Allen Robertson
Ms. Williams
English 1101-032
September 16, 2012
Student Dialect
American English has its many different dialects and variations. In different ethnicities,
regions, and heritages, some people structure their sentences, use different words for different
meanings, and pronounce certain words or phrases differently. A question is always brought up
when a topic such as this is presented; is a certain dialect right or wrong? According to the 1974
Conference on College Composition and Communication, the answer is no. In their explanation
essay, “Student’s Right to Their Own Language”, they make the claim that teachers and
professors should encourage their students to comfortably write and speak in their own dialects
in academic settings. While reading the text, a few questions were brought to my mind, such as:
How would teachers be able to work with so many different dialects in a diverse classroom?
Would students writing in their own dialect allow for more slang, making writing seem more
casual than formal? If this was allowed, once in the professional world, wouldn’t it be more
difficult to communicate with people in other regions of the country? If this idea were
implemented would it help students to learn and respect other cultures, promoting diversity?
Would it make students more comfortable in a school environment?
Diversity is one of the most beautiful aspects of our nation. Everybody has come from
something different whether it is location, social or economic status, or ethnicity; which is why
everyone speaks differently. In a classroom, if teachers had to find a way to accept so many
dialects that they may not be comfortable with, it would be difficult for them to help a student
improve their writing. The teacher may get too focused on certain students, leaving others
behind. In my previous experiences, I have had teachers that were forced to work with a student
more than everyone else because he/she spoke differently, so the rest of my peers and I were not
receiving as much instruction as we should have. This would be a major setback for students in
elementary, middle, and high school because they would receive less one on one time with their
teacher.
In my opinion, writing is a formal type of communication. We are taught how to write
with proper grammar all throughout our schooling because once we enter the professional world,
we are expected to prepare formal reports and presentations. If you have created a report or
presentation and only a few people can fully grasp what you are trying to tell them because you
are using you slang or dialect, you probably won’t be very successful. In e-mails that I have sent
to coaches and other people that have any type of prestige over me, I am always very formal and
grammatically correct. You will rarely ever receive an e-mail from me with improper
punctuation, slang, or misspelled words. In the business world, if you submit an application to a
boss that is not formally written, odds are not going to be in your favor of landing that job.
Employers want employees that will be able communicate fluently. Since we must write and
speak formally in the business/professional world, we should learn how to do it properly at a
younger age.
The way you speak is very different from other people in one way or another. Even
within dialects there are sub-dialects. If the concept of encouraging students to use their own
dialect in their writing were accepted, part of the process would be teachers and students
understanding the cultures and backgrounds of the other students in the class. Although some
students may be stubborn and disrespectful to other student’s cultures, for most, it would be great
for young students to learn and accept diversity at such a young age. In the SRTOL text, they
determine that one’s dialect and culture go hand in hand, “Since dialect is not separate from
culture, but an intrensic part of it, accepting a new dialect means accepting a new culture”
(SRTOL 7). They then conclude that if a dialect is rejected, there culture is also rejected. In no
way, shape or form could I think of cultural learning as a bad idea.
Even though I stated previously that I think writing is a formal type of communication, if
I were encouraged to write how I speak, I would feel much more comfortable in an academic
writing scenario. Being able to write how you speak, in your own dialect, would make it easier
for students to get their point across without sounding “awkward”. I can not begin to count the
amount of times of which I knew what I was trying to say in a paper, but I did not know how to
get the point across to the reader without sounding casual or in a way of which the reader may
not understand.
The entire point of allowing students to write in their own dialect would be to make them
feel more comfortable about their writing. I think that would negate the entire point of learning.
Learning consists of going outside of your comfort zone, then getting reeled back in once you
understand the material. For example, when a student first enters a calculus course, they are not
going to be comfortable with derivatives, limits, and other types of theorems and formulas. The
student is forced to exit their comfort zone to learn these tasks that they are required to learn in
order to pass the class. Once a student has learned and practiced these tasks to the point where
they do not need to look at notes or cheat sheets, they are back in their comfort zone. If students
are allowed to use their own dialect in order to be comfortable throughout their schooling, they
will not gain adequate knowledge. The point of school and education is to challenge the students,
and force them to exit their comfort zone. If school is made too easy and comforting, the student
will end up losing because they will have gone through their entire academic career without
being challenged. The students simply will not learn at the same pace, or at all.
The SRTOL text presents the reader with a difficult question that I am still yet to address.
Is it more important to promote diversity in a comforting learning environment, that of which
may hinder the learning process; Or is it more important to challenge and prepare the students for
the future in their professional careers, forcing them to exit their comfort zone and make them
more uniform with one another? The text supports the idea of making students more comfortable
and promoting lingual diversity. I have pointed out several setbacks that their point of view has
failed to recognize. However, it also has its benefits that of which the option of challenging the
students to exit their comfort zone does not. Ultimately, I believe that there must be a balance
between the two methods of education in order for students to feel comfortable, but challenged at
the same time.