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References

Adams, A.S. (2013). Student perceptions of teacher emoticon usage - The effect on teacher credibility and liking (Master’s thesis). Retrieved from California State University Dept. of Communication Studies Database. 

Clandfield, L. (2017). Emoji lesson pack: 5 ways teachers can use emojis in class. Retrieved from https://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/2017/06/08/5_ways_teachers_use_emoji/

Delpit, L. (2002). No kinda sense. In L. Delpit & J. K. Dowdy (Eds.), The skin that we speak (32-48). New York, NY: The New Press.

Foster, C. (2018). Why I let my students use emojis in writing assignments. Retrieved from https://www.weareteachers.com/teaching-with-emojis/

Gonzalez, J. (2014). Know your terms: Code-switching. Retrieved from https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/code-switching/

Hilliker, E. (2018). 5 things English learners need from classroom teachers. Retrieved from https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2018/06/25/5-things-ells-need

Hudicourt-Barnes, J. (2003). The use of argumentation in Haitian Creole science classrooms. Retrieved from https://hepgjournals-org.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/doi/pdf/10.17763/haer.73.1.hnq801u57400l877

Kellner, D., & Share, J. (2005). Toward critical media literacy: Core concepts, debates, organizations, and policy. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 26(3), 369-386.

Kirley, E., & McMahon, M. (2018). The emoji factor: Humanizing the emerging law of digital speech. Tennessee Law Review, 85(2), 517. Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,cpid,athens,shib&custid=s8863137&db=edb&AN=133917863&site=eds-live&scope=site

Luu, Chi. (2018). The legendary language of the Appalachian “holler”. Retrieved from https://daily.jstor.org/the-legendary-language-of-the-appalachian-holler/

Nordquist, R. (2017). Chicano English. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-chicano-english-ce-1689747

University of Kansas. (2016). Media literacy can improve attitudes toward minorities on predominantly white campuses, researchers say. Retrieved from https://phys.org/news/2016-07-media-literacy-attitudes-minorities-predominantly.html

What is Ebonics? (n.d.) Retrieved from https://academics.hamilton.edu/government/dparis/govt375/spring98/multiculturalism/ebonics/whatis.html

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A Final Note...

If at any point in time, this project seemed a bit confused about what it was or how it wanted to flow, that’s because it was. Doing this project through a social media platform like Tumblr helped clue me in on the ways that our students have learned about the process of writing and communicating, and the ways that I unconsciously have as well.

In class, we’ve talked a lot about our students’ ability to write, which includes their awareness and ability to revise their work. After elementary school, students generally stop following the writing process format of brainstorming, outlining, writing a rough draft, and editing and revising that rough draft until it becomes good enough to be a final draft.

After doing this project, I realized why we’ve thrown that process by the wayside unless we feel that our writing means something and is worth something, and it’s because of the ways that we primarily communicate in our day-to-day lives. When we write a post on Tumblr, or send a tweet on Twitter, there is no process that allows us to edit and revise over time, unless we plan out our posts beforehand, which 99% of us do not. We’ve been trained through our use of social media to say what we want to say, and know that what we want to say can only come out so well. So, we might as well say it the first way that it came into our brains.

I’ve even noticed this trend in myself. I used to be a great writer, back when I would write in school often, but now that I rarely do it and tend to care less about it when I do it, my thoughts when I write go along the line of, “it’s really only going to be this good, so why try to edit and revise it and make it better when it probably won’t be?” I think that by going through high school and college with Twitter, and using other platforms that originally did not allow for the editing of posts, I’ve learned to just post and write what I’ve got and not worry about editing it too much.

I especially felt this when using a Tumblr for my project because Tumblr doesn’t allow for drafts or editing after posting (unless I just don’t know how to use Tumblr). I had to try to write my posts in a flow that made sense to me, and in a way that sounded and looked good in the moment, because I couldn’t go back and change them later. I think that choosing to use Tumblr as the platform for this project adding a real authenticity to the way that young people write and communicate today.

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Student Literacy & Language Use... A Review

Media literacy is an important form of literacy that our students will likely have when they come into the classroom, though it should be taught, refined, and used often. Students should be able to understand how media messages are constructed as well as how they are digested by different audiences. Emojis are a part of this new kind of literacy, and can, and should be, utilized in the classroom, though sparingly. While media literacy is allowing our diverse students to have more of a say in society, and is also changing the minds of the majority regarding the minority, we must also be aware of how they can still be excluded from the narrative depending on their race and socioeconomic status.

