Language ideologies in English learner classrooms: critical reflections and the role of explicit awareness

Abstract

This paper draws on fieldwork conducted over the course of one academic year in two urban high-school English learner (EL) classrooms located in the south-western part of the United States. As part of a larger interest in how language ideologies mediate classroom discourse practices, this paper analyses the role of awareness in language ideological (LI) inquiry, its methodological implications, as well as pedagogy in second language learning. Classroom surveys, observations and teacher interviews were conducted and analysed using content and discourse analysis. When probed for language issues within their classrooms and over their lives, students were able to articulate explicit awareness of how rules of language use mediated their lives. More importantly, they were able to articulate issues of status and difference vis a vis language which points to a critical view of LI inquiry. Teachers also expressed explicit rules regarding language use for instructional purposes. While explicit articulations of language ideologies were rare, especially within everyday classroom practices, they provide a valuable and necessary reference point for understanding the implicit ways in which language ideologies frame interactions within EL classrooms. This dimension enhances the empirical validity of LI inquiry in classroom settings.

Keywords:

• language awareness
• language ideology
• second language learning

Notes

1. Transcription conventions come from CA (conversation analysis; Drew & Heritage, 1992). Bold = emphasis; ‘:’ = vowel elongation, (.) = micropause; [] = overlapping talk.