Language Diversity in the Classroom - ymerleksi - home

Chapter 6The Language DebateIntroductionThe argument that discourse analysis should become the centralcomponent in a reworked social psychology represents one facet of arecent growth of interest in more fine-grained studies of language in theclassroom. Despite my critical comments (mainly in Chapter 2) about thevalue of micro-level enquiry, there is little doubt that the new emphaseshere have allied themselves with a rejection of ‘deficit’ principles and thedisembodied and artificial speech analyses associated with them (seeAtkinson, 1985; Edwards & Mercer, 1986; Mercer & Edwards, 1981;Robinson, 1985). In one interesting analysis, Mehan (1984) suggested thatclassroom language may be of sufficient specificity to constitute a‘cultural code’ in itself, one that must be mastered for school success.On the basis of what I have already discussed here, we could add acorollary: disadvantage may be understood as arising in part fromdifferential mastery of this subtle and unarticulated style that combinesboth knowledge and its appropriate display.One important advantage of this perspective is that it involvesteachers as well as pupils. Mehan describes a study in which differencesin language styles between lower-status children and their teachers wereassessed and, following this, the latter were assisted in making someadaptations to the children’s language patterns. With teachers phrasingtheir questions in the children’s maternal style, their passivity and ‘nonverbality’decreased; and, with the establishment of an enhancedparticipation, children could be gradually introduced to more standardusage. This type of educational adaptability is a long way removed fromprogrammed intervention based upon assumptions of linguistic deprivation.While making a general argument similar to Mehan’s, Young (1983)noted that such alterations in teacher practice do not always come easy.They typically have to combat longstanding traditions based more uponthe maintenance of classroom dominance and control than upon theoptimization of learning.Setting aside conceptions and assessments of intelligence, debatesabout whether or not some language varieties are inferior to others have93