Nnelimitst MR1%110411 ED 030 632 TE 000 406 by -Evertts

nnelimitst MR1%110411 ED 030 632 TE 000 406 By -Evertts. Eldonna L.. Ed. Dimensions of Dialect. National Council of Teachers.of English. Champaign. III. Pub Date 67 Note-78p. Available from-National Council of Teachers ofE4ish; 508 S. Sixth St., Champaign. Ill: 618200(Stock No. 24903. HC $1.25) .EDRS Price MF -S0.50 HC Not Available from EDRS. Descriptors--*Culturally Disadvantaged. Curriculum Development.Dialects, Disadvantaited Youth, Educationally Disadvantaged. Elementary Education,*EnglishInstruction. Language. Negro Dialects. *Nonstandard Dialects. Reading Instruction. *Social Dialects, Teacher Education.Teaching Methods This collection of 'articles .discusses social dialects, theproblems tht dialects cuse thedisadvantaged, and how these problems. can be overcome incurriculum planning and classroom practice. Articles are (I)'English. New Dimensions and New Demands" by Muriel Crosby. (2) "A Checklist ofSignificant Features for Dikriminating Social Dialects" by Raven I. McDavid. Jr., (3) 'Poverty.Early. Language Deprivation. and Learning Ability" by F. Elizabeth Metz, (4) "A HeadStart in Language" by Rose Mukerfi theCulturally . and Helen F.Robison.(5):UnderstandingtheLanguage of Disadvantaged Child" by Eddie G. Ponder, (6)'Vocabulary Deprivation of the Underprivileged Child" by Edgar Dale, (7) 'DialectBarriers to Reading Comprehension" .by Kenneth S. Goodman. (8) 'Using Poetry toHelp Educationally Depriyed Children Learn Inductively" by June Byers. (9) "TalkWritten Down" by Lila Sheppard.(10) °Teaching Language and Reading to Disadvantaged NegroChildren" by Allison Davis. s (11) "Teaching English to Indian Children" by HildegardThompson. and (12) "Annotated Bibliography of Books for Elementary Children inEnglish and Foreign Language

. Editions" by Eldonna L. Evertts. (DL) 111

HEALTH, EDUCATION &WELFARE CV U.S. DEPARTMENT OF re\ OFFICE OF EDUCATION c) EXACTLY AS RECEIVEDFROM THE $1.25 THIS DOCUMENT HASBEEN REPRODUCED ORIGINATING IT, POINTSOF VIEW OR OPINIONS ar% PERSON OR ORGANIZATION REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICEOF EDUCATION STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY POSITION OR POLICY.

Dimensio-s feero,Dialect

ter 0,6

Lki

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF TEACHERS OFENGLISH sos South Sixth Street Champaign, Illinois 61820 Many of the Articles in This Bulletin

Were Originally Published in Various

Issues of

ELEMENTARY ENGLISH

William A. Jenkins, Editor

"PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL BY MICROFICHE ONLY HAS B N ORANTED ByNe.-7- a TO ERIC AND ORGANIZATIONS OPERATING UNDER AGREEMENTS WITH THE U. S. OFFICE OF EDUCATION. FURTHER REPRODUCTION uUTSIDE THE ERIC SYSTEM REQUIRES PERMISSION OF ME COPYRIGHT OWNER." Copyright 1967

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF TEACHERS OF ENGLISH

508 South Sixth Street, Champaign, Illinois 61820

li CONTENTS

Introduction Eldonna L. Evertts English: New Dimensions and New Demands 1 Muriel Crosby A Checklist of Significant Features for Discriminating Social Dialects 7 Raven I. McDavid, Jr. Program for Teacher Language Improvement 11 Charles 13. Watts A reproduction release was not Joseph Caliguri obtained for this article. Poverty, Early Language Deprivation, and Learning Ability 14 F. Elizabeth Metz A Head Start in Language 19 Rose Mukerli Helen F. Robison Understanding the Language of the Culturally Disadvantaged Child 23 Eddie G. Ponder Vocabulary Deprivation of the Underprivileged Child 30 Edgar Dale Dialect Barriers to Reading Comprehension 39 Kenneth S. Goodman Using Poetry to Help Educationally Deprived Children Learn Inductively 47 June Byers Talk Written Down 52 Lila Sheppard Teaching Language and Reading to Disadvantaged Negro Children 57 Allison Davis Teaching English to Indian Children 64 Hildegard Thompson Annotated Bibliography of Books for Elementary Children in English and Foreign Language Editions 72 Eldonna L. Evertts Infroduction

During recent years interest and concern for helping disadvantaged children have gained momentum.The report of the NCTE Task Force, Language Programs for the Disadvantaged, stressed the need to keep the teaching profession informed of theoretical principles of language development and social dialectology along with translations of these principles into practice. Studying the nature of language and its acquisition must lead to analysis ofclassroom encounters with language. Subsequently, the teaching techniques developed will assist disadvantaged children in achieving social and academic success commensurate with their potential. This pamphlet serves as one poinf of departure toward meeting the challenge of helping the disadvantaged find acceptance rd satisfaction through greater range and flexibility in tlye use of language. It is hoped thatscholarly and applied research during the next decade will present many more avenuesfor accepting this challenge. This publication has its roots in the insight, visions, and research of school administrators, teachers, and scholars. Most of these articles first appeared in Elementary English, but two are published here for the first time. All articles are pertinent to the problems in working effectivelywith the disadvantaged; each author, however, presents a personal view of the problems and solutions. The first article, "New Dimensions and New Demands," by Muriel Crosby, focuses upon the issues involved in teaching the disadvantaged. The child's image of himself, because of his nonstandard English dialect, and his difficulty in communicating-,ith his teachers, stand out as keys to understanding the situation. The second article, while not attempting to be "definitive," presents clearly and concisely significant features of language which are social in origin. "A Checklist of Significant Features for Discriminating Social Dialects," by Raven I. Mc David, Jr., includes for the first time the phonological aspects of subcultural dialects for native speakers as well as structural features which are socially diagnostic everywhere. Other features of language virtually indigenous to one region of the country might seem objectionable to speakers from other regions and would be objectionable in written expository prose anywhere. Here, however, the concern is for features which are social in origin and which are regarded as socially diagnostic everywhere. It is those social features which are structural in nature and which, consequently, lend themselves best to "pattern" drills. Other articles discuss basic knowledge for the teacher of the disadvantaged and a program for the teacher's own language improvement, the manner in which language deprivation can affect learning, ways of providing a well - planned preschool program, and an attempt to change the language of the disadvantaged child. Articles on vocabulary development and reading bring special attention to the teacher and the teaching process. Elementary teachers, especially those teaching the disadvantaged, will find the article "Dialect Barriers to Reading Comprehension " helpful in curriculum planning. A case study of how one teacher used poetry and choral reading to help Mexican children achieve specific language objectives is included. The concluding articles, by Lila Sheppard, Allison Davis, and Hildegard Thompson, discuss the problems and techniques for teaching language, reading, and English to specific groupsMaoris, Negroes, and Indians. Although these articles are concerned with distinctive groups, many of the ideas have a wider application. A bibliography of books for the elementary child which are written in English and a foreign language concludes the pamphlet. The articles in this pamphlet illustrate several dimensions of dialect: regional, social, national, ethnic. How important, then, for the elementary teacher to go beyond regarding language as merely a phenomenon of social cla.ss. The language of the native speaker of English will reflect not only the cultural background under which he acquired his first language, but also the region in which he lived. To this must be added later experiences with language, such as travel, living in various areas, the learning of another language, general interest in language both its pronunciation patterns and vocabulary. Moreover, a person who has learned English as a second language may demonstrate in his use of English features of his native language. All individuals, consequently, speak a dialect, and how delightful it is that language can be individual. Certainly there need be no concentrated effort to demand that all persons speak alike. Differences in language can be recognized and appreciated. It is not derogatory that a person's idiolect reflects his personal background. When, however, a pupil uses a variety of language which places economic, social, or academic limitations upon him, the teacher should help this pupil gain access to another more generally accepted dialectwithout expecting him to abandon his former patterns, as there will be times when these patterns will serve him well. Much work remains to be done in dialect research, and as new studies are completed there will also be new applications in the elementary classroom. This pamphlet attempts to focus on some of the dimensions of dialect already investigated, with implications already tested out as they have been applied in the schools. Eldonna L. Evertts 1

MURIEL CROSBY English: New Dimensions and New Demands

In the beginning, there was the land,the desperate and the weary, the seeker of stretching in majesty fromocean to ocean.the dream and the builder of empire. Only The land was rich in its diversityofmoun-the Negro came against his will. Yet all taini and valleys, of deserts and grassymen, whatever their reasons for being of plains,of singing brooks and rushing,the land, were bound together bya single mighty rivers, of plant and animal life. qualityall possessed the will to survive in Beneath the surface of the land, greateran unknown, often hostile, environment. riches were hiddenlife-giving water, fuel In the brief period of recorded history,a to fire man's industries, ore to build hisgreat nation has been created by those who cities of steel in a far distant time. sought the land and made it theirs. In this And there were no people. The landwasshort span of time, a great political philos- virgin; prostitution of the land was in theophy has been established, rooted in the unknown future. Hebraic-Christian ethic of the brotherhood Eons of time passed and the peopleof man. Implementing this philosophy has came. Crossing the Bering Strait, the firstbeen the greatest challenge faced by the people kok possossion of the land. The landpeople of the United States, for from the remained in all its beauty, its richesun-beginning, those who held the land rejected tapped, for these first people were notex-the stranger. In Western Star, Benet takes ploiters of the land. They used only whatui back to the establishment of the first was needed to sustain life and to createEnglish colony in Virginia, in the seven- their culture. Man and the landwere one.teenth century. Describing the landing of Other, eons of time passed, and other menthis first group of settlers, Benet writes: took possession of the land. These men came from many countries, driven by many They landed and explored. purposiz There were the adventurer and It was the first flood of Virginia Spring, White with new dogwood, smelling of wild the despoiler, the marauder and the idealist, strawberries. Dr. Crosby isAssistant Superintendent of the Wilmington, Delaware, Public Schools and was1Stephen Vincent Benet, Western Star. New York: President of the National Council of Teachers ofFarrar and Rinehart, 1943, pp. 50-51. Copyright, English in 1966. This address was presented at the1943, by Rosemary Carr Benet. Reprinted by per- Fifty-Fifth Annual Convention in Boston, 1965 andmission of Brandt and Brandt. was published in Elementary English XLIII ( April 1966), 327-332. "PERMiSSIONTO REPRODUCE THIS COPYRIGMED- MATERIAL BY MICROFICHE BEEN GRANTED BY CAUL. g.11Ati-vAd 4/241.-le i5A4mott TO ERIC AND ORTANIZAWONS PERATING UNDER [AGREEMENTS WITH THE U. S. OFFICE OF EDUCATION. FURTHER REPRODUCTION OUTSIDE THE ERIC SYSTEM REQUIRES PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT OWNER." 2 DIMENSIONS OF DIALECT Warm and soft-voiced, cornflower-skied and You have denied America with that word kind. Though your fathers were the first to settle And they were ravished with it, after the the land.2 sea. And that very evening, Today, we are faced with a new chal- As they were going back to the anchoredlenge in the establishment of the Hebraic- ships, Christian ethic, a challenge not presented The savages came down from the hills, by a new wave of immigrants, but by those Creeping like bears through the grass, with bows in their mouths, who have lived long on the land as strang- And the sudden arrows flew in the goodlyers in our midst. The minorities of our na- wood, tion are not strangers by their own choos- The first ambush, the first taste of Indianing. They have been kept outside the pale war. of a white world by those who cherish the The balmy night, the strange country, the shot arrows, American dream for themselves, but not for And ft was not a dream. others. This challenge was brought into focus by the United States Suprerne Court's As the rushing tide of men from the oldDecision on the Desegregation of Public countries, who heard of the western star,Schools in 1954. The Decision, at one and came to. take possession of the land, each inthe same time, recognized the role of edu- turn was rebuffed and fought for his placecation in bringing to fruition the American 1 on the land. dream, and placed upon the public schools of the nation the responsibility for becom- Massachusettsbegins,andProvidenceing instruments of social change. Plantations, Teachers of English who would meet Connecticut begins, Virginia spreads out. There are Swedes by the Delaware, Scotch-their responsibility as participants in a men after Dunbar, great social revolution have an exciting They whip the first Quaker bloodily through adventure ahead. the street.2 Throughout the centuries of explorationTeachers of English as Participants in the of the western continent, the establishmentSocial Revolution of the Twentieth Century of a nation, and the assimilation of endless Never before in the history of education floods of immigrants, man's inhumanity toin the United States has there been such man became the first great obstacle to over-widespread recognition of the vital signifi- come. cance of education as a force in the welfare of our nation. Federal legislation support- And Benet reminds us that as we look toing education through huge grantsof the past to sight new directions for themoney, financial support of education by future, we must numerous private foundations, are ample evidence of interest and concern. Remember the name of the outcast and the stranger, Leading all the educational problems Remember that when you say which must be met is the current effort to "I will have none of this exile and thiseducate America's millions of disadvan- stranger taged people. The National Council of For his face is not like my face and hisTeachers of English reflects its leadership speech is strange."

