A discussion of bidialectalism looks at whether it is analogous to bilingualism, particularly in the case of young speakers of Black English, and how this and related considerations may inform reading instruction. Theory and research concerning dialects and bidialectalism, bilingualism and its various types, and linguistic competence and performance are reviewed briefly, and the theories of transformational grammar and language universals are applied comparatively to Black English and standard spoken English. Subsequently, issues in the teaching of standard English to speakers of other dialects are considered, drawing on relevant research literature concerning this and other bidialectal contexts. Four recommendations are made for reading instruction: (1) greater individualization in the approach to beginning reading to accommodate children's different degree and type of mismatch between standard usage and dialect; (2) recording and analysis of the informal speech of each child during the pre-reading phase; (3) teacher training to include some information about North American English dialects, sociolinguistics and language varieties, varied reading instruction techniques including some from second language instruction, and affective training concerning language varieties; and (4) use of recorded materials in which the child reads the text as he listens. Contains 89 references. (MSE)