LANGUAGE ATTITUDE
I.
Definition
Language is an intimate part of social
identity.
Language attitudes (positive or negative)
towards a language or a variety have much impact on language and education.
Much early work in the study of language
attitudes traces both basic conceptualization and form of measurement to the
work of Gardner and Lambert (1972), psychologists interested in the language
attitudes of Anglophone and Francophone Canadians, adults and children, to-
ward English and French. Gardner has continued this line of inquiry and built
it into a comprehensive model of second language acquisition in school
settings, and his definitions continue to influence current work. In this frame
of reference, attitude has cognitive, affective, and conative components (i.e.,
it involves beliefs, emotional reactions, and behavioral tendencies related to
the object of the attitude) and consists, in broad terms, of an underlying
psychological predisposition to act or evaluate behavior in a certain way.
Attitude is thus linked to a person's values and beliefs and promotes or
discourages the choices made in all realms of activity, whether academic or
informal. In this framework, motivation refers to the combination of desire and
effort made to achieve a goal; it links the individual's rationale for any
activity such as language learning with the range of behaviors and degree of
effort employed in achieving goals.
A.
Measurement Of Attitude And
Motivation
The
classic direct measures of individual attitudes and motivation used by Gardner
and Lambert were extensive self-report
ques- tionnaires given to persons involved in second language study or bilin-
gual situations, mainly in Canada, where the salience of skills in both French
and English was high.
An
additional measure of attitude toward speakers of the language, as contrasted
with opinions about language study, was the matched guise technique developed
by Lambert. In the matched guise technique, people listened to taped samples of
individuals speaking French and English and rated the speakers on affective and
cognitive qualities, like those in the Likert-type scale,
B.
Limitations Of The Classic
Approach
The
psychometric approaches to the definition and measurement of attitudes and
motivation have established a well-grounded theoretical model for second
language acquisition in educational settings, but the model has had limited
impact on classroom practice for several reasons. Many of these limitations are
discussed in more detail by Crookes and Schmidt (1991), who note that the
definitions of motivation used in sociopsychological research have been too
narrow and too remote from pedagogical issues to provide direction for
teachers, who usually use the term motivation more inclusively to capture
aspects of student behavior they find relevant to success or failure in formal
instruction. Sociopsy- chological approaches also present theoretical problems.
C.
Research On Language
Attitudes As Reflected In Speaker Behavior
Sociolinguistic
research, particularly research conducted within the vari- ationist paradigm
(see Beebe, 1988, for an overview of this paradigm and related L2 research),
has provided some general indicators of the influences of speakers5 attitudes
on language behavior in a wide variety of settings. This research has shown the
power of community norms, particularly those related to peer group membership,
that shape the choices made by speakers.
D.
Attitudes Toward Language In
Educational Settings
Like
sociolinguistic research generally, studies of attitudes in educa- tional
settings have moved from studies of the effect of discrete linguis- tic
features to consideration of larger units of discourse as they shape and
reflect the actions, interactions, and reactions of participants, in- cluding
teachers, students, and parents.
SOCIETAL MULTILINGUALISM
I.
Introduction
The
terms bilingualism and multilingualism have been used interchange- ably in the
literature to refer to the knowledge or use of more than one language by an
individual or a community.
Multilingualism
can be, and has been, studied both as an individual and as a societal
phenomenon. When it is viewed as an individual phenomenon, issues such as how
one acquires two or more languages in childhood or later, how these languages
are represented in the mind, and how they are accessed for speaking and writing
and for comprehension become central. When it is viewed as a societal
phenomenon, one is concerned with its institutional dimensions, that is, with
issues such as the status and roles of the languages in a given society,
attitudes toward lan- guages, determinants of language choice, the symbolic and
practical uses of the languages, and the correlations between language use and
social factors such as ethnicity, religion, and class.
A.
Reasons for multilingualism
How
do societies become multilingual? There are many reasons. The most obvious
factor leading to societal multilingualism is migration. When speakers of one
language settle in an area where another language is used and over the years
continue to maintain their own language, the result is multilingualism. Spanish
in the United States is a good example of this. Another cause of societal
multilingualism is cultural contact.
B.
Speech communities
In
the study of societal multilingualism, it becomes evident that certain types of
approaches to the study of language are more relevant and useful than others.
C.
Verbal repertoire
The
notion of verbal repertoire is central to the discussion of multilin- gualism,
both in the individual and in a society. Verbal repertoire refers to the total
range of linguistic resources available to an individual or a community.
