Who remembers dozing off in class because the professor goes on endless rants that make absolutely no sense and include words from other planets?
I know I do.
But what if I told you those past problems can be solved with very small language practices? These practices are known as “Plain Language”. Yes, it means exactly that: language that is plain, therefore it is easily understood. They even have a legit website for it, https://www.plainlanguage.gov/ —cool, I know.
On the website, this is the plain definition: “Plain language (also called plain writing or plain English) is communication your audience can understand the first time they read or hear it” (plainlanguage.gov)
Plain language might just be the solution to in-class sleeping sessions, what a time to be alive! In the book Effective Teaching of Technical Communication: Theory, Practice, and Application, there exists a chapter by Kira Dreher that is called “Engaging Plain Language in the Technical Communication Classroom”. In this chapter, Kira discusses the benefits of plain language in the classroom, and that’s exactly what I’m also going to do!
According to Dreher, “Plain-language experience can help students characterize their expertise in recognizable, marketable ways outside the classroom” (48). As instructors, one of our main goals is helping students, and engaging in plain language may be the first step into breaking barriers some students may face while preparing for the outside, professional world (while also encouraging them to stay awake in class!).
After thorough research and reliance on several experts, Dreher ends her chapter with the most important thing we’re looking for today: activities that can be practiced in the classroom to enhance plain language.
Sure, talking about plain language can be rewarding, but when students experience it first hand, that is where they will benefit from the outcomes of plain language. One specific activity Dreher discusses includes handing out legal documents and asking students to attempt to rewrite the documents in an easier language. Legal documents are often tied to huge emotional conflict and increased cognitive load, but practicing plain language might change that.
This activity is particularly interesting because not only does it actively engage the teachings of plain language, but it also allows students to think about their audience and thus the rhetorical situation surrounding them. Knowing your audience and accommodating their needs is at the base of successful design, rhetoric, business, plain language, etc. By engaging in a small activity like this one, students are able to accomplish so much more than just “translation”, they are establishing ways to potentially help society.
And that’s why I believe in the power of plain language, and so should you.
Got any ideas for in-class activities that help promote and practice Plain Language? Comment below!