The communications barrier confronting the ghetto child, the child from Appalachia, or the reservation Indian is the standard middle-class English taught in most schools. Ways of dissolving this barrier are suggested. Speaking habits as well as thinking patterns of teachers must frequently alter. A child should be encouraged to verbalize and to…

Societal differences among ethnic groups and other geographically remote bodies of peoples within a culture are often caused by dialectal variation. The social and educational implications of societal division by such linguistic differentiation are discussed in this article. The author touches on concepts relating to dialectology, paralanguage,…

The purpose of this study was to discover the effect of the introduction of nonstandard English dialect and lexicon in the classroom and to test the hypotheses that students exposed to oral material in dialect and lexicon would comprehend more, would have greater verbal recall, and would be more flexible and fluent in assigning titles to oral…

The first part of this Linguistics Research and Demonstration Project report presents articles which have greater implications for a theory of instruction in English than for practical activities for classroom utilization. It includes "Changing Emphasis on Formal Language Study,""The Growing Importance of and Emphasis on Oral…

Two groups of blacks, adults and teenagers, served as the focus of this study. The "peer-prepared" method was used to produce dialect reading material for both groups. Both black teenagers and adults contributed stories by tape recording stories of an informal nature. The stories contributed by the black adults were edited and locally…

The focus of this bibliography is on the use of variations of Standard English--often called "Nonstandard Dialects"--both in and out of the classroom. Black English, often thought to be synonymous with "nonstandard dialect" because of recent attention called to it, is the best known of the nonstandard dialects, although there are various regional…

One rich cultural beginning embedded in contemporary Chicano literature is the language(s) of the literature. In this respect, Chicano literature and sociolinguistics are concomitants: the use of sociolinguistics increases the understanding of the use of the language(s) found in the literature: of the contextual references made about language(s):…

Concern during the past decade with educational failures of urban Negro children suggested the need for empirical evidence demonstrating whether or not students use identical grammatical and stylistic structures in both speech and writing. Fourteen black, inner city junior high students, all of whom speak "black English," were interviewed for…

This text is a syllabus for the training of teachers of standard English to speakers of nonstandard dialects. The assumptions underlying this publication are that important elements of foreign-language teaching methodology are applicable to teaching standard English as a second dialect and that this methodology can be taught effectively if applied…

The English spelling system and the teaching of English spelling are discussed in relation to students who are learning English as a second (or foreign) language. The systematic nature of English spelling is described and a brief summary is presented of sound-to-spelling correspondences and of other spelling rules. Specific difficulties which may…

Outlines a study project that attempted to combine an inquiry into the language and cultural background of Texas German-Americans. Interviews and project reports were prepared by college students on the premise that they could benefit from the contrasts observed between the standard language of the classroom and the local nonstandard variants.…

Explores the difficulties of teaching students who speak diverse English dialects. Identifies the importance of Standard American English in college and the workplace. Notes that, as dialects reflect people's cultures, teachers and the community must respect the value of diverse dialects. Provides teaching strategies, classroom activities, and…

Describes the Linguistic Affirmation Program (LAP), a comprehensive nonstandard language awareness program for students not proficient in Standard American English, that facilitates the acquisition of Standard American English without devaluing students' home language and culture. Notes its six research-based critical instructional approaches.…

The Assessment of Phonological Disabilities measure was administered to 39 normally developing children and 10 speech-delayed children who were Spanish speaking, of Puerto Rican descent, and ranging in age from 3 to 4. Data were analyzed by comparing phonological processes against the "standard referent" and the "Puerto Rican referent." The…

The intent of this paper is to synthesize portions of the African American dialect literature that have relevance for designing, implementing, and evaluating school-based language programs for African American dialect speakers, and also to suggest guidelines for developing such programs. Because the issues reflect divergency and controversy, it is…