Discusses the benefits of a solid grounding in English grammar to a writer and outlines the psycholinguistic theory which "narrowly defines dialect as "any form of speech mutually acceptable within a group or area.'" Suggests that the flaw in this definition can affect a child's (and adult's) reading experience. (JM)

Elaborates on the importance of grammar instruction, especially to speakers of nonstandard dialects who, with an understanding of the grammar of standard usage, will be able to read and thus to educate themselves outside the classroom. (JM)

Found that attitudes toward non-standard English professed by a sample of prospective teachers was substantially more positive than teachers' attitudes are generally reported to be. (DD)

Reviewed are the technical problems in the work of Grill and Bartel who attempted to demonstrate that a bias exists in the Grammatical Closure subtest of the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities against speakers of nonstandard English. (SBH)

Discusses the need for teachers to be aware of social class and cultural differences in the use of language. (GO)

Examines the syntactic aspects of code-switching from Egyptian to standard Arabic, as displayed in radio and television interviews and panel discussions. The process does not proceed randomly but is governed by principles dependent on switch position, type of category involved at the switch position, and language variety. (Author/CB)

The article notes the impact upon the language/speech therapy profession of therapist interactions with social dialect speakers. Specifically, the role of the speech-language pathologist as a consultant to the classroom teacher is discussed. Clinician involvement in bidialectal training programs for teachers is recommended. (Author/DB)

A comparative analysis of four studies that emphasized linguistic similarities (rather than differences) between nonstandard speakers and other groups focused on developmental characteristics of the semantic categories encoded by nonstandard speakers compared with other speakers. Implications for language assessment are discussed. (JW)

Emphasizes similarities between historical views of literacy and new school writing programs in which literacy: (1) is sociable, (2) has roots in nonstandardized language, and (3) places a premium on performance and publication. Views the current emphasis on writing as paralleling an earlier, popular literacy. (Author/LHW)

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

Author discusses aspects of American culture that English teachers tend to ignore: American popular culture, immigrant (bilingual and bicultural) America, and American subcultures. (SP)

The author discusses necessary changes in programs intended to teach standard English to nonstandard dialect speakers. The courses discussed are offered on the college level as a required course. The author feels that these requirements represent a stigma which must be eliminated. (MS)

A Discussion of bidialectalism and the social and racial biases inherent in it. The author portrays linguistic prejudice as an instrument of repression and says that we should know and respect our children's language as we demand that they know and respect our own. (Author/JB)