A study of spontaneous language use by elementary school children and teachers in a wide range of classroom activities used a combination of observation, audiotaping, videotaping, and interviews to examine more closely the role of dialect diversity in elementary education. The study provides a more accurate and complete record of classroom life than previously provided as a framework for dialect interference study. The site school was in northeast Washington, District of Columbia; observation occurred in the kindergarten and fourth and sixth grades. The dialect spoken was Black English. The focus traditionally placed on children's language ability in the classroom was placed on language functions. Evidence of dialect interference in communication was not found, although a clear awareness of dialect diversity was found in both children and teachers. Also, a wider range of language functions and a greater volume of student talk occurred in settings where dialect features occur and appear to be acceptable. The results raise further questions about dialect use in the classroom, and further research is recommended. A bibliography is included, and appendices include interview schedules for each grade, an inventory of language functions, a protocol transcript, and the teacher interview questionnaire concerning language diversity and classroom discourse. (MSE)