This essay asserts the importance for English/Language Arts educators to become conversant with the features of Black Language and the cultural and historical foundations of this speech genre as a rule-bound, grammatically consistent pattern of speech. These features go beyond grammar to include such conventions as a reliance on storytelling as a…

This paper examines the controversy surrounding the use of Ebonics among African American students in schools in the United States, with a twofold purpose: (1) to focus on the primary function of language as a tool of communication that varies in its use according to the social context; and (2) to provide suggestions to teachers of ways to support…

College composition instructors need special knowledge and skills in teaching black students. After pointing out the difference between black dialect and standard English, teachers need to discuss with students the practical reasons for using standard English in writing. To avoid being arbitrary or patronizing during this discussion, instructors…

All language dialects are legitimate but some dialects achieve social prestige. Standard American English (SAE) represents that language in the United States. Minority students who do not learn SAE do not achieve academically as well as those who do. The dialect individuals use is determined by income, social class, ethnic group, and level of…

Recommends the use of Charlotte K. Brooks' book "Tapping Potential" by English teachers who deal with minority students. Discusses how the book treats everything from language development to reading and writing to literary criticism from the Black aesthetic point of view. (NKA)

Intended for teachers of black students at all levels, this book presents teaching approaches and methods that are known to be appropriate for blacks and that are based on both research and practice in the areas of language, reading, writing, and literature. Among the topics discussed in the 43 essays are the following: (1) language and the…