It is the purpose of this proposed curriculum to find a means of motivating the language divergent student to improve himself academically and socially, to participate actively in educational experiences which will help him to self-actualize, and to afford him learning experiences which will enable him to become an independent learner. A search…

This study considers the occurrence of noun plural marker deletion in black English. It questions the cause of the phenomenon and investigates four factors which could be involved: presence or absence of a quantifier expression, phonological constraints, age of the speaker, and interaction between quantifier expressions and phonological…

Since speaking a nonstandard dialect is hypothesized to perhaps put a child at a disadvantage in learning to read Standard English or in understanding material expressed in Standard English, the effect of Black English on performance of school tasks was tested in 27 second graders in a Harlem school. They were interviewed and tested to measure…

In this study, the use of the preposition "pour" (for) in Ontario French is analyzed: (1) in its use with the verb "payer" (to pay for), and (2) in its durative meaning. Data come from the written and spoken French of three groups of bilingual Franco-Ontarian students from the ninth and twelfth grade. In the written and spoken…

Five implications are drawn from the literature on effective reading instruction for students speaking nonstandard dialects: avoid criticism and over-correction, develop oral English first, include the language experience approach as one basic method, utilize directed reading activities in content classes, and provide a variety of media for…

Presents research on the situational dimension of linguistic power in social context and the relevance of this research within culturally pluralistic educational contexts. Offers suggestions for class activities that can engage standard and nonstandard speakers of English as well as those who do not speak English. (SRT)

This document evaluates the effectiveness of the Los Angeles Unified School District's Academic English Mastery Program, a program designed to serve students whose lack of proficiency in standard American English is an impediment to academic performance. This study used random sampling, experimental and control groups, and three principle data…

Going beyond mere grammaticality, this book examines the basic writing skills of a group of community college students in Hawaii for errors in idiomaticity, or native-like appropriateness of expression. The book suggests criteria for the classification of "phrasematic" expressions, and a convenient terminology comprising idioms,…

Defends the policy statement published in the 1970s by the Conference on College Composition and Communication of the National Council of Teachers of English for its recognition of students' needs and goals in learning to write and read. Questions the motivations and purposes underlying the recent emphasis on teaching all students to write…

Outlines the European Economic Community's (EEC) plan for the maintainance of national languages among immigrants. Describes the variety of objectives behind the EEC's linguistic policy as incompatible with the creation of a unified instructional approach. Emphasizes that dialects spoken within immigrant families create additional problems in…

In Western Australia, an action research project engaged White teachers and Aboriginal teacher aides in collaborative forums about the use of Aboriginal English in school and the development of two-way bi-dialectal teaching practices to support literacy acquisition among Aboriginal students. Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal project participants…

Offers a sociolinguistic appraisal of the representation of languages (as "languages" or "dialects") in the Indian census, with special reference to the status of Maithili. Classifying Maithili as an independent language threatens the homogeneity of the "Hindi belt"; conversely, treating it as a Hindi dialect might…

This article addresses the educational need for knowledge about language differences and the role that school-based speech-language pathologists can play in mainstream education about language differences. A pilot language awareness program for fourth and fifth graders, which includes humanistic, scientific, and cultural objectives, is described.…

A growing trend in bilingual education is to provide instruction in standard ("mainstream") English for children who are native speakers of an English dialect, such as black English. Debate over the practice focuses on effectiveness and the potential drain on bilingual education funding. Although not criticizing or devaluing the nonstandard…

Students' conversational skills, sense of importance, and penchant for creating drama can create thoughtful and even powerfully compelling prose but only if readers let it. Unfortunately, the ways that beginning writers express ideas do not always match all readers' expectations. What does this have to do with what teacher-researchers call voice?…