Describes the approach used in teaching an English graduate course entitled "The Teaching of Writing to Speakers of Dialect." (DD)

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

Urges teachers to deal with one problem at a time in students' papers when attempting to get nonstandard speakers to write standard English. (DD)

Recent literature on African Americans students at the community college level represents an eclectic body of material. Broadly speaking, this literature has focused on questions concerning African American learning styles, cultural determinants to success, retention issues, and comparative achievement with other minority groups. While the…

This is an autobiographical account of a teacher's first day in an inner city high school; it contains a discussion of the importance of understanding the subculture of one's students. The teacher's dress and comprehension of slang are noticed by the students. Incidents are related that illustrate the effects of ethnocentrism (the belief in the…

This paper examines the controversy surrounding the use of Ebonics among African American students in schools in the United States, with a twofold purpose: (1) to focus on the primary function of language as a tool of communication that varies in its use according to the social context; and (2) to provide suggestions to teachers of ways to support…

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…

This paper presents materials used in a "short course" on using Ebonics and bilingual code switching to facilitate clarification interactions in communication classrooms and multicultural public speaking. After beginning with a detailed agenda for the two-and-a-half hour short course, the paper presents seven speech communication…

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

Demonstrates briefly the naturalness of dialect variation in American English, examines the implications for reading instruction of recognizing the naturalness of dialects, and provides a list of references for the professional development of teachers of children who speak dialects other than standard English. (ET)

Links between language and identity are so strong that attempts to correct nonstandard speech are likely to be interpreted by West Indian children as criticism or rejection. A far more constructive approach would be to acknowledge and accept Creole in the classroom. (Author)

Examines materials in the ERIC system related to trends in grammar instruction. Discusses the efficacy of formal grammar instruction in the schools and presents activities for successfully integrating grammar instruction into the writing curriculum. (HTH)

Teachers play an important role in disadvantaged Black children's development of language and language usage. For the best results in reading instruction, teachers must (1) create a warm environment, (2) understand the potential for different interpretations of written materials by disadvantaged Black students, and (3) use the children's language…

Ten African-American children, aged five to six, who speak Black English Vernacular were administered three standard English articulation tests. Results showed that a failure to take the issue of dialect variation into account substantially increased the likelihood of misdiagnosing normally speaking African-American children as having articulation…