Language Science supports teachers in recognizing and engaging our students’ expertise in their own native dialects.

Most people are fluent in the phonology, morphology and syntax of their native dialect(s) by the time they start Kindergarten, and by that time they also have a strong start on semantics and pragmatics, even if they won’t be developmentally ready for those to totally make sense until adolescence or later. We can engage students’ metacognition and existing linguistic fluency by challenging them to think consciously and critically about how they use language themselves and how they see and hear language being used in their communities.

This metacognitive analysis of students’ own internal language knowledge creates a powerful springboard for learning the patterns of standardized academic English, the “code of power” that students will be expected to use throughout their academic and professional careers. We’re all looking for ways to empower our students and give them more ownership of their learning process, right? Metacognitive examination of how we use and observe language is one of the most deeply empowering ways to engage our students, since language is so fundamental to human interaction…and all the data they need is already either stored in their brains or easily observable in their daily lives! Once students start thinking systematically about their own personal use and observations of language, it’s that much easier for them to relate the patterns of academic English to their existing language knowledge.

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