Thursday, June 12, 2008

Language Literacies

Richardson's article offered wonderful insight into the styles of communication and comprehension that young African-American females utilize. This article was different from most opinionated ed. articles that analyze an issue then criticize by explaining why teachers, administrators and schools are wrong, based upon subjective views. Richardson spoke out about a specific and often unobserved issue, used personal experiences and observations as well as fictional accounts, and finally offered simple and reasonable advice on how to overcome these obstacles. I set this article down with clear and attainable objectives. Richardson cites Foster's work and suggests teachers use "familiar language patterns, including repetition, call and response, analogies, aphorisms, and moral messages that resemble the secular and religious speech events in the African American community". Richardson takes Foster's suggestions further and "encouirages students to articulate their ideas int heir native tongue and translate it so that the higher education experience does not alienate them from the languages and cultures of their nurture". This process would provide knowledge confirmation for students, and increase self-esteem by reinforcing their own knowledge and culture. An easy and simple way to implement Richardson's ideals into our classrooms.

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