Dear English Language blog readers
These blog entries have all been crafted by University of Chester (UK) English Language undergraduates, many who are participating in a module called ‘Language Debates’. Each student introduces and comments on issues of controversy within the public and academic worlds of English Language and Linguistics. These issues include: attitudes to language use (the ‘prescriptive’ v ‘descriptive’ debate); political correctness; taboo language; relationship between language and thought; is English a ‘killer’ language?; cultural imperialism and the ESOL industry; language acquisition, nature or nurture?; the nature of meaning, semantics or pragmatics?; the ‘phonics’ controversy in schools; the ‘Standard English’ debate.
Your comments/opinions are very welcome, though of course will be moderated for intolerant language.
The blog-writers have been advised to check their posts for factual inaccuracies and are entirely responsible for the material uploaded here.
Let the debates begin!
Dr Matt Davies, Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader for BA Single Honours English Language, University of Chester (UK)
Language Debates 
Hi Matt Great idea to use blogs/debates. I am impressed with the ones I have read so far ….I hope everybody engages with this. Keep up the good work! 🙂
Thanks Dawn. Your encouragement is much appreciated. Keep the comments coming in.
Matt
Some interesting posts here. Well done all! I look forward to reading future blogging efforts!
These are very useful polemics and great models for my own students. My A level students (studying A Level English Language with OCR) have to write something like this in their A Level exam in response to a controversial prompt. The ones here about language and thought, ideology in the news, texting and literacy, nature/nurture in CLA, taboo language, political correctness etc are all very relevant to our syllabus. I was wondering if you ever explore gender and language issues such as the different positions of genderlect theories or representations of gender in media texts or ideas about whether gender is ‘performative’ as we would love to read some topical writing in this area.