Critically examines assumptions in teaching in a bi-dialectal context. Presents ethnographic data from one teacher's experience teaching a summer course in Shakespearean theater in which the students were speakers of African-American English. (Author/VWL)

Explores problems involved in defining Black South African English, such as whether it is a new variety of English or a dialect and relating to whose English it is: the English of those learners who have encountered only a smattering of English in informal contexts or the variety of English acquired during formal schooling. (Author/VWL)

Discusses the politics of English and suggests that English varieties of the inner city and the socially disenfranchised continue to be stigmatized by speakers of more esteemed varieties. (Author/VWL)

Considers the pursuit of language rights of speakers of English varieties, particularly those collected under the category of African American vernacular English. Describes how a lack of legal language rights for African Americans have left them to appeal to attitudes in the search for democratizing teaching policies. Concludes that attempts to…

Considers "Ebonics" the most encompassing of the different terms used to describe various English language patterns used by Blacks. Recommends measures to improve teacher attitudes and knowledge in dealing with students who use nonstandard language patterns. (Author/MJL)

Prator (1968) argued strongly for promoting a single standard of English, maintaining that schools have an obligation to teach a native standard of English. The assumption that the educational structure is a productive forum for directing language use is questioned. The report begins with a discussion of the controversy surrounding United States…

Raises four objections to a program of oral drills in standard English for children who speak black dialect. (HTH)

Discusses "Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School Children, et al. v Ann Arbor School District Board," a court decision requiring that teachers be instructed in the role and significance of Black English. Argues that the issues of educational achievement and Black English do not constitute a matter for the courts. (GC)

Proposes the study of Gullah as a means of discovering the African roots of Black English. (AM)

Discusses how American Sign Language does and does not resemble African American Vernacular English (Ebonics). The need for metalinguistic awareness in students is highlighted. Students are urged to learn Standard English, recognize and respect other languages they use, and know the link between language, status, and power. (CR)

Standard English has not disappeared, but merely changed as it "must" change when the dominant class setting the standard undergoes change. If teachers are to succeed in persuading pupils to change their language, they must know and teach the standard as it is, not as it used to be, while still implanting in the minds of some students…

The unjustified assumption that black children have limited verbal or articulation skills stems from the fact that blacks use figurative, nonliteral, and nonstandard language in the classroom. The language that most disadvantaged blacks learn at home and bring to the classroom is a restricted form born out of poverty and limited exposure to good…

Although research and the court have established the viability of Black English as a communication system, scholars and educators have not rallied for institutional support of its use and acceptance in society. A rational language policy must be developed that recognizes the legitimacy of all languages and dialects in America.(Author/MJL)

The rhetoric of black writers and speakers asserts that (1) attitudes and practices toward black language are politically based to keep blacks subordinate to the dominant culture, and (2) African American scholars have a right to determine the meaning and implications of black language. Black rhetors contend that even those blacks who speak…

Reexamines the persistent reading failure of black students in light of current research in an effort to encourage new efforts to discover the real cause or causes of the problem and to provide solutions. (FL)