The reading summary is done by: Megan Jones (ENGL300-1) and Eli Mileur (ENGL300-2)
Due by class time on: Monday, February 7th, 2011
The responses by the whole class are due by class time on: Wednesday, Feb. 9th, 2011
The text you need to read is here.
In "How can AAE speakers become effective SWE writers?" the author overviews the major strategies that have been used to reach this goal.
ReplyDeleteThe first approach, referred to as the "traditional" approach, is said to focus primarily on the product of writing rather than the process. It emphasizes the importance of "correctness" in writing, and the idea that students must be "immersed" in standard English in order to attain proficiency in it. The author outlines the instruction style of this approach, which includes exercises in standard usage. Also, because of the "immersion" aspect, the teacher will correct the student's speech as well as his or her writing, as it is assumed that the latter follows from the other. Citing several studies, the author comes to the conclusion that correcting students' speech is not likely to work, as the students are not likely to encounter standard English outside of the classroom and are past the age at which they can easily master a new dialect. Overall, the author says that this approach can work if it is focused and students are given direct feedback on their work. The author then discusses the "second dialect" approach. This approach is informed by the teaching of English as a second language. It emphasizes highlighted the differences between AAE and SWE so students can become familiar with the rules they are learning. Some of the strategies of this approach are focusing on specific things which differ between AAE and SWE and modeling for the student instead of correcting them. Generally, this approach is most concerned with contrastive analysis. The third approach discussed is dialect awareness approach. This approach emphasizes appreciation for different dialects. AAE speakers are to learn SWE because they see that it could play a positive role in their lives. The instruction focuses on improving students attitudes about various dialects and illustrating the differences between them. The fourth approach is the culturally appropriate approach. It adopts an "Afrocentric" curriculum, so that AAE speakers might learn SWE in a context which emphasizes their own culture. The approach basically aims to teach AAE students SWE without making them feel as though they are being disconnected from their culture. The last approach is the bridge approach. As the name suggests, this approach seeks to "bridge" the gap between AAE and SWE. At first, students can read and write in AAE. Only after students learn the basics of writing is the focus of the class switched to learning the principles of SWE. Therefore, it is a gradual approach. The author concludes that a teacher should find commonalities between these varied approaches and not feel constrained to any one, as learners come from various backgrounds themselves.
I found this article to be very informative. I never knew there were so many specific strategies that have been developed to deal with this issue. I can't say which of these would seem to be the most effective, although, as with most things, the best approach is probably one that contains elements of all of them. Total immersion can be a very harmful approach for many students. Without having something relatable, the learning process can become more daunting and even confusing. Students tend to do better when the lessons are in some way tailored to the experiences and knowledge they have already acquired. From my own experience, I dropped a Spanish class because the instructor spoke very little English. On the very first day of class she spoke almost entirely in Spanish. I knew there was no way I could learn the language this way, even after taking two years of Spanish in high school.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this article, for the most part. I think that a blending of some of the different techniques. I found immersion very useful in the learning of second languages (Finnish and German), and I felt that I did better with German just hanging out with native speakers in Germany than I did when I was taking German language courses here at SIU. The problem with that for AAE speakers is that SE is so similar and mutually intelligible that something like that probably wouldn't work as well. I think SE is important for AAE speakers to learn for formal academic writing, and because it is often a requirement for many jobs. I liked the SE as a Second Dialect approach quite a bit, and I think that with a few tweaks and additions from other approaches, it could be quite good.
ReplyDeleteI thought this article was informative, but at the same time boring. There was not anything that really kept my attention about the author's writing. Eli did a good job at summarizing the article, and highlighting all the key strategies. I have no experience with having to learn or integrate another language with the one that I am already used to. I think that all of these strategies could work, but I like the fourth strategy the best. The fourth strategy aims to still keep one's culture, and also take on the new dialect.
