1. Grammar as structure

2. Grammar as mental faculty

3. Grammar as functional resource

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Linguistics: the scientific study of language

Facts:

• Most linguists agree language is what makes us different from other living creatures

• Studying language gives one insight into how the human mind works

• This simply means to break down parts of a language to understand how they are organized and why.

• Traditionally, teachers have taught English through grammar rules and vocabulary. However, one's first language is acquired, not learned through its grammar rules. This led many to believe that a second language can be acquired similarly to how one acquires their first language. This is one reason educators should know how language development works so they know how to best assist their English Learners!

• This simply means humans are born with the ability to acquire a language. This line of research comes from a linguist named Noam Chomsky.

• To make language understandable for students, especially English Learners, teachers must first learn how language works.

• Example

  • Teacher's goal: Make English understandable for all students so they can access the academic content that is being studied

• This simply refers to "how do we use language to comprehend and express ideas?"

• According to ongoing research in linguistics, one of the most effective ways to develop language is through social interactions.

• Educators should use this knowledge to group students strategically based on their language needs.

• Language acquisition theory is a set of theories explaining how people learn to communicate in a language.

Over the last 50 years, researchers from all fields have conducted research on how children acquire language; this includes the developmental psychology view, the socio-anthro-educator view, and the linguist view.

• This view focuses on the parallels between language and cognitive development in children. Additionally, how they both develop separately but are closely related.

• Similar to the image above, developmental psycholinguistics highlights the linguistic milestones children reach at each age.

• Insights from sociology

  • Emphasized the social interaction theory, which claimed, "the child who creates the environment needed for development by prompting the parent or other caregiver to produce the language the child needs" (p. 33 from Essential Linguistics).

• Insights from anthropology

  • Children from diverse communities learn different speech patterns, and this impacts how they function in their communities.

• Insights from an educator's view

  • Focus on how language acquisition is affected by schooling

• Together, they consider the social contexts that influence children's language development.

• Linguists focus on the nature of language

  • They use their knowledge about language acquisition to make sense of how children develop one or more languages.

  • Additionally, how humans are born with a set of rules common to all natural languages.

The first one is the Learning View

• Goal: Teach language directly so students can produce correct language forms.

• Language must be taught.

• Prioritizes explicit instruction.

• Often takes a behaviorist approach to language development.

The second one is the Acquisition View

• Goal: Teach both academic language and subject matter content.

• In fact, two theorists, Chomsky and Halliday, have contributed to the Acquisition view. Chomsky believes language is a mental faculty unique to humans. Additionally, Halliday believes learning takes place through social interactions.

But how do these views impact teaching practices and one's teaching approach?

• Both views influence the role teachers play in students' language development. Whether that is, students are producing and understanding the language or using language for a variety of academic purposes.

What is the biggest difference between the Learning View and the Acquisition view?

• The Acquisition view argues that people acquire language naturally because the human brain is wired for language. In contrast, the Learning view believes language is taught and prioritizes explicit instruction.

A few policies for the education of multilingual students include:

• Bilingual Education Act (1968)

• Lau v. Nichols (1974)

• Castañeda v. Pickard (1978) 

• Plyler v. Doe (1982)

• Every Student Succeeds Act (2015)

• Phonology is the study of sounds in a language

The language component of phonology

• Theory that language is acquired- less attention is given to teaching pronunciation since the belief is that the phonology of a language will be acquired in the process of developing proficiency in the 2nd language

Resources to support the teaching/learning of phonology:

• https://linguisticsforteachersofells.weebly.com/phonology-in-the-classroom.html

• https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/phonological-and-phonemic-awareness

• https://www.readingrockets.org/classroom/classroom-strategies/elkonin-boxes

• Orthography: encompasses all elements of writing, including spelling conventions, punctuation, grammar, and other distinctive features.

  
  

  History of English Written Language:

  • Old English (from 450 to 1100AD) "During this time, the Roman alphabet was introduced to the Anglo-Saxons by Irish missionaries...to write Old English." (p. 155)

    *This alphabet is similar to modern English however Old English does not use the letters j, k, v, or w and only uses q and z rarely.