2 Ibid., p. 180. p. 180. ENGLISH: NEW DIMENSIONS AND NEW DEMANDS 3 responsibility through its most recent con-we find the teenager,sated with failure, tribution, Language Programs for the Disad-waiting hopefully for his sixteenth birthday, vantaged, totally supported through Coun-to be released from school, which has be- cil funds. Recognizing the need to determinecome unbearable. One drop-outspoke elo- the progress of English language teachingquently for his peers when, upon meeting a and learning in the hundreds of specialformer principal upon the street as he went projects in universities and public schoolto pick up a date, he was chided gently on systems across the nation, the Executivehis garish costume, with the comment, "I Committee created a National Task Forcewouldn't let you visit my daughter looking of some 25 Council leaders to visit projectslike this." The lad then exclaimed "Why, I for the disadvantaged on all educationalcould never visit your daughter; I'm low- levels, to visit "inner cities" of the Northclass Negro!" No child or youth in our and "outer" rural areas of the West andcountry, at the age of five or sixteen, should South to analyze findings and their implica-be set in a bind in which his own inner con- tions for English language teaching, and tovictions have been so shaped that there is prepare a report to the profession on prom-no hope for release. ising practices and the needed leadership If a child's out-of-school life has pro- role for NCTE. duced passivity and hopelessness, the only schools. Studies Educators who have been engaged inanswer is to be found in the of the disadvantaged are in common agree- discovering the special educational prob- ment that the most crucial factor in stimu- lems of the disadvantaged have identified lating the motivation of deprived children major blocks to learning for those who are for academic learning, in developing the called "the disadvantaged." These blocks to will to aspire, in discovering for themselves learning are common among the disadvan-the great adventure of learning, is the taged, the Indian child on the reservation, attitude of the teacher. Teachers who look the Mexican-American child of the south- at their changing school neighborhoods, west, the Negro child confined to thewho look upon children and youth who blighting ghettos of the great cities, the seem to be different fromothers they have poor white child living on the fringes of a known, and condemn them with the com- "white world" no longer a reality, except ment, "These children are changing our for those who look backward. And all of the schools," denigrate our profession, and fail blocks to learning are centered in language, directly or indirectly. Because they are,in moral commitment to all children. For teachers of English, the first requisite teachers of English have a prime commitment to help the disadvantaged grow inis a belief in the value of the children they teach, as human beings, worthy of respect command of their native language. and capable of learning. Self-Image. The child of deprivation Cause and Effect Relationships. Notable learns early in life that he is worth littleamong the inadequacies ofthe disadvan- and will never become anything. What fivetaged is the inability to generalize, to see years of living have taught manyof thesecame and effectrelationships. I first be- children is well expressed by a kindergart-came alerted to this when mostof the chil- ner, who, in attempting to define awish,dren in Wilmington's project' responded to explained, "It is something you want very bad and know you'll never get." Each year 4Muriel Crosby, An Adventure in Human Relations. of life simply confirms this hopelessness andChicago: Follett Publishing Company, 1965. ,FW

4 DIMENSIONS OF DIALECT the question, "What would you like toway of life. Through planning, anindivid- change about the adults you know?" withual learns the value of defining a problem, some version of "Thecranky guy next doorconsidering possible courses of action based who yells at you." Children from middle-on probable outcomes, andliving with the income groups inevitably added a "but" toresults. The family pattern of life of the dis- their responses, e.g., "but he likes a niceadvantaged is notably lacking in planning yard." Seldom did a disadvantaged childfor the future. reveal that he saw a reason for the adult's For teachers of English, the second re- behavior. Pursuing this matter further, wequisite is an understanding of the need of found that social workers, ab empting todisadvantaged children to learn in school help mothers plan the spendirug of a weeklythe skills of planning and the art of practic- food budget so that the family would haveing them. As children are involved in plan- something to eat each day, discovered thatning in school, they are enabled to identify the small funds would be spent for a bit ofwith the purposes of growing in command luxury during the early part of the week,of their knguage and their lives. with nothing to eat during the remainder. Language Power. Inability to command The mothers revealed inability to postponeinformal standard English is one of the immediate satisfactions, to look ahead. And,greatest handicaps to the disadvantaged. again, we found the same recurrence ofChildren from deprivation usually experi- evidence of failure to see cause and effectence one of two familylanguage patterns. relationships when a young junior highThere is the inarticulate family, where little school principal, planning a tea in June forlanguage is used. Often, "umbrella" words mothers of incoming seventh graders thecharacterize the language of children from following fall, reported that the mothersthese families. One word may have many had not attended. The elementary principaldifferent meanings, e.g., "mess" in some explained that the mothers knew the chil-form has been discovered to have more dren were being promoted. Hence, therethan 50 different meanings. "He messed were no problems. "If youhave the meetingwith me," means something negative, such six weeks after school has opened, the moth-as, "He said somethingbad about my ers will attend. You see, mymothers do notmother"; "he pushed me around." On the anticipate problems." And sure enough, theother hand, many families are quite articu- mothers turned out en masse the followinglate in their family dialect, which may be October. dynamic in vocabulary, style, and structure. All of us accept the theory of involving In either case, the child with the non- children in planning their curriculum. Butstandard English dialect learns early that far too often we have created teaching situ-he and the teacher are not communicating. ations in which the children are manipu-He senses disapproval and clams up. The lated and do no genuine planning with theteacher is then apt to describe all disadvan- teacher. One good teacher caught herselftaged children as inarticulate. When this at this practice, when, in a session markedhappens, the child is deprived of the use of by a real struggle to have her sixth gradersthe only verbal means of communication he suggest problems to guide thedevelopmenthas. At a period in life when interest in of a literature unit, one lad asked, "Misslanguage is keen, the means for exploring Patterson, have we guessed what you wantlanguage is cut off. Language not used is us to say yet?" language not learned. Interest in learning Planning is not just a skill to learn. It is ainformal standard English is thus retarded. ENGLISH: NEW DIMENSIONS'AND NEW DEMANDS 5 For teachers of English,the third re-mands it and national survival depends quisite is an appreciation of the familydia-upon it. lects of their children andan understanding of the need of all peopleto possess severalNew Dimensions Make New Demands dialects. The lob of the English teacher is to New dimensions and new demands upon help children develop an understanding ofteachers of English require teachers with the appropriateness of the dialectto thethe "new look." They require teachers who situation. Family dialects are appropriatelook upon children and youth withcompas- to family situations; informal standard En-sion and understanding, who have devel- glish is necessary to obtain and holda job,oped the art of empathy for the children to advance academically and economically. they teach, whoseown love of the English When children and youth finduse value inlanguage and what it can mean to young learning their language, motivation andpeople growing toward maturity, inan achievement are greater. often hostile world, is communicated in In other times, from the ranks of the dis-such a way that learning to know and love advantaged havecome those whose com-it become irresistible. They require teach- mand of the English language has demon-ers who listen when the children speak: strated that language is power,"over the minds and hearts,as well as in the politics We Co to School of men. Abraham Lincoln best illustrates We find our teachers friendly or unfriendly, the fact that command of languagein all of Friendly for the most part. its beauty and power is not the attribute of We accept ourselves as teachers acceptus. middle-class Americans, alone. Worthy or unworthy, In a moving tribute to the late Ambassa- Troublesome or happy, dor Adlai Stevenson, James Reston, of The Able or unable, Conforming or creative, New York Times, noted that: "The tragedy We see ourselves as teachers see us. of Adlai Stevenson is not that the United We find many children in school. States has lost an ambassador at the United Privileged or deprived, Nations, but that the Western world has Gay or moody, lost another of its few eloquentmen. Lan- Accepting or rejecting, guage is power and in the last few years the We see ourselves as other childrensee us. West has lost most of themen who could We learn many things in school. define its purposesChurchill and Gaitskell We learn that people are alike, in Britain, Kennedy in the United States, Yet different. We learn to trust others. Hammarskjöld at the United Nat'ans, Neh- Or to distrust them. ru in India, not to mention those spokesmen We learn that thereis a world of the of the Western literary world, Frost, Faulk- imagination ner, and T. S. Eliot." And a world of reality Reston's And that bothare good. tributetoStevenson clearly We learn that we are thesons of our points to the responsibility of teachers of fathers, English to search for and develop,among That the world they have created all of the children and youth they teach, May be cherished or changed. We learn to like school that potential for languagepower inherent Or to hate it.5 in all of the classes and cultures ofour society. The Hebraic-Christianethicde- 6Ibid. 6 DIMENSIONS OF DIALECT We Are the Future When you look at us When you look at us You see the future you have shaped. You see yourselves. When you look at us When you look at us You see all children, You see the heritage of many peoples, Everywhere.6 Molded and melded intoa common heritage. elbid. 14

RAVEN I. MCDAVID, JR. A Checklist of SignificantFeatures for Discriminating Social Dialects'

As an aid to the teacher who is interestedlike those currently being published by the in a more efficient approach to the problemUniversity of Chicago Press. Native speak- of teaching a standard variety of Englishers of Spanish, for instance, have special for public rolesto those whouse nonstan-difficultieswiththeEnglish' consonant dard varieties at home, the following list ofclusters /sp-, st-, sk-/ at the beginnings of features, all of which are both systematicwords; native speakers of Czech or Finnish and significant, has been drawnup, partlyneed to learn the accentual patterns of from the collections of the regional linguis-English;native speakers of continental tic atlases, partly from more intensive localEuropean languages need to master the per- studies. fect phrase in such expressions of time as The emphasis is on those features of theI have been in Chicago for five years; native language that recur frequently andarespeakers of almost every other language therefore most amenable to pattern drills.need to learn a finer meshed set of vowel It must not be inferred that other, less well-distinctions, as between peach and pitch, patterned features of Englishare unimpor-bait and bet and but, pool and pull, boat tant as social markers, but only that they doand bought, hot and hut. not lend themselves to productive drill. The origins of these features are of in- Discriminating the principal parts of irregu-direct concern here; that they are of social lar verbs, as past tense saw and past parti-significance is what concernsus. In general, ciple seen, is a part of the linguistic be-however, it is clear that most of themmay havior that constitutes standard English,be traced back to the folk speech of En- but the pattern see-saw-seen is duplicatedgland, and that in the United Statesnone only by such compounds ofsee as foresee.of them is exclusively identified withany On the other hand, the discrimination be-racial group, though in any givencom- tween I see and he sees is a part of a patternmunity some of them may be relatively of subject-verb concord that is facedeverymore frequent among whites or among time a subject is used with a present tenseNegroes. verb. This listisrestricted to features that The list is concerned with social dialectsoccur in speech as well as in writing. It is of English and does not include all therecognized that regional varieties of En- problems faced by the native speaker ofglish differ in the distance between standard some other language. For each such situa-informal speech and standard formal writ- tion one needs special contrastive studiesing. They vary considerably in the kinds of reductions of final consonant clusters, either iThis list will be incorporated in a manual of social absolutely or when followed bya word dialects being prepared by Alva L. Davis of the Illinois Institute of Technology under a grant frombeginning with a consonant. The plural of the U. S. Office of Education. sixth may be /stIcs/, homonymous with the 7 8 DIKENSIONS OF DIALECT cardiral numeral; burned a hole may be/a/ before /-r/, so that fire and far, hired pronounced /band a hol/ but burned myand hard, become homonymous, was still restricted to nonstandard speech. Yet last pants /barn mai paents/. Similarly, theAugust I noticed that this homonymy was copula may not appear in questions as Theycommon on the Dallas radio, in the formal ready? That your boy? We going now?speech of the editor of the women's hour. She been drinking? The auxiliary have may It should not be assumed, furthermore, not appear even as a reflex of /v/ in suchthat one will not find other systematic fea- statements as I been thinking about it orturesdiscriminatinglocaldialects.Nor we been telling you this. Infamilies whereshould we be so naive as to expect the the conventions of written and printed En-speakers of any community to cease regard- glish are learned early as a separate subsys-ing the speech of outsiders as ipso facto in- tem, differences of this kind cause littleferior because it is differenteven though trouble but for speakers of nonstandardthese outsiders may be superior in educa- dialects who have little home exposure totion and social standing. books, these features may provide addi- We are all ethnocentric after our own tional problems in learning to write. It isfashion; in our localities, we may consider often difficult for the teacher to overcomesome differences important whether they these problems in the students' writingare or notand if enough people worry without fostering an unnatural pronuncia-about them some of these may become im- tion. portant. This is the traditional origin of It should be recognized, of course, thatneuroses. Meanwhile, it is probably good cultural situations may change in any com-sense as well as good humor to recognize munity. To take the southern dialectal situa-that though the white middle class Chi- tion, with which I am most familiar. Fortycagoan often considers the loss of /r/ in years ago there was a widespread socialbarn and the like a lower class feature, the distinction in the allophones of /ai/. Thecultirated southerner associates the middle monophthongal [a.] was used by all classeswc5f,..cn /r/ in such words with the speech finally, as in rye, or before voiced conso-of poor whitesand that the distinction be- nants as in ride; before voiceless consonants,tween wails and whales is socially diagnos- however, educated speakers had a diph-tic nowhere in the English speaking world. thong and any uneducated speakers usedThe features here are diagnostic every- the monophthong, so that nice white ricewhere, though not all of them occur in every became a well-known social shibboleth.2 Insituation where differences in social dialects recent years, however, the shibboleth hasare important. ceased to operate, and many educated southerners now have the monophthong in Pronunciation all positions, and their numbers are increas- 1. The distinction between /0/ as in ing. This observation was also made last thin and /t/ in tin, /f/ in fin, /s/ in spring by James B. McMillan, of the Univer- sity of Alabama, who added that in his ex- sin. 2.Failure to make the similar distinc- perience the f alling together of /ai/ and tion between /a/ in then and /d/, 2 This observation was made, inter alia, in my /v/, /z/. analyses of the pronunciation of English in the 3.Failure to make the distinction be- Greenville, S. C., metropolitan area, at meetings tween the vowels of bird and Boyd, of the Linguistic Society in New York City (De- cember 1938) and Chapel Hill, N. C. (July 1941). curl and coil. A CHECKLIST OF SIGNIFICANT FEATURES FORDISCRIMINATING SOCIAL DIALECTS 9 A generation ago this contrast was most 8. Lack of the noun genitive: This is significant among older speakers of the New Mr. Brown hat. York metropolitan area. It has become less PRONOUN important, since few younger speakers con- 9. Analogizing of the /-n/ of mine to fuse these pairs. But itstill should be otherabsolutegenitives,yielding noted, not only for New York City but for ()urn, yourn, hisn, hern, theirn. New Orleans as well.3 10. Analogizing of the compound re- At one time a monophthongal /ai/ in the flexives, yielding hisself, theirselves. South was standard in final position and DEMONSTRATIVES before voiced consonants, as in rye and ride, 11. Substitution of them for those, as but substandard before voiceless consonants them books. as in right. This is no lo:nger true; many edu- 12. Compound demonstratives:these- cated southerners have monophthongal /ai/ here dogs, them-(th)ere cats. in all positions and the number is increasing. ADJECTIVES 13. Analogizing of inflected comparisons: 4. The omission of a weak stressed syl- the wonderfullest time, a lovinger lable preceding the primary stress, child. so that in substandard speech pro- 14. Double comparisons: a more prettier fessor may become fessor, reporter dress, the most ugliest man. become porter, and insurance be-. VERB come shoo-ance or sho-unce. 15. Unorthodox person-number concord 5. A statistically disproportionate front- of the present of to be. This may be shifting of the primary stress giving manifest in generalizing of am or is such forms as po-lice, in-surance, or are, or in the use of be with all ee-ficiency and gui-tar, etc. persons. Front-shifting is characteristic of 16. Unorthodox person-number concord English borrowings from other lan- of the past of be: I were or we was. guages; in balcony it is completely 17. Failure to maintain person-number acceptable, in hotel and July, ac- concord of the present indicative of ceptability is conditioned by position other verbs: I does, he do. ( This is in the sentence. perhaps the most clearly diagnostic 6. Heavy stress on what isa weak feature.) stressed finalsyllable in standard Note that three third person singu- English, giving accident, element, lar forms of common verbs are ir- president, evidence, etc. regular: has, does M.% z/, says /sez/; in the last two the spelling conceals Inflection the irregularity, but many speakers NOUN who are learning this inflection will 7. Lack of the noun plural: Two boy say /duz/ and /sez/. came to see me. 18. Omission of /-n3/ of the present participle: He was open a can of 3The monophthongal southern /ai/ disturbs many beer. easterners and middle westerners. Some Philadel- phians, for instance, allege that southerners con- Note that both /n3/ and /in/ may fuse ride and rod; some Detroiters,that they be heard in standard speech, depend- confuse right and rat. They do not; the confusion ing on region and styles. exists in the mind of the eastern and middle western observer. 19. Omission of /-t, -d, -ad/ of the past DIMENSIONSOF DIALEcr