ReplyDeleteI thought this article was informative and interesting. It was very much tied to my comment about the AAE article a few days ago. I think it is great that there are various different approaches that can be taken in order to learn effectively. I agree with others, when I say that a combination of all the approaches would probably be best. Every student is different, therefore, it is situational. We do not know their frame of reference or their experience with SWE. I think a very important part of this problem is bridging the gap. I think people that are of influence to specific cultures and lifestyles must embrace SWE because they or their team had to utilize SWE to get where they are today. Just because you learn something new doesn't mean you have to change who you are. Therefore the fourth strategy should be used last to remind the students that this only benefits them in the long run.
ReplyDeleteThe author of this article discusses the idea of immersing someone in the English language to help them learn how to properly write and speak it. I agree with this completely. It's the same idea as when you're learning a foreign language, the best way to learn the language is to study abroad an immerse yourself in that language. The author also discusses the idea of correcting students' speech and how that does not work in bettering their English-speaking skills. I disagree with that idea because alot of times when students say something incorrectly they don't realize that they are. When you correct and student over and over it gets drilled into their minds how to properly speak.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this article. I think the author did a great job at describing different ways teachers can improve their curriculum to fit their students. More often than not students get lost in what they're asked to fix with their writing because they see punctuation errors, and corrections made by the teacher on their grammar/word choice. I like the idea of the authors last suggestion to teachers. The article suggests that students get to write the way the choose with AAE then soon after learning the basics the class switches to using SWE. That is an interesting take on teaching writing but I think it would be quite effective.
ReplyDeleteI think Eli did a great job at getting the main points across. he hit alot of key points that were expressed in the article. I found the article to be some what informative. The author basically explains different ways in which to teach people how to effectively speak and properly write. Me personally, I did not know that there were so many different strategies that aimed to fix these issues. But because there are so many different strategies, it's easier for different people to take to different strategies and learn from them.
ReplyDeleteThe article "How can AAE speakers become effective SWE writers?" was very informative, and Eli did a great job summarizing it. The article is about how to make AAE speakers improve their writing skills. The first way the author suggests to do this is to focus on the writing product rather than the process. He also says to correct the persons speech instead of just their writing. I think that is a very good strategy to use because to fully understand how to use standard English, you must use it all the time, and integrate it into every aspect of your life. The author also discusses other ways to teach people how to effectively write and speak English, including an "Afrocentric" approach, which uses the AAE speakers culture to help teach SWE.
ReplyDeleteThe article was informative but I was kind of offended as I read it. The article is making AAE spearkers which are essentially African Americans seem as if they do not speak English. Any way you look at it, AAE is still English; it is just an incorrect form of it. The articles about AAE and BVE are trying to argue a point that it is a dilect and that was the way that slaves spoke. The main point of all of this is slaves. During that time period there was not anyone to correct them. There are people who do use ebonics but it is not just black people. White people in the south speak AAE and BVE. It is not just for black people. I hope one day this will be realized and corrected.
ReplyDeleteThe article "How can AAE speakers become effective SWE writers?" brings up an issue that has been a problem in education for some time. It seems odd to me that educators haven't already addressed and solved this problem. AAE speakers are not the only speakers of the English language who speak different dialects. In fact, I am sure most English speakers do not speak proper English 100% of the time. In my opinion, I think these strategies should be used for everyone in the classroom, not just AAE speakers.
ReplyDeleteThe chapter "How can AAE speakers become effective SWE writers?" was another thought-provoking chapter. The author outlines the major tactics for using Effective Standard English Writing for individuals who speak AAE. The authors states different approaches to using effective SWE. The one that stood out the most was, “traditional” approach. This form focuses on the product of what is written and its rightness. Another interesting approach for AAE writers to write in SWE is to put emphasis on the AAE style dialect. This approach is appreciates AAE for being its own unique dialect, while still using some SWE. This approach give the reader insight to the author the author who uses this approach .Another thing that I found interesting in this chapter the author writes about how teacher’s correct students speech. The author concludes that correcting students’ speech is ineffective, because the only time students use Standard English is inside the classroom. Overall I thought the chapter was very informative.