D.
Language choice
How and when
are the languages used?
To
answer this question, the notion of domains is very important. Domains,
according to Fishman (1972b), explore "who speaks what language to whom
and when in those speech communities that are characterized by widespread and
relatively stable multilingualism"
E.
Patterns of use
All
the languages in the repertoire of a multilingual community are not equally distributed
in terms of power, prestige, vitality, or attitude. In other words, some
languages are more valued than others. This phenomenon can be referred to as
the asymmetric principle of multilingualism.
1.
Diglosia
A diglossic situation exists in a speech community where two codes
perform two separate sets of functions.
2.
Code
switching
When two or more languages exist in a community, speakers
frequently switch from one language to another.
3.
Code
Mixing
The distinction between code switching and code mixing is important
because code mixing raises several issues involving grammar.
WORLD ENGLISHES
I.
Introduction
We will usually refer to world Englishes and the teaching of
English; it should, however, be understood that the observations and analyses here
will have relevance to sociolinguistics and to teachers of languages of wider
communication.
A. Characteristic of world Englishes
A. Characteristic of world Englishes
Everyone is cognizant of the notion of dialects of languages,
including English. Dialects are characterized by identifiable differences
vis-a-vis other dialects, in pronunciation, lexical choice or usage, grammar,
and so on; we speak easily of southern English, New England English, American
English, and British English. These are all dialects: types of English that are
identified with the residents of particular places.
B. Interlanguage and World
Englishes
It has been claimed that the concept of interlanguage accounts for
the observable differences between varieties of English in the Outer as
compared with the Inner Circle. The concept has had a wide appeal, and may even
be said to constitute a school of thought, with numerous adherents.
C.
Range and Depth
An important first step toward being able to discuss English in its
global context is to overcome a quite natural or intuitive concept of the ownership of language.
II.
World Englishes in the classroom
The study and teaching of world Englishes can be employed in very
positive ways in any number of areas in language teaching not only in teaching
English to Outer or Expanding Circle learners.
A.
Scientific Thought And
Method
In perhaps the first place, pragmatic examination of the facts and
issues of world Englishes leads one — teacher and student alike — to come to
grips with observed phenomena and inferred hypotheses, as opposed to defending
closely held beliefs blindly. One can defend to the death the notion of
"one model and standard" (or two, or perhaps three) for all would-be
English users, but that will not stop the wide world from using English for
conversing, bargaining, studying, and trading.
B. English as medium of
multiculturalism
Our concern with multiculturalism is a result of the relatively
recent recognition by the educational community (and other communities) that
models need to be found which will accommodate the facts of population trends
and interactions today.
C. International business
and English for special purposes
Englishes for special purposes (ESP), including aviation English
(Airspeak) and Seaspeak, have been exten- sively discussed and analyzed; for
brief characterizations and examples, see the relevant entries in McArthur. Students
might be led to examine the functional advantages and disadvantages of such
limited forms of English and the rationales and methodologies for constructing
them.
D.
Sociolinguistic profiles of Englishes and
their users
In the largely monolingual cultures of the old-variety
English-using nations, references to the multilingual (and multicultural)
conditions obtaining in foreign places may go unheeded because they are so far
from the experience of the users. Explorations of world Englishes have the
potential, then, of opening the eyes of English users to the great array of
cultures in the world.
E.
Standardized tests of
English
Assumption has long been that the criteria for measuring profi-
ciency in English around the world should be candidates' use of particu- lar
features of English which are used and accepted as norms by highly educated
native speakers of English"
LANGUAGE PLANNING AND POLICY
introduction to the fields of language planning and language
policy. It is divided into five major sections: The introduction addresses
basic issues and assumptions which underlie and influence the direction of the
study of language planning and policy. The second section discusses key
definitions, describes various levels and types of language planning, and
identifies those who are officially and unofficially involved in it. The third
part contrasts influential schol- arly orientations and approaches toward
language planning and policy analysis and briefly reviews the work of several
authorities in terms of their approaches.
A.
Scholarly orientations and approaches toward
language planning
One reason why there are so many definitions of language planning
is the fact that language policy theorists and planners adopt markedly
different perspectives toward language planning.
B.
