This paper describes and discusses the school leaving examination in oral English in South Africa, which is designed for those whose first language is English and involves the presentation of a prepared talk, reading aloud, and a conversation with a teacher. Each element of the test is discussed and evaluated separately. Problems of reticence in…

Presents a framework for prosodic analysis of children with language impairments based on systemic phonology. English prosody and speaker usage is discussed; the role of tone, stress, rhythm, and pause are considered; and speech samples are used to show how utterances are broken down into prosodic units. (Author/CR)

Students of English around the world are commonly taught according to one of two models, "British" English, and "American" English. Indeed, there is a persistent popular myth (present in many linguistics and second-language texts) that a single "Midwestern" variety of American English exists. The usage of the term…

This paper reviews research about how speaking a dialect can influence students' writing and how writing should be taught to students who speak a dialect of English. Literature on the writing errors commonly made by speakers of Black English and other American dialects is summarized. (PP)

This study investigated whether there were significant differences in the acquisition of oral language and reading skills among limited-English-speaking, Hispanic elementary school students receiving instruction through three different bilingual reading approaches, and what other variables might be important. The three reading approaches were: (1)…

A literature review was conducted to discover what programs, philosophies, and methodologies are recommended on the college level for teaching oral Standard English (SE) to speakers of Vernacular Black English (VBE) and to suggest areas of research needs in oral SE training. Most of the speech communication courses in this area are part of…

The Culturally Appropriate Teaching (C.A.T.) method combines the "Back to Basics" paradigm with a culturally oriented approach and has proved to be successful in Black colleges and adult education programs. The C.A.T. method improves the reading levels of students by two years per semester and gives them standard English as a skill in one or two…

Using the example of the African-American community and its own distinctive voice, argues that schools can draw upon routine practices within the cultural life of communities to enhance the literature students' skills. This paper explores "signifying" and links between literature and talk in the African-American community. (JB)