The school teacher’s role in children’s acquisition of linguistic variety

Abstract

Within any society, language varies in a significant number of ways, whether referring to different accents, “uneducated” forms, dialects and even entirely different languages. Some of the most socially relevant and intralinguistically salient forms may be collectively called “registers,” referring to often-overlapping varieties used in different social situations. In this thesis I was interested to explore the developmental aspects of intralinguistic variation and how the school environment could be used to support students’ acquisition of register, and over the course of research the scope expanded to include variation more generally. My research questions were “How do children acquire different varieties of language?” and “How can teachers support the acquisition of those different varieties?” Research shows that learning to make use of linguistic variety develops hand-in-hand with language acquisition, from the very beginning of life. Throughout their life, people’s conception of their identity and how they should use language evolves according to a wide range of social and cultural factors.

This thesis takes a positive and descriptive approach to variation of all kinds, seeing students’ own languages as resources for improving learning and self-image, especially when these do not conform to the local or national standard language. Teachers should therefore be sensitive to the linguistic needs of their students and teach knowledge about language, including the social effects of different varieties. In so doing, they will create a more inclusive classroom as well as helping contribute to a more equitable society.