Annotated Final Structures Research

Alyssa Sansalone, Brittany Scott
Structure of English
Linguistic Ethnography Assignment

How does Culture Affect Language?
Alyssa: Growing up, I lived in a small town with a graduating class of about 88 which, as
a consequence, has limited me to the culture I was exposed to. Although my schools were very
diverse in ethnicity, I did not experience people outside of my town or the state of New York
very often. Language was not a problem for me like some of my English Language Learning
classmates who were taken out of class to learn more about the English Language and its
functions. From growing up like this, there was a speaking norm. In my house, my brother and I
were not allowed to say any curse words some including, crap, hell, and stupid, along with
other profanity words such as fuck, shit, and ass. Through this, it has stuck with me and I
very rarely curse. The only time I curse, that I have noticed, is when I am exaggerating things
such as how good or bad my day is. For instance, if I was having a really bad day I would say,
This day fucking sucks.
I also grew up going to a Roman Catholic Church in which religion class was mandatory
every Wednesday night. During this class, I was not allowed to curse, not allowed to speak
without raising my hand, and we sang prayers from the Bible. This made me assimilate to the
religious culture, where I was not to speak unless spoken to. But when in high school, I was
exposed to more foul language in the hallways and lunchroom with friends and peers. On the
other hand, in the classroom, profanity was prohibited. In the classroom, we were supposed to be
silent unless we were told to speak or answer a question, and the language used was very formal
Brittany Scott 5/7/14 8:40 PM
Comment: nCA1L/nC1L SLandard 2.3:
uemonsLraLe reflecLlve pracLlce, professlonal
lnvolvemenL, collaboraLlon.

1hls LlngulsLlc LLhnography asslgnmenL
requlred Alyssa and l Lo flrsL of all collaboraLe
wlLh each oLher ln order Lo come up wlLh a
successful eLhnographlc sLudy. We also had Lo
be able Lo reflecL upon our own language and
addlLlonally become professlonally lnvolved ln
a 8loomsburg Area Plgh School classroom and
lunchroom perlod.
Comment: nCA1L/ nC1L SLandard 2.2:
losLer famlllarlLy wlLh sLudenLs' own/ oLhers'
culLures.

Pere Alyssa ls aware LhaL here rellglous
culLure has an affecL on her language.
when talking with a teacher opposed to when talking with classmates. Expectations were
communicated through verbal reprimand and previous experience. If I said something that was
not acceptable, I would be reprimanded for that. It was also expected to behave a certain way
through previous exposure like if an older student or sibling was yelled at for cursing, I would
know not to talk with that language.
Through this one can see that everyone including myself, changes their style of language
when speaking in different settings. When I am in class or a school setting, I act professional and
speak with elegance like I would if I was in a formal interview. This completely changes when
the setting changes. If I was out to lunch with my friends I would speak very differently, I would
abbreviate things to make words easier to pronounce, and I dont think before I speak very often
so whatever Im thinking just comes outwhich is opposite if I were in a formal interview, I
would have to think about what I am going to answer before I say it out loud. When thinking
about how my language style shifts, I think about speech versus writing. If I am in an informal
setting with friends or family, I speak without thinking or necessarily knowing what I am going
to say next just like regular rapid speech. On the other hand, when in a formal interview setting, I
must think about how and what I am going to say to sound educated, intelligent, and interested,
much like writing. Speech and writing are different because when you are writing a paper, you
can edit and you think about what you are going to say and how you can word it to the best of
your ability. You cannot go back in speech and edit, but when in a more formal setting you think
very intensely about how you are going to speak.
As previously stated, I am from a small town in New York about an hour north from the
city. By living near the city, I have developed somewhat of an accent. When coming to college in
Pennsylvania, I quickly realized that I speak differently than the people here. A pattern linguists
Comment: nCA1L/nC1L SLandard 3.1: know
skllls of Lngllsh Language.

