This paper seeks to understand the role of culturally-specific styles of discourse in the classroom. The paper uses and expands upon three categories of classroom language use (control, curriculum, and critique) to present data on how a Puerto Rican American teacher uses repetition and discourse styles that have African and African American origins to perform a variety of classroom functions: to control classroom behavior and talk, to better teach and highlight elements of the curriculum, and to critique the use of standard English in an elementary classroom context. In the first section, findings are provided on the form and function of repetition in research on African oral traditions and African American language use in church and classroom contexts. The context of the study is described, including a the setting, participants, and methods of data collection and analysis. It is concluded that the teacher's use of culturally specific forms of repetition enhanced the way she controlled classroom talk and behavior and increased students' participation and learning of the curriculum. One table and 14 references are included. (Author/KFT)