Our students may use a multitude of different languages in our classroom, from SE to Ebonics, Appalachian English to Chicano English, and more. Each of these is a language in its own right, though it may be easy to discourage their use in favor of SE. But, it has been seen that black students may feel a greater sense of self-confidence should they be able to speak in Ebonics (Delpit, 2002), and Haitian students are able to participate more when they feel free to communicate in ways that they are used to (Huddicourt-Barnes, 2003). When we discourage the use of students’ home languages in the classroom, we tell them that their language does not matter, that it cannot be academic, and that it could never be valued. Extending that, we also tell our students that they do not matter, they cannot succeed in an academic setting, and that they have no value.

There are different ways in which we can support our language minority students, from simply learning about them, their cultures, and their languages, to getting involved in community activities. There are also many different ways to support those students in their learning of SE.

Lastly, we must not forget the skill - not burden - that is code-switching, and the amazing ability of our students to thoughtlessly switch between different languages at any moment in time. Not to mention their ability to read a room and determine what language will be of the most use to them and when. Our students who speak Ebonics and SE, Appalachian English and SE, Chicano English and SE, and more are bilingual, and more perceptive than even we are! Let’s celebrate that, and allow our students to practice it and gain those skills in our classrooms!

Our students use language that tells us who they are. They are their language, and their language is them. As teachers, it is our duty to respect the languages and literacies of our students, while giving them the tools needed to be successful in our society.

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Ways to Support Student Learning of Standard English in the Classroom

We don’t want to change the way students speak, but merely add onto it. Student acquisition of Standard English should resemble adding a skill to one’s repertoire, not removing one and replacing it with another. Some ways that we can appreciate student language while also supporting their use of Standard English are…

Visuals (photos, graphs, drawings, and even gestures)

Repetition

Clear, short directions that are given both orally and written

Directions should include familiar vocabulary

Provide examples and models of student work and behaviors

(Hilliker, 2018)

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Code-Switching: (noun) the practice of changing one’s language, dialect, or speaking style to better fit one’s environment.

Examples of Code-Switching:

“People who speak two languages often code switch right in the middle of a sentence, popping in a few words from their first language for a variety of reasons: Limited vocabulary in the second language may be one, but more often, the switch happens as a way of signaling membership in a group.”

“Many people who speak in nonstandard or dialectical English with family and friends - such as Ebonics or Southern American English - may have learned to code-switch to a more standard form of English in formal or academic settings.”

*”Barack Obama has been criticized for speaking with a more pronounced dialect when he talks to all-black audiences, but a closer look at his and other politicians’ speaking styles shows a pattern of code switching with variety of audiences.”

It has been found that correcting non-Standard English is ineffective when trying to teach students to use SE. AKA, if we treat student language like an error, they are not more likely to learn the desired SE. This is because, as we have discussed, students are often correctly speaking other languages that have their own rules.

SO, don’t tell your students they’re speaking incorrectly - teach them to decipher when what language is appropriate!

To do this, have students analyze their own community’s English, and compare and contrast that to SE. Then, have them practice using each language in different settings. 

And boom! You have amazing, code-switching students!

(Gonzalez, 2014)

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Ways to Support Language-Minority Students

Learn about students as individuals, as well as their cultures and languages.

Encourage students to develop primary language skills, and speak that language unless English specifically is being worked on at that moment in time.

Challenge students but help them meet each challenge.

Bring language-minority college representatives in to talk to students.

Formally recognize student achievements.

Hold high expectations for students.

Learn the languages of students.

Learn appropriate instructional and curricular approaches to teaching language-minority students.

Participate in staff development.

Involve students’ families in their education

Learn the parents’ languages.

Offer ESL classes for parents.

Be available for early morning/late night meetings with parents.

Participate in community activities.

(Lewis, 2019)

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When we require one type of language or interaction in our classrooms, we tell our students that that is what we value. “We” generally being the white middle class, a group that many of our students will not belong to. Because our students come from different classes and cultures and places, they’ve all grown up using different languages and patterns of interaction.

For example, the reason that Haitians participate in bay odyans is because of the lack of technology that exists in Haiti still. Many Haitians use talk as a form of entertainment, and will sit down wherever it is comfortable for them and join in on a conversation with family or even complete strangers (Hudicourt-Barnes, 2003). In contrast, in the US, where we have tons of technology but are, as some would argue, more disconnected than we’ve ever been, we view talking as a more intimate and friendly experience, and tend to only talk meaningfully to those who we know.

