Opinion article

Teacher ‘Told to sound less northern’ after southern Ofsted inspection

A school in Berkshire has argued against their recent Ofsted report due to the southern Ofsted inspector telling a one of the school’s female teacher to tone down and sound less northern as a result of criticism towards the school by the inspectors.

Many would see that a teacher being told to tone down her accent as a positive thing. This is due to the fact as teachers being seen as role models and a figure within the school to look up and aspire too. This results in the students especially in the younger years to pick up on the teacher’s accent, pronunciation, variety of words and sentence types therefore use this variety of language for themselves. This helps students to reach their target which enhances their performance due to adults using a wider range of vocabulary. With students spending around 7 hours a day within school the school from the age of 4 to 18 then students are more likely to pick up habits due to secondary socialisation occurring within the school environment. An example of this could be the Essex accent. Imagine a teacher with a strong Essex accent in a local school, the child are very likely to have similar accent therefore will pick up much more of their pronunciation. The Essex accent is very rural, most people seem to think that people from Essex have a cockney accent. Nowadays due to the East London overspill. For example people from Essex say ‘gunna go’ instead of ‘going to go’. The accent usually miss out letters such as “t”. This is due to the high amount of slang that people from this area occasionally use. Regardless of is your child has picked up on a teachers accent, they must like the teacher due to this meaning that they are learning and picking up knowledge from them.

Paul Watkins, executive member of the National Association of schoolmasters declined the name of the school due to it being uncomfortable towards the teacher. This shows that the teaching is delivered to a high standard but the criticism from the southern Ofsted inspector is due to how his way of speech is widely different from the northern accent. It has been said that the school has had ‘a number of on-going issues in the school’ such as a potential transportation into the academy. This shows how the developments within the school are on-going within the school for the advantage of the students at the school.

Louise Green, the editor of the Lakeland Dialect society, added that the Cambrian accent was the most wonderful thing meaning that it should be embraced within the county. She quoted that “To try and remove it is like trying to remove the Beefeaters”. She decided that “we should be celebrating our different regional ways of speech, prompting and protecting them.” This allows to be beneficial with many different children as it creates a greater chance of the being more unique and specific while they are growing up.

As an alternative the school given their pupils a list of ten banned regional phrases such as “ya cor”, “you can “and “ay” instead of “pardon”. This helps for the school to get their students ready for job interviews helping to benefit the in the future.

In contrast, this statement by the Ofsted inspector, “it could be written off as humorous at first sight – but the more you think of it the more it can make your blood boil and should stagger you”. This shows the statement about ‘told to sound less northern’ after southern Ofsted inspection’ is unprofessional and inappropriate as accents are natural not put on. This strong statement was strongly disapproved as it was about an ethnic minority group then the inspector would have been accused of racism due to the discrimination of an individual. Accents are always advanced and is a natural way of speech therefore trying to sound less northern is heard as the “most ridiculous thing ever heard of”.

Within this specific school, the incident has gone down like a lead balloon in Cumbria. Eric Robson the chairman of the Cumbrian society said “That the school should be put into special measures immediately. It’s ridiculous”. This extreme statement does not support the views of how the school is improving such as the process of the school turning into an academy. Therefore it shows how much impact that this recent issue has caused.

Overall my opinion on the opinion piece on the ‘Teacher “told to sound less northern” after southern Ofsted inspection’ is that it doesn’t matter of the accent of the teacher but the Ofsted should be more interested in the value of the teaching within the school. Due to all things considered, the amount of appropriate education that the students in the school are receiving is much more important. This is due to the grades received by the students within the school from the age of 4 to 18 which will stay with them for the rest of the life benefitting them with their job and everyday life in the future.

By Megan Wibrow

 

Research Task

Task One

Eckert Study

Eckert study was a focused on her observational research on the social practices which are the ways in which people in groups habitually behave. She done this study of American high-school students.

In order to study language usage, she identified two distinct groups, the jocks and burnouts.

Jocks – Students who participated enthusiastically in school life such as sport and social events.

Burnouts – Students who were rebellious and refused to take part in school activities

She found that people tended to speak more like those with whom they shared social practices and values.

The ‘burnouts’ used exaggerated pronunciations associated with the urban accents of their Detroit neighborhood, while the ‘jocks’ were more concerned with speaking in a socially prestigious way- sometimes reflecting their middle class backgrounds.

