Responds to an earlier article on Ebonics and the Oakland School Board's resolution. The author of that article responds to these comments. (Author/VWL)

Two articles examine Ebonics and its relation to the teaching of English as a Second Language. The first suggests that teachers of English, literacy instructors, and educational policy makers need to take language differences into account. The second suggests that the issues around Ebonics are the issues vital to all language educators--language,…

Goldstein questions the way Awad El Karim M. Ibrahim portrayed her research on the language and identity of Hispanic English-as-a-Second-Language learners in his article, "Becoming Black: Rap and Hip-Hop, Race, Gender, and Identity and the Politics of ESL Learning." Ibrahim responds to these comments. (Author/VWL)

Examines how a group of continental Francophone African youth at a French high school in Ottawa, Canada "become Black" as they enter a world that already constructs them as Black. These students learn Black English, which they access in hip-hop culture and linguistic styles. Discusses the impact of becoming Black on…