We all speak and interact differently because we all come from different backgrounds. As teachers, it is our duty to make sure that our students know that we do not look down on any one of them because of how they speak and interact, and therefore, because of where they come from.

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Using Student Speak in the Classroom (an Example)

One group of bilingual teachers teamed up with researchers to see how Haitian students performed in Haitian bilingual classrooms. While other researchers were keen to say that Haitian students were nonverbal, these teachers and researchers found that they were able to argue science in an animated and sophisticated way that mirrored Haitian culture. 

Bay Odyans

Our Haitian students grow up in a culture that is extremely oral language-based. Instead of being read to at bedtime, children will participate in events with villages, neighborhoods, or extended family, where entertainment is provided by language. Haitians participate in bay odyans, a talk format similar to “chatting”, but rather than focusing on the relationships of the people doing the chatting, they focus on the words or stories being told. Complete strangers might participate in bay odyans with each other. Different formats of bay odyans might include storytelling, telling jokes, or arguing. This style of arguing includes:

A focus on the words or argument being made, rather than the relationships between the people who are arguing.

One person who generally takes on the role of the theoretician and makes a statement. 

One person who takes on the role of the challenger to question the stance of the theoretician.

The challenger also excites the rest of the group, providing humor.

All points of view are supported by evidence or logic.

Bay Odyans in Action

Teacher: What is being represented by the computer?

Student 1: The sound wave. 

(Offers a response, Student 1 is the original theoretician.)

Teacher: And why is it in the computer, but I can’t see it with my own eyes?

Student 1: Because it is invisible. The computer can grab it.

Student 2: It’s invisible, and what am I? 

(Challenges Student 1 but also provides humor.)

(laughter)

Teacher: It is invisible, and why do they call it a wave? 

(Allows for the Challenger to serve their role, but then redirects.)

Student 3: Because it looks like an ocean wave.

Teacher: Yes, it is like an ocean wave.

Bay Odyans and Scientific Speak

Many teachers would be quick to shut down the types of arguments provided by bay odyans.

But…

Teachers and researchers have actually found that it aligns with the types of discussions and arguments characteristic of “authentic scientific research”, as scientists generally work in groups and informally discuss their results and ideas.

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Chicano English: a dialect of American English spoken primarily by Mexican-Americans. Chicano English is often confused with Spanglish, but is a fully formed native dialect of English. 

Key aspects of Chicano English include:

Consonants pronounced as in Spanish

Double negatives

Prepositional phrases over possessive nouns

Syllable-timed rather than stress-timed (each syllable is the same length, so adding more syllables increases the time to say something)

Chicano English is sometimes the native language of Mexican Americans who know very little Spanish. 

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Image: www.Time.com

“As the linguistic legend goes, the Appalachian dialect is reputedly so odd and so archaic, hundreds of years out of step with the rest of the English-speaking world, that you “might could” ask, as Shakespeare would have it, “What country, friends, is this?”” (Luu, 2018). 

Appalachian English has been claimed by some as “pure Elizabethan English”, and by others as the “oldest living English dialect”. Most people’s reasoning for this is that the language has to have been preserved by the isolation provided by the physical barriers of the mountains (Luu, 2018). But as with everywhere else, Appalachian English (AE) has evolved over time. 

Not only does AE use different vocabulary with different meanings than SE (britches = pants, allow = suppose, afeared = afraid), it also features a distinct accent (-er replacing the -oh sound at the end of words, -y replacing the -ah sound at the end of words). Specific grammatical changes include “might could/should” and “a-prefixing” (Luu, 2018). 

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Ebonics is no more lazy English than Italian is lazy Latin.

John R. Rickford, Suite for Ebony and Phonics (via caskette)

Ebonics: American Black English regarded as a language in its own right rather than as a dialect of Standard English. 

We often don’t recognize Ebonics (or African American Vernacular English, AAVE for short) for what it is. We tend to hear it as someone not using proper grammar or being too lazy or stupid or ignorant to use Standard English (SE). As all languages do, Ebonics has its own rules and features, including:

The double negative (”Nobody can’t go out tonight.”)

The negative inversion (”Can't nobody go out tonight.”)

