This volume provides an overview of the use of linguistics in education. The focus of the volume is on how to change standards in language education in primary and secondary schools by revising teacher education programs, integrating practical applications of linguistics into school curricula, and having linguists collaborate with classroom teachers. The contributors highlight how linguist-educator partnerships can raise awareness about the workings of language.
An important contribution of this volume is the guidelines it provides on the ways in which the discipline of linguistics, which has been limited largely to the academy, can be incorporated into curricula via the presentations of research and practice in the field of language in education programs. Together with historical background, the chapters in Part 1 cover studies based on the “top-down” approach to linguistics in education. The contributors point out potential methods of mainstreaming linguistics into different educational settings. They emphasize the significance of changing curricula, standards, and assessment modules as well as training teachers and identifying opportunities for collaboration. Part 1 presents chapters on “Ideologies of language, art, and science,” “Envisioning linguistics in secondary education: An Australian exemplar,” and “How linguistics has influenced schools in England,” among others. Additionally, the authors discuss challenges they encountered while conducting their studies—very pertinent and useful information that can ease the path of future research.
The contributions in Part 2 deal with “bottom-up” studies conducted by linguists in collaboration with K-12 teachers in the context of primary and secondary schools. As in Part 1, the studies outlined here range widely; however, a common theme in this section is the suggestion that partnering linguists with classroom teachers can significantly improve K-12 education and can have a favorable impact on linguistics. The authors walk the reader through the process of how to link theory and practice in linguistics within education and highlight the importance and effectiveness of integrating linguistic knowledge into primary and secondary schools. This section contains the chapters “Positioning linguists as learners in K-12 schools,” “Bringing language science to the English classroom,” and “Linguistics in a primary school.”
Part 3 showcases contributions from K-12 teachers themselves. These teachers have been directly involved in collaborative teaching with linguists. Here, K-12 teachers explain how linguistic knowledge can improve language education in classrooms and how it may affect students' abilities and teachers' attitudes towards knowledge of the English language. This section illustrates the significance of both top-down and bottom-up approaches in enhancing language education. The chapters in Part 3 are “Code switching and connecting written and spoken language patterns,” “Language lessons in an American middle school,” “Using the voices of North Carolina curriculum,” and “A-level English language teaching in London.”
This volume is an interesting and accessible discussion of how linguistics can be integrated into language education in the primary and secondary school classrooms. It is a valuable resource for linguists, teacher educators, and practitioners alike.
