are given for respecting the language of students' homes while helping them gain a mastery in Standard English and participate in the democratic…

An exploration of the history and status of the English language around the world focuses on how beliefs and attitudes have shaped and continue to shape the role of the language. An introductory section examines how perceptions of standard English have paralleled a tendency toward increased linguistic intolerance in the twentieth century.…

This paper reviews research about how speaking a dialect can influence students' writing and how writing should be taught to students who speak a dialect of English. Literature on the writing errors commonly made by speakers of Black English and other American dialects is summarized. (PP)

This report provides data on standard and non-standard African language varieties occurring in urban areas of South Africa, drawn from nine smaller reports. It illustrates the language use patterns in black urban communities and describes the language varieties spoken in them. It was found that the impact of non-standard varieties on the use of…

The English spoken in India is too close to standard English to be characterized as a separate variety. Although phonological variations give English in India some regional flavors, they do not have any structural or semantic base and do not constitute a new language. Cultural differences have not caused English-language literature written in…

The Unit for Advanced Studies in Modern Swedish (FUMS) at Uppsala University has one of the largest collections of spontaneous present-day spoken Swedish and has housed many sociolinguistic research projects since the 1960s. The four studies generating the most empirical data are on: The Urban Dialect of Eskilstuna; The Child's Linguistic…

In response to the problem of high rates of referral of black students to special education and related services due to their use of non-standard English (African American Vernacular English, AAVE), a project was undertaken to assess and address the issue in Baltimore (Maryland) public schools' special education services. An ethnographic study of…