Based out of the metropolitan Washington D.C. area, Pallab Dutta has written on business, technology and management issues since 1994. The trend this data suggests is that more and more people are speaking a non-English language as time goes on. A consequence of the ever-increasing popularity of international schools is the growth in the number of children learning in a language other than their first. Teachers and students use spoken and written language to communicate with each other–to present tasks, engage in learning processes, present academic content, assess learning, display knowledge and skill, and build classroom life. This is due to many emerging economies around the world. The Real Ebonics Debate: Power, Language, and the Education of African-American Children. Mass communications and technology have facilitated an increasingly global marketplace where workers who are bi and/or multilingual are in increasing demand. The global market is causing the world to seem increasingly small. By providing a comprehensive language learning program for your students, you can better prepare them for more career opportunities and a higher salary in their professional careers. "Exploring Classroom Discourse: Linguistic Perspectives on Teaching-Learning Processes." Urbana, IL: International Reading Association and National Council of Teachers of English. Bilinguals are also able to switch tasks more effectively than monolinguals, meaning they can adapt to new information quicker. The importance of mother tongue language in education. For example, after making a statement, a teacher might ask a student a question intended to help the student elaborate or probe the academic topic a bit further. But for students who speak a variation of English other than Standard English or who speak African-American Language (which is also referred to as African-American English, Black Dialect, and Ebonics, among others), the teaching and learning of prescriptive grammar does not necessarily map onto the language they speak, and thus they are learning about a language different from the language they speak. “Executive control is the set of cognitive skills based on limited cognitive resources for such functions as inhibition, switching attention, and working memory” (Bialystok et al. The Meaning Makers: Children Learning Language and Using Language to Learn. The languages that are spoken in schools, the languages that are taught, the use of language for learning and instruction, are all more than simple matters of pedagogical effectiveness. 1998. In modern education, it’s often considered common sense that bilingualism and language learning are important skills to be teaching students. The teacher might then ask another question to scaffold the learning even further, and so on. As linguists point out, the grammar taught in school is a prescriptive grammar and is not what linguists mean by grammar (they mean a descriptive grammar). Language Learning Requirements. Research noting the importance of phonological awareness to reading development is cited as rationale for a parts (letters and sounds) to whole (fluent oral reading) curriculum. Despite many K-12 public schools in the US lacking comprehensive language programs, the Modern Language Association estimates that roughly 50.7% of higher education institutions have a language requirement for a Bachelor’s program.This means that language learning for K-12 learners is important to ensure their success in higher education. In The Social Construction of Literacy, ed. In Ann Arbor, Michigan, and in Oakland, California, the issue of African-American Language and education created controversy. In other words, what constitutes equitable classroom language practices? Software manuals, hardware-installation guides and product fact sheets of popular consumer electronics and entertainment devices usually are available in English first before being made available in other languages. The importance of English as a global language English is a very important language and carries a very big role in our lives. Modern linguistic research has increasingly found numerous mental health benefits associated with being bilingual or multilingual. Overall, teaching students a second language will help them with their attention, problem-solving skills, adapting to new information, delaying dementia, delaying Alzheimer’s, and having a better memory as they age. Note: Most of the statistics in this post refer to the United States education system and demographics. They learn to read and write (academic written language), and they learn the discourse of academic disciplines (sometimes called academic languages and literacies). The widespread acceptance of American pop culture also has contributed to the primacy of the English language. Language in Society 11:49–76. A working knowledge of English is important for diplomats and high-ranking officials in such major countries as Germany, Japan, France, South Korea, Brazil, Italy, and Russia so they can better understand the nuance and craft of global affairs and international diplomacy. Executive control is also thought to affect attention span and the ability to filter out irrelevant information. Working knowledge of the English language can create many opportunities in international markets and regions. In addition to suggesting the need for educators to be sensitive to cultural variation in narrative performance and in assessment of children's language abilities, the studies of sharing time show the close connections among education, language, and cultural variation. Bilingualism and multilingualism are also associated with a later onset of dementia (Bialystok et al. You can also explore language learning solutions for education at Studica. The controversy over African-American Language in education points to the complex of relationships among language, education, national politics, and cultural politics. HEATH, SHIRLEY. They are developing use of complex grammatical structures and vocabulary; communicative competence (rules for the appropriate and effective use of language in a variety of social situations); comprehension of spoken and written language; and ways to express themselves.