On Language Study

1994 NCTE Annual Business Meeting in Orlando, Florida

Background The teachers who proposed this resolution said the response of many teachers to the grammar debate has been either to avoid explicit instruction in the structure of English or to continue to teach grammar in a prescriptive manner. These extremes, they said, emphasize the need for NCTE to articulate strategies for developing the language awareness of teachers and students. Be it therefore Resolution Resolved, that the National Council of Teachers of English appoint a committee or task force to explore effective ways of integrating language awareness into classroom instruction and teacher preparation programs, review current practices and materials relating to language awareness, and prepare new materials for possible publication by NCTE. Language awareness includes examining how language varies in a range of social and cultural settings; examining how people's attitudes vary towards language across culture, class, gender, and generation; examining how oral and written language affects listeners and readers; examining how "correctness" in language reflects social-political-economic values; examining how the structure of language works from a descriptive perspective; and examining how first and second languages are acquired.