In today's culturally diverse classrooms, students possess and use many culturally, ethnically, and regionally diverse English language varieties that may differ from standardized English. This book helps classroom teachers become attuned to these differences and offers practical strategies to support student achievement while fostering positive…

A study investigated cultural variations in the ways groups of speakers reach consensus in the face of disagreement or suggestion. Subjects were six graduate students in each of five groups: one composed of native speakers of American English, two of Taiwanese Chinese, and two of mainland Chinese. Each group performed a desert survival exercise,…

Both a theoretical framework and some practical suggestions are included in this book intended to help educators improve the teaching of writing to high school students who are native speakers of nonstandard English dialects. The first chapter includes a brief background on the problem of writing in American schools, with special focus on the…

A number of resources are available to teachers planning a student visit to a French Canadian area such as Quebec. A primary one, the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education offers a wide range of information on French Canadian language and culture, including instructional modules designed for use in English-language classes in Canada. These…

International students in American colleges may have learned an accepted international variety of English, rather than British or American forms. Errors may persist because students want to retain their variety of English and cultural identity. Teachers need to address these errors only if they interfere with communication in the academic context;…

A study investigated the perceptions of native English-speakers concerning the spoken grammatical and phonetic (accent) errors of non-native speakers. Speech samples were collected from three non-native speakers of English of varied linguistic backgrounds (German, Spanish, and Arabic) and one speaker of North American English. Each of the four…

A discussion of pronunciation instruction in English for business communication focuses on raising learners' awareness of how English is spoken by various language groups around the world. It is argued that phonological consciousness-raising is an effective approach for limiting breakdowns in communication. The approach assumes that developing…