Through language, they exercise power over the world. Students' language is valued and used as a means of learning, change, and growth within the classroom. Students' use of language is a major source of content for the study of language in the classroom. What students write, read, speak, and listen to is what is studied. Paying attention to students' talk about what they are learning, thinking, and feeling, teachers analyze what students can do with language in order to help them learn.
Teachers validate students' experiences as sources of language.
The power of language and the rules that it follows are discovered, not invoked. Students know about the power of language to influence. They are able to recognize powerful language and to use it in some contexts. They learn about how language works through systematic analysis of what is said and written. Language instruction is developmental rather than remedial.