This article describes the perspectives of bidialectal African American adolescents--adolescents who speak both African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and Standard English--on spoken language expectations in their English classes. Previous research has demonstrated that many teachers hold negative views of AAVE, but existing scholarship has not considered the perspectives of students themselves. For this study, 51 African American adolescents were asked to write about the dialects they thought students should speak in their English classes. Most students noted that speaking Standard English in professional situations was important, but they expressed diverse opinions about dialect use in their English classes. Students' opinions centered on four themes: (1) fear of external judgment, (2) desire for clear communication, (3) maintenance of identity, and (4) demonstration of respect. The article concludes with suggestions for productive instructional approaches to spoken language and dialect use during literacy activities.