Alyssa here ls aware LhaL she sLyle-shlfLs, or
changes Lhe way LhaL she uses her skllls of Lhe
Lngllsh Language ln Lerms of Lhe seLLlng LhaL
she ls ln.
Comment: nCA1L/nC1L SLandard 3.4: know
composlng processes.

Alyssa ls aware LhaL when she ls uslng wrlLLen
language, she ls able Lo Lhlnk abouL whaL she
ls golng Lo say, and she has Lo opporLunlLy Lo
go back and edlL whaL she has prevlously
composed. 8uL, speech does noL colnclde wlLh
Lhe same composlng process.
see in most New York speakers is that they drop the end r in words. For example for the word
[drawer], I pronounce it /dr!/ instead of /dr!"/. I also seem to add the ! sound to many of my
words, like chocolate. There was a big difference when I came to Pennsylvania in the way people
spoke and their dialect.
When looking at the Speaking Model of Interaction Analysis, I change my language style
when I am in a different setting or scene, when I am talking to different people, in key form by
exaggerating important parts of a story, instrumentalities, and according to norms of that time.
There are many different forms one uses when speaking with different parties. When I am
speaking with friends for example, I will most likely be very informal and use slang opposed to
when I am speaking with an authority figure such as a professor, in which I speak very formally
to make myself look more intelligent. When looking at where my language changes according to
interaction, I notice that there are many times when I change my language and word use. When
just around friends and family there are certain things that are said that is not weird but when
around strangers it might be seen as weird and uncomfortable. For instance, around my friends
we like to abbreviate words like perfect to perf, definitely to def, totally to totes etc.
But you could not say these informal slang words when talking to an authority figure like a
professor, police officer, or even a waitress.
In the classroom, as a professional, I change the way I speak and my language use. I tend
to use bigger words that make me seem more intelligent to be more superior to my students.
When I observed in a high school, the students are almost my age; therefore, I felt the need to
insert dominance by using professional and formal language to set a boundary as a teacher
authority figure. I tend to speak Standard American English with a New York dialect, and try
not to abbreviate or speak informally when speaking to students. If I were to speak the way I
Lmphaslze varled purposes for language use.

Alyssa here sLaLes LhaL she can use language ln
a varleLy of forms. lor lnsLance, formally when
speaklng wlLh a professor or lnformally when
she abbrevlaLes words around her frlends.
speak to my friends around my students, they might feel that I am more of their friend instead of
their teacher, which could make me vulnerable and break the teacher/student boundary.
Brittany: Ill first start off by saying that Im from central New Jersey and have grown
up there for 17 years before moving to Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania for college. So, Im sure that
gives off a stereotype about my sociolinguistic autobiography right from the get go. Yes, I do
phonologically pronounce the rapidly decreasing sound aw, AKA I pronounce the words cot
and caught differently. I also pronounce the sound in words like, water, coffee, or my
boyfriends name Sean. Lexically, central and southern New Jersey compare themselves to
Northern New Jersey. For example, I say pork roll as opposed to my friends from North Jersey
who say taylor ham. Also, I call the rainbow dessert that you put on ice cream sprinkles as
opposed to North Jersey residents and Ive even heard people in Bloomsburg say, jimmies. Its
also interesting to me that I say, go to the beach and I live so close to the Jersey shoreline, as
opposed to others who live further away that say, go down the shore.
I think its incredible how the area that you live in can affect your language so much, like
in my town in New Jersey Ill often come across words like The Yankees, bagels, or sub
that are not as common in other areas of the country. Grammatically, the only distinctive feature
that I can think of is maybe the very common use of the word like, perhaps because we talk so
quickly that filler words are often necessary. Going off of that, I have been told countless times
that I talk entirely too fast to be understood by others. Ive also been told that I talk like a New
Yorker, or that my language sounds harsh, but I dont mind this; Ive grown up speaking this
way and for the first seventeen years of my life, so did everyone around me. It does get annoying
at times though when my friends from college and those that I interact with from the Bloomsburg
culLures.

