Introduction
As a native speaker of English, or someone who has learned English, you are already somewhat of an expert in the language. How so? Consider the following sentence: "You are a smart cookie when it comes to the English language."
Here's what you probably knew without having to think too much:
(1) The oo sound in cookie sounds more like the oo sound in book than in too.
(2) You wouldn't say cookie smart.
(3) The word "you" is a pronoun.
(4) You could change the wording around to say, "When it comes to the English language, you are a smart cookie."
(5) Smart cookie is an idiom.
As someone who is teaching English language learners (and most of us are, given the growing diversity in America's classrooms), you need to consider what you already know about language and why you know what you know. Then you need to take a closer look at all the complexities of the English language, You do this because it is imperative to have a better sense of the language challenges faced by English language learners. In thinking more deeply about how language works, and in considering how language is an integral part of someone's identity, you will be a more effective educator. What follows are some of the insights I have gleaned about language or, more specifically, linguistics.
As a native speaker of English, or someone who has learned English, you are already somewhat of an expert in the language. How so? Consider the following sentence: "You are a smart cookie when it comes to the English language."
Here's what you probably knew without having to think too much:
(1) The oo sound in cookie sounds more like the oo sound in book than in too.
(2) You wouldn't say cookie smart.
(3) The word "you" is a pronoun.
(4) You could change the wording around to say, "When it comes to the English language, you are a smart cookie."
(5) Smart cookie is an idiom.
As someone who is teaching English language learners (and most of us are, given the growing diversity in America's classrooms), you need to consider what you already know about language and why you know what you know. Then you need to take a closer look at all the complexities of the English language, You do this because it is imperative to have a better sense of the language challenges faced by English language learners. In thinking more deeply about how language works, and in considering how language is an integral part of someone's identity, you will be a more effective educator. What follows are some of the insights I have gleaned about language or, more specifically, linguistics.