Thanks for the Input

Alex, Thank you for this feedback. I'm emailing my response to everyone else so that others can read what I'm writing to you. [Other class members, read the original email below.] I would not re-pronounce since that will throw off the validity of the test. However, I would recommend to all of you to make a written notation of any words you think your student missed because of accent and nothing else. After the test is over, have a conversation with them to see if you can tell if they didn't hear the word correctly.

Thanks for the input.

CA -----Original Message----- From: Draughan, Alexandra C Sent: Tuesday, January 17, 2006 2:26 PM To: Allred, Christine Subject: EDU 323 assessment

Dr. Allred,

Thank you so much for your help over the phone with the assessment. I have now successfully taken it. I also practiced stopping and restarting the test. The only concern I have about this test is that not all of the words are in a neutral dialect. At least ten times I noticed pronunciations of words that seemed to have a northern pronunciation of vowels "e" and "a" that students in this more rural school may find difficult along with differing uses of syllabic stresses (which can completely change the sound of a word). I understand that Archdale-Trinity Middle School isn't in the sticks and that students have access to television where they may hear these pronunciations, however it may still trip some of them up. I myself had to think about some of the words for a minute before I could tell what word the speaker was saying. Am I allowed to re-sound out words for my southern rural student who may very well know how to recognize and spell these words when spoken differently? I'm just afraid that my student may receive an inaccurate evaluation and feedback because he or she is not bi-dialectical. Please let me know. (And my scores are below).

Thank you,

Alex Draughan

SCORES: HFW 3.83 WR 12.83 WA 4.83 WM 11.83 SP 10.83 SR 12.83