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Academic Discourse Summary

Decent Essays

John W. White and Carolyne Ali-Khan in their article “The Role of Academic Discourse” indicate that in order for students to find success in college, educators need to prepare them with the ability to code-switch. They argue that literacy depends on the social background of the people; thus, social languages vary between different groups with different background. Furthermore, the lack of knowledge to code-switch is the main reason for students dropping out of school, and contrary to common belief it is not because the student is not capable; however the problem lies with communication. Therefore, because the home language that the students speak is heavily imbedded within their identity, students are only alienated from school when the institution …show more content…

Working hard amounts to nothing when students cannot understand the subject due to language barriers. Therefore, teachers need to be flexible in their teaching methods to help students understand Standard English. Educators can be flexible by accepting the use of social language by the students in order to help them transition to Standard English. As Hill indicates it is vital “to recognize that everyone speaks a deviation from Standard English” and thus teachers need to “acknowledge [students] voices in their writings” (121). By accepting the student’s use of social language students will better understand context and be encouraged to express their ideas and feelings without limitations. Students will also be able to learn the basic skills of code-switching because they are using their social language to start with. White and Ali-Khan indicate that accepting the students social language “[encourages] students to see the adoption of academic discourses as a component of code-switching rather than as a rejection of other forms of communication” (35). Students will hesitate to learn if they perceive …show more content…

Therefore, it is common for students to connect social languages with their identity. Educators only add more problems, when they have the false assumption that the reason for students not speaking Standard English is because those students lack the basic skill and ability to do so (Hill 120). Teachers, due to their wrong assumption, are unaware that they are attacking the identity of the students. When a person in authority tells students that their way of speaking is wrong they are undermining the students’ identity. As a result, an internal conflict arises within the students, as to whether to reject the social languages that the students associate their identities with or reject Standard English. The result as White and Ali-Khan write is that students will “[resist] the common dominant discursive styles that [surrounds] them. In turn, [students will become] further isolated from the university’s social milieu” (31). This resistance will go on as long as the institution belief doesn’t change regarding Standard English. And as a consequence students will become more isolated from school if the institution is attacking their values and identities, making the students feel degraded. Therefore, the Standard English that the students learn becomes irrelevant since they are not going to use Standard English within the communities that they relate

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