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NEW SLETT ER Number 13 December 2002 P id gi ns a nd C re ol es i n E d u c a t i o n ( P A C E ) NEW SLETT ER Number 13 December 2002 SHORT REPORTS where I was able to discuss and consider many issues in regards to the Norfolk Island language and views of methods we could apply From: Pieter Muysken to revitalize our language. I would be interested ATD/Linguistics, KU Nijmegen to hear from readers with examples of Postbus 9103 introducing their language within the school, 6500 HD Nijmegen creation of resource material, training native The Netherlands language teachers, etc.” [email protected] “On February 5 [2002] Viveka Velupillai de- PUBLICATIONS fended her thesis in Nijmegen on the Tense- Mood-Aspect system of Hawai‘i Creole Journal articles English. Supervisors were Bernard Comrie and Pieter Muysken. The thesis was based on In “Confronting local dialect and culture a rich corpus of newly collected data on HCE. issues in the classroom” (Language, Culture Viveka concludes that the TMA system of and Curriculum vol.12, no.1, pp.31-41, 1999), HCE is rather different from the way it is Valerie Youssef and Beverly-Anne Carter portrayed in earlier descriptions, and presents describe the experience of preparing Spanish- many typologically unmarked features.” speaking Venezuelan EFL students to perform a play in Trinidad Creole. The students were From Suzanne Evans enrolled in a short course in Trinidad at the PO Box 602 Lower Intermediate level. According to the Norfolk Island 2899 abstract of the article (p.31): South Pacific The exercise was used to teach local culture in [email protected] relation to the native culture of the students and “The Norfolk Island language is traditionally also to teach functional and grammatical re- an oral one and is a creole established by the lations between the local Standard and Creole mutineers of “The Bounty” and their Tahitian varieties. It also served to enhance a focus on pronunciation, stress and intonation. The pro- companions. We are looking at revitalizing the cess was enthusiastically pursued by the entire language on Norfolk Island through the group, bringing them to a greater communi- community and particularly the school. I have cative awareness than might have been achieved just had an opportunity to complete a Graduate by other means in equivalent time. The use of Certificate in Linguistics at Adelaide local drama for the purposes outlined is University with Professor Peter Mühlhäusler recommended in the broader context of a need to equip 21st century students with the tools to manipulate the international variety(ies) most IN THIS ISSUE pertinent to their specific situation and needs. page In the same journal is: “A case study of the Short reports 1 sociopolitical dilemmas of Gullah-speaking Publications 1 students: Educational policy and practices” by Meta Van Sickle, Olaiya Aina and Mary Blake Cuttings from Newspapers 4 (Language, Culture and Curriculum vol.15, Special Report 6 no.1, pp.75-88, 2002). The article starts out Conferences 7 with the statement (p.75): “Early research in reading comprehension has supported the 1. teachers must learn enough about the culture belief that divergent language usage has a and language of the children to be able to negative impact on the visible demonstration of find the right answers in what the students academic achievement.” However, they put do say. forward the alternative point of view that lower comprehension scores “may be more a 2. Schools must develop a local curriculum that builds on the students’ strengths and function of teachers not accepting a reader’s gives them options for communicating the particular dialect than an actual lack of knowledge they possess. It is necessary to comprehension”. understand the life experiences that the To investigate this question with regard to students have in order for the teacher to use knowledge of science and mathematics, the relevant examples. authors conducted an in-depth qualitative study, over 3 years, of 12 students on Johns Book chapters Island (South Carolina) who speak a “Linguistics, education, and the Ebonics negatively valued creole language, Gullah. This firestorm” by John R. Rickford is a chapter in involved working with the students, listening to Linguistics, Language and the Professions, their stories, and discovering their own papers from the Georgetown University knowledge and world view. Then they did Round Table on Languages and Linguistics content-specific language development with the 2000, edited by James E. Alatis, Heidi E. students to enable them “to communicate their Hamilton and Ai-Hui Tan (Georgetown Uni- knowledge to the outside world” (p.81). The versity Press, Washington DC, 2002), pp.25- authors noted: 45. The author presents disturbing statistics Because our goal was definitely not to eradicate showing how K-12 schools have been failing their native language and culture, we focused on African-American students, and describes how code switching as a means of preserving their the 1996 resolution by the Oakland School heritage while giving them two ways to Board attempted to