358 Journal of Language, Literacy and Learning in STEM Education www. grnjournal.us AMERICAN Journal of Language, Literacy and Learning in STEM Education Volume 02, Issue 01, 2024 ISSN (E): 2993-2769 Sociolinguistic Profile Research Importance of Social Factors in Language Teaching and Learning Abdulakhat A. Isakov Oriental University in Tashkent, ESL/EFL Teacher, Almazar dist., 52B Norastepa str., Tashkent, 100060, Uzbekistan Abstract: This article explores the study of language in daily life, looking at how it operates in social relationships, the many media platforms we use, and the laws, customs, and regulations that surround language use. as linguistics. Additionally, it has been suggested that sociolinguistics may educate individuals about gender-neutral languages, multilingualism, regional dialects, and language politics in addition to drawing their interest in these concepts. In particular, language teachers should, above all, model for students the proper manner to observe other holidays and to value their own uniqueness as well as that of their peers. The role of an educator is to help learners analyze and draw lessons from their own sociocultural origins when the circumstances call for it. As a result, individuals are able to comprehend their own culture more fully, independent of its nuanced variances with their peers. Giving students the opportunity to present on their religious views, social mores, and cultural customs opens their minds to ideas outside of their comfort zones and gives them the opportunity to get feedback on the aforementioned procedures. Keywords: regional dialects, multilingualism, language policy, non-gendered languages, vernacular, code-switching, orientation, national identity, race. Introduction The study of our day-to-day lives, including how language functions in our daily interactions and in the many forms of media that we are exposed to, as well as the presence of social norms, regulations, and laws that are connected to language, is referred to as sociolinguistics. Sociolinguistics can also make people interested in things like regional dialects, multilingualism, language policy, and non-gendered languages, as well as teach them about these things. The majority of linguists in the modern era are of the opinion that the knowledge speakers have of the languages they speak is knowledge of something quite abstract. The ability to make new utterances depends on our familiarity with the basic norms and standards of language. Identity, according to Kroskrity (2000), is the language pattern of belonging to one or many societal classes or groups. (p.7). The fact that each individual retains their L1 is unquestionably a representation of their social identity. It is understanding what is considered part of the language and what is not considered part of the language, as well as knowing what can be said and what cannot be said in that language. People who speak the same language are able to communicate with one another because they share such information, despite the fact that the means by which it is conveyed and the means by which it is gained are not clearly understood. People have access to it, and they demonstrate on a consistent basis that they do so by making appropriate use of it. As we are about to see, the idea of "appropriate use" encompasses a vast variety of different abilities and pursuits of different kinds. 359 Journal of Language, Literacy and Learning in STEM Education www. grnjournal.us Group of Learners Students who are enrolled at the 18th specialized public educational school in Keles, which is located in the Tashkent region of Uzbekistan, are the ones with whom I have decided to collaborate. Both the Russian language and the Uzbek language are used throughout the many instructional initiatives that take place in the academic environment on a daily basis. Uzbeks, Russians, Tatars, Koreans, Kazakhs, and Kyrgyz are examples of some of the less prominent ethnic groups that are included in this category. There are a total of 1458 students enrolled at this institution. These students come not just from a diversity of nationalities but also from a wide range of individual backgrounds. At this particular school, there are 55% male students while there are 45% female students. The percentage of male students is higher than the number of female students. There are roughly 700 students registered in the elementary level of studies, while there are approximately 800 students enrolled in the secondary level of classes. The English language, the Uzbek language, mathematics, physics, and biology are among the special subjects that students may choose to study at this school. Other special subjects include those that are studied in a more complicated manner. The elementary grades only have English courses for a total of two hours each week, with each hour lasting 45 minutes. In contrast, the upper grades have English classes for a total of three hours per week. It is abundantly clear that the minimum amount of needed classroom hours is inadequate for pupils to acquire both a commanding vocabulary and fluency in the target language. The student's level of English language proficiency is between A1 and B1 on the Common European Framework of Reference scale. In this research, I selected 10 A-grade students to participate in the sociolinguistic profile. There are a total of 13 learners enrolled in this class. They are between the ages of 16 and 17 years old. In addition, the student body of this class is composed of both male and female students. These students' repertoires, actions, and attitudes all serve as normative for the expression of their gender. This class has a total of thirteen members, with nine male students and four female students making up the group. They