Language Diversity in the Classroom »

John Edwards is a Professor of Psychology at St Francis Xavier University. His research interests are in language, identity and the many ramifications of their relationship. He has lectured and presented papers on this topic in some thirty countries. Professor Edwards is the editor of the Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. He is the author of several books including Language and Identity (Cambridge, 2009) and Un mundo de lenguas (Aresta, 2009) as well as many articles, chapters and reviews.

This book provides comprehensive coverage of language contact in classroom settings. Particularly highlighted are the range and implications of attitudes towards languages and dialects - with close attention to nonstandard varieties - studies of Black English, foreign-language teaching and learning, as well as broad consideration of the assumptions and intentions underpinning bilingual and multicultural education.

Chapter 1 Introduction

Chapter 2 Discourse Analysis and its Discontents

Chapter 3 Disadvantage: A Brief Overview

Chapter 4 Disadvantage: The Genetic Case

Chapter 5 Disadvantage: The Environmental Case

Chapter 6 The Language Debate

Chapter 7 The Persistence of Linguistic Deficit

Chapter 8 Evaluative Reactions to the Language of Disadvantage

Chapter 9 Black English as Ebonics

Chapter 10 'Foreign' Languages in the Classroom

Chapter 11 Multiculturalism and Multicultural Education

Chapter 12 Bilingualism: A Very Brief Overview

Chapter 13 Bilingual Education

Chapter 14 A Concluding Statement