Pere, l am aware LhaL my culLure (belng from
new !ersey) has an effecL on Lhe way l use
language.

nCA1L/nC1L SLandard 4.4: romoLe
respecL/supporL for dlfferences.

Lven Lhough l speak dlfferenL Lhan oLhers,
even Alyssa who was seen above, l do noL
necessarlly use language correcLly or
lncorrecLly. Pere, my goal ls Lo slmply
acknowledge my dlfferences and ln Lurn
respecL and supporL Lhem.
area, like when I serve at Applebees, laugh and tell me that I say some words oddly (especially
when I say the word water to guests in the restaurant).
In terms of language socialization in my own childhood, I was expected to communicate
to authorities with the upmost respect. In regard to teachers, I was always extremely formal- I
always addressed them as Mrs. so and so or Mr. so and so, and I was sure to never call out
because I didnt want to be an interruption. I also dont recall EVER giving a single teacher
attitude, so I used formal language and manners words like please and thank you. I wanted
and still want my teachers to respect me, so I tried my best in school to show teachers that Im
educated yet willing to learn more and that Im kind and respectful of myself. When I talk to my
parents, I also tried to use the same respectful language, as well as words that show an
appreciation for all they do for me. I always said thank you to my parents because they go
above and beyond for me. But, unfortunately, I did have hard times seeing eye-to-eye with them,
especially when it came to their curfew rules, so I did communicate the words, I hate you,
youre stupid, I want to run away, and more. But, on the opposite side of the spectrum, I also
spoke to my parents in an extremely loving way. I made sure to constantly remind them of how
much I love them and our relationship has always been so close that I could go to them and
communicate to them about boys, friends, schoolwork, or whatever was on my mind at any time.
For languages other than English, I learned both Spanish and Latin growing up
throughout school. I believe I began Spanish in the sixth grade, and was so talented at it that in
high school I took all Spanish honors classes, and senior year of high school I took AP Spanish 5
and was the only non-native Spanish speaker in the classroom. I even came to Bloomsburg as a
Secondary Education Spanish major before transferring to Secondary Education English because
I loved it so much, but the college level grammar classes in Spanish were extremely difficult for
me. I can for some reason pick up on learning new languages really easily, and I especially loved
Spanish, but the grammar became frustrating to learn in a classroom where you didnt practice it
for more than an hour every other day. Id absolutely love to one day move to a Spanish
speaking country where I can be surrounded in the language and possibly pick it up even more
easily. In high school I also took Latin, and that has been especially helpful in my Structures of
English and History of English classes because of things like Latin declension. Learning new
languages has helped me really appreciate being a native English speaker because I realize how
difficult English actually is. Im all for making the phonological alphabet our standard alphabet
because I feel so bad for others trying to learn English- trying to learn all of the slang and
everything else on top of learning the different sounds every letter can make has got to be
extremely confusing!
When it comes to style shifting, when I reflect on the way that I speak, I realize that I
vary my own language often. For example, when Im in my sorority house, Im busy taking
selfies and talking about what happened at the bar last night. When Im with my boyfriend,
Im speaking in a kind, cute, loving, way. When Im at the gym, I speak inwardly to motivate
myself by saying things like, I can do this, or only one more mile left.
Ive particularly changed the way I speak every Thursday afternoon of the semester
when Ive gone to work with Bloomsburg High School students for observations. Throughout the
various weeks, I have either been working one-on-one with a learning support student, observing
various English classes of different academic levels, walking through the hallways, or socializing
with students in the lunchroom. In this high school setting, I have had to learn to speak a certain
way in order to earn respect and trust from the students. For example, maybe its my New Jersey
background, but I normally talk extremely fast when communicating with others. However, in

