Dabbling in the Murky Waters of Pragmatics

On October 27, 2017January 8, 2018 By Melissa J. EnnsIn Language Education, Pragmatics, Sociolinguistics1 Comment

Let's have some fun! Today we're going to go beyond the topics of feedback, metalinguistic knowledge, and effective group work to talk about pragmatics. Taguchi (2011) defines pragmatic competence as "the ability to communicate and interpret meaning in social interactions" (p. 289). According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the study of pragmatics is concerned with contextual language use in social …

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Overcoming the Monolingual Bias

On December 22, 2016January 8, 2018 By Melissa J. EnnsIn Second Language Acquisition, translanguaging8 Comments

In my last post (Translanguaging: Establishing Some Foundations), I highlighted the monolingual bias in language education and discussed the importance of being strategic in employing translanguaging strategies, including through having clear guidelines for when it is appropriate. However, I feel that I did not adequately address the question of why it is important to challenge the monolingual principle in …

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What’s the Standard?

On December 10, 2016January 8, 2018 By Melissa J. EnnsIn Language Education, Sociolinguistics3 Comments

In my last post (Interacting with Linguistic Capital and Teacher Agency), I alluded to the balance that language teachers must find between working within the bounds of educational policy and making accommodatons for inclusion, perhaps at times pushing the boundaries. I feel that the topic merits further attention.

Interacting with Linguistic Capital and Teacher Agency

On December 8, 2016January 8, 2018 By Melissa J. EnnsIn Language and Power, Language Education, Sociolinguistics5 Comments

Previously, I have mentioned processes which lead to the valuing of a standard dialect of a national language over other languages and dialects...

Oppression, Power, and Policy In the Classroom

On December 6, 2016January 8, 2018 By Melissa J. EnnsIn Language and Power, Language Education, Sociolinguistics6 Comments

Have you ever stopped to question why you're not supposed to use ain't or end a sentence with a prepostion? Or the fact that, unless you're in very formal situation, you probably end sentences with prepositions all the time?

Language, Power, and Nation-Building

On November 28, 2016January 8, 2018 By Melissa J. EnnsIn Language and Power, Sociolinguistics7 Comments

So far, we have been looking at teacher identity and critical self reflection; now let’s zoom out to look at some of the “big picture” influences that shape the content and atmosphere in the language classroom. As I wrote last time, language is not neutral. Corson (1993) is quick to note that there is a …

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Ramblings of a Linguaphile

Tag: Sociolinguistics

Dabbling in the Murky Waters of Pragmatics

Overcoming the Monolingual Bias

What’s the Standard?

Oppression, Power, and Policy In the Classroom

Language, Power, and Nation-Building