US: Barring teachers with 'accents' from teaching English is misguided

[Francis Hult]

Arizona Daily Star

 

Barring teachers with 'accents' from teaching English is misguided

 

The Arizona Department of Education plans to bar teachers with "heavily accented or ungrammatical" speech from classrooms with English-learning children. The ostensible goal is to ensure that children will be exposed to examples of "perfect (unaccented) English."

 

Yet, decades of scientific investigation in linguistics shows that exposure to only unaccented English will harm those students, not help them. As scientists, as educators, as citizens, and as state employees, we believe it is our duty to provide relevant scientific facts so state leaders and citizens can make informed decisions.

 

Full story:

http://azstarnet.com/news/opinion/article_bfb4230b-43b0-5e92-975a-580456386279.html

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