Pere Loo, l am aware LhaL l shlfL my use of Lhe
Lngllsh language dependlng on Lhe
envlronmenL LhaL l am ln.
the classroom, Ive had to learn to adopt a slower dialect. I find it necessary to speak and
especially read aloud at a slower pace so that every student can understand what Im saying.
Going in hand with that, I also do my best to give the students wait time, so that they have an
opportunity to think about what Ive said or asked them and can then respond accordingly.
Normally when I speak, if someone doesnt answer right away I continue rambling on, but Ive
learned from being in the classroom more than ever that I need to give students a few seconds
before they can communicate back to me. In terms of the words that I use to communicate, I try
to show students that Im extremely knowledgeable so that I can be trusted to teach them and I
can be seen as a role model for where their education too can grow. I use large vocabulary words
when I can and I go into great detail about the content that they are learning in order to show
them that I know and understand whats going on in the classroom. When I first began observing
students, I was extremely nervous that the seniors would be on the same level as me when it
came to things like language use and language skills. My biggest fear was that theyd be smarter
and know more about language, reading, and content so that I would have no way of helping
them or teaching them anything. But, as the weeks have gone by, Ive noticed that my language
skills have far surpassed those of a high school senior; that my past four years of college and life
experience have really developed me. In comparison to the Bloomsburg high school students, I
think Im more open to and often use more of a variety of language so that I can make an
impression on a wide variety of students.
As seen from above, it is evident that both of us have similar native dialect and that we
both feel the need to style shift in different situations. It comes naturally to change the way we
speak according to the setting we are in. We speak more intellectually when we are in a
classroom, being either the student or the teacher to seem more knowledge and respectable. This
ConnecL Lo socloculLural/ educaLlonal
developmenLs.

l vary my language use ln order Lo connecL Lo
a wlde range of sLudenLs no maLLer where
Lhey are developed aL LhaL polnL ln Llme,
soclally or educaLlonally.
seems to be a common ground between us. One of the reasons this might be is because we are
both young women who want to be High School teachers. We have discussed before that it is
nerve racking to go into a high school with all these students that are so close in age, and have
them see us as superior. By changing our language and the way we speak, we are trying to set up
a boundary so that we can be more respected. Our research started in Bloomsburg High School
with two senior classes, listening in the hallways, and sitting with a group of girls in the lunch
room. From this we have found very interesting, yet obvious results. We have ultimately found
that language reflects your culture, background, intelligence, and changes in different setting
with different people.
For our field experience, we went into a senior high school classroom where the students
were mostly male with the exception of one female. Because of the male majority demographic,
the language changed dramatically. We sat through two different classes, one honors British
Literature class in which they were studying Macbeth, and a regular senior class where they are
learning about diversity. Not only did the student language change, but the teachers language
also changed when speaking to these classes. The teacher recognized the difference in culture,
background, and academic ability in which she effectively changed her language accordingly.
The demographic in the honors class was Caucasian female which shaped the language use and
academic content in the classroom. In order to know your students, it is necessary to know their
background (especially their cultural background) because culture is a key aspect that shapes
their linguistic background.
When sitting in the regular 12
th
grade class, the first thing that we noticed was that the
demographic was mainly males with the exception of one female. Because of this the teacher
uses different language when talking to the class; she also tailored her lessons accordingly. Since
Lmphaslze varled purpose for language use.

We observed how language was used ln Lhe
classroom versus ln Lhe hallways and ln Lhe
lunchroom.
culLures.

