This text is an introduction to the course on linguistic teaching of the English written language for children. Titled Code-Switching Lessons, the discipline understands the linguistic structure of written language as a special code for the process of thinking. The written language of children is largely determined by their speech patterns, and it is through the effective comparison of the original formulation and its formal presentation that children’s writing is improved. Rebecca Wheeler works in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Colorado, where she focuses on archiving and restoring endangered languages. Rachel Swords is an elementary school teacher who has made the step from teaching in an urban school to teaching linguists. Her experience teaching a culturally diverse community contributed to the development of the concept of Code-Switching Lessons. The work is based on the assumptions of 20th-century scholars that it does not make sense for colloquial students to offer standard English teaching. This language problem became especially evident at the end of the previous century. Code-Switching technology offers a profitable and creative solution to the problem of teaching children non-standard English at a time when this pedagogical situation seems to be aggravated. This text is primarily prepared for teachers of the English language, but at the same time, it is extremely valuable for specialists with a linguistic education. Authors directly share their practical experience, which makes the text more necessary for practicing teachers. Using the strategies proposed in the text, there is a real opportunity to convey formal correctness to students with colloquial English.
Reference
Wheeler, R., & Swords, R. (2010). Code-switching lessons: Grammar strategies for linguistically diverse writers. Firsthand Heinemann.