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)

Each of the 12 articles in this book deals with an aspect of linguistics theory and its application to understanding or teaching reading. The topics covered include: defining reading in proper perspective, the relevance of applied linguistics for teachers of reading, why children should want to learn to read, dialects and reading, the features of…