Reading Journal
| Title of Article + Proper MLA Citation for Works Cited page | Peter Elbow. “Inviting the Mother Tongue: Beyond “Mistakes,” “Bad English,” and “Wrong English.” From The Journal of Advanced Composition. 19.2 (Spring 1999): 359-88. Reprinted in Everyone Can Write: Essays Toward a Hopeful Theory of Writing and Teaching Writing. Oxford University Press, 2000.pgs.359-365. |
| Summarize the article — include your reaction, thoughts, anything to help you remember its claims. 100 to 150 words | In Inviting the Mother Tongue: Beyond “Mistakes,” “Bad English,” and “Wrong English,” all home languages should be accepted in the classrooms. Students are always trying to correct their own home language to confide to the Standard Written Language. In return these students are receiving errors after errors. When speaking what comes naturally somehow when writing turns out to be inappropriate. Elbow states in the article,“After all, we experience our language or dialect not just as some- thing we use but as a deep part of us. Our home language is not just inside us; we are also inside it.” As a student myself, I feel as if all languages should be accepted. We should not have to change how we speak to accommodate the Standard Written Language. Elbow does a great job explaining his reasons on why he believes every language should be allowed. |
| Define new terms and concepts by quoting or paraphrasing the original author. | “The most common attitude toward “wrong” language is to want to get rid of it. Citizens of all sorts-whether they are teachers in the schools, college faculty, members of the mainstream general public, spokespersons for culture, or legislators-are likely to agree that a teacher’s job is to “improve” students’ language.” The whole concept is to improve students’ language. I did not see new terms or concepts. |
| How does this reading connect to other articles from class and/or your own research?
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This reading connects in several different ways. In the document from online titled, “We Must Help Students Master Standard English,” Jenkins states that he agrees that students should master standard english. However, in Elbow’s article, he thinks the opposite. They connect in several ways though. They both talk about the importance of learning Standard English, but they both disagree in some areas. Jenkins says by teaching students the proper standard English prepares them for the real world, but Elbow says that students should use their mother tongue. |
| Based on the reading, craft one question to act as a springboard for class discussion. | Do you agree or disagree with what Peter Elbow has to say? |