tense: I burn a hole in my pantsyes- 24. Omission of to be instatements be- terday. fore past participle: Thewindow Note that beforea word beginning broken. with a consonant the /-d/may be 25. Omission of the /-s,-z, -az/ reflex of omitted in speech in I burnedmy has before been instatements: He pants. Those who have this contex- been drinking. tual loss of the sound needto learn Note that this omissionmay occur the special conventions ofwriting. in questions in standard oralEn- 20. Omission of /4, -d, -ad/ of thepast glish, and also that in standardoral participle. English many educated speakersmay 21. Omission of the verbto be in state- omit the /-v/ reflex of have: I been ments before a predicate nominative. thinking about it;we been telling He a good boy. you this, though it would not be Note that in questions thisomis- omitted in standard expositoryprose. sion may occur in standard oral En- 26. Substitution of been, done,or done glish, though it wouldnever be writ- been for have, especially witha third ten in standard expositoryprose. person singular subject: He done 22. Omission of to be instatements be- been finished. In othersituations the fore adjectives: They ready. /-v/ may be lost,as in #25 ( the pre- 23. Omission of to be instatements be- ceding situation ). fore present participles: Igoing with you. F. ELIZABETH METZ Poverty, Early Language Deprivation, and Learning Ability

For objective consideration of children'sa standarized measure of vocabulary such linguistic limitations, language should beas the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. subdivided into at least three of its defin- The Detroit Great Cities School Improve- able aspects: ment Program in Language Arts (7) used a sound approach to planning vocabulary 1. Lexicalrelating to words or the vo- growth by first assessing the actual spoken cabulary of a language as distin-language vocabularies of culturally de- guished from its grammar or con-prived children who had justfinished struction. kindergarten. 2. Phonetic Structurerelating to spoken language or speech sounds pat- Shaw (6), in discussing the language terned within words. problems of culturally disadvantaged chil- a Syntactic Structurerelating to thedren, states, "We have built our aptitude way in which words are puttogetherand intelligence tests so that reading and or patterned to form phrases,clauses,vocabulary count very heavily, and have or sentences in a connected ororderlyfound them valid as predictors of academic system or arrangeinenti.e., grammar.success. It has long been the writer's opinion that Typical Limitations in the Lexical Aspectsgroup tests of intelligence measure the of Language. young child's language deprivation.Analy- The acquisition of vocabulary is depen-sis was made of the oral vocabulary re- dent upon two mental processes, abstrac-quired to complete successfully five differ- tion and symbolization. A child who callsent group tests of intelligence. In one, the a ladder a get-up isdemonstrating inabilitychild must understand fourteen geometric in symbolization, or the knowledge ofterms to comprehend the teacher's oral names or signs to stand forobjects, acts,directions.Language-deprivedchildren qualities,attitudes,andrelationships.often lack the concepts of such terms; for When a child calls a horse a doggy, he isexample,pointed,oval-shaped, opening failing in symbolization and also in ab-(noun ), or partly curved. This same test straction, or the ability to generalize fromincludes more than twentydirectional nonidentical experiences to form conceptswords and phrases, among which are or classes such as cars, fruit,animals. toward the left, opposite from, the next Children who have experienced earlyafter, and exactly under. How, when we language deprivation are often baffled byknow such tests are valid as predictors of academic success, can we fail to teach the Mrs. Metz is Head Speech and Hearing Clinicianlanguage-deprived child this vocabulary? with the Phoenix, Arizona, Public Elementary School District Most group tests of intelligence include Elementary English XXXXIII (February1966), 129-133. 14 POVERTY, EARLY LANGUAGE DEPRIVATION, AND LEARNINGABILITY 15 taskscallednonverbalwhiCh involve triangles, circles, stars, and squares. Two ability in abstraction or classification. The of the large squares use triangles and small squaresthe other two use stars and circles task may involve the selection of an object ... . no,that won't help find the one that is or design from a series because it isdiffer- different....Alia! Three of the large ent or not like the others. It may require squares have the same smallfigure in all the selection of two items from a series four corners, with two each of the second kind of small figures filling in each side. because they are related as are no other The different large square uses two differ- items in the series. Such tasks involve the ent small figures and has them arranged ability to relate or isolate items on the basis first one kind and then the other kind, all of mutipledeterminants.Choice must around the large square! sometimes be made on the basis of use; for example, isolating an eraser from a seriesIt might well be contended that languageof tools for writing. In other tasks thedeprived children should have motivated choice might be determined by direction,learningexperienceswithclassification tasks, with the teacher supplying the nec- up or down orleft and right. Spatial factors such as symmetricasymmetric may beessary oral language to showthe child how involved. Examples of still other determi-one thinks throughlanguage. Children enjoy these tasks when they are removed nants are: spatial-numerical;reality testing; series-patterning. Are these tasks reallyfrom a test situation. Call the activity nonverbal? Let us compare the responses"Look, Think, and Find Time," and they of children from adequate language envi-will participate enthusiastically. Many of Dr. Marianne Frostig's materials (4 )for ronments with those oflanguage-deprived children. On a relatively simple task suchimproving visual perception could be used as selecting a tiger asdifferent from a pig,for such activity. a horse, and asheep, both children will Language-deprived children will need probably succeed. When the first child iscontinuing special consideration through- told, "Tell why," he can easily explain,out the elementary grades. Forexample, if "Well, the pig and the sheep and the horsea fourth-grade teacher in ashim school are all farm animals,but the tiger is awishes to introduce a creative writing pro- jungle animal." Many language-deprivedject employing verse to express children's children, on the other hand, will be unablereactions to colors, her work will be quite togive a verbal explanationof theirdifferent from that of a teacher in a school thought processes. One child respondedwith a middle-income populaden. She will by pointing to each farm animal saying,provide much more preparatory time, pos- "Him here," then pointing to the tiger andsibly sharing some of her own responses saying, "Him not here!" Can wedoubtand bringing examples from literature into that some quality of inner-language is beingthe classroom. Even then, the children may employed by a child when he performsnot have in their own mentalwarehouses such so-called nonverbal tasks? On morethe vocabulary needed to express their complicated items of a test, the language-ideas. It may be necessary for the teacher deprived child will probably fail the taskto cover the chalkboards withwords such even withoutverbalization. Examine theas sad, joyous,gloomy, cool, a rainy day,like inner-language needed to solve such andying, etc., to give the children the tools item as this: with which to create. Some children may say they respond to nocolors. The teacher Let's see, there are four squares here. Each one is outlined by figures such ascan then use herknowledge of the individ- 16 DIMENSIONS OF DIALECT ual child to ask such questions as, "Let'stotal language. Change should be a goal, see, Sam, you are dreaming of the dayhowever, when differences lessen the in- when you will own a car. What color wouldtelligibility of speech or when they are you like it to be? Oh! A red one. Whycommonly identified as nonStandard En- don't you think about why the car's colorglish. The Norwegian's dis for this may matters to you. Think of some words to tellbe enchanting, but the American Negro how you would feel at the wheel of a newhigh school graduate who oays dis, dem, red car." and dose may not get the jo;) he is seek- Teachers use many ingenious ways ofing! The nonstandardEnglish of those motivating vocabulary growth. Better waysfrom the subcultureof poverty might for distributing and sharing such methodsalmost be considered a second language. are needed. Golden ( 5) advises, "Speech improvement must be self-improvement. We cannot Limitations in the Phonetic Structure ofchange the student's patterns for him, but Language. we can bring about awareness of a need Educators are becoming fully cognizantfor change, aid him in finding ways to make of the importance of phonic skills in thethe change, and encourage his efforts at total language arts instructional program.self-improvement." To be able to spell, for instance, a child must think of written symbols ( letters ) forLimitations in the Syntactic Structure of the speech sounds he hears. To read, he Language. must think of the sounds of the letters he The use of language is the conveyance sees. of meaning. Clarity of meaning depends It is questionable whether the profes-upon grammatical structure, which involves sional training of elementary school teach-inflection, word order, intonation, and word ers provides sufficient work in the areas ofvariations which indicate number, time language development, speech improve-action, and other functions. The best way ment, and individual differences in speechto learn English grammar is the Mother's and language. Teachers need to be skilled,Method, through which the child with an critical listeners. They should be able toadequate early language environment gains recognize the sound substitutions, omis-automatic grammatical responses through sions, and distortions which children pro-audition of the language he hears in the duce. Schools including speech clinicianshome. This automaticity of response is as part of special staff could provide suchessential. Concepts and symbols will not information to teachers through an econom-give usable and meaningful speech and ical amount of inservicetraining. Speechlanguage unless the language processes errors could be related to the particularbecome automatic. Consider, for example, phonetic charts employed in the readingthe ability to form plurals, which range program to improve teachers' skills. Theyfrom simple addition of s(toytoys), to the could then discriminate between speechinflectional change demanded by the addi- errors typical for particular dialects, fortion of es (churchchurches), to the forma- nonstandardEnglish,and forclinicaltion of irregular plurals, manmen, mouse speech defects. mice, leafleaves, etc. Ervin's ( 3) study The goal for speech sound articulationof structure in children's language indicated should not be absolute uniformity. Regionalthat most children had acquired the ability expressions and dialect often enrich ourto form plurals before the age of three. POVERTY, EARLY LANGUAGE DEPRIVATION, AND LEARNING ABILITY 17 Through the writer's experience with lan-language-deprived homes is, "She don't be guage-deprived children,ithas becomehere today." obvious that tmany children lack this ability The writer made a study comparing at age six or even age eight! The Audi-written language of three groups of ten- tory-Vocal Automatic Test, a subtestofyear-old children last year. The groups the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abil-were: Negroes from low-incomepublic ities, includes nine items of plural forma-housing; Spanish-speaking from a low- tion. Most slum children form no more thanincome area; profoundly deaf Caucasian three or four of the plurals correctly. Somechildren in a special oral day class. The creative teacher could easily devise a cardNegro children made as many verb errors game which would make repetition ofof number and tense as diLd the deaf chil- correct plurals fun for the children. dren!Spanish-speakingchildrenwere Another automatic language ability as-unable to employ clauses for better ex- sessed by the Illinois Test of Psycholin-pression. Negro children did not use pro- guistic Abilities is that of being able togressive verb forms. The writer's observa- make comparisons by use of the compara-tions confirm this problem. When shown tive and superlative degrees of adjectivesaction pictures and asked, "Mat is he and adverbs. For example, the examinerdoing?" the Negro child will usually re- shows the child a picture of two cakes andspond, "He skatin'," omitting the auxiliary, says, "This cake looks good.This cake looksrather than "He is skating." even ." Few young slum children It seems evident that language-deprived are able to supply the comparativeformchildren need repetitive, structured oral better.Typicalresponsesaregood,experiences with proper language usage gooderer,gooder.Oneeight-year-oldearly in their school experience. When a Mexican-American child pointed to the six-year-oldgirlasks,"I doing good a first cake, saying, "This one little good,"littler or a seven-year-old boy says, "You then, pointing triumphantly to the otherknow that River Street? Him live Johnnie " cake, "This one yes goodl" it is time for remecliation to achieve correct One group test of intelligence for second-word order and usage. grade children requires the teacher to use Some language-deprived :thildren may in the oral directions ten terms of superla-have vocabularies just good enough to mask tive degree; for example, largest, nearest,their real language problems. Naming is and fewest. not of much use if a child is unable totell Some language texts introduce this studysomething about the object he has named. of degree as late as sixth grade, evenSuch children need oral experiences with though the children need such oral skillsguidance in telling about things, so they for the first years of formal learning. can ask themselves,What is it?, What color Is anything more mercurial than theis it?, What size?, What looks like it?, How Englishverb?Allchildrenexperienceis it uwd?, What is it made of? some difficulty with thestructural shifts Itis important to improve language and changes required for proper person,usage as early as possible inthe child's tense, and number. The verbs to be andlife. A recent study ( 2 ) indicates that high have are customarily slaughtered by lan-school students' awareness of structural guage-deprived children, since they wasrelationships in English does not improve and we has sound right to them. Onesignificantly after three years of formal typical distortion by Negro children fromstudy of English grammar! Other evi-

