Language and Communication

1. Language and Communication Lynn W. Zimmerman, PhD

2. Linguistics • Two Subdivisions of Linguistics • Psycholinguistics • psychology + linguistics • Sociolinguistics • context

3. Contexts for Language • Social contexts • school • shopping • peer interactions • work • entertainment

4. Language for Social Contexts • Standard American English • Shopping English • English of their peers • Work English • Academic English

5. Registers of English • Formal English • Informal English The degree to which they become more proficient in Standard American English, the wider the range of options available to them in their lives.

6. Functions of Language

7. Functions of Language (2) • Interactional – used primarily to establish and maintain social relations • Transactional - to transmit knowledge, skills or information • Direct communication – intentional – often direct factual type statements • Indirect communication – inferential – involves metaphors and idioms

8. Context of Language • the degree to which the environment gives meaningful clues to help the language learner decipher and interpret the language being used • Contextualized • Decontextualized

9. Language and Education • Characteristics of standard American education • label objects • answer questions • create extended narratives • predict and maneuver events through imaginative storytelling • build on and extend already existing schemata

10. Teacher Interactions with ESL Students Interactions often brief Interactions often more managerial than instructional ENL students often seated at back of class Teachers often afraid of embarrassing the student

11. What Teachers Can Do • Examine and recognize your own perceptions and behaviors toward children from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. • Recognize how your own culture is reflected in your communication and interactions. • Be sensitive to the kinds of language uses you are offering students and the linguistic demands you are making of them. • Use activities that include listening, speaking, reading, and writing. • Have conversations with students – not just the teacher talking. • Integrate language teaching with content learning • Realize that not all ENL students are alike • Use cooperative learning which improves academic achievement and improves inter-group relations. • Enhance your skills.