This essay describes writing and conversations that took place in my First Year Writing class at St. John's University in Queens, New York. I analyze student responses to my invitation to consider more deeply--and wield more consciously--the language resources they bring into classrooms. I seek to understand the potential for their often deeply…

Little is known about mismatches between the language of mathematics testing instruments and the rich linguistic repertoires that African American children develop at home and in the community. The current study aims to provide a proof of concept and novel explanatory item response design that uses error analysis to investigate the relationship…

This study investigates the role of African American Language (AAL) and *Standardized American English (*SAE) in Black/African American same-race teacher-student relationships. The teachers in this study (1) used AAL as a valuable tool for building rapport and trust with their students; (2) were aware of their positions as linguistic role models;…

Drawing on recent decades, literature in college writing that theorizes the importance of Critical Language Awareness (CLA) curricula for African American Language (AAL)-speaking students, this article offers empirical evidence on the design and implementation of a college writing curriculum centered on CLA and its influence on AAL-speaking…

Concomitant with calls from scholars to pluralize academic writing to reflect diverse social realities (Canagarajah, 2013; Dryer et al., 2014; Horner, 2011; Martinez, 2020; Palmeri, 2007; Weisser, 2002) and with advocacy efforts by industry specialists to make dissertation writing more in tune with a rapidly changing professional world (Futures…

The field of TESOL has experienced a renewed interest in the role of race in language teaching and learning within the context of the recent "racial reckoning" in the US. As a result, the field has seen a plethora of DEI position statements, initiatives, and publications on race, racism, and anti-racism over the past two years. However,…

Four teacher educators describe their work to establish Afrocentric foundations through integrating literacy and linguistic pluralism courses. We build on realities that teachers and children "do not learn, systematically and deeply, about Black genius and worth" (Baines, Tisdale, & Long, 2018, p. 20) in schools or universities nor…

This research paper attempts at studying the operation of literary texts teaching through Black English Vernacular (BEV) in EFL context, selecting the American novel: "Uncle Tom's Cabin," henceforth (UTC), (1852) by Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) as a parameter of research. Its main aim is to reveal and project the new venues for…

Despite decades of sociolinguistic research, African American Language (AAL) remains stigmatized throughout the United States education system. There have been proposals to counteract this through curricula and/or ideological interventions targeted at teachers that seek to validate AAL while maintaining Dominant American English (DAE) as an…

Multicultural and culturally sustaining approaches to education help educators act on two essential concepts: that each student is unique and that uniqueness is central to the academic and social development of every student. Language is a key aspect of this uniqueness, and because language is integral to culture and identity, understanding…

This study investigates the attitudes of educators of different race, class, linguistic, political, and disciplinary backgrounds at a large, urban, public university to code-meshed Black English in academic texts. This research draws on surveys as well as interviews gauging how educators responded to the idea of code-meshing not only in principle…

Background/Context: The popularity surrounding culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP) is notable primarily within language and literacy content areas but is also making its rounds in other disciplines. Because of its assumed objectivity and status, the mathematics discipline has long been a site of disrupting or perpetuating inequity and thus…

Negative societal beliefs and language ideologies about Black Language speakers continue to shape how Black Language is perceived from deficit perspectives in schools. However, educators must challenge these negative ideologies by amplifying the rich linguistic features that Black Language speakers already have by positioning these language…

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare word-initial and word-final consonant cluster productions in young children who speak African American English (AAE) and compare their productions to what we know about cluster productions in children who speak Mainstream American English (MAE), in order to minimize misdiagnosis of speech sound…

Purpose: Spoken language sample analysis (LSA) is widely considered to be a critical component of assessment for child language disorders. It is our best window into a preschool child's everyday expressive communicative skills. However, historically, the process can be cumbersome, and reference values against which LSA findings can be…