Language in the Classroom
Travis Amen,
Teacher at McPhee Elementary School Lincoln, Nebraska
ecently, I
wrote and implemented a classroom project. My class consists of fifth
and sixth graders at a high-risk, inner-city school. The project deals
with the English and Spanish languages, focusing on the use of modifiers
(adjectives) in both languages. For example, most modifiers in English
hold a prenomitive position. In Spanish, modifiers hold a postnomitive
position.
Example: 1. the blue house (English) 2. la casa azul (Spanish) - the house that is blueThe adjective takes precedence over the house in the English language. In Spanish, the house, structurally, is more important than the color: it is a house first and blue second. Clearly, there is much room for debate. There is much to be learned about what a culture values by its use of language. Structurally, the role of modifiers in the English language partially explains an ability to directly or indirectly dehumanize social constructs. For example, in Spanish-speaking regions, slavery existed; however, in most cases, it was a result of the physically weaker population being dominated by the physically stronger population. In English-speaking regions, most notably America and South Africa, slavery might be explainable as reflected by English's use of modifiers, resulting in the ability to dehumanize entire populations - a label with a person attached to it. This project is in no way meant as a justification for social injustices; however, a clearer understanding of language structure may lead to positive social change. Through awareness of such concerns, students may be more mindful of the ramifications of language.
As I introduced this project to my class, I noticed that the children
responded well to the idea of a language study. The class had spent the
first semester gaining a firm understanding of the English language. The
majority of time was spent on diagrams and essay structure. Many students
had been told what a sentence was through various existing language programs.
This project allowed them to see, through the aid of diagrams, what a
sentence can be, including many of the relationships between parts of
speech. The solid foundation in English grammar enabled the class to fully
understand the role of modifiers in the Spanish language. Students began
to notice that English is mainly prenomitive and Spanish is postnomitive.
Granted, this is an involved and abstract concept; however, this project
clearly aided in solidifying the need to question language structures.
This project served my class well because it was integrated, including
history and social studies. Student language-study essays may be viewed
at the following site:
http://mcphee.lps.org/202.html
Oftentimes, I have seen language programs at the elementary level fail because those programs are disjointed in practice and finite in purpose. Consequently, this project was my effort to provide an opportunity for students to see that language is powerful and relate it to the world around them. My students see clearly that language is not only how we define ourselves in the world, but also the world within ourselves.
, Web Editor