Call for contributions: Linguistics in K-12 (possible topics include linguistics, education and social policy) -- DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS 1 MARCH

[Scott McGinnis]

CALL FOR PAPERS

BOOK PROPOSAL
Bringing Linguistics into the Schools:
Preparing K-12 Teachers

Kristin Denham and Anne Lobeck
Western Washington University

We are collecting articles for a volume on practical applications of
linguistics in the public school classroom (outlined in detail
below). We are presently negotiating with several different
publishers, and will submit a final proposal after we have completed
the list of contributors and finalized the organization of the
volume. Please send a one page abstract to one of us if you would like
to contribute to this volume. Our postal and email addresses are
below. (Please send abstracts electronically if at all possible, or
send abstracts on disk, preferably in a current version of Word.).

English Department
Western Washington University
Bellingham, WA 98225-9055

Kristin Denham		Kristin.Denham at wwu.edu
Anne Lobeck 		Anne.Lobeck at wwu.edu

Deadlines for submission: March 1, 2002

Goals of the Book:

Traditionally, Linguistics, the study of grammatical systems and their
social uses, has not been included as a field of study in teacher
training curricula. Lately, however, more and more teacher training
programs are requiring courses on linguistics, in an attempt to deepen
students' understanding of the workings of language. Some of the
relevant topics of study in linguistics that can be applied in the
K-12 classroom are listed below.

a.	principles of sentence structure (syntax)
b.	word formation (morphology)
c.	sound patterns (phonology)
d.	sentence and word meanings (semantics)
e.	conversational and discourse patterns and strategies
(pragmatics)
f.	language acquisition of a first language
g.	acquiring or learning a second language (bilingualism)
h.	language change over time (from Old to Middle to Present Day
English)
i.	language variation (by region, ethnicity, race or class, etc.)
j.	language and social identity
k.	language as a tool of discrimination

It is not necessarily difficult (for linguists) to outline ways in
which the topics listed above are relevant to public school
teaching. Study of sentence structure, word formation and sound
patterns can be related to writing (from academic essays to poetry)
and understanding different cultural literacies. Semantics contributes
to our understanding of word and sentence meaning, and pragmatics
helps us understand conversational patterns, narrative structure, and
discourse routines (in oral and written language). Knowledge of
language acquisition can be applied in analyzing developmental
patterns in both basic and advanced writers, and to teaching writing
and reading in a bilingual classroom. Knowledge of language change and
variation helps us negotiate between academic and home speech
varieties in reading, writing and speaking in a variety of
ways. Understanding that all language varieties are patterned and
systematic helps situate 'standard' and 'non-standard' varieties of
English in the classroom in reasoned rather than discriminatory
ways. Studying language change deepens our understanding of language
as a dynamic system, expressed by shifts in word meanings and syntax,
and reflected in the (notoriously inconsistent) English spelling
system. Studying how our social identities are constructed through
language helps dispel myths and stereotypes based on language, and
fosters linguistic equality in an increasingly multicultural world.

Though offering linguistics courses as part of the teacher training
curriculum is an important first step toward integrating linguistics
into the school curriculum, an even larger challenge remains, namely
to create linguistics courses for teachers that actually bridge theory
and practice.  That is, it is not enough for students to take content
courses in linguistics as part of their teacher training
program. Prospective teachers must also be guided in how to
effectively apply this knowledge in their own classrooms.


Target Audience

This book will offer ways to practically apply linguistics in the K-12
classroom from a variety of perspectives, toward a variety of
different ends. Though some articles focus specifically on the
language arts (teaching oral and written expression, literacy), others
address applications of linguistics in content areas (teaching math in
a bilingual classroom, for example). Other articles will address
educational policy and the place of linguistics in educational
ideologies. The book is geared primarily toward teachers and students
in teacher preparation programs, though we hope that practicing
teachers in the public schools will also find the articles useful. The
audience for the book is presumed to have no prior training in
linguistics, though the articles are designed to overlap with content
courses in a range of areas in linguistics.


Organization

We hope to organize the book in two alternative templates to provide
instructors with a choice of presenting the material in different
formats.  The book will thus be easily navigated by linguists
interested in teacher training, but also by readers who approach the
book from the vantage of education.

Two possible ways articles could be organized are as follows
(depending on content of articles submitted):

Organization I.
Phonetics and Phonology
Morphology
Syntax
Semantics
Pragmatics and Discourse
Language Acquisition
Language Change
Language Variation
Language and Society

Organization II.
Linguistics and Composition
Linguistics and Literacy
Linguistics and Literary Analysis
Linguistics and the Bilingual Classroom
Linguistics and the ESL Classroom
Linguistics, Education and Social Policy
Linguistics and Assessment


Relation to other work in the field

As mentioned above, though some teacher education programs require
courses in linguistics, such courses typically focus on content rather
than on pedagogy. That is, though prospective teachers may take a
course on historical linguistics or a course on English syntax, these
courses may not specifically focus on pedagogical applications of
linguistics in the K-12 classroom. Our proposed book would therefore
contribute to the important emergent literature bridging linguistic
theory and practice in public school teaching. The book could be used
as either a classroom text for a linguistics course in an education
program, or as a resource for education courses in related areas.

Contributors so far:

Edwin Battistella, University of Southern Oregon
John Baugh, Stanford University
Robert Bayley, University of Texas
Kristin Denham, Western Washington University
Sharon Klein, University of California, Northridge
Anne Lobeck, Western Washington University
Patricia Nichols, San Jose State University
Margaret Speas, University of Massachusetts
Rebecca Wheeler, Christopher Newport University