Beyond English hegemony: language, migration and Appalachian schools
Title:
Beyond English hegemony: language, migration and Appalachian schools
Author:
Gann, Rosalind Raymond Dean, Brenda Pennington Marquez, Joaquin
Appeared in:
Changing English
Paging:
Volume 12 (2005) nr. 3 pages 431-441
Year:
2005-12-01
Contents:
Co-authored by an academic who has worked in ESL teacher improvement programmes under the No Child Left Behind Act, an assistant director of an Appalachian school district, and a trilingual translator and teacher who works with indigenous Mexican populations, this article is narrated in the voice of the first author. The essay addresses how teachers in a Tennessee school district have learned to engage new English speakers and how existing 'English only' law affects the process. Contrasting today's immigrants with those of the past, the narrator relates her experience of working with Purepecha children in Morristown and considers the perils of stereotyping others' literacy. The children's comfort with speaking English is affected by their awareness that, as undocumented people, they and their families do not enjoy full citizenship.