Xrtf 18 DIMENSIONSOF DIALECT dence supports the hypothesis that earlyunteachable or hopeless from the start, both instruction is most effective in changingteachers and children will find school a language usage. place of frustration and discouragement. Since language skills and learning abilitySuccessful education of the children of are so interdependently related, surely ourpoverty must be viewed as an exciting schools have a responsibility to childrenptofessional challenge and as a social and with limited language. This responsibilityeconomic necessity. involves adequate definition of the problem and commitment to the development of References teaching methods that will meet the chil-1. Berlin I. N., "Unrealities in Teacher Educa- dren's special needs. If the slum child's tion," Saturday Review, December 19, 1964. foundationoflanguageskillcanbe 2.Davis, 0. L., Harold C. Smith, and Norman kinder- D. Bowers, "High School Students'Awareness of strengthened through preschool, Structural Relationships in English," The Jour- garten, and primary programs, he will then nal of Educational Research, 58 (October, be able to compete .more successfully dur- 1964), 6941. ing the subsequent years of school. Atten-3. Ervin, S. M., "Structure in Children's Lan- guage," paper presented at International Con- tion to this one specific symptom of poverty gress of Psychology, Washington, D. C., 1963. is not a total solution. However, as is stated 4.Frostig, Marianne, and David Home, The by I. M. Berlin (1), "Beginning to learn Frostig Program for the Development of Visual academic material is one way of beginning Perception. Chicago: Follett Publishing Com- pany. to deal with the real world. The succeises5. Golden, Ruth I., Improving Patterns of Lan- in the mastery of subject matter mean a guage Usage. Detroit: Wayne State University great deal to a sick child's conceptof Press, p. 5. himself." 6. Shaw, A. B., "Slums and School People," an editorial, The School Administrator, 22 (De- No special educational techniques can cember, 1964). succeed in the wrong attitudinal climate!7. Wachner, Clarence W., "Detroit Great Cities Progress in teaching slum children will School Improvement Program in Language Arts," paper presented at Annual Meeting of depend upon the feelings of the staff of National Council of Teachers of English, ( No- such schools. If children are viewed as vember, 1963). ROSE MIJICEIVI AND HELEN F. ROBISON A Head Start inLanguage

"Gitoffahere!""Disain'tno bigLanguage Deficits enough," or "I don't got no milk," are ex- The "nonverbal" amples of language structure frequently label frequently applied to disadvantaged children has not heard in classrooms where disadvantaged been supported by the data acquired from children predominate. They point up somefrequent interviews, recordings, and obser- of the language deficits of these children vations of the children. One five as reported by a number of recent research year old, whose interview was tape recorded, agreed studies.But teachersfind considerableto tell a story, which follows: difficulty in formulatingprograms to help overcome language deficits of young chil- Once upon a time therewas a little dren. A recent study ina kindergarten in mommy. Mommy came right up to de little a New York City "special service school"' girl 'n de little girl named Lette berwas was undertaken by the writers to develop a bear, a little bear named Goldy. Goldi- lock was sleepin"n de bed 'nso, uh, de bear guidelines and teaching strategies for lan- said,"Somebody beeneatin' my porri guage growth of a class of five year olds? [porridge]"'nthelittle mommy said, Language was conceived in its dual role "Somebody beeneatin.' my porri."'N as social communication as well as an indis- so they went upstairs 'n there was Goldilock. pensable tool for conceptualization. Bruner Goldilocks sleepin' in de bed 'nso Goldilock was sleep fast. In den, uh, her run 'cause it points out that children must be able to was a bear. 'N de bear live inna ol' bear translate their experiences into symbolic house. 'N so her went her, 'n de de baby, form, that is, language, in orderto deal with de baby bear come back'nhe was those things whichare remote in time or cryin"cause Goldilocks, uh, broke his, her space or somehow not physically present.3 chair, uh 'n so Goldilocks mudderscame her mudder was named Goldilocks, 'n her Therefore, language emphasis becamean turn de wheel 'n her wanna listen to de integral part and function of the total voice of Goldilock boyfriend. 'Nso there curriculum, a considerable part of which wasn't no boyfriend, onlywas a bear. So was newly conceived for the study. the mommas tor her hercome 'right over 'n so her speak to her.

1The New York City Board of Education designates Other children, from different ethnic "special service schools" because of various factors indicating cultural and economic disadvantage. backgrounds, told stories which reflected 2This study was supported in part bya grant ofsimilar problems of enunciation,pronuncia- the U. S. Office of Education, Project 5-320. tion, syntax, vocabulary, and standard En- 8Jerome S. Bruner, "The Course of Cognitiveglish sentence structure. They generally Growth," American Psychologist,19(January, 1964) 13. were quite limited in their knowledge and use of classifying terms. For example, they Dr. Robison is an Assistant Professor in theDepart- did not know that they,as individuals, ment of Curriculum and Teaching, Columbia Uni- made up their kindergarten class versity. Dr. Mukerji is an Associate Professor of or that Education at Brooklyn College of the CityUni- apples, bananas, andoranges are classified versity of New York. as fruit. Most children, unlike their middle- Elementary English XLII (May 1966), 400463.

er,rre- 1." 20 DIMENSIONSOF DIALECI' class counterparts, had so little familiarityfacilitate children's information gathering withwrittensymbolsthatthey couldby offering hitherto inaccessible sources of neither recognize nor writetheir ownfirst-hand information about contemporary names, failed to use picture clues in manylife such as those centering around air instances, and could not identify a map bytransport.Vivid and novelexperiences name or by its use, in addition to languagewere also expected to illumine and clarify symbols, the children needed to becomemuch of the child's world with which he aware of other nonverbal forms of sym-is in contact but about which he is either bolic representation. They also needed toignorant or confused. The excitement and gain awareness that maps and globes, signs,interest of these experiences stimulated pictures, numerals, tallies, and arbitraryrapid vocabulary growth as new objects symbols are important ways of representingand elements had to be named, recalled, real things and ideas so that their ability toreferred to, and classified in play situations acquire and utilize important data couldand in class discussions. be broadened. Teaching strategies to foster language Teaching Strategies for Language Growth growth provided for free play, structured episodes, and individual teacher-child and All teaching strategies developed in thesmall group interaction. Play opportunities study to further language growth beganwere expanded, both in duration and in with stimulating experiences and intensethe supply of props, costumes, and equip- personal involvement of the children. Kar-ment for children's spontaneous exploration plus has said, "The function of educationof roles and life-based activities or fantasied is to guide children's development by pro-events. During the sixty to ninety-minute viding them with particularly informativeplay period, the teacher used some time to and suggestive experiences as a base forwork individually with one or two children their abstractions. At the same time, chil-or with small groups of children in struc- dren must be provided with a conceptualtured language activities. Before and after framework that permits them to perceivethe play period, there were often total class the phenomena in a meaningful way anddiscussions, regular music and dance per- to integrate their inferences into generali-iods, and other routine group activities. zations of lasting value.4 Milk and cookie snacks sometimes closed The study developed some experiencesthe play period, sometimes preceded it. centered on buying, cooking, and eatingWithin this very flexible format, experimen- food because young children are so respon-tation of many kinds went on. sive to food-oriented episodes. A description of specific planning to encourage skills Language Growth in Free Play of classification has been reported else- When the teacher was encouraging chil- where.5 Other experiences were selected todren to develop airplane play through trips and provision of appropriate props, she 4Robert Karp lus, "One Physicist Looks at Science wrote signs for children to use in their play, Education," in Harry A. Passow and Robert R. to help them remember new words, and to Leeper (eds.), Intellectual Development: Another Look. Washington, D. C.: Association for Super- use them correctly. The airplane pilots' caps vision and Curriculum Development, 1964, p. 81. had "pilot" written on the visor; the ticket 5Helen F. Robison and Rose Mukerji, "Language clerks had desksignsdenoting "ticket and Concept Development with Disadvantaged Kindergarten Children," Educational Leadershipclerk" and "reservation clerk." The children 23 (November, 1965). quickly associated the word with thecor- HEAD START IN LANGUAGE 21 rect sign, referring to signs, asking for them,clues. Children enjoyed this activity, asking trading them back and forth, getting themto hear the story again and again, turning out for play from a special shelf, and re-the pages correctly, and often reliving the turning them after play. Name recognitionexperience with gestures and remarks. This and interest in writing names soared asopportunity to relive an exciting experience ticket play developed. Boxes of plywoodundoubtedly contributed to the popularity alphabet letters, upper and lower case,and effectiveness of this strategy. were available to children who preferred Each week, a few children were invited to assemble the letters of a name ratherto take home library bookswith their than write them. Later, the teacher intro-standard language structure and good vo- duced a set of alphabet letters on stamps,cabularyfrom the classroom collection, so with an ink pad, and name "printing" be-that older siblings or adults could read a came very popular. Charts with picturesstory several times to them. When a child and names of objects such as baggage andreturned his book the following week, the hand truck served to remind children ofteacher requested him to "read" the story oral words they knew because the pictureto the whole class. The teacher helped by clues were very clear. supplying words freelyor referringto Children were stimulated to word andpictures clues as needed. Some children language growth in their free play as theyseemed to remember stories completely and drew upon interesting concrete experiencesused much of the author's phraseology and for new ideas, fresh information, and satisfy-language. ing content for their play. The teacher helped to stabilize word meanings and newTeacher-Child Language Activities vocabulary in her discussions with children, The teacher's own language provided the in the distinctive props provided for play,one regular, daily model of standard En- in her comments and evaluation after theglish speech to many of the children during play period, and cin the structured experi-individually planned as well as class activ- ences which served to support and advanceities. The one-to-one relationship of teacher language progress made in free play. to child was nowhere of greater value than in assisting language growth through work Structured Experiences planned for language needs of specific Frequent total group discussions just be-children. fore or a few days after a trip or new ex- Spontaneous dramatic play with a tele- perience offered opportunities to use newphone kit was gradually structured for vocabulary and expressunderstandings.vocabulary and language practice for part Often, after such discussions, the teacherof the time. Using objects or pictures, two retold the story to the class,injectingchildren were encouraged to make requests selected vocabulary. These stories wereand answer them by using precise naming typed on a primer typewriter and dupli-and descriptive terms and to converse in cated. Some stories contained blank pagesfull sentences. for children's own pictures; others were For those children who had no one at illustrated by the teacher foi use as storyhome who read to them, the teacher pro- clues. Finally, the teacher tape recordedvided tape-recorded stories which were the story so that four children could listenespecially useful in approximating a one-to- to it simultaneously through headsets whileone relationship between teacher and child. following the little booklet with its pictureBut such children also needed someone to 22 DIMENSIONS OF DWLECT respondtoquestions,torepeat someresponse, according to Carroll.6 When the especially delightful passage, or just toteacher can help children experience suc- react in human terms to a shared experi-cess and mastery in school, she has forged ence. Obviously, the important affectivea powerful strategy for motivating chil- stimulation implicit in close teacher-childdren's learning, relationships cannot be duplicated mechan- Specific Goals Lead to More Precise Tools ically or in mass situations for young children. Optimum work with these children re- Analysis of changes in the children's quires more than one teacher in each class.behavior support the effectiveness of certain teaching strategies in helping disad- Audio-Visual Activities vantaged children make noticeable prog- In addition to considerable use of theresstoward overcoming some of their tape recorder and telephone, other audio-languagedeficits.Determiningspecific visual resources were provided to enhancegoals of standard English for social com- language growth. Colored slides and eight-munication and conceptualization moved millimeter movies recorded scenes the chil-the teacher to evolve new skills which were dren had visited on trips as well as theirsharply differentiated to meet clearly de- own play activities in the classroom. Ex-fined needs. Because children'sdeficits tensive conversation was carried on be-were frequently assessed by both observa- tween the teacher and small groups oftional data and simple, informal tests, the children as they examined slides in tableteacher acquired precise diagnostic infor- viewers and movies on a tiny rear viewmation about the needs of specific children. screen projected by a small, cartridge-fedThus, new teaching strategies developed projector. They delighted in naming andmore precise and varied tools to assist chil- labelling objects and activities, recapturingdren in their efforts to conceptualize their forgotten details, putting impressions inworld and to encode their understandings order, and gradually seeing relationshipsin language capable of communication, and meanings emerge. storage, and higher levels of thinking. Since trips are too expensive to be duplicated with any frequency, movies and Bib li:graphy 1.Bruner, Jerome S., "The Course of Cognitive slides served to preserve the data for Growth," American Psychologist, 19 (January, leisurely and repetitive exploration in class. 1964) 13. Each time the children viewed these pic- 2.Carroll, John B., Language and Thought. Engle- wood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1964. tures, they remembered or shared more 3.Karplus,Robert, "One PhysicistLooksat detail, acquired more information about Science Education," in Harry A. Passow and the pictures from the teacher and from Robert R. Leeper (eds.), Intellectual Develop- ment: Another Look. Washington, D.C.: other children, and practiced using new Association for Supervision and Curriculum words and descriptive language. Translat- Development, 1964. ing their experiences and understandings, 4.Robison, Helen F. and Rose Mukerji, "Lan- guage and Concept Development with Disad- that is their concepts, into language helps vantaged Children," Educational Leadership, children to carry forward their thinking 23 (November, 1965). processes and to terminate the thought°John B. Carroll, Language and Thought. Engle- sequence in a successful or rewarded overtwood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall, 1964, p. 111. ED= G. PONDER Understanding the Language of the Culturally Disadvantaged Child

