Intercultural Communications Post 7

The reading from this past week dealt with world Englishes. World English, according to the article, is said to not be a monolith but a catchall category for all its linguistic and functional varieties. There are problems that arouse from this in regards to teaching standardized written English and diversifying the language in writing. When English learners begin English writing there needs to be an in between this standardization and diversification. Although corrective feedback increases the ability of being able to write “correctly”, sometimes certain grammar errors should be let go so that the learner does not get too discouraged. In my opinion, if the linguistic feature does not disrupt the flow of the writing and there are other more important grammar features that need to be addressed, it should be let go. “Writing has long contributed attempts to stabilize certain aspects of language” (Howatt, 2004). There needs to be some type of dominant variety of English in order for everyone to communicate and understand each other effectively. In the diverse regions around the United States there are dialects and language differences in English that sometimes makes it difficult for others from different areas to understand each other. Although this gives culture to each regions way of speaking, if we do not understand each other no one is going to know what is going on. It is important to be aware of these dialect and diction differences in order to learn and understand what others are saying. This correlates with the speaking and writing of English Language Learners. For the most part their speaking and writing makes sense but there are certain errors that stick out when listening or reading that tend to be addressed either due to confusion from the listener of reader or just a matter of a small mistake that the other can still understand. In what ways can we as future educators do to help establish a relationship between the standardized English and variations of English? For me, as a future educator, I plan to teach the standardized rules of English that my students will need to know use in order to perform well with their language abilities. However, at the same time I am not going to tell them that their way of speaking is wrong and that they should not use that variety of English. I will be sure to differentiate and show the boundaries between a variety and a mistake. It is good for the students to be able to realize what is considered an error and what is considered a variety. Also, in order for students to understand how English has changed over time and continues to change I will teach them the non dominant forms and functions of the English language.