For educators committed to promoting social equity, the question of how to address dialect hegemony is increasingly important. While linguists have long accepted the concept of dialect equality, educators have struggled with the issue, sparking a history of controversy and debate underscoring larger social issues of diversity and equity. For…

Utilizing the framework of educational linguistics, we investigate ways to foster greater awareness of, and facility with, academic English for educators and students across disciplines by maximizing the popularity of language-related software packages, applications and websites, those already commonly found in and out of the classroom. Our work…

The achievement gaps between poor and more affluent students are persistent and chronic, as many students living in poverty are also members of more isolated communities where dialects such as African American English and Southern Vernacular English are often spoken. Non-mainstream dialect use is associated with weaker literacy achievement. The…

Starting with the writer's own experience as a reader, this article discusses poetry by Eric Roach, Derek Walcott, Linton Kwesi Johnson, John Agard, Edward Baugh, Michael Smith and Velma Pollard. It explores the sense of place felt by writer and reader, going on to analyse the poets' use of Nation Language, poetic metre and intertextuality in…

This article presents the author's critique of "Students' Right to Their Own Language" (SRTOL), a resolution affirming the legitimacy of dialect from the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). "Students' Right to Their Own Language" remains the official position statement of the guild of college compositionists on…

This article argues that mid-1970s discourses of literacy crisis prompted a problematic shift toward color-blind ideologies of language and literacy within both disciplinary and institutional discussions of writing instruction for "high-risk" minority students. It further argues that this shift has continuing import for contemporary…

This writer takes the position that black English does exist and that teachers of black children should know the grammar of this language so that they can better deal with teaching the children who speak it. (DM)

The purpose of this essay is to suggest one area of study, the functional nature of social dialects, and certain principles of anthropology as they are applied to social and cultural change, which may prove of some use to the teacher. There are essentially three pragmatic functions of language in communicative interaction: manipulative,…

A LINGUISTIC FIELD SURVEY OF THE ENGLISH SPOKEN IN THE CULTURAL-GEOGRAPHICAL AREA OF APPALACHIA SHOWS THAT THERE ARE AT LEAST TWO MAJOR NONSTANDARD DIALECTS IN CURRENT USE. THE DIALECT FAMILY MOST COMMONLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE APPALACHIAN REGION IS MOUNTAIN SPEECH. ALTHOUGH WELL STRUCTURED AND EXPRESSIVE IN ITS OWN RIGHT, IT HAS COME TO BE…

Explores the arguments for and against bidialectalism and discusses various approaches used in teaching standard English to nonstandard speakers. (MM)

Adult Basic Education instructors need to be introduced to the Black dialect to dispel misconceptions about the abilities of Black English speakers and to develop activities to help Black students in becoming bidialectal. (SK)

Urges teachers to deal with one problem at a time in students' papers when attempting to get nonstandard speakers to write standard English. (DD)

Rather than dismiss teaching English usage or embrace it without question, elementary teachers need to make usage instruction meaningful and motivating and present it in a nonthreatening yet systematic manner. The teacher must become familiar with his/her particular language community by listening to students and noting the forms they are using.…

A Five-Point Program for teaching English in the inner city... based on the real needs of the Black ghetto student. (Author)