Utilizing the framework of educational linguistics, we investigate ways to foster greater awareness of, and facility with, academic English for educators and students across disciplines by maximizing the popularity of language-related software packages, applications and websites, those already commonly found in and out of the classroom. Our work…

Many teachers lack the linguistic training required to build on the language skills that African American students from dialectally diverse backgrounds bring to school. When students correctly use the language patterns of their communities, such teachers may diagnose language deficits and attempt to teach them the "right" grammar. Research has…

The purposes of this paper are: (1) to illustrate the nature of the difficulty when disadvantaged black children are taught reading by conventional methods; (2) to show that the conflict points, specifically, the phonological conflict points, need not be a problem if they are simply disregarded; and (3) to argue that disadvantaged black children…

This essay examines a Brooklyn College-based research collective that placed African American languages and cultures at the center of the composition curriculum. Recovering such pedagogies challenges the perception of the CCCC's 1974 "Students' Right to Their Own Language" resolution as a progressive theory divorced from the everyday…

Though diversity serves as a valuable source for rhetorical inquiry, expressivist instructors who privilege diversity writing may also overemphasize the essential authenticity of their students' vernaculars. This romantic and salvationist impulse reveals the troubling implications of eighteenth-century Natural Language Theory and may,…

It is argued in this paper that teachers must develop an awareness of the historical implications of the black dialect. A sample in-class composition written in black dialect is quoted in its entirety and analyzed, and a personal writing approach is described. The first part of the approach deals with structure, and a linguistic method is used for…

Fundamental premise in this article is that black English," the idiom of black Americans, is a separate but equal" dialect of the English language. (DM)

Focuses upon the importance of understanding the consequences of the "myth, masking, and mode" in guiding the language development of black disadvantaged children; based upon a paper presented before the Niagara Linguistic Frontier. (RD)

Because of the tendency to reject Black English speakers, perhaps as an excuse for maintaining social and racial prejudices, teachers should understand that nonstandard dialects result from geographical and/or cultural isolation and conflict (as in Applachian English), and from linguistic conflict (as in Chicano English). The language of many…

Two curriculum strategies were implemented and assessed in an effort to increase the bidialectal proficiency of fifth grade speakers of nonstandard Negro dialect. It was hypothesized that (1) children exposed to the curriculum strategies will show increased proficiency in their use of standard English; (2) children thus exposed will maintain…

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

An attempt is made in this book to state some of the features of and dispel some of the myths about nonstandard English, particularly the dialects of English spoken by many black Americans, and to consider alternative policies that might be adopted regarding varied forms of English. The chapters of the book include "What Is the Problem?""Is…

This paper expresses concern that teachers do not agree on when, where, and how to deal with the non-standard English of blacks and other minorities. Sections of the paper discuss a definition of Black English, some forms and patterns of Black English, the language development of black children, the black child and the school, implications for…

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)

Although some educators have advocated eradication of Black American English and other non-standard American English dialects in formal school training, it is recognized that many dialects are effectively used to a great degree by many Americans. Black American English, like other dialects, is a legitimate linguistic system that has logic,…