Chapter 7: Fostering

Language Awareness
By: Loida Feliú
Cristina O’Farrill
What is language
awareness?
LA is a person’s sensitivity to and conscious
awareness of the nature of language and its role in
human life. (Kumaravadivelu, 2003, p.157)

Language awareness blends a) content about

language, b) language skill, c) attitudinal education
and d) metacognitive opportunities, which allow the
student to reflect on the process of language
acquisition, learning and language use.

http://www.educ.ualberta.ca/staff/olenka.bilash/best%20of%20bilash/languageawareness.html
Two Prominent Movements that have Contributed to LA
The British Movement The American Movement

http://www.google.com.pr/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&ved=0CAM
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VwsgCFUfQgAodGLAFTw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.collinsflags.com%2Fflag- http://homeschoolpool.info/2012/06/star-spangled-banner-us-national-anthem-explanation/
history%2Fhistory-british-union-jack-flag-united-kingdom-
flag&psig=AFQjCNH5R4ZRQprFU94mXhtPdNJ5UkiXpA&ust=1444919154726835
Two ways of fostering LA
 General Language Awareness

http://www.inglesnosupermercado.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2012/09 http://www.cafepress.com/barrysworld/6948949
 “The Chaos Poem”

• https://youtu.be/1edPxKqiptw
 Critical Language Awareness

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/technology-topics/11304364/2015-will-be-all-change-for-news-publishing-and-content.html
http://www.dhawannews.com/
http://www.cliparthut.com/politicians-lie-clipart-NzaboF.html
 William Lutz Interview

• https://youtu.be/Fub8PsNxBqI
 Politician Using Doublespeak

• https://youtu.be/fbgnieG9Z4g
 Example of Doublespeak
Paragraph from William Lutz book, 1989. p.1:
There are no potholes in the streets of Tucson, Arizona, just
“pavement deficiencies.” The Reagan administration didn’t propose any
new taxes, just “revenue enhancement” through new “user’s fees.” Those
aren’t bums on the street, just “non-goal oriented members of society.”
There was no robbery of an automatic teller machine, just an
“unauthorized withdrawal.” The patient didn’t die of medical
malpractice, it was just a “diagnostic misadventure of a high magnitude.”
The U.S. army doesn’t kill the enemy anymore, it just “services the
target.”
 Book Activity , page 170
Think about how government ,business, and advertisers use
language to deceive the general public. Share your thoughts
and examples with the class.
 Examples:
“preowned” as opposed to used
 ethnic cuisine – is the same thing as foreign food
 substance abuse – is the same thing as drug addiction
 References

Bilash, O. (2011, January). Language Awareness. Retrieved from

http://www.educ.ualberta.ca/staff/olenka.bilash/best%20of%20bil

ash/languageawareness.html

Kumaravadivelu, B. (2003). Beyond methods: Macrostrategies for

language teaching. New Haven and London: Yale University Press