This eighth-grade language unit stresses developing the student's sensitivity to variations in language, primarily the similarities and differences between spoken and written language. Through sample lectures and discussion questions, the students are helped to form generalizations about language: that speech is the primary form of language; that language is a code; that spoken words are concrete and their referents either concrete or abstract; that language is used for self-expression, transmission of information, and the satisfaction of needs; and that an audience provides important "feedback" to the speaker. Excerpts from the writings of Mark Twain, Robert Penn Warren, and William Faulkner provide students with opportunities to analyze and classify language as standard or nonstandard, formal or informal. In addition, students are encouraged to suggest, from their personal experiences, situations in which varying degrees of speech formality are appropriate. Supplementary activities for able students and a unit test are included. (JS)