1he Leacher of Lhls classroom changed her
language accordlng Lo Lhe culLures LhaL were
found ln her classroom aL LhaL perlod of Llme.
the teacher knows these students on a more personal level, and she is knowledgeable about their
background, she knows what is appropriate and not appropriate to say in class. The class is made
up of young males, who are still adolescents and might take some content or language the wrong
way and think of it in a more profane way than intended; because of this, the teacher tailors her
lessons to the class. The class read an article from GQ about the television show Duck Dynasty,
and because of the demographic, the teacher had to black out profanity words. After the class,
she sat down and talked to me and Brittany and stated that she blacked out words because the
students in this class would not be able to handle the language used in the article, but in other
classes she could have kept all the words. This is especially interesting because profanity words,
as we have learned in class, are just words; but when used in an inappropriate context, people
become uncomfortable. With these words blacked out, the students still understood the main
ideas of the article without the use of profanity. When the students were discussing the article,
they used very formal language when talking with the teacher in a large group setting. The
students then broke up into smaller groups, in which they were speaking a little less formal
seemingly because they were with peers their age. It is clear that the students felt more
comfortable in a small group of peers than in front of the whole class including the teacher and
therefore, because of their comfort level, their language changed.
We were a part of their group along with their peers which might have caused more
formal language to occur. By observing not only the classroom, but the lunchroom and the
hallways, it was evident that the students did not speak how they would if they were outside of
the classroom with their friends. Therefore, it is apparent that the classroom setting changes the
students language variation. Language in the classroom is supposed to be formal and proper to
which the students must live up to that standard. In a proscriptive view, Standard English should
know/ use exLenslve range of llLeraLure.

lor Lhls cerLaln class, Lhe Leacher had Lo black-
ouL lnapproprlaLe conLenL, buL for oLher
classes she was able Lo leave Lhe profane
words. 1hls shows how llLeraLure has a greaL
range and LhaL some can handle cerLaln
aspecLs of llLeraLure LhaL oLhers cannoL.
not be considered right and wrong, one should see language as spoken words that have variation
and informality, but it is taught in schools that one must say things properly.
Going into the school, our observations were solely based on the students language shift
from the classroom to the lunch room, but we were surprised to have found that the teacher had
also changed her language from classroom to classroom. We observed the previously stated
English 12 class, along with an AP Honors English class. In the English 12 class, the teacher
used simple words and phrases to ensure understanding. Because of her background knowledge
of the students and their academic capabilities, she knows what the students will comprehend.
There was a huge shift in her language from the English 12 class to the AP Honors English class.
In this class, she used bigger words and more complex scenarios since their academic levels were
considered higher. The class was learning Shakespeares play Macbeth. Macbeth itself has a
difference in language; consequently students were reading the play aloud and used this
language, because the language in Middle English is different from todays Modern English, the
students had to translate the language to understand the idea of the play. With this, the language
spoken was already more formal than that of the English 12 class and from outside of the
classroom.
Again, the students broke up into groups, and we were a part of the groups, this time with
adolescent females. When we were in a separate room from the teacher, the students informed
me that the teacher uses big words that they dont always understand. They stated that this is
very frustrating at times because it makes them feel inferior and that they are being talked down
to. Language is very important in any situation one is in and it can have a huge impact on
surrounding people. The students felt they were being talked down to because of the language
the teacher was using and as a result, they felt they were uneducated. Even though they are in an
losLer crlLlcal Lhlnklng.

Why exacLly musL we speak 'properly' ln an
educaLlon seLLlng? WhaL makes speaklng one
way lncorrecL as opposed Lo anoLher way
LhaL's correcL? Alyssa and l had Lo Lhlnk
crlLlcally abouL why sLudenLs used language
Lhls way ln Lhe classroom, and yeL no where
else LhroughouL Lhelr day - as far as we could
Lell.

Pere Lhe Leacher had Lo reflecL on whaL
sLudenLs were ln her classroom, and speak
based on whaL she knows Lhe sLudenLs wlll
comprehend. She had Lo Lallor her learnlng ln
order Lo ensure successful lnvolvemenL and
collaboraLlon for Lhose parLlcular sLudenLs.
know/use exLenslve range of llLeraLure.

MacbeLh" lnLroduces sLudenLs Lo
Shakespeare and Mlddle Lngllsh, whlch helps
Lhem reallze LhaL llLeraLure can range from a
varleLy of forms. MacbeLh" ls cerLalnly a
much dlfferenL plece of llLeraLure compared
Lo leL's say, 1wlllghL," for lnsLance.
ConnecL Lo socloculLural/ educaLlonal
developmenLs.

