Celebrating Linguistic Diversity in the Classroom

Language expresses our values and identities, but in educational spaces, multi-dialectical and multilingual students’ voices are often silenced in favor of Standard English. Academic Standard English is upheld as the expectation in many classrooms regardless of the subject being taught. This presentation and discussion draw on research and experience to challenge the privilege Standard English holds and how educators can practically implement students’ home languages and dialects into their lessons. Using our CURI project as the foundation for this event, we will be discussing the website we created for K-12 classroom teachers that provides easily-accessible, developmentally-appropriate resources to normalize the idea that there is no single way to correctly write or speak English. We want educators to be informed, have a space to talk about language, and have resources to use to have a conversation with students about the power and complexity of language.

Learn more at http://stolaf.presence.io/event/celebrating-linguistic-diversity-in-the-classroom