are Uzbek, Kazakh, Russian, and Moldavian nationalities. They have an English competence ranging from A2 all the way up to B1 and get English instruction for a total of three hours each week. The students who were enrolled in this 10A class were split up into two different groupings with regard to the considerations of their nationality, religion, race, and ethnicity. Students of Russian and Moldavian origin make up the first subgroup's list of participants. There are a total of seven students enrolled. There are five students that are of Russian nationality, and there are three male students and two female students among them. In the meanwhile, there are two students who are of Moldavian nationality, and both of them are male. They are all fluent in Russian as their first language, although there are just a few learners of Moldavian background who, despite being able to speak it, do not use it as their first language of communication. According to Myers-Scotton (1993), multilingual speakers often utilize languages to build identity or group membership, to renegotiate roles in society and status, and to construct interpersonal cooperation or distance, depending on the circumstances and the interviewee's linguistic competency. (p. 270). My students make friends with each other through their knowledge and use of language, as well as how they change their roles and status in society and interact with each other depending on the situation and the other person's language skills. According to the findings of the surveys, the native language of these students' parents and other members of their families while they are at home is Moldavian. They are able to converse with people in Uzbek and English as a second language, both inside and outside of the classroom. In addition, they are of European descent, namely Slavic and Romanian, and their race is classified as Europoid. In addition to this, the Orthodox Christian faith serves as the foundation for their 360 Journal of Language, Literacy and Learning in STEM Education www. grnjournal.us religious views. In the city of Keles, which is located in the Tashkent area, these students live among families of all nationalities. The vast majority of students come from working-class homes, which provides some insight into their socioeconomic status. Deborah Cameron (1992), emphasized that if women and men are classified into class groupings based on economic factors, women have a lower social status. However, when schooling and employment are taken into account, many women, particularly the wives of working men, surpass their spouses.(p.226). Divide the students into different groups according to their gender, economic standing, and educational attainment. If the mothers in the household have a higher status than the fathers, then their daughters will behave similarly when they are at school. Males, on the other hand, have a higher status than females. There are female learners who fit this description. Students of Uzbek and Kazakh origin make up the second subgroup's list of members. There are a total of six students in this group. There are a total of four Uzbek learners present, two of whom are male and the other two of whom are female. To underscore, there are two male Kazakh students, both of whom are enrolled in this group. Uzbek students speak Uzbek as their first language, while Kazakh students speak Kazakh as their first language at home with their parents and family. They do this both inside and outside of the classroom, communicating with people in Uzbek, Russian, and English, respectively. They are of Mongoloid race, but their Turkish origin gives them their ethnicity. Additionally, Islam serves as the foundation for their religious views. In the city of Keles, which is located in the Tashkent area, these students live among families of all nationalities. According to the students' respective socioeconomic standings, their families are classified as either intellectual, craftsmen, or working class. Swann (2003), investigated that male and female communicate in distinct ways. Such distinctions sometimes disfavor mixed-gender female speakers. Linguistics and sexual identity have a variety of practical and theoretical consequences. Concerns were raised in education, for example, concerning potential disparities in classroom discussions (p. 225). Boys and girls in my subgroup interacted with one another. In this scenario, there is a gender imbalance in-class group work and discussions in the area of education. These two distinct subgroups of students are able to exhibit their genders and sexualities via the repertoires, behaviors, and attitudes that they demonstrate. There are 9 male students and 4 female students. Their ages range from 16 to 17 when they start going through puberty. Male students of the same gender interact with one another in a way befitting their gender. Their attitude, tones of voice, posture, and clothing, as well as their characteristics, are normatively masculine. The normative feminine chastity of female students is maintained, and they communicate with one another, walk, stand, dress, and behave in a way that is traditionally associated with a feminine manner. Learning Context Students of Russian and Moldavian ethnicity who are divided into these two distinct groups take part in English language classes on occasion. They are able to openly and freely express their opinions despite the fact that their racial and ethnic backgrounds, as well as their religious beliefs, are taken into consideration. This allows them to participate in activities that involve group work, pair work, as well as the actual lesson itself. It is not difficult for them to comprehend the topics that were presented in the first version of the class that they