A Language for Learning and Teaching By Faith Davis

How significant is the language you use when you are teaching? The type and tone of the language you use in the classroom is very important to the environment and facilitation of learning for your students. For instance, raising your voice or showing frustration in your tone can impede a learner’s progress as they find themselves stressed by a need to please, rather than a want to know.

Significant Language How you speak to your learners helps to determine:  How well they learn  How well they retain what they learn  How they feel about you as a teacher  How they feel about themselves as a learner  How they feel about themselves as a person  How they will respond to the cognitive dissonance created by the differences in language at home, in the community, and at school The language you use when you are teaching is very significant to student learning.

What messages does language itself convey to those who are learning? It is important to know that as we talk about language, body language is just as important in conveying messages to students as is spoken and written language. We must strive to avoid letting our sometimes frustrations, upsets, lack of motivation, etc. creep into our tones and our stance. The language you put out, is the language your students will learn to use in the classroom. Make certain you put forth how you want them to act and react. Make certain you are conveying the message you intend to convey.

Conveying the Right Message  An impatient teacher: May make students feel as if they are not learning as they should. This can be a blow to self- esteem and self-efficacy.  A uninspired Teacher: Will have uninspired students. Students will come to think of learning as boring, and soon, as unnecessary.  A threatening teacher: May foster a hostile and distrustful environment. Students might look and listen, but do not retain new knowledge. It is difficult to learn when you feel uncomfortable and pressured. Do not, by stance or words, bully your students into learning.  A belittling teacher: Allows for a caste system within the classroom. Giving your students the impression that you favor or dislike one student over the other can quickly derail what you are trying to teach. Students will feel they will get further and earn better grades by becoming “the favorite” and focus on the curriculum will be lost. Treat each student with the same respect you wish to receive and they will also treat each other with respect. Give out praises and admonishments in a level manner so that students don’t feel picked on or singled out. Self-esteem is important for self-efficacy.

How does our students' language change depending on the context - the classroom, home, the peer group? Is the same true for you? Practicing reflective thinking allows us to realize that while we make take for granted that our students understand our language and speak the same language, that is not always so. Just as we go home and speak to our families and friends in a different language code than that we may speak at school, so do our students. In fact, the language code our students speak at home and in the community may be quite restricted and exclusive. As educators it is our job to learn some of what our students’ language is in the home and incorporate that while moving them towards a classroom language code that is more accessible to everyone in the class, in the school, and in the general public.

How aware are you of the language you use? Exploring what you say to your students and how you say it, can go a long way in developing a language code that is meaningful for you and your students. Ask Yourself:

Do I speak down to my students? We all have prejudices. This is part of being human. However, an educator must set aside the prejudices of language. People come from all walks of life, so will your students. Simply because they do not speak the same “language” as you dos not mean they are of inferior intellect. It means you have not bridged the gap of personal to public language.

Take for instance the following excerpt from “City Kids, City Teachers: Reports From The Front Row”. Students from the inner city school of DuSable High School, Chicago, Illinois, Came up with a test to prove the bias often inherent in intelligence tests administered by schools. The Test is called Lifting Our Vibrations Higher For Equality (LOVE): Are you treating your students as if they are unintelligent simply because their knowledge base is different from yours? “Many tests are altogether biased—especially intelligence tests. Intelligence tests are often biased because they are based on certain information which is part of a certain specific culture. When people of other cultures take these tests, they might fail them, because they haven’t been exposed to the same information. Then, these people are considered to be unintelligent.” Pg 71

For example, I went to a high school that had etymology, the study of word origins. I took advantage of the optional class. This meant that when I took standardized tests, if I hadn’t heard a word before in my school, home or community, it was possible for me to fall back on my learning of root words and word history. Students in the same school or different schools who did not have the benefit of etymology, or the opportunity to take it due to a lack of the class, did not have the same “fall back.” If they did not specifically learn the terms in school, home, or community, they had no way of knowing the word. I passed that section, they failed. Does it mean that I was smarter, or that I simply had an experience they did not?

Do I speak above their heads? There is a fine line between speaking to your students as if they are intelligent beings capable of learning whatever you have to teach, and speaking in a language that they have little hope of understanding. Make certain to speak to your students’ intellect, but also in such a way that they are not left behind in flourish of “big words”. o Encourage a questioning environment: Let learners know that they may always ask, if they don’t know and that you don’t expect them to know everything. Let them know that you, in fact, don’t know everything and have to ask sometimes, too. o Use a word, define a word: When you use words with which your students may have trouble, use the word then in the next few words or sentences, define the word or use synonyms that make it easier to decipher. This way allows your students to learn there are different ways to say something and lets them know that you trust in their ability to glean from your words, new meaning. They can become more confident in their vocabulary. o Learn their words: Chances are your students have their own personal words or phrases to express what you are trying to convey. Asking them how they would describe something or teach someone else can go a long way in building an environment of trust, of mutual respect, and giving you look into their possibly restricted language codes.

Am I being clear enough in my instructions and my teaching? Because some words can have many meanings depending on your culture and community, it is important to make sure your students have a clear understanding of what you are saying.

What messages may your choice of language convey to your students? As Educators We must Choose Our Words carefully. We Must Strive To Make Our Students Feel As If They Matter. Use This Guide As A Think Guide To Evaluate How We Talk To our Students And What We intend To Convey.