Recognizing the Métis of Learners with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities in College Composition

This paper was originally presented as part of a panel on métis approaches to college composition at the 2019 Conference on College Composition and Communication in Pittsburgh, PA. It explores the affordances of métis for understanding the adaptive literacy practices of college students with diagnoses of I/DD. Based on findings from a grounded investigation, the author identifies ways composition instructors can utilize métis as a lens for perceiving how students with I/DD reveal "double and divergent" (Dolmage) approaches to classroom literacy.

Left Foot on Traditional Literacy, and Right, on Transliteracy

Recently, Cosmopolitan English and Transliteracy won the 2018 Research Impact Award from the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC), the largest international organization that specializes in the teaching and studies of composition. This recognition seems to signal a turn to transliteracy education, i.e., English writing education should embrace a vision and actual pedagogical practices of cultivating citizens of the world who use English ethically. The purposes of this article are threefold: to define transliteracy, to provide illustrative studies, and to propose its application in foreign language contexts. The author suggests that in designing innovative programs sensitive to various English styles teachers need to strike a balance between traditional literacy and transliteracy. New ways of implementing such literacies in some alternate space, as mediated by modern communication technologies, especially the Internet, are provided.

Metadiscourse and Topic Introductions in an Academic Lecture: A Multimodal Insight

This paper is part of a larger scale project where I explore the structure of academic lecture. The focus of the study here presented is to investigate the structure and organization of a university lecture through the introduction of new topics. One of the tools traditionally referred to as an organizer of discourse is metadiscourse (Crismore et al. 1993. Metadiscourse in persuasive writing: A study of texts written by American and Finnish university students. Written Communication, 10:39–71; Vande Kopple. 1985. Some exploratory discourse on metadiscourse. College Composition and Communication, 36(1):82–93). Although metadiscourse has been studied from a wide range of perspectives (Hyland. 2005. Metadiscourse: exploring interaction in writing. London, England: Continuum), these analyses have most of the time been conducted from a purely linguistic point of view and neither the speaker as a social actor nor metadiscourse as part of a multimodal interaction are taken into account. That being so, the aim of this study is to explore the role played by

“To Not be a Traitor of Black English”: Youth Perceptions of Language Rights in an Urban Context

Background/Context Although progress has been made since members of the Conference on College Composition and Communication passed the Students’ Right to Their Own Language resolution (1974), there still remains a demand to examine youth perceptions of language. Such examinations can help teachers and researchers improve curricular choices, honor the lived experiences of students in classrooms, and address a systemic problem within a larger sociopolitical context: the continued failure of American public schooling to adequately educate Black students and other students of color. Purpose/Objective/Research Questions/Focus of Study The primary purpose of this article is to detail how youth perceive language rights in their academic and community lives, particularly in relation to what they name “Black English” and “Academic English.” To understand youth language perceptions, this article is guided by the following inquiry: Given the historically dichotomous relationship between Black English and Academic English, how do youth perceive language in their struggle to acquire academic success? Setting Data for this ethnographic project, which derive from a larger ongoing multiyear study on youth representations of community and literacy, were collected from two African American teenage males who reside in or near New York City's Harlem community and who graduated from the Harlem High School of New York City and currently attend local colleges in the area. Research Design The article uses a case study design to examine youth perceptions of language in their struggle to acquire academic success. Data for this study were collected from the following sources: researcher field notes, classroom observations, audio- and videotaped “rap” sessions, formal and informal interview meetings, participants’ written responses to and verbal conversations on a series of 10 questions that we collaboratively designed over a 3-month period, and data member checking sessions. Conclusions/Recommendations The findings presented in this article highlight the potential for additional research on youth perceptions of language in relation to success and survival. Given current debates in educational research on student achievement, multiple perspectives, and the intersections of students’ lived experiences with pedagogical practices and teacher training, teachers and researchers should continue to identify the ways in which student voices, writings, and experiences are oftentimes excluded from schools. Students’ Right to Their Own Language is an important policy statement that questions U.S. mono-lingualism in multicultural, multilingual contexts. “It's who we are. It's like telling me I gotta take off my culture and identity when I leave my hood and go to a place that don't care about me. Like schools. How can I leave me and my Black English home? I'm nobody's traitor.” —Phillip, youth participant 2007 “We affirm the students’ right to their own patterns and varieties of language—the dialects of their nurture or whatever dialects in which they find their own identity and style. Language scholars long ago denied that the myth of a standard American dialect has any validity. The claim that any one dialect is unacceptable amounts to an attempt of one social group to exert its dominance over another. Such a claim leads to false advice for speakers and writers, and immoral advice for humans. A nation proud of its diverse heritage and its cultural and racial variety will preserve its heritage of dialects. We affirm strongly that teachers must have the experiences and training that will enable them to respect diversity and uphold the right of students to their own language.” —Passed by the Conference on College Composition and Communication, Fall 19741

Poem

Title(s): Glass Margaret Price is assistant professor of writing at Spelman College. Her poetry, articles, and essays have appeared in Breath & Shadow, Wordgathering, College Composition and Communication, Across the Disciplines, and Bitch: Feminist Response to Pop Culture. She is at work on a book about psychosocial disability and academic discourse.