Description
Book SynopsisThis book describes dialect differences in American English and their impact on education and everyday life. It explores some of the major issues that confront educational practitioners and suggests what practitioners can do to recognize students’ language abilities, support their language development, and expand their knowledge about dialects. Topics addressed include:
*popular concerns about the nature of language variation;
*characteristic structures of different dialects;
*various interactive patterns characteristic of social groups;
*the school impacts of dialect differences in speaking, writing, and reading, including questions about teaching Standard English; and
*the value of dialect education in schools to enable students to understand dialects as natural and normal language phenomena.
Changes in the Second Edition: In this edition the authors reconsider and expand their discussion of many of the issues addressed in the first edi
Trade Review"Because teaching and learning occur through language, teachers need a broad understanding of language variation and how it affects curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Wolfram, Adger, and Christian have made knowledge about language variation accessible and provide tools for teachers to use in gaining a deeper understanding of the languages and cultures their own students. Teachers who care about educational equity and diversity will find the book important to their work."
—David Bloome
Ohio State University
"There are still widespread myths and negative attitudes about dialect variations in student language. This second edition of an already classic text can help all students become confidently bi-dialectal but only if all teachers, coaches, and professional developers—across the curriculum—take its conceptual messages to heart, and take its beautifully-designed exercises into all classrooms and workshops."
—Courtney Cazden
Harvard University
“This is a terrific book for both pre-service and in-service teacher education. The authors clearly illustrate dialect differences at all linguistic levels, from pronunciation to grammar to vocabulary, and they also analyze the linguistic and cultural implications of these differences for teaching and assessing speaking, reading, and writing in academic English. They deserve kudos for making dialect differences so interesting and accessible!”
—Marcia Farr
Ohio State University
"Because teaching and learning occur through language, teachers need a broad understanding of language variation and how it affects curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Adger, Wolfram, and Christian have made knowledge about language variation accessible and provide tools for teachers to use in gaining a deeper understanding of the languages and cultures of their own students. Teachers who care about educational equity and diversity will find the book important to their work."--David Bloome, The Ohio State University
"There are still widespread myths and negative attitudes about dialect variations in student language. This second edition of an already classic text can help all students become confidently bi-dialectal but only if all teachers, coaches, and professional developers across the curriculum take its conceptual messages to heart, and take its beautifully-designed exercises into all classrooms and workshops."--Courtney Cazden, Harvard University
"This is a terrific book for both pre-service and in-service teacher education. The authors clearly illustrate dialect differences at all linguistic levels, from pronunciation to grammar to vocabulary, and they also analyze the linguistic and cultural implications of these differences for teaching and assessing speaking, reading, and writing in academic English. They deserve kudos for making dialect differences so interesting and accessible!"--Marcia Farr, The Ohio State University
Table of ContentsContents: Language Variation in America. Exploring Dialects. Social Interaction. Interpreting Language Difference . Oral Language Instruction. Dialects and Written. Language Variation and Reading. Dialect Awareness for Students. Appendix: A Selective Inventory of Vernacular Structures.
