An overview of Black dialects, with suggestions for teaching students who speak in Black dialects. (RL)

Black verbal and rhetorical strategies serve definite needs and functions in the Black American community--needs with which teachers should become familiar. When properly applied, these strategies can be effectively used in the English composition classroom for motivational and instructional purposes. (HOD)

As the field of sociolinguistics has emerged, its terminology, which like many other emerging disciplines contains many neologisms and new usages, has sometimes been called insensitive. This reaction may interfere with serious examination of the field's content. Areas of disagreement or dispute include terms used for the speech of black…

Recounts how a teacher used herself as a model to motivate black students to speak standard English. (JL)

Of the various theories about how to treat black dialects, the approach by way of appreciating dialect differences is now in favor. (JH)

Involving students in an active study of dialect differences will enhance their own self awareness and their knowledge and understanding of cultural diversity. (JH)

Defines and illustrates language techniques used by Black authors writing to and for Blacks in the 1960s and 1970s. Suggests how language and theme barriers of such literature might be overcome in a contemporary integrated oral interpretation classroom. (PD)

Presents research on the situational dimension of linguistic power in social context and the relevance of this research within culturally pluralistic educational contexts. Offers suggestions for class activities that can engage standard and nonstandard speakers of English as well as those who do not speak English. (SRT)

Based on 4 years' experience in a Goodwill adult literacy program, this handbook offers insights to teachers who want to facilitate student-directed group learning. The handbook is organized in seven sections that cover the following: (1) comments on the nature of adult learning and the philosophy of the approach; (2) thoughts on progressive…

Noting that knowledge of grammar rules does not ensure correct usage in one's own writing, describes an approach used in a summer workshop to promote awareness of appropriate idiom where 35 highly motivated black students produced 'Snow White' using their own script, half in standard dialect and half in black dialect. (JG)

Recommends the use of Charlotte K. Brooks' book "Tapping Potential" by English teachers who deal with minority students. Discusses how the book treats everything from language development to reading and writing to literary criticism from the Black aesthetic point of view. (NKA)

Intended for teachers of black students at all levels, this book presents teaching approaches and methods that are known to be appropriate for blacks and that are based on both research and practice in the areas of language, reading, writing, and literature. Among the topics discussed in the 43 essays are the following: (1) language and the…