Introduction ings and impressions of many school psy- The urban schools of our country arechologists relative to the oral language pro- faced with a sizeable number of school-ageductions of the majority of disadvantaged children who are considered educationallychildren. One has to take into account, and culturally disadvantaged.1 This pre-however, that the standardized tests avail- sents a challenge to the public schoolsable and used are mostly standardized out- which try to provide an effective educa-side the experiences and language of these tional program for the boys and girls ofchildren. Most standardized instruments this segment of the population. There isused to measure the language of the disad- evidence, however, of a wealth of un-vantaged child do not tap the kind and tapped resources among disadvantagedquality of language that he possesses. children. Because their self-images, motiva-His patterns of speech, usage, and pronun- tions, and cultural horizons are very low,ciation do not, for the most part, approxi- they are prevented from achieving at amate the standards of language expected level commensurate with their ages andby the school ( commonly referred to as abilities. school language ). Phenomena Regarding the Oral Language The oral language of the disadvantaged of Disadvantaged Children child is usually on the "vulgar" level. The "vulgar" level is used here to denote a lan- Lack of verbal symbols for common objects and ideasSpeech patterns which cause fre-guage category of the people or the crowd quent misunderstandings in oral communi- (vulgus ). In addition, the "vulgar" level is cation. usually designated as the lowest level of The above statements, extracted fromlanguage. The common man without ade- one of the first reports of theMilwaukeequate educational experiences speaks most- Great Cities Study,2 are indicative of find-ly on the "vulgar" level.

"The terms culturally and educationally disadvan- The oral language habits of disadvantaged are used interchangeably with urban dis-taged Negro and white children coming advantaged, socially disadvantaged, disadvantaged, from the same region are similar. In work- culturally deprived, experience poor, educationally underprivileged, children with limited backgrounds, ing directly with children and parents from and the disaffected. the two racial groups, one can easily dis- 'Milwaukee, Wisconsin Board of School Directors, cover many similarities in language usage, "OrientationClassesforIn-MigrantTransient oral expression, and sentence sense. There Children, Report I, Part 1," October, 1961. are, of course, some differences. Thediffer- Mr. Ponder is a Research Associate in the Institute for Developmental Studies, Deparbnent of Psychia- ences, however, are of degree, not kind. try, New York Medical College. This paper was Following are some samples of the oral originally presented during NCTE's Fifty-fourth Annual Convention in Cleveland, November, 1964. language( along with comments) of socially Elementary English XXXXII (November 1965), 769-774, 797. 23 24 DIMENSIONS OFDvaxcr disadvantaged children.Thefirsttwo Other students urge E., "Aw go on, samples selected for use have been ex- E." E. and worker go to field. Worker:Bossman, this is my wife. tracted from the final report of the Mil- Boss: You got any children old enough waukee study on Orientation Classes for to work in the field? In-MigrantTransient Children.3 The third Wife: No sir, they're in school. and final sample was selected from an Boss: Send them out here to help this actual classroom discussion in one of the good for nothin' man of yours. Wife: (Resolutely) They're staying in Milwaukee Orientation Classes for In-Mi- schod. grantTransient Children where a tape (as they leave the field) I don't recorder is familiar equipment and was care whether he ever gets his cot- used to record this session" ton picked. My children are gonna stay in school, even if I have to Sample I leave Mississippi and go to Mil- An Original Play waukee and live with my sister. Students used the tape recorder in putting The children will have a chance this play together. up there. Boss: Hey you, boy, come here (inenac- ingly). I thought I asked you for One can readily see how environment two bales. You got a bale and ahelps to shape an individual's attitudes and half here. values. Fortunately, special personnel pro- Worker: Yes sir, you did and I'm trying toviding social and developmental histories pick the rest of it. evaluations were Boss: I hear you been playing and loaf- as well as psychological ing out there in the field. available to the teacher in her efforts to try Worker: No sir, that ain't so. I been work-to understand her studentsthrough their ing hard. use of oral and writtenexpression. In this Boss: Youyeah you, come here. Youplay, it is interesting to note the male ac- the one who told me this boy was from playing and laughing stead o'doingceptance of the Southern social system his work? which they came. Too, the teacher ob- Worker Yas sir, and he keeps the rest ofserved that the boys laughed as they played #2 us from doing our work. these roles and expressed no resentment Boss: I reckon um have to give you atoward the social system portrayed. ( They beatin'. Kneel down. (Boss lashes the worker on back.) Now get up. Youdidn't even react to the name, boy.) On got a woman? other hand, the girls did not like the image Worker: Now sir, I ain't married. portrayed. Also, it appears that the female Boss: Boy, go get yourself a woman.values education. The play seems to suggest Maybe you'll work better and get that immorality, values, and attitudesoften them bales picked. associated Worker: (Student goes off stage, selects athought of as being inherently girl.) E. says, "I don't want to bewith lower-class status( and sometimes in that old play, Mrs. Carter."racial minority groups) can be avd are influenced or conditioned by authority figures 'Milwaukee, Wisconsin Board of School Directors, of a supposedly higher social order. Inad- "OrientationClassesforIn-MigrantTransient Children, Final Report," March, 1984. dition, this play seems to supportthe 'The comments following the languagesamples notion that disadvantagedfamilies are mi- are a result of staff conferences onselected children circum- enrolled in the high school orientation class. The grating from rural impoverished author wishes to acknowledge the professional stances to the urban zone tobetter them- services of Mrs. Dorothy Carter, Teacherof theselves. The extended family is mostoften class, Mrs. Lottie Porter, Project Social Worker, and Mr. Hoyt Harper, Project Psychologist. crucial in this regard.