8ecause Lhe Leacher used blg words LhaL Lhe
sLudenLs dldn'L undersLand aL Llmes, Lhe
sLudenLs could noL connecL Lo whaL she was
saylng Lo Lhem. 1hls dlsconnecLlon lefL Lhem
feellng uneducaLed.
AP Honors course, they felt that they were not as intelligent as they should be because of the
language the teacher uses. This illustrates how important language use is and how much it
influences others, so one must use the appropriate language for the situation at hand.
After observing Mrs. Callahans AP Lit class, which is made up of only five girls, we
went with them to socialize in the lunchroom. In this setting, the girls seemed extremely laid
back and happy to have some time to relax and be outside of the classroom. In the lunch-room,
the AP Lit students became part of the speech community of high school senior girls who have
prom, graduation, and college approaching. All five of the girls seemed extremely giddy with
excitement, the kind of feeling that you get when its nice outside and you feel summer
approaching. The girls were conversing with each other about prom for a majority of the lunch
period; they were all figuring out when they should set appointments to get their hair, nails,
makeup, etc. done. The language that the girls used made them appear to be extremely close
friends, because some of them also took time to vent about things that they were arguing with
their boyfriends about. This was so eye opening to me because in the classroom these girls were
just seen as above average students, but by observing them in the lunchroom, it brought us to the
perspective that they are just normal high school girls too. At one point during the lunch period,
one of the girls boyfriends walked over and put his arms around her and constantly kissed her
head. It was very interesting to watch the young girl turn to her boyfriend and then participate in
code switching; instead of being the giddy senior girl with her best friends, she became the quiet,
loving girlfriend who cuddled and kissed her boyfriend back. But, the way the girls interacted
between each other as best friends is a reminder that all best friends are very similar and are just
extremely excited for the events to come. The girls have a lot to look forward to- remembering
Lmphaslze varled purposed for language use.

Language use wlLh besL frlends ln Lhe
lunchroom versus language use wlLh a
boyfrlend.
prom, graduation, along with the excitement and nervousness about college approaching was one
of the best times that both Alyssa and I can remember, and they seemed to be living it up.
Our observations revealed that the students identities, cultural backgrounds, and values
were all extremely similar because they were all girls in the same situation. All five of the girls
seemed to really trust each other, look forward to the upcoming moments that they will share
with each other, yet still lean on each other and seek advice about the anxiety of college. We
asked the girls where they were going away to continue their education, and some were going
out of state, which made the others staying in Pennsylvania seem to be extremely sad. Their
language made it seem as if the girls relationships were extremely close, and theyre most likely
nervous about the distance of college and if it would break their bond.
We chose to explore the COCA Corpus otherwise known as the Corpus of Contemporary
American English; we looked at the spoken and academic genres because it relates to our
ethnographic study where we compared Bloomsburg high school seniors linguistic features in an
honors English classroom versus in a lunchroom. In regards to the demographic group of spoken
language, we looked at the different categories including NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX,
MSNBC, PBS, NPR, and independent. Then, we looked at the academic demographic groups,
which included education, history, geography/ social sciences, law/ political science, humanities,
religion, science/ technology, medicine, and lastly miscellaneous. We researched various words
and grammatical phrases via the COCAs genre, which was comparisons between spoken,
fiction, popular magazines, newspapers, and academic; or even between subgenres or domains,
such as movie scripts, sports magazines, newspaper editorials, or scientific journals.
culLures.

Pere, Alyssa and l reallze LhaL language glves
off hlnLs Loward Lhe speaker's culLural
backgrounds.
losLer crlLlcal analysls of medla & Lech.

