The Language of Power: Beyond the Grammar Workbook

• Published in: English journal Vol. 100; no. 4; pp. 27 - 30
• Main Author: Flynn, Jill Ewing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Urbana National Council of Teachers of English 01.03.2011
• Edition: High school edition
• Subjects: Activity Units; Audience Awareness; Audiences; Beyond Grammar: The Richness of English Language; Class Activities; Classrooms; Code Switching (Language); College Admission; Core curriculum; Cultural Context; Dialects; Direct Instruction; English; English Curriculum; English Instruction; English teachers; Essays; Ethnicity; Grade 8; Grammar; Guidelines; High school students; High schools; Hispanic Americans; Language; Language instruction; Language Usage; Language Variation; Learning; Learning Activities; Linguistics; Mexican Americans; Middle Schools; Minority Group Students; North American English; Power Structure; Principals; Qualitative research; Race; School Effectiveness; Schools; Skits; Standard languages; Standard Spoken Usage; Teaching; Teaching Methods; Workbooks
• ISSN: 0013-8274; 2161-8895
• DOI: 10.58680/ej201113528

Being up front with students about Standard English as "the language of power" allows them to learn valuable lessons about Standard and non-Standard English dialects. In this article, the author describes an eighth-grade language unit that helps students understand the value of dialects and standardized English. The author concludes that the "language of power"--when to use it, as well as its limitations--is indeed a necessary and rich subject of study in English classes. (Contains 3 figures and 1 note.)