Beyond Sociolinguistics: Towards a Critical Approach to Cultural and Linguistic Diversity in Teacher Education

The author shares findings from a qualitative study of white, monolingual preservice teachers enrolled in a sociolinguistics course that examines the interplay of language and ethnicity in the United States. The primary aims of the study were to learn more about the preservice teachers' awareness of their cultural and linguistic backgrounds and to explore how they felt their new understandings about linguistic diversity would impact their future practice as teachers. In this paper, the author examines the cultural and linguistic identity work of two white, monolingual preservice teachers initiated by their participation in this course. Findings from interview and archival data suggest that while teacher education grounded in sociolinguistic research and principles can impact teachers' attitudes and practices towards linguistic diversity, teacher education that engages a critical approach to understanding language and ethnicity can encourage teachers' interrogation of their own cultural and linguistic location and challenge dominant standard language and colour-blind ideologies.