Eckert also studied attitudes to language- the ‘jocks’ were critical of the ‘burnouts’ for their ungrammatical language, lack of articulation and frequent swearing, whilst the ‘jocks’  were seen as sounding like their parents. 

Cheshire Study

She used long-term participant observation to gain data about the relationship between use of grammatical variables and adherence to peer group culture by boys and girls in Reading. She gained acceptance from three groups (two of boys, one of girls) in two adventure playgrounds in Reading and recorded how often they used each of eleven variables

For the girls she made a distinction between the girls who did not have positive attitudes to such group activities as carrying weapons, fighting, participation in minor criminal activities, preferred job, dress and hairstyle and use of swearing (Group A) and those who approved of these features and activities (Group B).

Similar findings when boys against boys and when boys against girls were compared, showed clearly that those who conformed to the conventions of the group also used the linguistic standards of the group - and that conforming boys conformed most of all.

Eckert study within school

To a certain extent I agree that the Eckert study is within each school in the UK. In these schools there are many different social groups and friendship groups within each year. People more likely now become friends by personalities not sport groups like in America.

Cheshire Study within school

Within school this is relatable as people often change their language depending on the different social groups they are with. This can be done due to the person changing their voice, words and grammar to feel more like they are fitting in with the specific group.

Task 2 – Research Task

Investigate the following academic linguistic research blog and write notes about any interesting pieces of research you find.

http://linguistics-research-digest.blogspot.co.uk/p/about.html

Accent and Dialect

What is a dialect?

•      A dialect is a specific variety of English that differs from other varieties in three specific ways which are lexis, grammar and phonology (pronunciation or accent).

•      English dialects may be different from each other, but all speakers within the English-speaking world can still generally understand them.

•      Birmingham - words are heavily emphasized and dragged out, the largest emphasis tends to be in the middle of each word.

•      The Essex accent is very rural, most people seem to think that people from Essex have a cockney accent. Nowadays due to the East London overspill. For example people from Essex say ‘gunna go’ instead of ‘going to go’.

What is an accent?

•      An accent is a distinctive way of pronouncing words in a language, especially one associated with a particular country, area or social class.

•      For example, a speaker from Newcastle-upon-Tyne may say something such as gan from someone in Essex would say “to go”

Overview

•      Accent only relates to pronunciation and intonation rather than grammar and vocabulary.

•      Listeners can make judgements on peoples’ intelligence, ethnic and warmth socioeconomic and geographical background purely by listening to a recorded accented speech.

•      Listeners can also make judgements on others’ intelligence

•      Two people speaking the same language, who use the same grammar and word choices will give different cues about their social and regional origins, ethnic group membership or class

•      Engagement with TV programmes, radios etc. seems to have an influence on young’s people speech as they can pick up from the presenter’s accent and pronunciation.

Accent and Dialect Task - Miss Kelly

What is a dialect?

• A dialect is a specific variety of English that differs from other varieties in three specific ways which are lexis, grammar and phonology (pronunciation or accent).
• English dialects may be different from each other, but all speakers within the English-speaking world can still generally understand them.
• Birmingham - words are heavily emphasized and dragged out, the largest emphasis tends to be in the middle of each word.
• The Essex accent is very rural, most people seem to think that people from Essex have a cockney accent. Nowadays due to the East London overspill. For example people from Essex say ‘gunna go’ instead of ‘going to go’.
• A Newcastle example of dialect is 'eeeh man ahm gannin te the booza. this actually means okay ive had enough im going to the bar. This is due to their accent and how they speak.

What is an accent?

• An accent is a distinctive way of pronouncing words in a language, especially one associated with a particular country, area or social class.
• For example, a speaker from Newcastle-upon-Tyne may say something such as gan from someone in Essex would say “to go”
   

Conversation Analysis Homework

English, Conversation Analysis – Megan Wibrow

Conversation - 

Darcy – because when we was there we decided that we was going to have a silver theme this Christmas (.) So mum brought a silver runner, silver plates, like silver cutlery (.)

Amelia – you get new cutlery for Christmas?

Darcy - yeah /

Georgia -         / special

Darcy – so yeah (.) anyway we had all this silver nice stuff for the day and then when we got to the fair we saw all this white embroider but it was actually gold.

Georgia – hmmm yeah (.)

Amelia – I bet your mum was raging. (Laughs)

Darcy – (Laughs)

Georgia – (Laughs)

Amy – ermm (.) this Christmas decorations?

