Writing programs promote linguistic diversity

An initiative by Grand Valley's writing programs will promote linguistic diversity across campus.

Patrick Johnson, director of the Meijer Center for Writing and Michigan Authors, said the initiative gained momentum after a January Teach-In session that examined policy statements by professional associations. Statements by the National Council of Teachers of English and American Association for Applied Linguistics affirm students’ rights to their own languages and advise educators to recognize the rule-governed nature and cultural value of multiple dialects.

Johnson and Lindsay Ellis, associate professor of English and director of Writing Across the Curriculum (SWS), said that respecting the legitimacy of African American language systems and celebrating multilingualism are not new concepts. The NCTE policy statement was first published in 1974.

Ellis said this initiative follows the university's inclusion values as it "teaches writing in ways that include and instruct speakers of all languages and dialects."

Johnson said encouraging linguistic diversity may not change what faculty expect from student writing, but raising awareness of other language varieties may change how both students and faculty discuss the writing process.

“Respecting the difficulty of code-switching and believing that all language varieties belong here will enrich campus for everyone,” he said.

Johnson said 100 peer consultants at the Writing Center, Speech Lab, Research Consultant Program and Data Inquiry Lab will undergo training in January on linguistic diversity and contrastive analysis. The sessions conducted by Inclusion and Equity staff members and campus linguistics experts will help peer consultants understand and respect the complexities of language, culture and identity, he added.

Training will also be held in the winter semester for faculty members who teach SWS courses.

Ellis called Academic Written English the language of power in certain circles. "We want all students to be able to wield this power, but AWE is only one of the dialects that students may need to transform their lives, their professions, and the communities that matter to them,” she said.