Watch Your Language
In the article "Watch Your Language: Teaching Standard Usage to Resistant and Reluctant Learners"(Nov. 1996), Larson asserts the value of teaching the English language to young or older people, but more-so students. Larson shows this by giving the regular ideals of society along with certain research provided by other resources from different books as well as viewpoints from teachers in schools. Larson highlights these speech barriers in order to provide the incentive behind the resistance of learning the language norm. The intended audience for this article are both teachers and students that struggle with learning and observing how to conduct a meaningful conversation.
I agree with him that label on a child regarding their language can be damaging and confusing. so on the article Larson try to help students get more interest in English language and try to help to be like his English.
Larson believes that English could be taught in different ways instead of forcing student to learn it a certain way. He goes on to ask questions on why English is the way it is; known to him as the "Nonsense Rules of Grammar". "Why is it a crime to end a sentence with a preposition? What's wrong with contractions? And why can't I begin a sentence with a conjunction?" (1). He then compares students resistance to learning standard English to his experience of going to a fancy dinner a few years and how he felt as if he was an outsider. He did not know which fork to use which is the same as student not knowing the rules of "proper" grammar. "... If it sounds weird, it's right.I believe they are saying. What you are teaching feels wrong. It isn't me. It's you. I'll play along, but I won't incorporate it into my life."(2) Students feels this way when they are forced to learn what Standard English is.
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