Dialects in Schools and Communities - Hardcover

Adger, Carolyn Temple; Wolfram, Walt; Christian, Donna

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0805843159 ISBN 13: 9780805843156

Publisher: Routledge, 2007

Synopsis

This 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 edition and in other of their earlier works, taking into account especially the research on dialects and publications for audiences beyond linguistics that have appeared since the first edition. This edition is offered as an updated report on the state of language variation and education in the United States.
 
Dialects in Schools and Communities is rooted in questions that have arisen in workshops, surveys, classes, discussion groups, and conversations with practitioners and teacher educators. It is thus intended to address important needs in a range of educational and related service fields. As an overview of current empirical research, it synthesizes current understandings and provides key references—in this sense it is a kind of translation and interpretation in which the authors’ goal is to bring together the practical concerns of educators and the vantage point of sociolinguistics. No background in linguistics or sociolinguistics is assumed on the part of the reader.
 
This volume is intended for teacher interns and practicing teachers in elementary and secondary schools; early childhood specialists; specialists in reading and writing; speech/language pathologists; special education teachers; and students in various language specialties. 

About this title

About the Author

Carolyn Temple Adger is director of the Language in Society Division at the Center for Applied Linguistics, a national non-profit organization devoted to improving communication through better understanding of language and culture. For many years, she has worked with teachers in culturally diverse schools, leading professional development and conducting research on aspects of language in education. Dr. Adger’s research on children’s language use has been reported in a number of articles and chapters. Her books include Kids Talk: Strategic Language Use in Later Childhood (co-edited), Making the Connection: Language and Academic Achievement Among African American Students (co-edited), and What Teachers Need to Know About Language (co-edited), as well as Dialects in Schools and Communities (co-authored). She holds an M.S. and a Ph.D. in sociolinguistics from Georgetown University and a master's degree in English language arts education from the University of Maryland.

Review

"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

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0805843159
• ISBN 13: 9780805843156
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 240