This study was conducted to explore the idea that the Negro dialect operates as a source of interference in the acquisition of reading skills by Negro children. Two first grade classes from an Oakland, California, inner city school were chosen to participate in this experiment. The pupils were all pretested. Half of them were then randomly chosen…

This study attempted to answer five question: do black inner-city students at the first grade level associate Vernacular Black English (VBE) with black speakers and Standard English (SE) with white speakers? Do black inner-city students prefer VBE or SE? Is there a significant relationship between the self-concept of these students and their…

Language development, including literacy learning (reading and writing) was studied in a first grade classroom in a culture-in-contact situation. The language behavior of three boys--one mainstream culture member, another from black inner-city culture, and a third from Appalachian culture--and the language of a teacher from mainstream culture were…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between age, ethnic group, socioeconomic status, and sex, and the development of an awareness of the social and racial significance of language dialects. Eighty children from first and fifth grades served as subjects. The subjects were presented with four tasks: (1) a discrimination task of…

PROGRAMS, PROJECTS, AND ACTIVITIES DESIGNED TO EVALUATE AND TO IMPROVE THE TEACHING OF READING AND ENGLISH IN SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES ARE DESCRIBED BRIEFLY. THE DESCRIPTIONS OF PROGRAMS ARE ARRANGED BY STATE AND BY LEVEL OF INSTRUCTION. THE NAMES AND AFFILIATIONS OF RESPONSIBLE PERSONNEL ARE INDICATED CLEARLY. THE INVENTORY INCLUDES INFORMATION ON…