Formulaic Language in the Year

Formulaic Language in the Year Three:

An Opportunity for Teaching

While many consider the classroom to be neutral territory, a common ground that provides the same opportunity for all students, some students face a more challenging learning environment from the moment they step into the classroom because of the language barrier. In the United States, immigration and naturalization is by no means at an all time low. While about 100 years ago, naturalization in the United States was almost non-existent, the early 1900s through the 1980s experienced peaks and troughs in naturalization rates, although several thousand foreign nationals were naturalized each year. While the 1990s saw a flourish of naturalization -- probably fueled by asylum-seekers fleeing from international strife -- 2007 was characterized by a naturalization rate of around 700 thousand persons (Rytina and Caldera 2007, p.1). Given this data, it is reasonable to assume that students of various ages across various grade levels are struggling to understand the language of instruction each day simply because it is not their first language. Because vocabulary is such a major component of learning, a student's inability to grasp vocabulary words severely limits their ability to comprehend, a fact which has been proven repeatedly by a variety of studies (Pearson, Hiebert, and Kamil 2007, p. 282).

Although it has been recently publicized in the United States, this problem is not unique to Americans. Instead, as the world becomes more of an international marketplace, education has become a good traded on that market. For instance, the European Union has made it easier for students to traverse country boarders in pursuit of a better education; international schools have arisen in Asia, Eastern Europe, and in other locations; and international exchange programs allow students to travel freely across the world to learn. Even in their own country, many students' use of non-standard language variations -- such as dialects -- makes it difficult for them to have an understanding of the standard language. Students in these situations, who speak the language of instruction only as a second or third language, often use formulaic language to get by. That is, they use "standard words, phrases, and sentences that one may learn by rote to get by in the target language," without having a firm grasp on the language, a technique that makes it nearly impossible for students to become involved creatively and intellectually (O'Neill and Gish 2008, p. 117). While this issue affects students of all age and grade levels, a consideration of how this issue effects both social and academic classroom communication for year three students will lend possible solutions to the problem.

From reading comprehension to linguistic and cognitive development, the variety of studies that survey first through third year students suggest that the time period is crucial for both social and academic development. Because O'Neill and Gish argue that the use of formulaic language suggest an adverse effect on students' understanding and internalizing lessons in the language of instruction, it is the roll of the instructor to recognize such language and the effects it may have on students' social interactions. As a method of communication, social interactions between students who use formulaic language and those who do not is a potential-filled event for students in third year classrooms. In fact, students who speak the language of instruction as their first language can easily recognize those who are just getting by speaking formulaic language. This situation may cause students to make assumptions regarding the formulaic language speaking student's country of origin or intelligence level. In fact, Hamilton suggests that "language discrimination" is rather regular, at least in the United States (2005); and Gitlin, Buendia, Crosland, and Doumboa's 2003 study of immigrant students in American schools suggested that the non-white students often faced opposition from the white, academic community, the members of which were fueled by a variety of incentives to discriminate against the students. While the 2003 study examined middle school students and institutional practices, the researchers concluded that the "discursive and contextual influences limit many opportunities for immigrant students and place them on the margins of school life" (91). Thus, students' use of formulaic language quickly makes native speakers assume ethnic characteristics and, therefore, subjects the formulaic language speaker to potential stereotyping, teaching, and persecution. The connection between this situation and language is further explained by English as a Second Language program data, which confirms the Buendia, Crosland, and Doumboa's study. This communication issue has serious implications for a year three classroom and its instructor. Racial or ethnically-based teasing and peer pressure has long been associated with academic achievement, as Tyson et al. point out in his 2005 report studying the behaviors of blacks and whites during high school. While Tyson et al. also suggests that "school structures" are somewhat to blame for "stigmas" of "acting white" or "acting high and mighty" (582), he maintains that that teasing and peer pressure and also important components.

Because of the profound social implications of interactions between formulaic speaking and non-formulaic speaking students, teachers in the third year classroom need to be aware of students' interpretation of the formulaic speaking students, monitoring the communication between the groups. In addition to being aware of the situation, teachers should use the problem to educate students about stereotypes and teasing in addition to encouraging formulaic speaking students to express themselves in the language of instruction. Thus, third year students' use of formulaic language has an important impact on social communication skills within the classroom, and teachers must be prepared to not only deal with this situation, but also to view it as a learning opportunity.