The Same Conversational Page?: Talking with Students about Language and Diversity
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| Title: | The Same Conversational Page?: Talking with Students about Language and Diversity |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Adrienne Jankens, Nicole Guinot Varty, Anna Lindner, Linda Jimenez, Anita Mixon, Carly Braxton, K. M. Begian-Lewis |
| Source: | Journal of Effective Teaching in Higher Education. 2025 7(2):28-46. |
| Availability: | Journal of Effective Teaching in Higher Education. Centers for Teaching Excellence and Faculty Leadership, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 601 South College Road, Wilmington, NC 28403. e-mail: jethe@uncw.edu; Web site: https://jethe.org/index.php/jethe |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 19 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education |
| Descriptors: | College Students, Writing Instruction, Student Diversity, Language Usage, Academic Language, Student Experience, Writing (Composition), Influences, Student Attitudes |
| Geographic Terms: | Michigan (Detroit) |
| Abstract: | Through surveys and focus group conversations, we studied students' experiences with instruction in writing-intensive (WI) courses at our urban R1 university and their awareness of and attitudes about linguistic diversity. Specifically, we have explored discrepancies between students' experiences with languaging, language judgment, and our university's diversity and our goals as teacher-scholars who seek a university context more ready for writing instruction that embraces linguistic diversity. Echoing Baker-Bell's (2020) discussion of students' "linguistic double-consciousness," our analysis demonstrates the misalignment between the valuing of linguistic diversity emphasized in contemporary scholarship and the perspectives on languaging held by our direct instructional audience: the students at our university. Importantly, while most student survey participants agreed that "bringing linguistic diversity into the classroom enhances their writing," most student focus group participants generally implied a much different experience, describing writing "formally" or "in Standard American English" for classes, with no suggestion that their writing was positively affected by linguistic diversity. As we work to attend to these ideological differences, this study points us to strategies that will help us get on the same conversational page with students in our WI courses about linguistic diversity. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1463376 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Through surveys and focus group conversations, we studied students' experiences with instruction in writing-intensive (WI) courses at our urban R1 university and their awareness of and attitudes about linguistic diversity. Specifically, we have explored discrepancies between students' experiences with languaging, language judgment, and our university's diversity and our goals as teacher-scholars who seek a university context more ready for writing instruction that embraces linguistic diversity. Echoing Baker-Bell's (2020) discussion of students' "linguistic double-consciousness," our analysis demonstrates the misalignment between the valuing of linguistic diversity emphasized in contemporary scholarship and the perspectives on languaging held by our direct instructional audience: the students at our university. Importantly, while most student survey participants agreed that "bringing linguistic diversity into the classroom enhances their writing," most student focus group participants generally implied a much different experience, describing writing "formally" or "in Standard American English" for classes, with no suggestion that their writing was positively affected by linguistic diversity. As we work to attend to these ideological differences, this study points us to strategies that will help us get on the same conversational page with students in our WI courses about linguistic diversity. |
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