- MVOI.416111.1:4211:fitniejadateabafillaariiMf*A' UNDERSTANDING THE LANGUAGE OF THE CULTURALLY DISADVANTAGED CHILD 25 Sample II when examined comparatively, reveal little When mama and papa died, my brother that is confined only to Appalachia. sent for us to come live with him. He can't Following is a selected listof some of the read and write and he's so ashamed. He ain't never had no trouble on his job tho'.most common verbs usedin mountain He wants to give us a chance to finish highspeech which was developedby Williams:5 school. My sister-law is nex' to the angels she's so good to me and my little brothers. Past There's a baby in the house that loves me Present Past Participle so muchI don't know why because I'm only (ask) ax axt axt his aunt, but they all say he looks just like bring brung brung me. I do love that little baby. burst busted busted drive driv ciriv This sample seems to suggest strong fight fit fit family ties which facilitate the social system hear heared heared of the extended family. Moreover, one can reach rech rech sense the value of education which the see seed seed sneak snuck snuck family holds even though the male head of take takened takened the household appears to lack a positive teach teached teached self-image because of his inability to read and write. Nevertheless, there seems to be Although the above list does not indicate a sense of pride in the work of the male asacceptable verb forms in our culture, it, well as love of family. Note also the poeticnevertheless, displays verb forms with cer- quality of the line, "My sister-law is nex' totain systematic characteristics. While the the angels." verbs in the past tense and past participle are at the "vulgar" level, they are within the Sample III framework of regional speech which is William:Will you have seven years of badfluent and meaningful. There are many luck if you break a mirror? Scott: I broke mine and that was badpositive aspects of mountain speech. It is luck enough cause it was brandcolorful, metaphorical, lyrical, rhythmical. new. But, I'm gonna buy me aFrazier° asserts that the great mass of chil- new one. Bad luck just comesdren we consider poorly languaged actu- you don't have to break nothingally have quite a lot of language. Therefore, But you got to make good luck by working hard and saving-gettingFrazier argues, if we let them, they can an education. talk a blue streak about the things they know how to talk about. Thus, it would This dialogue between two students in-seem reasonable to suggest that we need to dicates adequate langua e.,3 to express inter-understand and learn the language which esting ideas, aspirations, I philosophy ofthe disadvantaged child bringsto the life. school situation if we are to "take him The samplescontainedlanguageofwhere he is." Negro and white students. Was it possible to determine racially one from the other? °Cratis D. Williams, "Verbs in Mountain Speech," The Cratis Williams' studies on SouthernMountain Life and Work. Berea, Ky. : Council of Appalachian speech also indicate regionalthe Southern Mountains, Inc., Spring, 1962, pp. characteristics which are interracial. Fur- 15-19. ther, Williams asserts that words, more par-°Alexander Frazier, "Helping Poorly Languaged Children," Elementary English, February, 1964, ticularly verb forms and even diction, pp. 149-153. 26 DIMENSIONS OF DIALECT Some of the language of the disadvan-Davis discovered (1) that thesewomen taged child may be less fluent. For example,were born and reared in the South, (2) that these children oftenanswer with a nod orthey had never been toa zoo or circus be- one-word reply for fear of not being abletocause being Negro in their previous locale answer correctly in the school culture. Onof the South prevented them fromattend- the other hand, generally speaking, theing, and (3) that thewomen had not be- child is from a home where theparents arecome acquainted with these animals in educationally and culturally disadvantaged,their sketchy educationalor experiential thereby affording littleopportunity for thebackgrounds. This illustration by Davis development of his oral language. More-would seem to support the notion that the over, the child is usually from a large familydisadvantaged child is the product ofa living in a crowded, noisyapartment. Thedisadvantaged family in which hisopportu- noise, however, does not representmean-nities for learning to label, including feed- ingful stimuli. back regarding labeling,are limited. The extended family is notuncommon in These boys and girlspass innumerable the family structure of the disadvantagedresources and objects going from school child. Uncles, aunts, grandparents,cousins,each day (also in their travels about the and sometimesvery close friends are a partcommunity) without the slightest ideaas to of the family structure. It wouldappearhow to label them. They label themas a that the disadvantaged child has only ad-thing, do hickey,or somethin' out yonder. vantages regarding language developmentThese seemingly crude labels, however, with so many people around. The extendedserve an important function in the commu- family structure, however,may cause seri-nication system developed in the disadvan- ous discontinuity in the language develop-taged populace. ment of the child. He learns language from Many idiomatic expressions uttered by the many people around him, likely speak-the disadvantaged child and hisparents ing in varied pitches and accents. Lost inseem to baffle the more affluent speaker the shuffle of somany people, often in aand often obstruct communication. Forex- crowded space, the child has limitedop-ample, in some disadvantaged neighbor- portunifies for help in learning to label thehoods, "I don't care to,"can mean "yes, I'm objects in his environment. His opportuni-willing," according to the intonation of the ties for enrichment within and outside thespeaker. Whether the disadvantaged child encapsulated, socially impoverished envi-utters "twice out of sight"( go around ronment are also limited. two mountains ) in the ICentucky hillsor Allison Davis7 stated thatone night he"gwine to tote this poke of laters' " (going attended a movie on Chicago's Southsidetoto carry this bag [sack?] of potatoes ) in gain further insights into the language ofMississippi, his oral language is highly disadvantaged adults. He sat behindtwoclear, understandable, and completelyac- women who were engaged in a lengthyceptable in his particular social milieu. discussion trying to label two animals ( rhinoceros h ippop o t am us ) which hadShould We Try to Change the Language of been flashed on the screen ina zoo scene.the Disadvantaged Child? It seems of paramount importance that 71n an address at the New York Universityspon- sored conference, Integrating Diversity Throughwe accept the language of the disadvan- the Curriculum, December 1, 1963. taged child. To be "accepting," however, UNDERSTANDING THE LANGUAGE OF THE CULTURALLYDISADVANTAGED CHILD 27 does not indicate a reluctance to "build on"Can We Change the Language of theDis- or improvethe language habits and skillsadvantaged Child? of the disadvantaged child for fear of alien- While it is important to try to assess the ating him from his family and/or peers inamount and quality of thelanguage pos- the socially impoverished environment. sessed by disadvantaged children, itis Disadvantaged parents want their chil-equally important to try to assess their lan- dren to improve educationally. In fact, theyguagedeficiencies.Thiswillfacilitate realize the necessity of a good education.the establishment of a "communicative" They are perplexed, usually, as to meansbenchmark from which to build more ac- by which to attain educational ends. Yet, itceptable language usage. Research indi- should be realized that many racialandcates some interesting findingsrelative to ethnic groups which presently enjoyhighthe language of the disadvantaged child: cultural and social positions in the socialpaucity of language, shorter sentences in stratification of our society are descendantsspeech, poorly structured speech syntac- of disadvantaged parents anddepressedtically, and language related to social class. neighborhoods. Cutts9 states that the utterances, huh There is also concern that it is futile touh. . .huh. . .huttin. . . naw . . .wuh?. . . try to teach the disadvantagedchild "cor-cuz ...unhunh...shot and other strange rect" language skills because he returns tonoises [italics mine] that take the placeof the impoverished environment only to re-standard American English reflect the im- vert back to his "incorrect" usageof thepoverished language backgroundof un- language. It should be stated that the intentderprivileged children. to improve the languageskills of the dis- John19 reports that several studies indi- advantaged child should not be to train himcate that children fromlower-class back- only for a given higher level of language.grounds rely on shorter sentences intheir Rather, he should be made aware of otherspeech than do their middle-class agemates. levels of language, especially as they relateShe further reports from her summaryof to actual occupational situationsin our so-studies that children from lower-class cir- limited vocabu- ciety. Thus, if the disadvantagedchild sub-cumstances have a more sequently becomes verbally mobile, towhatlary and poorer articulation. degree is his reverting back of importance? Deutsch,11 reporting on some of the basic Is there a correctness to ourlanguage?research at the Institute for Developmental Tomlinson8 states that in helping childrenStudies, postulates that thelower-class achieve social standards of language, thehome is not a verbally orientated environ- teacher should keep in mind that thesement. Moreover, he reportsthat from ob- standards do not deny certain regional 'Warren G. Cutts, "Reading Unreadiness inthe characteristics of tone, accent, rhythm, andUnderprivileged," NEA Journal, 52 (April, 1963), idiom. Might we think of acceptable ways 23-24. of expressions for given situations as we"Vera P. John, "The IntellectualDevelopment of ( and, Slum Children: Some PreliminaryFindings," The work with disadvantaged children American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 33(October, indeed, all children )? 1963) 813-822. uMartin P. Deutsch, "The DisadvantagedChild and the Learning Process," Education inDepressed 'Loren R. Tomlinson, "Accepting RegionalLan- Areas, Edited by A. Harry Passow. NewYork: guage Differences inSchool," Elementary English. Bureau of Publications, Teachers College,Colum- 30 (November, 1953), 420-423. bia University, 1963, pp. 163-179. DIMENSIONSOF DIALECT servations of lower-class homes, speech se- The teacher will need to develop good quences appear to be temporally very lim-rapport with the children and provide a ited and poorly structured. Thus, Deutschpositive classroom climate in order tofree argues, it is not surprising to find that athem to express themselves orally. More- major focus of deficit in the children's lan-over, good classroomclimate will help the guage development is syntactical organiza-teacher gain better opportunities to help tion and subject continuity. children develop "other ways" of speaking Newtonn states that the opportunitiesand using the language. When good class- for language development are stretched onroom climate exists, children canoften be a continuum and the economic "have nots"heard to say "I know better than that," are often the verbal "have nots" as well. or "That sounds like me." This brief look into research on language Understanding the language of the disad- development of disadvantaged children isvantaged child is not as difficult a task as is helpful in providing a frame in which tooften assumed; the teacher's attitude and understand the nature of their languagethe understanding with which he approach- deficiencies. It facilitates the developmentes the task will determine to alarge extent of an instructional program to more ade-the degree ofdifficulty. Moreover, the quately meet their needs. For example,teacher's awareness of the individual needs special tapes may be prepared to developof his children will determine the kinds of attentional or listening skills. These skillsactivities and program to be provided in are important first steps with respect tothe classroom. It is quite likely that the ap. language development. Too, a sequentialproach in helping the disadvantaged child program may need to beplanned which be-develop language facility is applicable for gins with attentional or listening skills anduse with advantagedchildren. The teacher moves to such higher levels asthe labelingwill in both cases plan his instruction of objects, and the labeling of similaritiesaround the language strengths and the lan- and differences in objects and functions ofguage needs which thechildren bring to objects. While this example indicates howthe school situation. language may be developed, it also has implications for the development of other References skills. 1.Carroll, John B., "Language Development," Encyclopedia of Educational Research. Third Edition. Edited by Chester N. Harris. New Conclusion York: Macmillan Co., 1960, pp. 744-750. 2.Cohn, Werner, "On the Language of Lower In conclusion, it seems of paramount fin- Class Children," School Review. 67 (Winter portance that the language spoken and writ- 1959) 435-440. 3.Cutts, Warren, "Reading Unreadiness in the ten by the disadvantaged child be under- Underprivileged." National Education Asso- stood by the teacher in order to (1) facili- ciation Journal, 52 (April, 1963) 23-24. tate meaningful communication and(2) 4.Deutsch, MartinP.,"The Disadvantaged Child and the Learning Process," Education provide a starting point from which to in Depressed Areas. Edited by A. Harry build on the language which he does Passow. New York: Bureau of Publications. possess. Teachers College, Columbia University, 1963. 5.Frazier, Alexander, "Helping Poorly Lan- "Eunice Shaed Newton, "Planning for the Lan- guaged Children," Elementary English, 41 guage Development ofDisadvantaged Children (February, 1964) 149-153. and Youth," The Journal of Negro Education, 39 6.John, Vera P., "The Intellectual Development ( Summer, 1964) 264-274. UNDERSTANDING THE LANGUAGE OF THE CULTURALLY DISADVANTAGED CHILD 29

