Interview question: How does the quality or value of the language use of children whose predominant language is standard English compare to that of children with language differences? Explain.
Would you share your thoughts on the issue of language children bring into the classroom from the home in comparison to School English. Does it give you insight into the child’s academic abilities? Explain. Does it tell you anything about the child’s home life? Does it influence your communication with the child or his/her parents?
The participants discussed language differences from interesting perspectives. I included two interview questions under this theme because this set of questions seemed to generate the common theme. Whether intentional or not, some of the teachers implied an association between language differences and learning problems. There also seemed to be some consistency among participants in the thought that if a child does not talk much in class, or is considered quiet, she consequently has language issues that may need attention. Finally, the teachers appeared to imply that language differences have an effect on students’ learning. Once again, there was one teacher of the four interviewed who did not imply these beliefs.
In a discussion of how Valerie viewed children with language differences in comparison to those whose predominant language meets the standards of mainstream English, she suggested, You can tell the children who are a little bit more, ah (Pause, can’t seem to find the words to describe what she wants to say, or possibly she is not comfortable saying what she feels), but they’re more comfortable. When they speak they’re more comfortable, they are more confident in what they have to say. The children who are less so are not going to speak out, and you have to coerce them into speaking, as a matter of fact I have a little boy who is from New Orleans, and he talks about wanting to go back. He’s so sweet, but
very quiet. He never said hardly anything all year long. He’s not a real sharp little boy, but he tries so hard. Slow and methodical, doesn’t say too much, but when he speaks you’re always surprised. He’s quite sophisticated in his thinking and he’s been through a lot, so he’s gained a lot of maturity just from experience. One of the things that was so cute, uh, the little boy we’ve had so much trouble with (She mentioned this child in another part of the interview) has made quite an impression on him, because this little boy from New Orleans receives special services, and the teacher (the special services teacher) was telling me that he opened up to her and said ‘You know what? I don’t know how Ms. V stands that.’ You know that he [the child] noticed that this little boy was giving you a hard time. He said, ‘He’s really bad news,’ and I thought, ‘he said that?’ because I never hear him say anything.
In Glenda’s response to this interview question she contended,
Well, it [language] gives some insight [into academic ability] because if you have children in the classroom that ah, not necessarily kids who talk a lot but in their
conversation, when you have a conversation with them you can detect kids who can read, someone’s reading to them, or they’re having some meaningful interactions with adults. You are able to pick that up very quickly because it’s like “oh”…for students that come with language barriers, does that mean that they can’t learn? No, it does not. It just means they have a language barrier.
In another discussion on language differences, Glenda commented,
I think the ones who have the foundation are better able to express themselves. Those with a foundation can express themselves with the “street” or with Standard English. Those who are struggling they tend to just use “street” and they struggle with Standard
English. I would say maybe 30% have the foundation and 70% don’t. It use to be that there were a few kids struggling, but now it is the majority. They keep getting further and further behind.
When asked about her thoughts on the language her students bring from home into the classroom, and whether it gave insight into students’ academic ability, Alexis resounded,
Yes, yes, and yes (laugh). Absolutely, sad as it is to say, you do make a prejudgment of a child who may be misusing the English language. You expect as a teacher that a child who academically gets it would be able to use English properly, and that’s a bad
presumption to make when a child walks into a room. I learned that teaching there (her former inner city school) because some of my brightest kids at times would speak and sound very—almost like college students- educated, and then somebody would tick ‘em off and they would slip into this other, you know, comfortable language. You can’t, you can’t judge a child by the language that they use, but it does tell you a lot about how they are spoken to at home.
Kathy’s response to the issue of a child’s home language in the classroom and its
implications on academic ability, was slightly different from the other participants. She was very assured about her opinion on this subject. She explained,
I don’t think it typically does. I had a Ph.D. researcher say to me one time, whose son was struggling with some language issues, that if he didn’t talk that he must be
cognitively deficient. And I said, ‘No.’ I said, there’s plenty of deaf kids running around, that are not talking like you or me, but they certainly are not cognitively deficient. So, I don’t think that the language will hold any kind of, it doesn’t tell you. To me, it doesn’t tell you about that part of them. It does tell you about that culture, what’s happening in
the home, you know who the models are. If they can coach, that definitely counted in Deaf Ed. That will tell you some information, but not about their intelligence. That’s, I don’t think so. But, I also think that when kids come to the classroom and they bring their own personal view, or their own particular skill for language, it’s like kids that come and do art, and we say “Oh, you know they have their own expression on a piece of paper,” and instead of embracing it the way it is we’ll say, “Oh, well if that’s a tree you’ve got to make it green, and the trunk is brown, and why do you have every thing running off the page?” We school the artist out of them, and I think we can do that with language too. Because language is often so colorful, and it has a way of looking at things that comes off, that you know, that draws me in. That gives me another perspective on what they’re talking about. I think it’s to be embraced and celebrated.