ReplyDeleteThe first approach, referred to as the traditional approach, is said to focus primarily on the product of writing rather than the process. It emphasizes the importance of correctness in writing, and the idea that students must be immersed in standard English in order to attain proficiency in it. This is the concern in "How can AAE speakers become effective SWE writers?" Which I thought the article was interesting and informative in which the author tries to addresss and discusses the idea of immersing someone in the English language to help them learn how to properly write and speak it. I believe every student has their own way how to speak and write to make themselves productive and effective, although some writing techniques should be applied the same way as applying writing rules. Overall, this article was good reading material which kept me informed all throughout the article.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the summary and the article, I think both of them were well written. One thing I really liked about the article was the fact that the ways teacher can improve curriculum to fit all the students. Something that I disliked about the article was when the author mentions the idea of correcting students’ speech and how it won’t work in making their English-speaking skills better. There are definitely two sides with this statement, but I don’t necessarily agree with it. I liked the bridge approach and the way the author described it. They are trying to create a bridge between AAE and SWE, which could definitely be affective. The article as a whole was definitely well written, but sometimes a bit boring.
ReplyDeleteThe article was very interesting. I never knew that so many techniques existed to help someone learn how to write and speak correctly. I like that there were many approaches to learning SWE; I especially loved the bridge approach because not only is a teacher able to help the student that knows AAE, but a teacher is also able to teach him a new dialect which will help him write and speak for the workforce.
ReplyDeleteThis was very interesting, I never knew that this even existed. I was always forced to learn SWE, and I forgot how to speak Spanish. I wish they had this when I was younger.
The article, How can AAE speakers become effective SWE writers Instruction, discusses the three main approaches to teaching AAE speakers to become better SWE writers. I found it interesting that in the Traditional approach it is said that one of the exercises used to help reinforce the learning is for the student to read aloud any sentence found in their reading that seems wrong. One teacher also excludes many AAE texts from her curriculum to keep the SWE writing as dominant. This goes along with the theory that immersion into another language is the most effective tool.
ReplyDeleteThis article also brings up problems with traditional homework. Students may spend days, or even weeks, before learning if the work they had done was correct. This is something that could make learning a lot less stressful. The addition of computer assignments which give instant feedback and corrections is an effective means to teaching. This article brought up a lot of teaching methods which could help all students, not just AAE speakers.
The article "How can AAE speakers become effective SWE writers?" was different from what I was expecting. I don't agree that AAE speakers are the only ones that need to be taught "correct grammar". People with a southern draw or Cajun accent aren't going to pronounce every single word correct according to traditional grammar. I did however think that the methods of SWE can prove to be effective when applied to the right groups.
ReplyDeleteOverall I thought that the article was much too long, but the content of the article was interesting. I thought that Eli did a great job summarizing the article. His summary was extremly detailed. While reading this article, I compared it to my Spanish class that I am currently taking. From the first day of class, my instructor has spoken mostly in Spanish and very little English. Although it is often difficult for me to understand her, I am actually learning a lot in the course. I believe that the total immersion in the language is helping me get used to how the language sounds. It is because of this that I would agree more with the immersion approach of teaching.
ReplyDeleteThis article was very informative. I found it interesting to learn about the variety of strategies for AAE speakers become effective SWE writers. After reading the material and taking my own personal narratives I believe that bridging approach is the better of the approaches. It allows students to remain connected with their heritage through dialect and language without being punished via school grades. Another point i found interesting in the article was the notion of traditional homework, how students have to wait a lengthy time period before receiving feedback as to how they performed on the assignment. I agree with the author that does add stress to the student and should be looked into for alternate solutions. Overall, great article.
ReplyDeleteThe article, "How can AAE speakers become effective SWE writers?" gave me a sense of how difficult things can be if learned in an "incorrect" way. The author speaks of the Traditional Approach to correcting AAE speakers and how their dialect isn't rhetorically correct. The idea is that if an individual can do use correct grammar and use the language as the rules apply then they are more likely to become successful. It mentions that "reading influences writing" and that's why AAE speakers are trained to read correct English according to the rules. This idea reminds me of speech and how we write the way we talk, too. They also talk about correcting a second dialect is harder to correct than teaching someone their second language. For example, when playing the guitar there are certain ways to hold down particular patterns for playing chords- if you aren't taught the correct way to begin with, it is much harder to fix that problem than to teach a person how to do it the "correct" way for the first time. It's an interesting way to look at why we are privileged from our past experiences and how we came to learn the things from the people around us.