Darcy – yeah (.) but ah it was so peng.

Analysis - 

The influence of this conversation was in the place of school at a lunch time. This meant that the conversation was on a random subject but had occurred lately which is why someone started telling the story about what happened with them and their family. The relationship of the conversation is a good and close relationship as it is between a group of friends. The conversation consisted of 4 people. Darcy was the most dominant speaker as it was her story which she was telling. The exchange structure which is the series of turn between the speakers is uneven. This is due to the turn taking of the conversation varies due to a dominant person talking. The 3 other participants are less dominant as they are listening to the story. The purpose of the conversation was social as it was a chat during a lunch time. Due to a good relationship between the speakers allows the register of the conversation to be informal. This is due to a group of good friends having fewer boundaries in what they talk about as they know each other well.

The conversation starts when Darcy uses a declarative sentence as she was informing her friends about a recent event which happened. The conversation continues in the format of exchange of information and the turn taking in the informal conversation. After this Amelia uses the interrogative question which was

There is an ellipsis used which is ‘ermm’. This is used as someone has just joined in the conversation and is clarifying what the conversation is about. The question ‘You get new cutlery for Christmas?’ due to her questioning the dominant speaker as she is in shock by her statement. Darcy goes to carry on by replying an answer showing she is an active listener. Georgia then cuts off Darcy’s reply by inputting her thoughts saying ‘special’ which shows that she and her family do not do this.  The dominant speaker which was Darcy then uses another declarative sentence as she is further explaining her story. Georgia replies ‘hmm yeah’ showing she is an active listener. This encourages the speaker to continue. Amelia then adds in an exclamatory sentence as she is stating something. Everyone in the conversation laughs due to the sarcastic comment. Amy then joins the conversation and by interrupting and questions the story to check she is correct. She says ermm which is a non fluency feature and an interrogative question. The dominant speaker replies to her question and then uses the word ‘peng’ which is an ephemeral language due to slang lasting a short period of time as it comes in and out of fashion. This creates informality as it is only used in some parts of the world as it has to be used contextually for it to make sense. 

Conversation Analysis - Miss Kelly

English homework

The aim of the conversation is to provide information. The tone varies as the police officer is very formal but the witness is less formal as the witness is just answering the questions. The form of the writing is a structure interview.

The writing is a conversation which is a police interview between the officer and witness. The conversation uses transfictional language which is when the speaker wants to gather information which in this extract is from a police officer questioning a witness about a car crash. Person A which is the police officer asks two question which are ‘Did you see what happened?’ and ‘Could you see if anyone was hurt?’ These simple questions control the conversation due to the police man having more power than the witness. The interrogative question is also very specific which gives the interview structure. The formal conversation allows both people to participate in the conversation as the police officer needs a response to their questions.

On the other hand, person B which is the witness who was at the scene uses many types of filler in his answer. This could be due to the shock from the accident or the power the person which they are talking to. Examples of the fillers are the words such as ‘er’. They also use many no fluency features e.g. Hiatus which are the breaks he uses in his sentences which shows person B is less formal in their part of the conversation. He also uses taboo language ‘bloody’ which can suggest the shock from the accident. 

Letter Analysis - Mr Clifford

Analysis on Agreement Homework

The agreement was written from a collage to their students. The agreement’s purpose is to show what the collage and staff expect from their students, and what the students should expect from their teachers and collage. The audience of the writing has a primary target audience which are the students attending, then the secondary audience of the agreement is the parents of the students who will know what their children will be getting from the collage. The tone of the agreement is very formal as it is an important document as the form of the text is a contract.

The agreement uses graphology which is the study of written and printed symbols and of writing systems. An example of the graphlogical features in the agreement is the bullet points. They are used in this document as it helps to shorten the main points keeping it very concise. This benefits as it helps to keep the attention of the audience which is students. Another example of graphology being used in this agreement is the form at the bottom which is for students to sign is they have read the terms and conditions which proves the form of the writing. The sentence ‘PLEASE READ THIS CAREFULLY’ is underlined and in bold as it is a very important feature that has to be read. This is an imperative.

The overall semantic field is used in this text. This is the grouping of words used in the agreement. This is appropriate for the text as the purpose of the text. Mostly all the words used come under the semantic field of education. Some examples are study, teachers, homework, class, students, study and teaching.

