Stephanie: Hello everyone, and welcome to our podcast Teacher Talk. My name is Stephanie Landaverde, and I will be your host for this episode. In today’s episode, I am joined by Madison, Matthew, and Beth. We will be exploring assumptions, ideologies, and beliefs about the English language, linguistic variation and bilingualism.

Introduce yourselves!
Madison: Hello ! im Madison Cipriano

Matthew: Hi, I’m Matthew Friedman.

Beth: Hi everyone! My name is Beth Ceriello.

Stephanie: Firstly, let's talk about what exactly are the assumptions, ideologies, and beliefs about the English language?

Madison: I think most assumptions about the English language is that everyone needs to fit in to the one idea of how its been for years. You live in America and you must speak english. This is wrong and also taking away from the beauty of diversity. This is an unbelievably damaging ideology and is affecting everyone but especially multilingual students who come to school being expected to learn, test, and speak in english.

Matthew: I think a lot of people are used to speaking ONLY English to the point that they lack the awareness that people speak languages besides English. Especially in America, we’re so used to seeing and hearing English everywhere that it might catch us off guard if another language is spoken. If you’ve spoken English your entire life, you might be quick to judge when other people don’t know how to speak it or if they’re learning to speak it; you might say that the language is “easy” to learn, without acknowledging it’s all you’ve ever known and that the language can actually be quite difficult to pick up. This “English-centric” attitude might lead to people not showing any empathy towards those learning the language, which contributes to linguistic stigmas and might discourage people when they’re trying to learn the language.

Beth: I grew up in a pretty diverse school system. Even then I feel like everyone was expected to speak english. Before College and this class, I really just assumed that everyone needed to know English to get through. When I was in fifth grade, I remember there was a new girl in my class who only spoke spanish. She was so quiet and no one really talked to her because she only spoke Spanish. Now, Spanish speakers feel a little bit more connected since there is a higher population of bilingual individuals in those schools. For about 2 and 1/2 years, I have worked in an elementary school in the same district I grew up in. There are so many students who speak Spanish coming into school, and their struggles as a Spanish speaker and an English school setting. Now, after getting to know these students I think it's so important for them to be able to embrace their Spanish, while learning English. You can see how the bilingual students will go over to the students who don't speak English and it helps them with direction, or we'll just go play with that student so they feel included. Through growth I find it so important for these individuals to be able to speak in a language or more comfortable in and use their preferred language as a learning tool.

Stephanie: I completely agree with everyone. I love what you guys said! I think it’s important to acknowledge that English can be hard to learn and we should embrace multilingual learning in schools and environments. Everyone learns differently and learning to be patient with others who are learning English is definitely important.

Stephanie: Do you believe there is a “correct” way to speak or write English?

Madison: No, and I think that's the common misconception and what we are trying to change is that English doesn't look or sound any correct or one way. Everyone has their own way of communicating with different unique spins and we should be embracing that.

Matthew: There definitely isn’t a “correct” way to speak English. I’d argue there’s no correct way to speak any language. Vocabulary and word usage might differ not just among countries or states, but even among certain regions within states. People may speak slightly differently in New York City than they do on Long Island, for example. While there are general rules for grammar, spelling, and other elements of English, as with any language, I don’t think it would be right to say there’s one correct way to speak it.

Beth: I don't think there is a correct way to speak english. Even when you're looking at different areas and the United States depending on where you are, people speak differently. When you're in the south you hear a lot of people saying y'all, instead of you all. even in New England where they say Carriage instead of shopping cart. There's no correct way to speak English since everyone based on where they live has their own phrases in english.

Stephanie: Absolutely! There is no correct way to speak or write English. The way you speak a language varies based on where you were born and taught to speak English. The way you speak English can also vary depending on who you are speaking to. For example, when speaking to a professor or colleague, you are more likely to speak more formally compared to when speaking with friends and family.

Stephanie: Should schools embrace linguistic diversity?

Madison: Of course, we should embrace every students unique abilities. Schools should be a place students come to and explore their languages and learn more about others. We should be encouraging students as teachers to test their limits and give them the safe space to be different and embrace others.

Matthew: Schools should embrace linguistic diversity to foster multicultural and multilingual environments without judgment. We can’t expect people to speak the same way because there are many different ways to communicate. We can encourage students to be themselves and speak without judging others, as long as they can communicate and understand one another.

Beth: School should embrace linguistic diversity because it lifts up the students and makes them feel involved. If a student is Made out to feel bad about themselves because of the language that they speak, this will make them less likely to interact in the classroom. the student may be more to themselves and be ashamed to be in that class. This can be detrimental to their Mental Health, and their grades. I definitely think that being accepting to all students no matter their language should be prioritized because at the end of the day you don't know what the students go home to or what they went through to get to school.

Stephanie: Yes! I completely agree! Schools need to embrace linguistic diversity in order for students to feel comfortable in the classroom. When students are given the opportunity to embrace their linguistic abilities, it allows for students to connect with each other and learn from others. Students will feel more involved, and are more likely to interact more with the teacher and students. Students are also able to understand that there is no correct way to communicate with each other.

Stephanie: Thank you everyone for joining us today in our podcast Teacher Talk. I would like to give a big thank you to Madison, Matthew, and Beth for being here today as guests. Thank you for listening and until next time! Goodbye!