participated in since the grammatical structures of their first language (L1) and English are so similar to one another. As stated by Coulmas (2005), English is the most often taught foreign language and the primary language of ongoing study. (p. 87). The fact that they are articulated in different learning contexts demonstrates how vital it is to learn English. When it comes to studying English, some students whose native languages are Uzbek or Kazakh are less likely to participate in activities that require them to work in groups or pairs. They are unable to freely voice their thoughts during the course due to the fact that their personalities have been formed to be quiet and timid. This is a direct outcome of the attitudes that 361 Journal of Language, Literacy and Learning in STEM Education www. grnjournal.us they have about their ethnicity and the society in which they live. Because of the significant grammatical and phonological differences between their L1 and English, they have a hard time understanding the original course topics. This is because English is not their first language. They are able to converse with one another whenever either of them speaks L1, which is their first language (vernacular language). Labov and Trudgill (1983a), mentioned that males drive language development by absorbing new vernacular forms, while females trend toward adopting new official forms. The language used by laborers carries a sense of masculinity, which is more appealing to male listeners (p. 219). Vernacular language is used by males because they favor short and shorter sentences, shortcuts, and simplistic speaking, whereas formal language, appealing, literary speaking, and nice behavior are preferred by females. These occurrences took place with several of my students. Code-switching, according to Myers-Scotton (1993), is frequently an "unspecified decision" for multilingual speakers. In other words, using many languages (multilingual code) in contact with other speakers of different languages is a communication norm that represents the speakers' multilingual (usually sociocultural) identity.(p. 269). Code-switching that occurred amongst my students while they were speaking to one another. They communicate with one another in a wide range of languages due to their ability to do so fluently. These two types of students will always continue to communicate with one another in their L1 as a method of demonstrating their sense of national identity. Within the framework of their communications with one another, they go back and forth between their first and second languages, often known as code-switching. When it comes to learning a second language, male students choose to learn the language through role-playing, watching action movies, and having conversations. Female students, on the other hand, prefer to learn the language by listening to music, and they have discovered that the most successful approach to learning a language is to engage in activities such as watching television programs, listening to music, constructing stories with the use of photographs, and engaging in written exercises that focus on grammar. Context where English will be Used The majority of these students are learning English with the intention of achieving different main goals. This set of students is considered to be in what Kachru's (1985) model of three circles refers to as the "Outer Circle" when it comes to their proficiency in English (norm- developing). This group of students, the majority of whom are of Russian nationality, has a strong interest in the English language due to the fact that they plan to attend universities in countries where English is the primary main language in the future and continue their education in the "Inner Circle" (norm-providing). In particular, they gain first-hand knowledge from local instructors through the implementation of forward-thinking educational programs there. This opens the way for them to explore many different opportunities. They plan to open their own businesses and start their own companies as soon as they have completed their degrees at the institutions. On the other hand, they have never had any intention of leaving such countries during their entire lives and plan to retire there. The number of students in this group is of Uzbek descent, and almost all of them are interested in acquiring English language skills. This is most likely due to the influence of the student's parents, who believe that it is important for their children to attend universities in countries where English is the native language of instruction. They desire for them to be accepted into universities and to receive an education that will provide them with the "Inner Circle" norm. This opens the way for them to explore many different options. In particular, they gain first-hand experience from local instructors through the implementation of forward-thinking educational initiatives there. In addition, they want to travel to such countries in order to educate themselves on the nanotechnologies of the 21st century and then return home to share what they've learned with the 362 Journal of Language, Literacy and Learning in STEM Education www. grnjournal.us people of Uzbekistan. At the same time, it has always been their intention to establish major businesses and provide employment in their own homelands. Pedagogical Implications McKay (2018), investigated that all pedagogical choices concerning norms and curriculum should take into account local linguistic demands as well as regional social and academic aspects. (p. 11). When using pedagogical implications in teaching English to my students, I learned that by utilizing the author's viewpoints in this book, I should take into consideration all of the local language