English is a world language which exists in a range of different forms. Education expects students to use Standard English. But are other forms of English - the dialects which make up most of our language - really inferior? Is it time for education to adapt and allow for a range of Englishes?

Filmed Dec 2016 at The City of Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College.

[Cameras (Staffs Uni): Oluseyi A Oluyinka; Giorgia Perini; Bob Straw; Tom Andrews; Ed Walker]
[Editor (Staffs Uni): Carl Maddox]

Stewart McNicol is a teacher of English with years of experience teaching in Stoke schools and colleges, often even teaching teachers. It is often said that something is not good English or is ‘wrong’ when it comes to language. Stewart's talk considers how the English language is not best seen as a monolithic entity with rules that should not be broken. Rather, English covers a range of communication styles, a related family of languages, each appropriate in its own time and place. Educational success, then, should not be limited to those who can engage with ‘correct’ English, but should be open to the rich variety of all our various Englishes.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx