Blog 8

 How do you change your language and communication when you are in the classroom? What kinds of things is it okay to say, or not to say? Do you speak differently in an English classroom than you do in a science classroom? Why or why not? Have any instructors talked about the kinds of language they think is appropriate for the classroom, or shared that information on a syllabus? Give a specific example of something that you feel like you could say to a friend over lunch that you wouldn’t feel comfortable saying in class, and talk about why you wouldn’t speak that way in the classroom.

    I have always found it so fascinating how the language one uses is heavily influenced by their current environments and as a person who has been fortunate enough to live in many different environments, I can say this is extremely true for myself. For me personally, I find my language changing so frequently on a daily basis depending on who I was talking to. When I was in secondary school, I would talk normally and with lots of slang to certain friends who were from London or were accustomed to the London slang, and I would also find myself talking normally to the other people in my school who were not from London but the language would alter slightly as I wouldn't be using the same type or same amount of slang. I found this very interesting to me and I guess this is just a way for me to make everyone that I talk to feel comfortable and make it easier for me to relate and get along with who I am talking to but I also think it is key to acknowledge that this was all subconsciously done. I didn't just decide one day that this is what I was going to do and I think that is what makes it more fascinating. I would also find myself talking to teachers in a different way. I would use much less slang and I noticed that even the tone of my voice changed to, in my words, a slightly higher pitch but much more friendly tone. I also use this tone when I am making an important call or I am talking to an adult that I am unfamiliar with. 

    Now that I am here in the US, whenever I talk to my friends back home, it makes me realise that I use much more American slang when talking to my friends here and much more London slang when I speak to my friends back home. People have even commented on it when they here how I speak to fellow Londoners on the soccer team and it is something very subconscious to me but I think it is quite cool when I look back on it and analyze why it happens.