Neoclassical versus
historical-structural approach
describes the major differences be- tween the neoclassical and
historical-structural approaches as involving:
1. The unit of analysis each employs (the neoclassical emphasizes
indi- vidual choices, whereas the historical-structural considers the influ-
ence of sociohistorical factors on language use)
2. The role of the historical perspective (the neoclassical
approach tends to focus more on the current language situation; the historical-
structural approach considers the past relationships between groups)
3. Criteria for evaluating plans and policies (i.e., the
neoclassical ap- proach often presents its evaluations in ahistorical and
amoral terms, whereas the historical-structural approach is concerned with
issues of class dominance and oppression)
4. The role of the social scientist (the neoclassical model
typically assumes that the field of applied linguistics and teachers are
apoliti- cal; the historical-structural approach concludes that a political
stance is inescapable.
C. Goals of language
planning
Whether
language policies are implicit or explicit, they involve goals. On the surface
these goals may be seen as either.
(1) language-related (wherein language issues appear to be the
major focus as an end in themselves)
(2) politically and economically motivated (wherein lan- guage
appears to be a means to an end). Upon closer inspection, how- ever, even goals
that appear to be mostly language related are generally not without political
or economic connection and impact.
LANGUAGE
AND VARIATION
A.
Language Variation
The study of regional dialects — varieties
of a language which are spoken in different geographical
areas.
B.
Reasons For Studying Dialects
One reason is to better prepare our
students for the vernacular varieties of a foreign language which they can
expect to find its native speakers using if and when they have the opportunity
to travel abroad.
C.
Why Do Regional Dialects Arise ?
Regional dialect differences arise for various
reasons. One factor is the influence of geography itself. Other factors besides geography that help to create regional
dialects include political boundaries, settlement patterns, migration and
immigration routes, territorial conquest, and language contact.
D.
Social Variation
Social
variation in language might be considered from the perspective of differences
between speakers in a variety of dimensions, including :
(1) age,
(2) social class and network,
(3) race or ethnicity,
E. Age
Age Variation in language according to age
may reflect either age grading or change in progress. Age grading involves
features associated with specific age groups as a developmental or social
stage, ("Mommy sock," "- Moskowitz,
1985, p. 55)
F. Social class and network Variation
u Social class and network Variation in language according to social class
is, like variation ac- cording to age or ethnicity.
u as distinct from variation according to use in different styles or
registers.
u Social class variation in language has attracted the most attention and
yielded some of the most striking regularities within quantitative socio-
linguistics.
G. Race And Ethnicity : Focusing on African-American Vernacular
English
some Mexican-American have a distinctive accent, that some African- American children speak a
different variety of English from that of children from European or Caucasian
backgrounds, and that even among the European-Americans, the children from
German back- grounds sound slightly different than the ones from French or
Polish backgrounds.
H. Differences Between Race
And Ethnicity
u In language use reflect the effects of bilingualism in the children's home
and/or in the community the influence on the child's English of
another language which they or their parents learned natively. For instance,
u the fact that in some varieties of Mexican-American English voiced [z]
is replaced by voiceless [s] (so that speakers say "soo" for
"zoo") may be attributed to transfer or interference from Spanish
(Valdes, 1988, p. 130), which does not have voiced [z] in word-initial or
word-final position.
PIDGINS AND CREOLES
A.
Attitudes toward pidgin and
Creole languages
Pidgins and Creoles, which are essentially new language varieties
created out of old cloth, allow us to observe the birth and evolution of a language
within a highly compressed time frame.
B.
Origins and development of
pidgins and Creoles
Pidgins
and Creoles are linked in a continuum of language development. Pidgins come
into being because they are needed during times of popu lation upheaval, when normal mechanisms of language transmission
are disrupted. No one sits down and decides to create a pidgin. It comes into
being through the interaction of large numbers of people who speak several
different languages and who have little reason or opportu- nity to learn
another one of the many languages spoken in the contact situation.
Conclusion
these
languages, formerly considered "marginal," are now far better
understood by linguists. How they come to life under specific social
conditions, how they incorporate structures and vocabulary from sev- eral
languages, and how they stabilize, disappear, or continue to evolve have
provided windows on the nature of language itself. Many teacher- training
programs already incorporate information about such language varieties, and
practicing teachers who keep abreast of the pedagogical literature read about how
their colleagues have applied such findings to curricular design and
methodology. More understanding of how creole- speaking and creole-influenced
communities view and use these lan- guages is needed, however (Morgan, 1994).
Linguistic and pedagogical inquiry alone will not enable children from these
communities to achieve educational parity.
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