Alyssa and l had Lo Lhlnk crlLlcally abouL Lhe
lnformaLlon LhaL Lhe CCCA provlded Lo us
onllne, lL helps us compare dlfferenL spoken
and academlc genres Lo relaLe Lo our
eLhnographlc sLudy.
For our ethnographic study, we examined students in the classroom versus the same
students in the hallways/ in the lunchroom to see how different their language use is according to
their speech community. With this resource, we can explore a word, such as cute and compare
it between spoken and academic genres. So, when at the COCA website, we typed in the word
cute in two places, spoken and academic. Then in the columns, we went down to the year
2012. We were then able to look at the different contexts of the word in which the word is used.
The word cute is mostly used through spoken language; and as seen on a chart, NBC has the
highest use of the word. We also looked up cute on a list of how the word is used, and for
example, from the magazine Parenting School in 2012, it was used in the sentence, Have your
kids gather sticks from the yard, and jump into this quick, cute craft. In comparison, we found it
very interesting that cute did not come up in any academic context at all. From this, one can
see that the language varies and changes from different context, for example academic and
spoken language. This was helpful for our research because when looking at this corpus, we
realized that the language is going to be inevitably diverse and we wanted to dive deeper into our
observations.
We really enjoyed participating in this linguistic ethnography assignment because it
really opened our eyes into realizing how high school students behave both in and out of the
classroom. Like stated earlier, when we were in the lunchroom, there was actually a moment in
time where it was forgotten that these girls were just simply girls getting ready for big life
events, so this assignment helped us realize that its extremely important for teachers to get to
know their students and whats going on in their lives outside of the classroom as well. In the
future as high school educators, we want to find similar ways to assess students early on in the
year to find out exactly who the students are as individuals- so that we can become familiar with

We looked aL Lhe dlfferenL purposes for Lhe
word cuLe" ln Lerms of spoken and academlc
genres.

l Lhlnk LhaL lL's exLremely lmporLanL for
Leachers Lo reflecL on exacLly WPC Lhe
sLudenLs are ln Lhelr classroom so LhaL Lhey
can Lallor Lhe lnsLrucLlon Lo Lhose parLlcular
sLudenLs. 8y becomlng famlllar wlLh sLudenLs'
lnLeresLs, Leachers can come up wlLh conLenL
LhaL wlll maLch whaL's golng on ln Lhe
sLudenL's llves personally. l flnd lL exLremely
lmporLanL for Leachers Lo become lnvolved ln
whaL's golng on ln Lhelr sLudenL's llves boLh ln
and ouL of Lhe classroom.
what they are interested in. Once students interests are identified, it will be helpful to tailor
learning towards those interests. For example, if one of us ends up teaching an AP Lit class
comprised of only five girls, it will be beneficial to teach content that will interest and educate
girls at that life point as opposed to content that would be taught if the class was made up of only
boys. By observing students and realizing who they are as people, it will be easier to make up
curricular development, literary text choices, interaction methods, and group dynamics with the
students in mind; by choosing particular teaching strategies that tailor to the students interest, it
will help engage those exact students. Therefore, we have come to the realization that we will not
teach any two classes the same because the students will not be the same! We fully believe that
teachers should constantly be adapting what is going on in the classroom based on the students
that are responsible for learning it.
When becoming a teacher, one must understand the needs and backgrounds of the
different students in their classroom because the language they use will affect every student. If
students are from different socioeconomic classes, their language will be different and they will
be affected by language differently. For instance, if a student is from a lower socioeconomic
class then they are more likely to react to negative words and take it to heart. Language is a
powerful tool in education and if you speak with the right words and know who you are talking
to, it can have a major impact on ones life and outlook on life.

lnLegraLe formal/lnformal assessmenL lnLo
lnsLrucLlon and lnLerpreL/communlcaLe
resulLs.

1eachers musL assess sLudenLs early on ln
order Lo flnd ouL exacLly whaL lnLeresLs Lhem.
1hls wlll help Lhem engage ln Lhe learnlng
laLer on!

Annotated Final Structures Research

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Annotated Final Structures Research

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Alyssa Sansalone, Brittany Scott

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