A Cross-Contextual Study of Pre-K–12th-Grade Teachers' Beliefs About Language and Language Teaching

• In Event: Catching Up With Teachers: Statewide Exploration of Teachers' Beliefs About Language and Literacy Teaching

Abstract

Objectives
This paper explores teachers’ beliefs about language and language instruction. Historically, teachers follow a prescriptive approach to language, emphasizing adherence to narrowly defined rules and conventions. This approach has been shown to privilege students, predominantly white middle and upper class students, who already use language in ways that align with the prevailing expectations of schools (Alim, 2005). Given that many teacher education programs now require at least one class in linguistics, our paper maps the current state of teachers’ beliefs and understandings of language and language instruction in a midwestern state.

Theoretical Framework
We draw on research at the juncture of sociolinguistics and literacy to examine teachers’ language ideologies. The framework of language ideologies has been used productively in literacy contexts (Martinez et al, 2017; Baker-Bell, 2020) and teacher education (Athenases, 2018; Godley & Reaser, 2018) to examine the impact of linguistically informed teaching on students from diverse language backgrounds.

Data & Methods
Through survey and interview data (details in the symposium introduction) we examined patterns in teachers’ beliefs about language and language instruction. The pertinent questions asked about oral and written language. Responses to the questions were correlated with a variety of demographic and contextual characteristics of the teachers and the schools where they teach. To probe teachers’ language ideologies further, we surveyed responses to a range of linguistic features, some lexical (swear words), some phonological (pronouncing ask like ax), and some grammatical (sentence-final prepositions). We asked whether these usages were common in students’ writing and speech and whether the teacher would be likely to correct them.

Results
Teachers commonly view teaching about the English language as a critical piece of the school subject English, though how such instruction is incorporated into the curriculum varies widely. Teachers express a general belief that all ways of using language are valuable. At the same time, they emphasize that for job interviews, college essays, or other gatekeeping situations, students should follow norms of Standardized English. Few teachers report questioning the valued position of Standardized English in relation to other English varieties.
Results indicate that teachers are generally more concerned with grammar than pronunciation. For example, subject-verb agreement tops the list of written features most likely to merit correction. Also, usages that are characteristic of African American English (such as copula absence in “she happy”) tend to rank highly among teachers’ concerns.
We identify patterns of difference in teachers’ language ideologies across contexts. For example, early elementary teachers report less correcting of written language and more correcting of oral language, while middle and secondary teachers report more correction of written language and less correction of oral language.

Significance
Our exploration of teachers’ beliefs about language and language instruction reinforces previous findings that educational institutions resist change. Despite 60 years of efforts to integrate linguistic knowledge into school curriculum, teachers continue to teach about language in alignment with inaccurate, yet common sense, societal understandings. If teacher educators and linguists hope to shift teachers’ understandings of language at scale, they will need new methods.

Authors

• Mike Metz, Univeristy of Missouri

• Matthew Gordon, University of Missouri - Columbia