take corrective action. He communicate about the same topics. In addition, illustrates how the goal of the nine the alternative terminology that we used with recommendations was basically to use the the students was designed to stretch both their students’ home language – African-American thinking and their precise use of words… (pp.81-2) Vernacular English, or Ebonics – as a bridge to learning standard English. The goal was not to This resulted in the following (p.82): “While teach Ebonics to African-American students, as maintaining their ability to describe a ‘right’ was falsely portrayed by the media and most answer in a holistic manner (as is typical in the commentators. Gullah language), they have become more The chapter goes on to present four precise and detailed in their writing (more arguments for the Contrastive Analysis (CA) typical of Standard English).” The authors approach advocated for use by the Oakland report that all students seem to have benefited School Board resolutions: (1) The approach as a result of the project, in terms of being proceeds from a position of strength, using a released from the Special Education Program, valid, systematic variety that the students are passing the South Carolina Exit Exam, or already competent in. (2) It is likely to have graduating with a diploma. The article positive effects on both teachers’ expectations concludes with the following suggestions and vernacular-speaking students’ self- (p.87): identity and motivation. (3) Other alternatives, such as ignoring or constantly correcting This newsletter is published yearly, free of charge, students’ vernaculars, simply do not work. (4) with the support of the School of Languages, Several empirical studies demonstrate that CA Cultures and Linguistics at the University of New really works. Finally, the author refutes several England, and of the Australia Research Council. arguments against the CA approach. Please send contributions to: The book Literacy in African American Jeff Siegel Communities edited by Joyce L. Harris, Alan Department of Second Language Studies 1890 East-West Road G. Kamhi and Karen E. Pollock (Erlbaum, Honolulu, HI 96822 USA Marwah NJ, 2001) contains a chapter by [email protected] Noma LeMoine entitled “Language variation 2 Pidgins and Creole in Education (PACE) Newsletter 13 (2002) and literacy in African American students” Evaluation Unit of the Los Angeles Unified (pp.169-94). This chapter examines “the School District in 2000 (Publication No. 781). implications of language variation for teaching The main purpose of this evaluation was to SAE [Standard American English] and school determine the effectiveness of the Academic literacy to African American children for who English Mastery Program (AEMP) in increasing standard English is not native” (p.170). It students’ general and academic use of starts out with background information about Mainstream English Language (MEL) as the origins of what she calls “African measured by the Language Assessment Writing American Language” and about the “deficit” and Speaking Measures. A pretest-posttest and “difference” perspectives towards the control design was used to examine the impact language. Then the author describes six of the AEMP over time. The pretest-posttest approaches used by effective teachers of condition allows measuring student academic African American SELLs [Standard English gain influence by confounding effects of Language Learners] (pp.176-87): maturation (time) and program effect. A control group was selected to isolate program impact 1. Build knowledge and understanding of non- from the maturation effect. (p.vi) standard languages and the students who use them. The most important finding of the study was: 2. Integrate linguistic knowledge about African There was a statistically significant and educa- American language into instruction. tionally meaningful difference between experi- mental and control groups at the end of the pro- 3. Use second language acquisition methods to gram as measured by the Language Assessment support acquisition of school language and Writing Test. AEMP program participants out- literacy. performed those who did not participate in the 4. Use a balanced approach to literacy program. (p.vii). acquisition that incorporates language experience, whole language/access to books, The authors concluded that the AEMP is “an and phonics. effective program in improving academic use of English language for speakers of non- 5. Infuse the history and culture of SELLs into the curriculum. mainstream English language” (p.vii) and recommended that the program be continued 6. Consider the learning styles and strengths of and expanded. African American SELLs in designing instruction. Resources for teachers The remainder of the chapter lists important The Department of Education in the state of features of the classroom environment and Western Australia has just published a useful several kinds of instructional strategies that resource kit about Aboriginal English called foster literacy acquisition in African American Ways of Being, Ways of Talk (2002).
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