First, I teach English. Everything we do should be about complete sentences. In ten years of teaching, I have had very few students who actually write in correct complete sentences. Is it possible that this is a consequence of not speaking in complete sentences?
Second, my ESL and SPED students could greatly benefit from this. They need the exposure to correct grammatical formats in speaking in order to transfer that to the page.
My students speak heavily in slang, and I never make a big deal out of it. TLAC states that we should keep in mind that some parents may not even realize how their students are speaking when not with them. I always consider that with behavior, but I had not really thought about it in regard to speaking (except when I catch them cursing). We all code switch based on our setting, but it does make sense that they shouldn't be pulling out the lowest forms of language in an educational setting.
The book suggests that teachers provide sentence starters when the students do not respond with a complete sentence. I already do that with writing assignments, so this should not be too difficult to incorporate into our speaking. The hard part is me remembering!
In the video below, the teacher even provides reasons for speaking properly. I think I will follow her model and see how it works. Now it's time to make a mini-poster for me to use in class!
You can also find more information from the field guide here.
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Update: This is the Tellagami video I made to introduce Format Matters to my class.
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