The Cambridge Introduction to Applied Linguistics

Applied linguistics in educational contexts is most commonly associated with programs related to language learning (i.e., ESL, EFL, etc.). However, linguistic information derived from studying intra-language variation is equally important in educational contexts. In this chapter, I focus primarily on dialect variation in educational contexts. I do this for a few reasons. First, while everyone understands that linguistic information is crucial to teaching foreign or additional languages, few recognize its importance to teaching in native language contexts. In US schools, vernacular-dialect-speaking children are expected, without instruction or resources, to conform to school language standards: there are no “second dialect” classes. Second, many challenges related to dialect variation in the classroom parallel those of additional language learning. For example, students may experience difficulty with inconsistent aspects of English grammar, such as the various conjugations of be or when cultural expectations about language vary, such as the appropriateness of silence or expectations about recounting narratives. The consistency of these challenges across vernacular and non-native speakers motivated the educational linguistics term “Standardized English Learners” (SELs), which includes all students who arrive to school speaking a linguistic variety other than that which forms the basis of instruction and assessment (Wilkerson, Miciak, Alexander, Reyes, Brown, & Giani, 2011). Third, listeners respond differently to vernacular and non-native speakers. While listeners may judge non-native speakers negatively, they attribute differences to linguistic circumstances. However, listeners tend to make judgments about personal attributes – intelligence, character, etc. – of dialect speakers. None of this is to diminish the challenges English language learners face in educational contexts. Instead, by focusing on dialect speakers, I hope to illuminate the ways in which knowledge from applied linguistics can ameliorate the experiences of all SELs.