  • Middle English (from 1100 and 1500AD) French and Latin were added to the English language. Additionally, Norman scribes made significant changes in the spelling of English words.

  • Modern English (from about 1500 to the present time) Many Greek and Latin words entered English during this period. Some words derived from Latin had been charged to conform to French spelling patterns.

Implementing an investigative approach to spelling knowledge:

• As a future educator, one must understand what spelling is truly about. Many believe spelling is simply about memorizing rules. However, an investigative approach to spelling allows both teachers and learners to recognize patterns and rules within the English writing system.

Additional Resources:

• https://www.readingrockets.org/reading-101/reading-and-writing-basics/sight-words-and-orthographic-mapping

• Words Their Way with English Learners: Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling (Words Their Way Series) 2nd Edition by: Lori Helman, Donald Bear, Shane Templeton, and Marcia Invernizzi

Morphology is the study of the meaningful parts of words. The smallest units of meaning are called morphemes.

• Additionally, there are two types of morphemes- free and bound morphemes.

• Free morphemes = units that can not stand alone as words (ex: affixes)

• Bound morphemes = units that are attached or bound to a free morpheme. (ex: infixes)

Additional resources for teaching morphology:

• https://www.literacyimpact.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Morphology-Resource-kit-updated-20.02.23-MS.pdf

• https://www.readingrockets.org/blogs/shanahan-on-literacy/what-should-morphology-instruction-look

• https://files.realspellers.org/PetesFolder/Articles/Bowers_Kirby_Deacon_2010.pdf

Syntax refers to the ways words are joined for phrases, clauses, and sentences. In other words, syntax is all about word order.

• Sentences are made of phrases and clauses.

• A phrase is incomplete, therefore, they do not have both a subject and a verb.

• A clause is complete, having both a subject and a verb.

  • There are two different types of clauses: dependent and independent clauses.

Additional resources on syntax:

• https://linguisticsforteachersofells.weebly.com/syntax-in-the-classroom.html

• Syntax Handbook Everything You Learned about Syntax -- but Forgot by Laura M. Justice

Semantics includes the meaning of a word based on its use and/or placement.

Additional resources for teachers:

• https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/vocabulary/articles/word-analysis-expand-vocabulary-development

• https://www.readingrockets.org/classroom/classroom-strategies/semantic-gradients

• https://topteachingtasks.com/teaching-semantics-to-increase-vocabulary/?srsltid=AfmBOopxF5aQxooV8ErEtx9ma5SC6lNA2v_VW4RzFRjKA9a8QBUIJkW1

• Connotation vs Denotation

• Truth-Conditional Semantics

• Lexical Semantics

• Conceptual Semantics

• Formal Semantics

• One thing I found interesting from the video is the conversation on dialectology, specifically how a group of people can speak the same language but can be linguistically varied. This specifically makes me think of Spanish, how our ELs can all speak Spanish but speak it differently based on their country.

Additional resources for sociolinguistics:

• https://www.pbs.org/speak/speech/sociolinguistics/sociolinguistics/

• An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (Learning about Language) 5th Edition by Janet Holmes

• The part of language that puts meaning into context

How Does Pragmatics Relate To English Learners' Language Development?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4L5ZY0s3e18

Crash Course video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPwpk-YgvjQ&t=178s

• I would explain pragmatics as "the area of linguistics that puts meaning into context."(Crash Course video) In other words, one must understand the purpose behind language, whether it is to inform, persuade, or express sarcasm. The reason pragmatics relates to teaching English Learners is because pragmatics revolves around how language is used and it what context. This is one reason idioms are particularly difficult for English Learners to understand; idioms are a part of figurative language. Additionally, according "How does pragmatics relate to ELs" pragmatics also refers to "using language appropriately in various social situations." Another way pragmatics relates to teaching English Learners is through discussion of various speech acts so learners can understand cultural norms. (How does pragmatics relate to ELs)

Additional resources:

• Teaching and Learning Pragmatics: Where Language and Culture Meet by Noriko Ishihara and Andrew D. Cohen

• Cultural Competence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv3_eZYUCIk

Inclusive strategies for engaging multilingual students and their families:

• Use culturally responsive teaching

• Encourage family participation in students' learning

• Seek professional Development on EL best practices