Academic Achievement Student’s academic achievement should represent intellectual growth and the ability to produce knowledge—but there are times that African American students fail to gain this privilege because of the teachers’ perception of AAE (Delpit, 2002). In the educational system, teachers tend to correct more miscues that are dialectical in nature in reading casts when students are African Americans. The teachers also expect lower intelligence, academic achievement, and reading skills from their African American students as well. Students who showed lower rates and frequencies of AAE characteristics score better on different language and literacy tasks compered to their peers who use AAE features more frequently. Numerous rate-based
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More often than not, language defines us both directly and indirectly. Language is used directly to denote and describe a person through naming and kinship terms, description of appearance, behavior, and background. Similarly, language is also used to indirectly base their judgment of people based on the way they speak (Llamas & Watt, 2009). People’s perceptions towards the language are tied to their attitudes towards the speakers of the language. Some groups are identified to be decent, hardworking and intelligent because of this is how their language is perceived. On the other hand, some groups are perceived to be lazy, insolent and procrastinating and so is their language. For example, US Southerners are identified to be lazy because of their drawled vowels. Lower-status speakers are identified to be unintelligent because they cannot seem to understand that two negatives make a positive (Ball, 2008). Language does not only reflect who we are, but at some point, the language itself becomes who and what we are based on other’s perception of the language that we …show more content…
These variables are conceptualized as an individual’s ability to style shift. Stylistic variables tend to be more dynamic due to the influences of the immediate environment such as their families and schools. Specific features are more likely to be part of style shifting than others. Expectedly, features that are uncommon across the population are involved less often in this style shifting; whereas grammatical features that are more evident in the population show greater chances of style shifting (Craig & Grogger, 2012). Educators must understand that African American children may experience AAE as a form of cultural identity and solidarity. However, the issue of language identity and solidarity becomes an even more significant topic once they reach teenage years because during this time, membership with peer networks become more crucial to social acceptance (Wyatt, 2002). In sum, style switching has become a natural reaction by AAE speakers due to the different pressures that they experience in their environment especially in their schools. However, it is not an easy choice for them as they age because the issue of language and cultural solidarity becomes an even more important
More often than not, language defines us both directly and indirectly. Language is used directly to denote and describe a person through naming and kinship terms, description of appearance, behavior, and background. Similarly, language is also used to indirectly base their judgment of people based on the way they speak (Llamas & Watt, 2009). People’s perceptions towards the language are tied to their attitudes towards the speakers of the language. Some groups are identified to be decent, hardworking and intelligent because of this is how their language is perceived. On the other hand, some groups are perceived to be lazy, insolent and procrastinating and so is their language. For example, US Southerners are identified to be lazy because of their drawled vowels. Lower-status speakers are identified to be unintelligent because they cannot seem to understand that two negatives make a positive (Ball, 2008). Language does not only reflect who we are, but at some point, the language itself becomes who and what we are based on other’s perception of the language that we …show more content…
These variables are conceptualized as an individual’s ability to style shift. Stylistic variables tend to be more dynamic due to the influences of the immediate environment such as their families and schools. Specific features are more likely to be part of style shifting than others. Expectedly, features that are uncommon across the population are involved less often in this style shifting; whereas grammatical features that are more evident in the population show greater chances of style shifting (Craig & Grogger, 2012). Educators must understand that African American children may experience AAE as a form of cultural identity and solidarity. However, the issue of language identity and solidarity becomes an even more significant topic once they reach teenage years because during this time, membership with peer networks become more crucial to social acceptance (Wyatt, 2002). In sum, style switching has become a natural reaction by AAE speakers due to the different pressures that they experience in their environment especially in their schools. However, it is not an easy choice for them as they age because the issue of language and cultural solidarity becomes an even more important