Verbs that reflect whether actions are completed or still in progress (”She bin married.”

Different pronunciations of letter combinations 

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A Prelude to Language Use

In our current society, our language use, accents, slang, etc. determine our identity and value. 

I have a white friend who grew up in Georgia but spent her entire childhood ridding herself of her accent so as to not be looked down upon. I have a black friend who grew up in Central Virginia who removed the word “y’all” from her vocabulary, knowing how people tend to respond to Southern black women. My friend often talks about having family in West Virginia who is “illiterate” and finds college to be almost a fairytale.

Every day, we pass judgement on people around us who use language differently than we do. But, we’re all products of our environments, some of us more free to escape than others. 

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To choose any one vernacular as a norm means to favor the group of people speaking that variety. It gives them prestige as norm-bearers and a head start in the race for power and position. If a recognized elite already exists with a characteristic vernacular, its norm will almost inevitably prevail.

Haugen (via lazy-polyglot)

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Media Literacy and Attitudes Towards Minority Students

Purpose: How can media literacy be used to help students at a predominantly white university understand how minority groups are portrayed in the media, and thus cultivate more positive attitudes towards minority students?

Applied Group Method: Journalism majors at the William Allen White School of Journalism & Mass Communication participated in this study. Participants were asked to write the first words that came to mind when presented with the racial categories used in U.S. Census data. Students were then given the card of an unknown classmate, and discussed the stereotypes they held, why they held them, and why the media perpetuates them. Participants viewed clips from the movie "Crash" that discussed media representation of different races.

Theoretical Group Method: Participants discussed how the media perpetuates stereotypes of different racial groups. Participants then described how the media portrays members of certain groups, and how members of those groups may see themselves, as well as how others perceive them.

Control Group: The control group received no treatment at all.

Survey: Participants completed a survey regarding racial attitudes at the begging, middle, and end of the semester. Students were also asked about their daily media intake.

Results: Participants in all three groups averaged around 3 hours of media intake per day. In the Applied and Theoretical Groups, attitudes towards members of minority groups improved after participating in the study.

Why Does this Matter?: This study shows that media literacy and the ability to break down a message in the media can potentially improve relations between diverse students on college campuses across the country!

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Thankfully, this rise of media literacy has put more control into the hands of “everyday” people. We now produce and consume more messages than ever before, participate in media more than ever before, and become experts at things through digital media more than ever before. Even students have more access to computers at home in the 2010′s than they ever did in the 80′s, 90′s, and 2000′s. Because of this, we see a rise in the amount of young voices in the media, as well as what seems like a rise in the amount of minority voices in the media. Minority voices now seem to have more value than they ever have, which has been seen to lead to social movements, such as Black Lives Matter, and political movements, such as this November (2019), when Democrats gained control of the VA State Senate. 

However, our minority students still are not seeing the opportunity to interact with the media in the same way that our mainstream students are. Though 80% of our students have access to computers at home, and 60% have access to internet, the breakdown of students of various background with access to those things is disproportionate. More white and asian students have access to computers and internet at home than black and latinx students do. And, our students from low-income households have significantly lower access to computers at home than those in higher-income households do.

While it’s great that our minority students are able to participate more in the media, we can see that they can still sometimes be excluded from that narrative based on the institution of socioeconomic status. As teachers, this data should not only clue us in on what our students are experiencing in terms of their ability to participate in this new type of literacy, but also should make us aware of what we expect our students to be doing when they go home. How can we expect them to brush up on their media literacy, or complete an online or computer assignment when they don’t have a computer or internet to work with? Media literacy has its bright sides, but as with most things, some of our students are negatively impacted by changes in technology more than others.

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📻📰📺🖥🎮🎧🎬 Literacy as a “New Literacy”

We’ve already talked a bit about 📻📰📺🖥🎮🎧🎬 literacy, but I want to go 🔙 and talk about how media literacy is different from “👵🏻 school literacy”.

Media literacy is a part of what is known as “new literacy Studies”. NLS believes that literacy is always situated in a cultural and social context, unlike traditional literacy, which just defines literacy as the ability to 📖 and 📝. Because technology is always advancing, we are being exposed to “New Literacies”, which are required for effectively finding information and 🗣 with other people. Like we’ve discussed, media literacy encompasses how we give meaning to and get meaning from different messages in the 📻📰📺🖥🎮🎧🎬 (Lewis, 2019).