needs of the curriculum, as well as the regional social and academic components. As a teacher, my top priority is to learn about each student's cultural background, areas of interest, preferred ways of learning, gender, sexuality, and any other traits that make them unique. It helps me create trust with my students and allows me to connect with them in a way that makes them feel respected and comfortable as they interact with their classmates in the classroom when I demonstrate a sincere desire to learn about each learner and their culture. They will have more chances to communicate with one another and respect one another. The accessibility of the classroom is something I am constantly working to enhance, and one way I do this is by scheduling regular in-person meetings with my students. This assists in identifying problems as well as methods to enhance the experience as a whole. This will also provide me the opportunity to discuss their achievement in the school and provide direction for how they may develop based on the specific requirements that they have as unique students. It's important for me to keep the lines of communication open between my students, making sure I'm aware of the problems each student has with their culture, gender, sexuality, religious beliefs, and language, and making sure I treat all of my students the same. It is crucial that I take the time to grasp the cultural subtleties of each student, from the learning modes they utilize to the dialect they use. I use these observations to design my lesson plans, which is why it is so important that I take the time to do so. For instance, it is necessary for me to make available to my learners' appropriate resources that will assist them in developing their English comprehension skills. I need to rethink my approach to education and build learning activities that emphasize student participation and group work rather than the usual deductive approach. Because of this, every one of my students has a better chance of feeling included, having the freedom to learn at their own speed, and being able to achieve their goals. In order for me to promote cultural awareness in my students, I need to make sure that my specific curriculum reflects diversity in some way. Connecting, for instance, the worldwide technological shifts of the present with the histories of many countries and people and the happenings of the real world. In addition, I focus my courses and homework on helping students understand the interrelationships that exist across other cultures. Students of varying ethnicities are able to feel more personally connected to one another as a result of this. Regardless of the subject matter, I make it a point to tie the teachings to issues that are encountered in the real world. If I have an actual example to show students, it is much simpler for me to raise students' understanding of different cultural, religious, spiritual, and traditional practices throughout my teachings. In the past, when it came to maintaining order in my classrooms, I frequently relied on a strict and authoritative method of classroom management. In retrospect, this was probably not the best method to adopt. Students learn the most valuable lessons through their own experiences, thus allowing them some degree of independence in the classroom, creating a greater level of engagement with the subject matter being covered. I have come to the conclusion that students should have greater freedom in my classes. As part of this new plan, I will let students study and present their own work that is connected to the core curriculum. This will enable students to approach the topic from their own unique viewpoint. I play the role of a facilitator and facilitate discourse and healthy debate amongst individuals of varying perspectives on topics including 363 Journal of Language, Literacy and Learning in STEM Education www. grnjournal.us culture, race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. Students benefit greatly from being given the opportunity to investigate a topic and find a solution to a challenge in the context of a collaborative effort, which can take the form of either group or pair work tasks. I hope to organize courses that use communicative, participative, and inductive ideas and strategies for teaching current English. For example, I need students to participate in activities like group work, pairwork, and other activities alongside individuals with a lower level of mastery as well as others with a greater level of mastery in order to create a scaffold between them. It also helps prepare students for a varied workplace, where they will learn to collaborate with a variety of people in order to achieve their professional goals in the future. This helps prepare them for the profession. It is becoming increasingly vital in today's world, as a result of increasing globalization, to be able to work with people who come from a variety of cultural backgrounds and socioeconomic groups. Thomason (2003), argued that a higher number of language interchanges is frequent in certain multilingual societies, resulting in the creation of rather continuous variables of language variety for interpersonal and intercultural communication. (p. 269). Because my learners are multilingual, as a result, students learn about one another's cultures and share ideas in other languages, which allows them to broaden their outlook. Moreover, students will have a better chance of succeeding in the workforce of the future if they are provided with opportunities to build cultural awareness and knowledge of diversity in the classroom. This includes learning about culture, race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. Assessment Implications In terms of the evaluation