ReplyDeleteIn the article, "How can AAE speakers become effective SWE writers?" it dicusses different strategies to help AAE speakers adapt. My opinion of this goes hand and hand with the last blog. I still believe that AAE is a way of speaking when you are not educated, the examples were very poor. Many people who speak "AAE" do not necessarily write how they talk. Whether or not these strategies are effective I don't think that it is absolutely necessary being that "no child is left behind" and has been introduced to correct English early on. Perhaps for those who speak an entirely different language, not just ebonics, it may work.
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ReplyDelete"How can AAE speakers become effective SWE writers?" focuses on different philosophizes that have been used to help others assimilate their speaking into the correct grammatical way. For the length of this article, I am surprised that only AAE has been mentioned. There are many "dialects" or slang across cultures that could have been addressed. Aside from that, the idea of being immersed in correct grammar from the beginning does make it easier to become, (what is typically thought of as), a skilled speaker. However this idea is only practical to an extent, seeing as how it is easy to pick up speaking patterns by just simply being around someone.
ReplyDeleteThe article "How can AAE speakers become effective SWE writers?" has introduced some new concepts and new key terms to me. Similarility, Eli Mileur has done a great and effective job on summarizing the article. Eli’s post is really helpful for me to clear the concept from the article. It is true that whatever we was born in what language societies, we were taught by our teachers to speak should closer like writing when we were children. It is considered that it can conduct our words and practice grammar though conversation as well. However, I think if it does happen, there would not exist dialect in our languages.
ReplyDeleteEli did a very good job in summarizing the article "How can AAE Speakers Become Effective SWE Writers?" This article was very informative and he did a great job of informing us with all the aspects without leaving anything out. He explained all the approaches in a way that the reader didn't have to read the actual article to know what the content of the article was about. I wish he would've given the reader a few sentences on how he felt on the topic,but besides that, excellent job.
ReplyDeleteI particularly enjoyed reading "How can AAE speakers become effective SWE writers?" from a student, future educator, and African-American standpoint. I think that Eli's summary was very helpful in outlining they specific points that the author was trying to make. I do believe that the author gave some valid points in the teaching a alternative to speaking English. Environmental factors are one of the most important aspects when it comes down to language. Us humans thrive on language at home and how it is spoken so for many inner-city kids, they aren't getting exposed to what many call, "correct English." I strongly agree on the fact that teachers should teach from a student's dialect to more specifically improving their English, not vice-versa.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this article very much. I enjoyed for that I never thought about the different ways in which one could be taught language. I believe that the first method and the last method would be most effective. I believe the first would be a strong method in that reinforcing the language is always reminding the student. the second method would be strong I believe because the theacher is relating it to the students life in some way.
ReplyDeleteTher article was interesting and enlightening in that I never knew about this in the classroom. Teaching kids to speak a different way is almost impossible, but teaching them to write a different way is very possible. Most people will never use formal English outside of a classroom or important social event any way. Learning how to write in a SWE way is a very important step towards their future.
ReplyDeleteThis make a lot more sent after reading blog 8's reading. Because this is just repeating what blog 8 says? I know this is backwards but it help me a lot to understand blog 7. Also blog 8 is a much better read then 7. and if it is possable i would like to rewrite blog 8.
ReplyDeleteI thought this article was informative and interesting. My response is similar to the one I wrote the other day regarding AAE. As previously said, everyone is different, therefore many people have different approaches on things especially those of different cultures because they somewhat 'embrace' SWE. Of course students still need to learn the correct way of writing and how to write, but AAE and SWE are just other forms of english writing that must be 'taken into consideration' to make students' writing more effective. I think Eli did a godo job at summarizing the article because he included some main points that the author said. To restate what Eli said, "...emphasizes highlighted the differences between AAE and SWE so students can become familiar with the rules they are learning." It's a gradual approach to teach students to write less grammatical errors and be more aware of other writing techniques.
