Breaking classroom silences: a view from linguistic ethnography

• Published in: Language and intercultural communication Vol. 16; no. 1; pp. 4 - 21
• Main Authors: Rampton, Ben, Charalambous, Constadina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 02.01.2016; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Case studies; Classroom Communication; Conflict; Cyprus; discourse; Discourse Analysis; Education policy; Educational Policy; England (London); English; English language; Ethnography; Ethnolinguistics; Foreign Countries; Greek; Greek language; identity; ideology; Intervention; Language Attitudes; Language Tests; linguistic diversity; Nonstandard Dialects; Oral Language; pedagogy; Second Language Instruction; Second Language Learning; Secondary education; Secondary School Students; Self Concept; Social Differences; Standard Spoken Usage; Teacher Education; Teaching Methods; Test Preparation; Turkish; Turkish language; Cyprus; United Kingdom (London)
• ISSN: 1470-8477; 1747-759X
• DOI: 10.1080/14708477.2015.1115053

This paper addresses potentially problematic classroom episodes in which someone foregrounds a social division that is normally taken for granted. It illustrates the way in which linguistic ethnography can unpack the layered processes that collide in the breaking of silence, showing how linguistic form and practice, individual positioning, local institutional history and national education policy development all count, and it discusses the value of situated interactional data for teacher development. It presents two case studies, involving a Turkish language class in a Greek-Cypriot secondary school, and a discussion of Standard English in an inner London comprehensive.