of Slum Children: Some Preliminary Find- 9. Newton, Eunice Shaed, "PlEmning for the ings," The American Journal of Orthopsychia- Language Development ofDisadvantaged try, 33 (October, 1963) 813-822. Children and Youth," The Journal of Negro 7. Milwaukee, Wisconsin Board of School Direc- Education, 33 ( Summer, 1964 ) 264-274. tors."Orientation Classes for In-Migrant-- 10. Tomlinson, Loren R., "Accepting Regional Transient Children, Report I, Part 1," October, Language Differences in School, Elementary 1961. English, 30 ( November, 1953 ) 420-423. 8. Milwaukee, Wisconsin Board of School Direc- 11. Williams,CratisD., "Verbs in Mountain tors."Orientation Classes for In-Migrant Speech," Mountain Life and Work. Berea, Ky.: Transient Children, Final Report." March, Council of the Southern Mountains, Inc., 1964. Spring, 1962. pp. 15-19. EDGAR DALE Vocabulary Development of the Underprivileged Child Our concern as teachers is to see that ourthan genetic factors account for the general students live a fulfilled life, that they de-differences that are found, and find no velop their potential. The job of the teacherevidence in the science of heredity to cause is to liberate them from the bonds of igno-them to think otherwise. We start, there- rance, ineptitude, prejudice, irrationality;fore,withthehypothesisthatsharp to develop the skills, attitudes, and infor-changes can be made in the background of mation necessary for the citizen in a de-experience of these students, in their school mocracy. Unless this philosophyactivelyand out-of-schoollearning, and conse- infuses programs for vocabulary develop-quently in their IQ's or other tests of men- ment ( or any kind of development of thetal and educational development. The basis underprivileged child), we shall be wast-for such a sweeping conclusion has been ing our efforts. Further, nothing less than apresented by Benjamin Bloom of the Uni- revolutionary effort will do much towardversity of Chicago in his volume Stability the solving of this problem. The followingand Change in Human Characteristics. He suggestions, then, should be seen in the says: light of such a possibility. When I speak of the underprivileged The absolute scale of vocabulary development and the longitudinal studies of edu- child I mean the children usually of the cational achievement indicate that approx- inner city, those farthest away from the imately 50 per cent of general achievement suburbs, the children of migrants. Often at grade 12 (age 18) has been reached by we are talking about Negroes,Puerto the end of grade 3 (age 9). This suggests Ricans, Mexicans, white children from the the great importance of the first few years of school as well as the preschool period South. I know that when I use the term in the developing of learning patterns and "underprivileged"childand sometimes general achievement. These are the years in "lower-classchild" thereisa genuine which general learning patterns develop hazard of stereotyping. It suggests that all most rapidly, and failure to develop appro- children who live in slums or in the inner priate achievement and learning in these years is likely to lead to continued failure or city are very much alike. Actually they are near failure throughout the remainder of the quite different. individual's school career. (p. 27) Let me point out first that nearly all writers dealing with the underprivileged Let's look first at some of the character- child believe that environmental ratheristics of the underprivileged child. These are findings of Martin Deutsch of New Dr. Dale is a Professor of Education at the OhioYork Medical College, Gertrude Whipple State University, Columbus. This paper is based onof the Detroit Public Schools, Roger Brown an address given at the Fifty-fourth Annual NCTE and Ursula Bellugi of Harvard, John B. Car- Convention, Cleveland, Ohio, on November 27, 1964. rol of Harvard, and Basil Bernstein of the Elementary English XXXXII (November 1965), 778-786. 30 VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT OF THE UNDERPRIVILEGED CHILD 31 University of London. I do not mean thatlittle communication, defined as "the shar- this is a consensus of all of their writing, buting of ideas and feelings in a mood of rather that these are the chief sources ofmutuality." the following statements: The average Negro adult has approxi- 1 ) Models of excellence in use of vocabu-mately an eighth-grade education:the lary or sentence structure are notwhite adult has almost a twelfth-grade easily available to these deprived chil-education. One is an eighth grader, the dren. other a twelfth grader. To be a parent 2) They come from broken rather thanwith a twelfth-grade education means that intact homes. Often there is a non-you can usually read with relative ease and existent or weak father image. understanding such magazines as Time, 3) Underprivileged children stay closer toLife, Newsweek, and others. Data regarding home, intheir own neighborhood.the izaders of these magazines show that Their physical ranging is limited. those below the eighth grade represent only 4) They have a negative self-image. a small proportion. Indeed, we know that 5) Their auditory span, their capacity forabout 70 percent of the readers of "slick sustained attention is less than middle-paper" magazines are high school graduates. or upper-class children. The same point could be made about the 6) They use a smaller number of lessreading of serious political, economic, or varied words to express themselves.governmental articles in the daily press. The 7) Their sentences are shorter and moreaverage Negro parent cannot bring these categorical. There are more incom-complicated ideas to his children. plete sentences. Second, words name things and actions 8) These children meet limited variabilitywith which we come into physicalcon- in the kinds of problems they face,tact, within our perceptual range. As I have no opportunity to be challengednoted earlier, the actual physical range of by the complexities faced by middle-the underprivileged child is restricted. He class children. doesn't move as far away from home base 9) Home tasks tend to be motoric, notas does the middle-class child. An example motivated by distant goals. There isis the learning of animal concepts. The emphasis on the immediate. middle-class child tested on the names of 10) There is probably less listening to TVanimals may do very well. One boy, when or radio, but here the data are limited.questioned as to why he knew the names 11 ) There is a lack of manipulable objectsof so many animals, said: "My parents al- in the home. ways stop at animal farms so that we can Given this background, let us see how itsee them." relates to the development of vocabulary. But who takes the lower-class child to It is in the environing culture that we mustsee the animals in the zoo? If he lives in look for those factors which inhibit thea broken home, there may be no father to language development of underprivilegeddo this. Or even if he is in an intact home, childrenwith resultant meager vocabu-there may be no method of easy transpor- lary and inadequate syntax. The underpri-tation, such as the middle-class child has. vileged are usually ghettoized, concentratedHow would the child of the inner city or in the inner city or its fringes, do not freelyslum get farm experiences? It would have associate with suburban children. There isto be a part of a planned school program. 32 DIMENSIONS OFDIALEcr The effectiveness of such a program wastasted. He lacks perceptual experience. well illustrated by the experience of aThere is also a lack of sequencing, the Cleveland teacher who sharply increasedgiving of order to these experiences. The the reading and vocabulary level of a groupchild does not have a satisfactory filing of second graders by this approach. Thesesystem for storage or retrieval of experi- experienceswere needed becausetheences. This, after all, is what is meant by downtown school in which she workedvocabulary and syntaxputting new and was dominated by warehouses, produceold ideas into new and varying patterns. and grocery markets, and other business But perceptual experience is not enough. establishments. Furthermore, perceptual experience is not Forty pupils in her group were at a lowguaranteed by the presence of things to be level of the second grade and could notperceived, or we would all be able to master simple reading books suited to theirname the trees, the flowers, the birds age. The activities they engaged in in-around us. Martin Deutsch has pointed out cluded planning and making a visit to ain Education in Depressed Areas that the farm, meeting the farmer and his family,child not only lacks perceptual experience exploring the barn, operating a waterbut sustained attention as well, the perse- pump, riding on a tractor, looking at theverance necessary to master these expe- combine, seeing "real" cows and a babyriences. calf, playing in the straw. Why do lower-class children often do Returning to the school, they recorded inpoorly cn the Metropolitan Reading Read- pictures and on tape what they liked best.inessTest? One Negro educator with Willie said, "I liked the cows." Ronaldwhom I discussed this question showed said, "I saw a apple tree. It was full ofme the test and reasoned this way: "Here blossoms, so pretty, and after while theis a picture of a wagon with three wheels. tree will have apples and I would like toWhat is wrong with it? The child sees noth- go back and eat them apples." Stanley de-ing wrong with it He often plays with a scribed a rake as "a thing that you make awagon with no wheels at all. Here is a ta- garden with. Cot a long handle, look like ble with three legs. This is not uncommon in a comb, and you put the points on thehis home. Why should he see anything ground, pull the dirt along when thewrong with it?* farmer makes a garden." Fanny Mae found The answer may be more complicated out that a duck is a "quack-quack whothan this. Adults in primitive cultures who swim in the water." She also learnedare shown a photograph of themselves about a silo: "I know what that is now.may not know who it is. They learn this It's a big high thing out beside the barn,by having someone note the congruence of and it's a big old round thing the fannerthe various items in the photograph with cuts up corn stalks and puts them in andthe individual himself. Certainly the de- save them all winter for the animals toprived child would not choose an actual eat." All but three of the forty childrenwagon with three wheels if one with were brought up to the standard readingfour wheels was available. But he may level by the end of the year. not be .able to perceive the line drawing of The deprived child, then, has actuallya wagon as representing the same wagon been physically restricted in the numberwhich he chose or failed to choose. This of things he has seen,heard, touched, andmust be learned, and the difficulty the VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT OF THEUNDERPRIVILEGED CHILD 33 typical pupil has in reading graphs and The teacher's role, then, is one ofaiding charts indicates the problem faced. Canthe child to self discovery. Heobserves the the you easily understandthe symbols used onchild's rate of development and moves a blueprint or in awiring diagram? child on to the next task when he isready. We may be able to see differencesin theHe listens to the child as the childdiscovers real things but not in their representation.writing and reading. Heworks with the That persons of limited ability canmakechild to help him see the relationshipbe- complicated discriminations is illustratedtween sound and symbol. by an experience I had walkingthrough The early vocabulary of childrenshows the woods in Ohio with a boywhosean emphasis on nouns.The relational terms, IQ was about 60. He had leftschool in thethe qualifying terms, the complex sentences fourth or fifth grade. He namedall thecome later. So we may set upthe basic trees as we wentalongchestnut, iron-premise that a major factor inthe early wood, beech, pin oak, wildcherry, blackdevelopment of language will be rich, con- walnut, etc. Then I said, "Idon't knowcrete experience in which thechild is in- how to tell the differencebetween thevolved and in which there is an explicit wild cherry tree and theblack walnut.plan to name and to discuss. How do you tell the difference?" Now we come to another criticalfactor His answer was simple."You look atin concrete experience. We maythin's; for them." To him this was just asstupid aexample, that the word pqt is a concrete, question as it would be toask a fourteen-clear-cut name that all children would year-old boy, "How do youtell the dif-easily learn. Not so. Many children in a ference between a Chevrolet and aPon-deprived area in Washington, D. C.,did tiac?" He would reply, "Youlook atnot know the word pet,according to a them." study made by the teachers. Further, even I am making the point thatif we stay atwhen some teaching was done withthis the concrete level, dullness orbrightnessterm, it showed limitedgrowth over a will not be the major conditioningfactorperiod of time. of growth in vocabulary. If we set up an Why? We must realize that many words environment for children inwhich theywhich seem quite concrete to the middle- child can taste ,andtouch and smell, manipulate,class teacher or to the middle-class see, feel, work onmaterials, they will beare indeedabstractions to the deprived able to name and to label. Thebrighterchild. The child living in an overcrowded have pets. A may learnfaster than the duller, but allapaitment does not usually foods, will be able to learn. dog requires a license, purchased medical attention, etc. The word pet is an This would suggest, of course,that a abstraction. It is an abstraction which ap- program of nurseryschool education should enable children to work withwood ofplies not merely to a dog or a cat 'but it various kinds, to paint, to cut outthingsmight apply also to a lizard, a frog, to any animal requiring constant care and given with scissors, to eat variedfoods or pre- a certain amountof affection. pare foodswithin the school, make visits, go on studytripsand to discuss all these I asked my four-year-oldgranddaughter activities. This is importantbecause chil-what a pet was. She looked at mewith dren learn by active contactwith thingsan air ofdisbelief and curiosity which said, that make a differenee to them. "Is grandfather playing a trick oniner Of 34 DIMENSIONS OF DIALECT

course she knew what a pet was, andgasolinesoup, thunder, lightning she knew it because she had had pets and suitcloth, the vine teethivory, snags they had been so named. The idea of petmustachebrush was internalized, in her bones. skinsoft stuff, velvet As we work with deprived children clubmuscle, wood happyhe's gone, reefer.head, he'sgroovy we must realize that some terms which cryingkleenex job we assume are concrete, are abstract andovercoatwinter heat toothbrushpearl pusher unknown to them. At this pointwe may runtook off, and away wego, split, fade out ask whether the premise of providing richpencilstick school experience is enough. Does this fur-matchesfire strongiron head, cement job nish us with adequate guidelines for the outwittedscooped, tank job, paying his dues curriculum? I don't think it does. We mustworksweat job have an alert teacher who isaware of themake-upbucket of paint thiefglue, sticky, chicken-picker out-of-school experiences of the child andhatlid, sky how these experiences can be enriched.waterwe stuff, rock on rye popoil, sweet water, bubble There must be close cooperation with movieflip time, flicker the home difficult as thil may sometimes houseshack, pad, hole in the wall, crib be. There must be enhanced opportunities snowwhite stuff, rice magistratefine peeler, the heat, theman to make and hear increasingly complicated baldshine, sunny side up, Mr. Clean sentences. This means listening to record-mousetiny tim ings, making recordings, doing role-play- coinsjingle, hopping Johns, dust sleepcat eye, shut eye, knock myself out, redeye ing, putting on plays, viewing specially ice creamsnow designed films, filmstrips, and television Some other examples which I have programs. It means more questions andpicked up include the following: answers about things that matter, more riddles, more jokes. acea good friend, companion everything's everythingeverything is wonderfulor Usually when the issue of the vocab- good ulary of the deprived child is discussed Igrayswhite people happy shopliquor store am told that the Negro child knows cer- pull his coatto bring to someone's attention tain words that the white child does not; the manthe police or a policeman, alsoa nab that he has a unique, concrete, expressivebread ain't donenot very smart macimmaculate language. Are there key areas where the walking on the wallnervous deprived child is likely to have vocabularyjuiced updrunk not possessed by the middle-class child? finger poppingsnapping fingers to music Does the deprived child havea skill inpounding bricklooking for a job creafing metaphors not possessed by the In Jamaica"bigeye"means greed; middle-class child? John Brewer, of the"strong eye," domineering. In Columbus, I Miller Elementary School in Pittsburgh, hashave heard "Sure knows hisway to High listed a number of synonyms which pupilsStreet," and "keeps his shoe laces tied" use for common words: used to mean, "He's plenty smart." It is possible, too, that the child living in cigarettebush, joint, weed, tips,butt, chargethe inner city hasa perceptive understand- teachermink job, moose, sad sack, Smokey theing of emotion, not possessed by middle- RPM a retarded personway out, goof, knuckle head,class children. Perhaps hecan size up situ- lame, hole-in-head ations better. Certainly he has been sub- 35 VOCABIJIARY DEVELOPMENT OF TILEUNDERPRIVILEGED CHILD jected to much more vital experienceaboutto do it." No newinformation is gained; the realities of life and death thanhas histhere is merely an extensionof a command. middle-class counterpart. This is worth ex-Thus the middle-class childlearns to link ploring further. Has theunderprivilegedcause andeffect. child learned to read people, that is to Third, it is likely that thelower-class interpret skillfully the rejectionand accept-child will not use the variety of tensesthat will use. ance in thefaces and behavior of thosewiththe middle-or upper-class child of "The whom he comes in contact? He may say, "Baby come" instead Basil Bernstein, an Englishsociologist,baby is coming." He may say, "I go"instead has pointed out that at schoolthe under-of "I will go." He will also oftenomit privileged children must learn asecondarticles, as in the speech of very young languagethe middle-class languageof thechildren, saying "I dig hole" instead of"I school and textbook. Herelogical modifi-dig the hole." And the deprivedchild may speech into the school. cafionisexpressed in complex gram-carry this immature matical constructions. Symbolismof a highRoger Brown and Ursula Bellugi point out order of generality and alarge discrimi-intheHarvardEducationalReview, nating range of adjectivesand adverbs areSpring 1964, that sometimes childrenwill will now expectedof him. This is a lanpageknow the articles in a sentence but that middle-class childrenhave heard fromnot repeat them after theadult because of their first months, and theyhave fewermeager attention spa%As they learn to problems with it than do thelower-classkeep more things in mind, the articles are children. then put in. At school the teacher says,"John, would Brown and Bellugi also point outthat you mindclosing the window?" Whetheradults tend to stress orally the words car- he minds or not is of little consequence.rying the content and includearticles and Think of how often we say:"John, is yourauxiliary verbs and verb endingswhich desk clean?" meaning,"Clean up yourthe child may omit. The differencethen desk"; "Are we all payingattention?"between child language and adult lan- meaning, "Get with itl"Bernstein saysguage is not necessarily adifference only in that the lower-class child mustlearn aword order. The adult, correcting some- middle-class way of talkingabout things.thing the child said, tends to supply needed He is thus penalized much asis an immi-articles, auxiliary verbs, etc., thusprovid- grant child coming tothis country from aning a model of how it shouldbe done. this ex- alien culture. How does the deprived child get Bernsteinstatesthat thelower-classperience? Often he doesn't. parent may say tohis child, "Don't sit Where might we go from here instudy- deprived child? there." If the child says, "Why?"the parenting the language of the analyses of says, "BecauseI said so." He is merelyFirst of all, we need adequate being told that he must obey.The middle-this language not only in terms ofwords class parent, however, may give a reason,and their level of generality butalso in namely, "Because you will get toocold,"terms of syntax. I mean thekind of study "The or somethingelse. In short, 'the middle-that Ruth G. Strickland reported in class parent tries to state acause-and-effectLanguage of Elementary SchoolChildren: relationship, whereas the lower-class par-Its Relationship to the Languageof Read- ent may merely say:"Because I told youing Textbooks and the Qualityof Reading 36 DIMENSIONS OF DIALECT of Selected Children," (see bibliography;make oral inflectional changes in suffixes also Walter Loban, The Language of Ele-can make these changes in writing. Ger- mentary School Children). hard Eichholz has carried on some studies Perhaps one of thereasons that dif-in this field, working with noun plurals, ferences grow greater in theupper gradespast tense of verbs, comparatives_ and su- is that the concrete vocabulary of the de-perlatives, possessive singular and plural. prived child becomes increasingly inade-More critical, expanded studies are needed quate in meeting language Problems facedin this area. in school, especially those related to read- It is easy to say that too little is known ing. Somewhere around the fourthor fifthabout thevocabulary developmentof gade the words learned by spealdng andthe deprived, that we needa great deal listening decrease in proportion to wordsof research, etc. Since onlya few persons learned by reading. Some of this readingare going to do this research, it seems to vocabulary consists of synonyms of well-absolve us of responsibilityfor doing lcnown spoken words, and the underpriv-something about this problem. The term ileged child can learn them. "deprived," however, is a relativeone. But a number of the critical new wordsThere are deprived persons in our high are conjunctions. As long as they are theschool and collegeclasses,in wealthy simple conjunctions such as and, there may'suburban schools, even in our graduate be no problem. Difficulties arise, however,schools. The dynamic potential of these when conjunctions indicating pairingorstudents has not been reached and may not casual relationship are developed. A timebe reached unless we as individual teach- lag occurs before the meaning can beers are able to help them see what they grasped, e.g., "He was not only a scholarcan do to remedy past weaknesses and but also a gentleman.* The idea must bebuild new strengths. held in mind to the end of the sentence. It is possible that we are overvaluing There are conjunctions of alternates suchthe verbal, the formal, the highly symbolic as neither ... nor, and there are the con- language,as contrasted both with in- junctions of inference. Some conjunctions formal,expressive,tangible,descriptive are confusingly abstract little words suchlanguage and with non'yerbal language. as for, or, and so. Some are not usually"The oral tradition is still strong," notes heard in conversation, such as consequent-Richard Hoggart in The Uses of Literacy ly, hence, therefore, as a result. The con-as he discusses the British "working class." junction often intro& ces a high level ofCertainly formal language is good for abstraction,someth: .14forwhichthemuch, but it is not good for everything. I limited reading and perhaps the limitedthink of the little Japanese boy f?.dscribed attention span of the deprived child is ain the book Crow Boy by Taro Yas)aa. serious handicap. Chibi's playmates reject him and he spends Another area needing careful study ishis time thinking, listening, watching. The that of inflectional suffixes used to indicateauthor writes: tense. Berko, for example, in "The Child's Learning of English Morphology," Word, (AugustDecember 1958 ) has made such Just the ceiling was interesting enough for him to watch for hours. The wooden top a study of children's oral language. How- of his desk was another thing interesting to ever, we cannot assume that a child able to watch. A patch of cloth on a boy's shoulder VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT OF ism UNDERPRIVILEGED CHILD 37 was something to study. Of course, theshould place a high priority on funds for window showed him many things all yearcompensatory education of underprivileged round. Even when it was raining the win-children and their parents. If this means dow had surprising things to show him. On the playground, if he closed his eyes anddelaying putting a man on the moon, let us listened, Chibi could hear many differentdelay. sounds, near and far. And Chibi could hold The place where you are born in the and watch insects and grubs that most of usUnited States should not dictate educa- wouldn't touch or even look at. tional opportunity. We can move immediately to the equalizing of all educational When a new teacher came, however,instructional materials. We have made a Chibi became important. "Mr. Asobe, thegood beginning in doing this through pro- teacher, often took his class to the hilltopviding NDEA funds, through language behind the school. He was pleased to learnlaboratories, films, and the like. We should that Chibi knew all the places where theproceed speedily to make equality a reality. wild grapes and wild potatoes grew. He Finally, I counsel a tough-minded atti- was amazed to find out how much Chibitude toward the problem and a tender- knew about all the flowers in our class minded attitude toward the child. Further, garden." But Chibi's great triumph came the job of.the teacher is not to pick the win- when he imitated the crows: ners, and this is what we are often doing First he imitated the voices of newlyboth in the first grade and in the graduate hatched crows, then he made the motherschool. We honor "being on top" and con- crow's voice, then he imitated the fathersider it almost immoral to be at the foot of crow's voice. He showed how crows crythe class. To live a fulfilled life we must early in the morning. He showed howshare our fulfillment with others. The best crows cry when the village people havesymbol for democracy is not a circle, but a some unhappy accident. He showed how crows call when they are happy and gay.ladder:. Everybody's mind was taken to the far Finally, and this is the most difllcult of mountainside from which Chibi... cameall, we must be willing to develop rad- to the school. ically new educational patterns to solve these problems. It won't do to put frosting The story is a parable. It is the story ofon a stale cake. We must not do better the those who take excessive pride in theirthings we should not be doing at ail., Our indirect knowledge of the world, its sym-society itself must be transformed. A friend bols and signs, but ignore the rich expe-of mine, the late Bent Taylor (who had a rience all around them. Don't forget, too,distinguishedcareerinnationalsocial the growth and development that canwork), told me that his high school prin- come from music, drama, the tendernesscipal in Louisville, Kentucky, once said to and compassion of sensitive human rela-him about an important job that needed to tionships. be done: "Bent, if you and I don't do this, I suggested at the outset that we needwho will?" a revolutionary change in order to meet the problemsofunderprivilegedchildren, youth and adults. We could get it if we Bibliography Berko, Jean, "The Child's Learning of English were all convinced that (1) there should Morphology," Word, 14( AugustDecember, be universal access to excellence; (2) we 1958), 150-177. fl

