Abstract of

“I'll Speak in Proper Slang”: Language Ideologies in a Daily Editing Activity

Amanda J. Godley, University of Pittsburgh

Brian D. Carpenter, University of Pittsburgh

Cynthia A. Werner, Wexford, Pennsylvania

The purpose of this study was to examine the language ideologies—the assumptions about the nature of language, language variation, and language learning—reflected in a widespread daily editing activity often known as Daily Oral Language or Daily Language Practice. Through a yearlong ethnographic study of grammar instruction in three urban, predominantly African American 10th-grade English classes, two university researchers and the classroom teacher collaboratively analyzed the language ideologies reflected through the teacher's implementation of Daily Language Practice. Using methods of the ethnography of communication and classroom discourse analysis, they coded for the content and sources of recurring language ideologies and their links to state standards and assessments. Findings show that Daily Language Practice represented the English language as monolithic, language form as disconnected from meaning, and written Standard English as the only correct dialect of English. However, some students in the study concurrently expressed alternate language ideologies through their participation in Daily Language Practice, ideologies that forefronted language variation and its dependence on context and audience. Findings suggest that daily editing activities provide limited opportunities for students to learn about language in ways that build off their existing linguistic resources and that could enhance their literacy learning.

Abstract from Godley, A.J., Carpenter, B.D., & Werner, C.A. (2007, January/February/March). “I'll Speak in Proper Slang”: Language Ideologies in a Daily Editing Activity. Reading Research Quarterly, 42(1), 100–131. doi: 10.1598/RRQ.42.1.4