The lexis is similar throughout making the agreement very personal. 1^st and 2^nd person is used. You and your is from what the collage expect from the students and show them the expectations they have for the students. On the other hand in the second half of the agreement, it is written in 1^st person. This is because it is what the students are agreeing to. An example of this is ‘I, the student’. The agreement also commonly uses noun phrases which create the agreement to feel more heart felt and caring. This is such as ‘genuine concern’.

The grammar of the writing commonly uses noun phrases which help to modify the noun. An example of this is ‘appropriate teaching’. This noun phrase shows that their teaching at the school is okay and acceptable teaching. Another noun phrase used is ‘genuine concern’. This helps to modify the noun as it shows the large extent of concern they have for their students.

Lexis Homework - Miss Kelly

Connotation

1. House, Home, Property, Place, Abode

The first word is word house which has the connotation of a very simple place where someone lives. It doesn’t give a lot more meaning or any addition picture to the audience. Secondly the word home gives a much different connotation as it gives the image of a family living in a nice and happy environment. The next denotation is the word property. This gives the connotation of a house being sold as this word is commonly used with estate agents on house selling website. The next word place is very general. This isn’t parasitic to where the place is located and what is there. The word abode is less commonly used but has the meaning of a house or home. It doesn’t give the same connotations of house and home as it is not as commonly used.

4. Girl, Woman, Lady, Female, Laddette

The word girl has the main connotations of a child that is very young and innocent. This is due to how it is commonly used. On the other hand, the word woman gives a very old feel as it is used when a girl has passed the age of 18. The word lady has a very mature and adult feel. This is due to the word lady being seen as high class. The word female gives the connotations of signing your gender by either male or female. This word just states one gender and doesn’t have any connotations of the age of the person. The word Laddette is seen as older but gives the feel of very common. This is due to the association with the word lad used for boys is common.

Euphemisms

To powder one’s nose – this means when women go to the toilet and apply make-up. This phrase is commonly used by older women who are richer as it seen as more pleasant to say than ‘go to the toilet’.

To let someone go – this term is used when a business fires or sacs someone. This phrase is used as it is seen as a nicer thing to say as it isn’t so blunt and abrupt.

Senior citizen – this is used as it is nicer to call an old person this instead of old. This shows more respect.

Poem and Analysis - Miss Kelly

Poem and Analysis Homework

Poem

In the magical forest far far away,
Lived a beautiful young princess with the name of Mai

As she walked through the meadow,
In the long grass she lay,
Her heart filled with joy as she felt so gay

This magical story starts one day,
When the warm breeze blew,
She heard someone say …

Analysis

• The words used such as ‘magical’ and ‘beautiful’ and ‘princess’ link in to the audience as the target audience are aimed at young girls.

• ‘Far far away’ links to other fairy tales

• Similar rhyme throughout makes the story easier to be carried on and understood by the young readers.

• Rhythm is a medium pace which allows it easy for the readers to understand and read.

Notes on grammar - Mr Cliffford

Introduction to Grammar

Verb – Doing word

Adverb – Describes a verb

Adjective – Describing word

Noun – Naming word of class, people, place or thing

Concrete Noun – Things we can see, hear, taste, touch, smell

Proper Noun – Names for individuals, events, places e.g. London, Mr Clifford, V fest

Common Noun – Something with ‘the’ before it e.g. the table

Noun Phrase- a noun or any word that modifies the noun and then changes the meaning. E.g. Determiner, adjectives, propositions. ‘Plane crash’ turns to ‘A horrible plane crash’

How do nouns make a difference in writing?

• Lexical Cohesion
• Paint a clear picture
• Emotional response

Modal Verbs – Deontic and epistemic

Imperatives – a command or order. E.g. you must walk

Verb Phrases – a verb phrase is built around a head word, the main verb

Clauses- Groups of words centred on a verb phrase.

Co-ordinated clauses- 2 clauses joined together by using a conjunction. Makes sense on its own too if you remove the conjunction.

Subordinated Clauses – a main clause that makes sense on its own, if separated one makes sense and the other doesn’t.

Active Voice – the subject is responsible for carrying out the verb is placed in the subject position. Usually at the start of a sentence.

- usually the attention is at the beginning of the headline

Passive Voice – Opposite to active voice as the subject isn’t the main focus of the story

 its used when we don’t know the subject

 -we don’t want the talk about the subject

  -the subject is not the focus of the story