Name Sarah Korducki English 101 043 October 11 2022 Summary 1 Official English is Best by Steven Alvarez In his article Official American English is Best Steven Alvarez argues that the diverse languages of our nation are a gift and should be celebrated instead of erased Alvarez explains how English only narratives have been around since the founding of America but it is being pushed more now than ever including in legislation He suggests there is an idea that Americans should not have to be burdened to speak read or write official business in languages that are not English Instead if you come to America you better learn English He explains Individuals who advocate for Offical English often use patriotism and unity as a smokescreen for nationalist conceptions about immigrant integration and assimilation in the workplace schools and democracy Alvarez suggests that English only is direct discrimination against immigrants and their culture In order for them to participate in society and democracy immigrants must learn English and social standard He explains how these arguments for English only continue to send the message that America does not value fluencies in other languages that are not English This is prevalent in the push for less Bilingual learning in schools Instead the Alveraz explores how there are only gifts in languages and the cultures they represent Not only does being plurilingual enhances communication abilities with larger vocabularies and translation abilities but also enhances meta cognitive skills Summary 2 Raciolinguistics Mis Education and Language Arts Teaching in the 21st Century by Geneva Smitherman In Raciolinguistics Mis Education and Language Arts Teaching in the 21st Century initially published in the 2017 Language Arts Journal of Michigan Geneva Smitherman challenges the obsession of teaching correctness in English and should encourage teachers to accept all types of vernacular and teach Critical Language Awareness Smitherman explains how over half a century of research and studies on African American language AAL show that AAL is a complex system of structure that is different from the standard English spoken in the U S Mis eduction of AAL results in negative stereotypes and racial discrimination as hatin on a particular language is linked to hatin the speakers of that language This education is necessary as students will end up being miseducated about language if they aren t taught that all humans and language varieties have inherent grammatical patterns and are systematic and rule governed She explains how English teachers often dismiss students language if they don t reflect the correctness and grammar of the Language of Wider Communication LWC and should check their language at the door Telling a student that their mother tongue is not acceptable disrespects their upbringing and puts them at a disadvantage She explains that being able to use one s mother tongue in any situation is empowering and being denied that access is disempowering and oppressive Smitherman explains how language arts teachers should implement pedagogies of critical language awareness to develop students critical consciousness about language power and society instead of focusing solely on the grammatical correctness of the LWC Works Cited Alvarez Steven Official American English Is Best Bad Ideas About Writing Digital Publishing Institute textbooks lib wvu edu badideas badideasaboutwriting book pdf Smitherman Geneva 2017 Raciolinguistics Mis Education and Language Arts Teaching in the 21st Century Language Arts Journal of Michigan Vol 32 Iss 2 Article 3