Argues that the implicit tendency to infer that the sophistication of one's verbal behavior mirrors one's cognitive sophistication must be scrutinized, and demonstrates that the assessment of the verbal behavior of nonstandard speakers must be accomplished via a medium that is not "foreign" to those in question. (Author/JM)

Argues that the schools have failed minority group children, that a major cause of this has been a failure to understand the linguistic and cultural backgrounds of such children, and that there must be increased attention given to training educational personnel to bring about this understanding' if education for minority children is to improve."…

Reprinted from The English Record," v21 n4 April 1971. (VM)

Paper presented at the TESOL Convention, March 1969. The author is Associate Director of the Michigan Migrant Interdisciplinary Program at the University of Michigan. (FWB)

This paper reviews research about how speaking a dialect can influence students' writing and how writing should be taught to students who speak a dialect of English. Literature on the writing errors commonly made by speakers of Black English and other American dialects is summarized. (PP)

Presents readers' responses and authors' replies on two recent "College English" articles, one on children's literature in the college classroom, and the second on attitudes toward nonstandard English. (JL)

Although research and the court have established the viability of Black English as a communication system, scholars and educators have not rallied for institutional support of its use and acceptance in society. A rational language policy must be developed that recognizes the legitimacy of all languages and dialects in America.(Author/MJL)

The effects of language in education are rarely accounted for in (1) measurement of intelligence; (2) diagnosis of language, speech, or learning pathology; (3) reading ability measurement; and (4) educator attitudes toward language variations. Educational malpractice in these areas may have negative effects on identity development among…