ReplyDeleteThis was a well written summary. I found this article rather interesting. I myself am taking another language class so maybe some of these strategies could help me. I had no idea there were so many different approaches to teaching a language. I feel like the fourth approach would be the one I like. It allows the student to stand strong in their culture, but learn a language from a different culture at the same time.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy this article and the summary was clear and straight to the point. Reading this article motivates me to take another because it is very useful and judging from this article could be somewhat a easy process. The approach I agree with the most is the fourth approach because it allows you to be true to your culture while developing interest in another culture. Great article and very mind challenging. Good Job.
ReplyDeleteIn this article, the author tried to explain how AAE speakers can be better writers of tradititional english. There were a few steps to help this process. First they must understand the order of writing and not concentrate on the correctness of it. The second approach is to teach AAE speakers english as a second language. The third approach educates people on different dialects to be more diverse. The last approach is Afrocentric, it does not take away from their culture but still teaches SWE.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the article was boring and that it was not informative at all. The article was making it seem that students that spoke AAE or "slang" was not able to write SWE. I believe that to be untrue because i do use AAE but i can also write in the standard English form. Just because someone uses slang does not mean that they do not know how to write proper English. you dont need special techniques to teach people who uses AAE how to wirte SWE just tell them how you want it written and it will be done.
ReplyDeleteI think the summaries was well written. I found this article very interesting and informative. Until this day I had never realized the different concepts teachers use in order to teach someone a language. Reading this article reminds me of when I was back in High School taking Spanish for the first time. I was so lost in the beginning but at the end of the semester I had learned so much and hadn't even realized it.
ReplyDeleteThis article contained a very interesting take on this issue. The process seems like an interesting solution to an end of having a standardized written grammar for speakers of all dialects. It is true that a written dialect that is central to all can be of use to all while not betraying the culture of everyones spoken dialect.
ReplyDeleteas with any subject, there are many different teaching and learning strategies that can be used. the article offers a few different strategies that can be helpful with learning a new language. the process of learning a new language is hard, and people aren't all the same, so in some instances immersion is the best and easiest way to learn, while in other cases, it may not be the most efficient way to learn. it depends on the person who is learning the language.
ReplyDeleteThere was a vast amount of interesting information in this article. Throughout the article the author does a large amount of comparison between AAE and SWE. The author begins with the fact that there are teachers that struggle to teach SWE to AAE students. There is a lame attempt by many English teachers in this scenario. It would be easier to teach students SWE if there was a greater effort and if the benefits of SWE were laid out for students. A way to do this would be by teaching SWE as a “Second dialect,” this would allow greater comparisons between AAE and SWE and give students a point of reference when trying to learn SWE. The article than begins to explain that SWE is used in work place environments while AAE is not. SWE is a more professional type of dialect that all Americans have the right to learn so that they can have success in the working world. Another way that is used to teach students is the Dialect Awareness Approach this approach gives students the opportunity to see their mistakes while in school and also see how they could correct their mistakes.
ReplyDeleteThe author of this article discusses the idea of immersing someone in the English language to help them learn how to properly write and speak it.The process seems like an interesting solution to an end of having a standardized written grammar for speakers of all dialects. The process of learning a new language is hard, and people aren't all the same, so it could be the easiest way to learn.
ReplyDeleteThere is a lot of good information on in this article. The author does a vast amount of comparison between AAE and AWE. The author brings up facts of putting someone in the English language to teach them how to read and write. The author also talks about how some teachers have a difficult time teaching SWE students rather than AAE students. The author gives examples on how to solve this problem. Very informational article.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, there is a time and a place to speak and write properly: however, it needs to be practiced. I believe correcting the way people speak will enforce better grammar. If it is not used it will be lost. There may still be errors in punctuation because you are not stopping mid-sentence to be like “ I need a semi-colon or a period there.” to continue the sentence with words again.
ReplyDeleteI though this article was very interesting. As an education major myself I know that teaching students can be rough. It is our job as teachers to make the learning process easier and one of doing that is to relate the subject matter to our student’s lives. Without having any relation to the topic students become uninterested and unmotivated-thus hindering the learning process. The summary of this article was very good and to the point, it made understanding the article as a whole very easy.
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