criteria, these two subgroups were found to have distinctively different achievements and shortfalls in their language-learning endeavors. According to Nelson (2009), a judgment is made regarding which of the tactics should be utilized, and the teacher's particular awareness of the local area is paired with their key expertise with the group of students. When evaluating the language skills of my students, I took into account factors such as the students' races, cultures, ethnicities, religious beliefs, genders, and sexual orientations. When evaluating the students' essays, speaking, group work, and pair work, as well as providing feedback, I made sure to take into account the social factors that were discussed before. When students write or talk more extensively using a greater number of pronouns, they increase the probability that they may be misunderstood. Take, for instance, the sentence " If someone wins in the lottery will be delighted." Some learners will use the pronoun "she," while others will use "he," while others will use "they," and still others will use the pronoun "it." In the past, when similar circumstances arose, I would think about what was right and wrong; however, these days, I consider everything to be correct. When it comes to religious, cultural, and traditional topics, I do not give students lower grades in any of these situations. For instance, if Uzbek and Kazakh students do not respond to questions about the Christian holidays like “Easter"(Paskha), “Old New Year” (Старый Новый год), and ”New Year" ( Новый год), and Russian and Moldavian students do not respond to questions about the Islamic holidays "Ramadan" and "IYD-al ADHA," if they are unable to answer, I do not judge it against them and instead assign them a poor rating. These kinds of scenarios can be seen occurring among students; when they do, we as teachers have a responsibility to ensure that our students are comprehended and that we provide accurate assessments of them. Conclusion In conclusion, it is essential for language instructors to demonstrate to their learners' appropriate ways to observe various holidays and to respect both their individual identities and those of their classmates. In appropriate situations, my role as a teacher requires me to encourage learners to investigate and gain knowledge of their own sociocultural origins. Because of this, they are able to have a deeper understanding of their own culture, in addition to the distinctions and nuances that exist with their friends. Students are given the opportunity to deliver presentations about their own social customs and culture, as well as their religious views, which helps to introduce 364 Journal of Language, Literacy and Learning in STEM Education www. grnjournal.us the class to concepts that are outside of their normal comfort zone. As an extra advantage, this project can be an excellent attention grabber. The cultivation of understanding in the classroom and beyond can be aided by the establishment of a secure environment in which students can acknowledge and talk about their differences. In addition, it is essential for me to educate my learners about the various cultures that exist in the world, what constitutes unacceptable behavior, and the distinctions between cultural appreciation and appropriation. For my learners to be successful in life outside of the classroom, it is essential for them to learn how to discuss sensitive topics including religious views, cultures, ethnicities, races, gender, and sexual orientation while maintaining an attitude of respect and maturity. Obviously, as a result of doing so and exposing them to a variety of diverse perspectives, opinions, and cultural backgrounds, I encourage them to be more open-minded later on in their lives. They become more receptive to novel concepts as a result, and their grasp of the topic improves as a result of evaluating a variety of viewpoints. According to Calder (2019), the study of language, gender, and sexuality represents a number of key achievements. Language users and scholars are provided with an explanation of the complexity involved in the presentation of gender and sexual identity in a variety of circumstances and groups of speakers. While this is going on, as a component of acquiring a language, ideological norms teach things like sexual violence, identity, and mutual respect between the sexes. Learners who receive an education that exposes them to a variety of religions, ideologies, cultures, ethnicities, races, gender identities, and sexual orientations will be better equipped to deal with the complexities of diversity in their adult lives. Because of this, they are able to interact in larger social groups and are more confident in themselves as well as in their relationships with others. This is also true of their socialization. References 1. Calder, Jeremy, and King, Sharese (2019). Intersections between race, place, and gender in the production of /s/. Paper presented at United Kingdom Language Variation and Change, London, UK. 2. Coulmas, F. (ed.) (1992), Language and Economy. Oxford and Cambridge, MA: Blackwell. Cameron, D. (1992), Feminism and Linguistic Theory, 2nd edn. Basingstoke: Macmillan. 3. 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New York: Routledge. 10. Schilling, N. (2011). Language, gender, and sexuality. In R. Mesthrie (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of sociolinguistics (pp. 218–237). Cambridge University Press. 365 Journal of Language, Literacy and Learning in STEM Education www. grnjournal.us 11. Swann, J. (2003), ‘Schooled language: language and gender in educational settings’, in Holmes and Meyerhoff. 12. Thomason, S. (2003), Language Contact. An Introduction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.