Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-788cddb947-rnj55 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-10-10T06:03:32.407Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Preface

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 July 2009

Sandra Lee McKay
Affiliation:
San Francisco State University
Nancy H. Hornberger
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania
Get access

Summary

In many countries today, classrooms reflect a rich diversity of linguistic backgrounds. Students bring to the classroom not only other languages but also different varieties of English and culturally learned ways of using English. It is against this backdrop that teachers in general, and language teachers specifically, face the challenging task of respecting linguistic diversity while promoting common standards. Central to fulfilling this task is an understanding of the relationship between language and society, for it is the social context that both provides the conditions for linguistic diversity and reinforces the conventions necessary to maintain linguistic standards. The purpose of this book is to help language teachers and teachers of linguistically diverse and multicultural classes gain an understanding of the many ways in which language and society interact. It is addressed to pre-service and in-service teachers, primarily teachers in ESL/EFL and bilingual classrooms, teachers of linguistically and culturally diverse classes, and foreign language teachers.

Deciding how to present a text dealing with the relationship between language and society is problematic because some scholars in the field emphasize the manner in which social and political forces influence language use, often referred to as the sociology of language, whereas others focus on how language and language use reflect the larger society, at times referred to as sociolinguistics. In large part, the distinction rests on whether one emphasizes the society or the language.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×