Language Study in Middle School, High School, and Beyond: Views on Enhancing the Study of Language - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0872071820 ISBN 13: 9780872071827

Publisher: Intl Literacy Assn, 1998

Synopsis

The contributors to this book believe that language should be the central focus for study in the reading and language arts classroom and that gaining mastery over language can be stimulating , enlightening, and enjoyable. The text presents 10 diverse viewpoints on language study that are divided into the following areas: studying language through literature and the arts, using writing and speaking to study language, language use in different academic settings, and emerging trends in language study. All the chapters recommend that language study be connected to students' lives in visceral as well as rational ways.

About this title

About the Author

John S. Simmons is a professor of English education and reading at Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA.

Lawrence Baines is an associate professor and coordinator of Teacher Education at Berry College, Mount Berry, Georgia, USA.

From the Back Cover

The contributors to "Language Study in Middle School, High School, and Beyond" believe that language should be the central focus for study in the reading and language arts classroom and that gaining mastery over language can be stimulating , enlightening, and enjoyable. This volume presents 10 diverse viewpoints on language study that are divided into the following areas: studying language through literature and the arts, using writing and speaking to study language, language use in different academic settings, and emerging trends in language study. All the chapters recommend that language study be connected to students' lives in visceral as well as rational ways.

"Language Study in Middle School, High School, and Beyond" will appeal to English language arts teachers who agree that students can learn nothing more valuable in school than a mastery over language.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

From the Introduction

When I (Baines) first met Desiree, she was sitting at the back of the room in Ms. Jones' third period sophomore English class in a high school in Panama City, Florida, USA. She was shy and I was a stranger, a guest lecturer to her class. My assignment was to present a lesson that would motivate Desiree and the other students in her class to read and write about Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Adventure of the Speckled Band."

When I asked the class to open their literature texts, Desiree frowned.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

John, a boy slouched deep in his chair, muttered, "She hates to read."

"I don't hate to read," Desiree said. "I like reading. I just hate the words -- that's all. Words are just so boring."

"Well, do you like to write?" I asked.

"Writing ain't bad as long as I don't have to write out the sentence. But, really , I guess writing words is just as boring as reading them," Desiree said.

In a way, Desiree's comments represent many students' attitude toward reading and writing in today's society. When cable television and surfing the Internet can transport adolescents instantaneously and graphically into the wide open adult world, sitting at their desks and struggling with words can seem extremely dull.

The U.S. National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in Writing (Applebee, Langer, Mullis, Latham, & Gentile, 1994) reported that (for persuasive writing), "All students, even at Grade 12, had considerable difficulty moving beyond the minimally developed level... and very few (0 to 3%) wrote elaborated or better responses" (p.4). The NAEP in Reading (Campbell, Donahue, Reese, & Phillips, 1996) found that only about one third of students achieved at the Proficient level and that only "3 to 7% reached the Advanced level" (p. xi). The remaining 60% or so of students could perform only at the Basic level.

Promoting Experience with Language Words are the building blocks of literature and writing, yet many of the movements in educational reform take students outside the linguistic arena, somewhere where words do matter as much. Although there is much to celebrate about the inclusion of multiculturalism, popular culture, young adult literature, multiple intelligences, the Internet, CD-ROM, and media literacy, these additions may reduce the time students spend studying and manipulating language. Most secondary students sill consider language study to mean doing more of the exercises in Warriner's "English Composition and Grammar: Introductory Course" (1988). With an already burgeoning language arts curriculum and the misperception of language study as a mundane subject, it is little wonder that the study of language receives little attention in many middle schools and high schools.

Yet, a student can learn nothing more valuable in school than a mastery over language. Even the chief executive of Fortune 500 companies admit that they consider proficiencies in writing, reading, speaking and listening to be the most important attributes of a potential employee (Nidds & McGerald, 1995). Although technologies and educational reforms come and go, facility with language is neither fleeting nor fickle. Facility with language is cumulative, integral to thinking, and one gauge by which many people (and testing services) measure intelligence. As much as they have received criticism, the Scholastic Assessment Test, American College Test, Graduate Management Admission Test, Law School Admission Test, and state high school competency exams still assess a student's verbal ability.

Edition details

• Publisher: Intl Literacy Assn
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0872071820
• ISBN 13: 9780872071827
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240
• Editor: Simmons John S., Baines Lawrence