Pedagogical Application of Appalachian English Conducted in the Classroom

Abstract

In the course of second language teaching, teachers often encounter students with different cultural backgrounds with different dialects. In order to demonstrate the process of dialect teaching, the study selects a specific English dialect which is Appalachian English by conducting some background research with its history, grammatical features, relationship to standard English. The research also involves the code-switching theory to explore the influence of social identity on dialect. According to the investigation, a 45-minute lesson plan is created centering around Appalachian dialect involving grammatical component, literary component and writing component. The design of the lesson conducts multi-genre aspects such as letter and short story to explore the details of writing assignments. It is suggested that English instructors may consider the selection and influencing factors of dialects in class.