A discussion of nonstandard varieties of English implies a standard variety. What "standard" English actually is should be defined in order to approach it in the classroom. C.C. Fries described it as the variety used by those who hold positions of trust and respect and conduct the important affairs of a community. This definition admits that what…

Although research studies have found young children to be aware of patterns in language, this innate power is not being encouraged in them during their elementary school years. If they are to gain control of structure in their writing and to utilize vocabulary gained through reading experiences, then a carefully planned program for syntax study in…

Every child entering elementary school has acquired an adequate control of the basic structures of some language system. The English teacher must tailor his goals and methods to exploit this competence. The basic linguistic system which has been internalized by children who speak non-standard English is different enough from standard English to…

This study investigated the relationship between the syntactical language development of first grade children and their socio-ethnic status. From a random selection of 160 first grade children, 19 Caucasians with highly developed language abilities were selected from a high socioeconomic stratum to be compared with 19 Negroes with low language…