Australian Aboriginal children, in general, lag behind their mainstream peers in measures of literacy. This article discusses some of the complex and interconnected factors that impact Aboriginal children's early language and literacy development. Poor health and historically negative socio-political factors are known influences on Aboriginal…

The paper reviews issues in the diagnosis and treatment of language disorders in black exceptional children. The controversy over language characteristics of the urban black child is examined, followed by a review of studies citing the linguistic and cultural bias of many tests used for diagnosis. Difficulties with the use of the System of…

This text seeks to sensitize teachers and administrators to the language problems faced by culturally different children, to sharpen and broaden their perspectives regarding the relationship between language and culture, and to help them devise effective strategies for teaching language skills. The text is divided into three major sections. Part…

The paper examines aspects involved in providing an accurate evaluation of speech and language of culturally different preschool children. Dialectical differences of Spanish and Black English speakers are detailed. Culturally based nonverbal behaviors and situational factors, including touching behavior and eye contact, are considered. Cultural…

Most compensatory early childhood programs are based on an assumption of linguistic and cognitive deficits which must be remedied if the Negro child is to succeed in school, but much collected data questions this assumption. The language of many lower class Negro children has been shown to be well-ordered and highly structured, although the…

This paper examines and evaluates 11 ERIC documents dealing with the manner and extent to which nonstandard dialects differ from standard English. The relative importance of each document to the issue is implicit in the comments concerning that article. The author presents and explains the deficit and difference models of explicating language…

RECENT RESEARCH ON THE NATURE OF NONSTANDARD ENGLISH DIALECTS HAS INDICATED THAT CERTAIN ARCHAIC SPEECH FORMS ASSOCIATED WITH CREOLE LANGUAGES ARE PRESERVED IN THE SPEECH OF URBAN NEGRO CHILDREN. THE AUTHOR OF THIS ARTICLE BELIEVES THAT LANGUAGE PROGRAMS FOR THESE CHILDREN SHOULD BE BASED ON A MORE COMPLETE LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF THEIR LANGUAGE…

This handbook is a guide to a compensatory language program designed for young, Australian, aboriginal children during their first year at school. It is the result of recent research which shows that reading retardation characteristic of aboriginal children may well be associated with the fact that their linguistic system differs from that in the…