Posh Talk

An in-depth study of a group of multilingual students from widening participation backgrounds on a first-year undergraduate academic writing programme. The book explores ways in which identity positions emerge in the spoken interaction, with a particular focus on gender.

'In recent years, there has been a big push towards widening participation in higher education in the UK. In practice this policy has meant, among other things, that individuals from working class black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds, who in the past would not usually have considered going to university, are now encouraged by the government to do just this. In Posh Talk: Language and Identity in Higher Education, Siân Preece critiques widening participation policy and practice on the grounds that it has paid insufficient attention to the identities of students from diverse linguistic, cultural and social backgrounds. She examines how a cohort of BME students, most of whom are multilingual, invoke a range of masculine and feminine identities as they discuss different aspects of their experiences with academic staff, fellow students and family members with whom they engage in a range of literacy and other social practices. Mediating these practices are the different languages and language varieties in their lives- home languages, 'slang' English and 'posh' English. Drawing on poststructuralist approaches to identity, Preece is able to offer great deal of insight into how and why students both fail and survive in higher education. Crucially, she ends the book with helpful and thought-provoking suggestions about how inclusion might be achieved within the widening participation agenda. Beautifully written, Posh Talk: Language and Identity in Higher Education offers muchfood for thought for both higher education policy makers and academic professionals who engage directly with widening participation students.' - David Block, Institute of Education, University of London

'Posh Talk raises challenging issues for all those concerned about widening participation in higher education. Siân Preece provides valuable insights into the language practices of students enrolled on an academic writing programme students who seemed ill at ease with higher education norms and values and who, in many cases, were at risk of failure. Empirical evidence is combined with powerful arguments on the need to develop more inclusive pedagogical practices that take greater account of linguistic and cultural diversity.' - Joan Swann, The Open University, UK

'...a most timely contribution which looks at the intricate relationship between identity formation and the use of academic language...this book is well worth reading not least because it has a great deal to say about its challenges: the feelings of alienation students from non-traditional background experience in a widening participation programme motivate Preece's powerful call for more inclusive pedagogical practices in higher education...I would therefore like to recommend this book to all those involved in widening participation initiatives, curriculum-planning and development, as well as to those teaching English academic writing programmes at British universities.' - Vera Busse, System

SIÂN PREECE is Lecturer in TESOL Education, Institute of Education, University of London, UK. She is interested in applied linguistics in educational settings and her research interests include gender and language, linguistic and cultural diversity, language learning and student identity. She has published several articles on multilingual students from widening participation backgrounds.