June 19, 2005
Chapter 11.
Language Diversity
Chapter Eleven
Fact Formulators
Data Stamp
Hayley Wages
Tuesday, June 14, 2005 9:18 pm
 There are many individual differences in language development. Some children are risk takers and ready to try new words while others are cautious and take their time when it comes to learning new words.
Social class does play a role in language development. Children who come from middle class families seem to do better in communicating than children who come from poverty.
Nonstandard dialects is what children from ethnic minority groups speak. Black English and Spanish-influenced English are some examples of different dialects. Children that come from different backgrounds have a harder time learning the proper way to speak English.
In the past we have wanted everyone to speak and sound the same, but that is not realistic. We are becoming a very diverse society and we need to learn to accept other cultures for what they are.
In our future classrooms we should be open-minded about other cultures and not be so hard headed on how our culture is the best. Each culture can bring something valuable to the table and we need to be willing to explore that.
Chapter Eleven
Word Wizards
Data Stamp
Kelli C. Jones
Thursday, June 16, 2005 6:58 pm
Nonstandard Dialects: spoken by children from ethnic minority groups; some consistent and recognizable way in which their speech is different from the speech of middle-class whites.
Standard English: "proper" or "correct" English; form of speech described in old-fashioned grammar books; speech identified with educated, white, middle-class Americans.
Deficit theory: the idea that nonstandard speakers were deficient in grammar.
Difference theory: no dialect is inferior to others.
Bidialectal instruction: teaching children grammar of both their native dialect and standard English in the early grades.
Elaboration: a characteristic of the speech of the typical disadvantaged child is lack of elaboration; an elaborated sentence is one in which two or three ideas (each of which could be a simple sentence) into one sentence.
Chapter Eleven
Cyber Citer Summarizers
Data Stamp
Leia Jackson
Wednesday, June 15, 2005 8:55 p.m.
Chapter 11 addresses the issue of diversity in languages.
There are individual differences in language development. Individuality is maintained and reflected in many ways during the language-learning years. There is some evidence that personality and general cognitive style affect the process of language learning.
Children also differ in perseverance, curiosity, sociability, independence and other characteristics. All these influence the child's individual approach to the language-learning task. Differences are also seen between social classes, as well as within social class groupings. Variations among children and in environments provide many avenues to language and that they have a common end point. Grammatical errors are also common in languages.
However, the difference between the everyday mistakes speakers make and a dialect variation is that ordinary errors are likely to be individual, random, and inconsistent, whereas a dialect is comprised of consistent and predictable variations from standard English.
Dialects are most often associated with geographical areas. Research has also shown that nonstandard varieties of English are as highly structured and rule-governed as standard English. It is important to note that children learn to speak the language of their environment. Interference points, which are areas where the two languages differ in their representation of a given form, are also discussed. It is important to understand the differences in language.
Chapter Eleven
Quiz Questors
Data Stamp
Kelli C. Jones
Thursday, June 16, 2005 7:13 p.m.
 List three differences that are unique to each individual in language development.
 Gender, Personality, Cognitive Style
 What are two examples of Nonstandard Dialects in the United States?
Black English and Hispanic English
 True or False: Social class levels are fluid.
True
 True or False: Nonstandard dialects are inconsistent and unpredictable variations from Standard English.
False
 Explain the difference between the deficit theory and the difference theory of American dialects.
Deficit theory believes that nonstandard speakers are deficient in grammar. The difference theory believes that no dialect is inferior to others.
 An elaborated sentence is one in which:
A. There are lots of complicated terms.
*B. Two or three ideas, each of which could be a simple sentence, are put into one sentence.
C. Is written in a fancy way.
 Tell how a teacher could use bidialectal instruction:
By teaching children grammar of both their native dialect and standard English in the early grades.
*This is the next step toward THE One World Language.
Step Ninety-Two: *Off with the head of your dangling participle.
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