Description

The primary goals of this text are to acquaint prospective teachers of English with certain aspects of the history/ structure/ and use of the English Language. Through considering the nature of the English language; how language and culture are interconnected as well as how it is acquired and how and why it changes/ readers will come to a fuller understanding of sociolinguistics. This text discusses the nature of language/ as well as how it is acquired; how and why languages change/ and how the English language in particular has changed (and continues to change); why different varieties of English have developed/ and why they continue to be used; how linguists have attempted to account for the (ir)regularities of English; how language and culture are related; and how linguistics can be used as a tool in the classroom. This text presents important topics for English teachers to know: the relationship between “standard” and “nonstandard” dialects/ how and why language varies/ how we can make informed decisions about what is “right” and “wrong” in language use/ and generally how a sound knowledge of how language works can inform and benefit the pedagogical strategies needed to develop as a teacher. Ultimately/ I want readers to think about language in ways not thought of before: objectively/ passionately/ critically/ analytically/ and logically. This allows readers to move beyond memorization of facts to original thought (which is sort of like the difference between knowing how to add and subtract/ and being able to balance a checkbook).