S/EC/24. THE DEBATE ABOUT STANDARD ENGLISH IN EDUCATION

Within the teaching of English over the years, there has been a conflict between a prescriptive, teacher-cantered model and an expressive, child-centred technique. In relation, the study of language attitudes also has a long history that has expanded across several decades and social scientific disciplines (Cargile et al., 1994). It recognises that language is a powerful social force that does more than convey intended referential information: for better or worse, hearers may react to linguistic and paralinguistic variation in messages as though they indicate both personal and social characteristics of the speaker (Cargile and Giles, 1997). In-order to fully understand the nature of language, it is important to consider its social functions and characteristics such as: language standardisation; the nature of literacy; prestige in language; and attitudes to usage (Milroy and Milroy, 1991).