38 DIMENSIONS OF DIALECT Bernstein, Basil, "The Public Language," British ferent Youth in Large Cities. Washington, D. C.: Journal of Sociology, 10 (1959), 311-323. U. S. Department of Health, Education and Wel- "Social Class, Linguistic Codes and fare, 1964. Grammatical Elements," Language and Speech, Loban, Walter, The Language of Elementary 5 ( 1962), 221-240. School Children. NCTE Research Report No. 1, "Sociological Determinants of Per- Champaign, Illinois, 1963. ception," British Journal of Sociology, 9 ( 1950), Newton, Eunice, "Culturally Disadvantaged Child 159-174. in Our Verbal Schools," Journal of Negro Edu- Brown, Roger and Ursula Bellugi, "Three Processes cation, 31 ( Spring, 1962), 184-187. in the Child's Acquisition of Syntax," HarvardPassow, A. Harry ( ed. ), Education in Depressed Educational Review, 34 (Spring, 1964), 133- Areas. New York: Bureau of Publications, Teach- 151. ers College, Columbia University, 1963. Carroll, John, "Words, Meanings and Concepts," Riesman, Frank, The Culturally Deprived Child. Harvard Educational Review, 34 ( Spring, 1964), New York: Harper and Brothers, 1962. 178-201. Schreiber, Daniel( ed.), The School Dropout. Cohn, Werner, "On the Language of Lower Class Washington, D. C. Project: School Dropouts, Children," School Review, 67 (Winter, 1959), National Education Association, 1964. 435-440. and Bernard A. Kaplan, Guidance Davis, Allison and Kenneth Eells, Intelligence and and the School Dropout. Washington, D. C. Cultural Differences. Chicago: University of Chi- Project: School Dropouts, National Education cago Press, 1951. Association and American Personnel and Guid- Davis, Allison, Social Class Influences upon Learn- ance Association, 1964. ing.Cambridge,Mass.:Harvard University Strickland, Ruth, "The Language of Elementary Press, 1948. School Children," Bulletin of School of Educa- Deutsch, Martin, "Minority Groups and Class Sta- tion, Bloomington, Indiana, 1962. tus as Related to Social and Personality FactorsWhipple, Gertrude, "Culturally and Socially De- in Scholastic Achievement," Society of Applied prived Reader," in Underachiever in Reading. Anthropology, Monograph No. 2. Ithaca, New Proceedings of the Annual Conferenceon Read- York: Cornell University, 1960. ing, v. 24, Supplementary Educational Mono- Hunt, J. McV, "The Psychological Basis for Using graphs, No. 92. Chicago: University of Chicago Preschool Enrichment as an Antidote for Cultural Press, 1962. (Chapter 10, pp. 129-136). Deprivation," Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, ( Spring,Wilkerson, Doxey A., "Bibliographyon the Educa- 1964 ). tion of Socially Disadvantaged Children and Jewett, Arno, Joseph Mersand and Doris Gunder- Youth," The Journal of Negro Education, ( Sum- son, Improving English Skills of Culturally Dif- mer, 1964), 358-366. KENNETH S. GOODMAN Dialect Barriersto Reading Comprehension A thoughtful discussion of the effectsdialect of the learner and the dialect of which differences in dialect may have inlearning, the more difficult will be the task "Big City" classrooms. The author suggestsof learning to read. that knowing the range of dialect differ- This is a general hypothesis. It applies to ences helps the teacher teach reading better.all learners. If the language of the reading materials or the language of the teacher The task of learning to read is not an easydiffers to any degree from the native speech one. But it's a lot easier to learn to readof the learners some reading difficulty will one's mother tongue than to learn to readaresult. To some extent also there is diver- foreign language, one which the learnergence between the immature speech of the does not speak. Actually each ofus speaksyoung learner and adult language norms in a particular dialect of a language. Eachthe speech community. Children have mas- dialectisdistinguished fromallothertered most but not all of the sounds and dialects by certain features as: some of itssyntax of adult speech. A further diver- sounds, some of its grammar, some of itsgence reflects the fact that older members ve abulary. The dialect which the childof any language community are less in- learns in the intimacy of his own home isfluenced by language change than are the his mother tongue. All physically normalyouth. Thus the teacher may cling to lan- children learn to speak a dialect. Whateverguage which isobsolescent in form or happens to his language during his life,meaning. Books particularly lag behind lan- however fluent and multilingual he may be-guage change since they freeze language at come, this native dialect is his most deeplythe date of composition. Though this paper and permanently rooted means of com-is mainly concerned with gross dialect dif- munication. ferences it must be remembered, then, that Since it is true that learning to read athe reading problems discussed apply to foreign language is a more difficult tasksome extent to all learners because minor than learning to read a native language, itdialect *differences are features of even must follow that it is harder for a child to homogeneous speech communities. learn to read a dialect which is not his own than to learn to read his own dialect. The Divergent Speaker This leads to an important hypothesis: For purposes of discussion we'll call the The more divergence there is between thechild who speaks a dialect different from that which the school, text, or teacher treats Dr. Goodman is an Associate Professor of Educa- tion at Wayne State University, Detroit. This paper as standard, the divergent speaker. Diver- was presented at the meeting of the International gence, of course, is relative and there is by Reading Association, Detroit, Michigan, May 6, 1965 and will appear in the proceedings of thatno means agreement on what standard meeting. American English is. Divergent isa good Elementary English XXXXII (December 1965), 853-860. 39 40 DIMENSIONS OF DIALECT term however, because it is neutral as ahis dialect and he's learned to ignore other value term and itis important, perhapsdifferences in speech sounds that are not critical, in considering the problems of thesignificant. He uses rhythm and pitch pat- divergent speaker to avoid labeling his lan-terns of his language with great subtlety. guage as bad, sloppy, or substandard. WeHe enjoys puns on language which employ need to keep clear that, though some dia-very slight variations in relative pitch and lects may carry more social prestige thanstress. By the time divergent speakers are in others, they are not necessarily more ef-the middle grades they have learned to get fective in communication. Gleason has said,pleasure from the fact that an in-group pun "It is a safe generalization to say that allbased on their common divergent dialect is languages are approximately equally ad-unfunny to an outsider like their teacher equate for the needs of the culture of whichwho doesn't share the dialect. they are a part." Dialects represent sub- All children develop vocabulary which cultures. Therefore it can similarly be saidfalls generally within the vocabulary pool that all dialects are equally adequate forof their speech community. Through re- the needs of the subculture of which theypeated experience common for their culture are a part. they have begun to develop complex con- Every child brings to school, when hecepts and express them in their mother comes, five or six years of language and oftongue. experience. His language is closely inter- In every respect the process of language twined with the culture of his community;development of the divergent speaker is ex- itembodiestheculturalvaluesandactly the same as that of the standard structures the way in which he may per-speaker. His language when he enters ceive his world and communicate his re-school is just as systematic, just as gram- actions to others. matical within the norms of his dialect, just His language is so well learned and soas much a part of him as any other child's deeply embossed on his subconscious thatis. Most important it is a vital link with little conscious effort is involved for him inthose important to him and to the world of its use. It is as much a part of him as hismen. skin. Ironically, well-meaning adults, in- There are some differences between the cluding teachers who would never inten-problems of the divergent speaker in an tionally reject a child or any importantisolated rural community where a single characteristic of a child, such as the clothesdialect is the common speech and has been he wears or the color of his skin, will im-for several generations and the problems of mediately and emphatically reject his lan-the divergent speaker in the center of one guage. This hurts him far more than otherof our great cities. This latter child may kinds of rejection because it endangers thelive in a virtual ghetto, but his friends and means which he depends on for communi-neighbors represent a variety of language cation and self-expression. backgrounds. Transplanted regional dialects Things that other people say sound rightbecome social class dialects. As the city- or funny to a child depending on whetherdweller grows older he comes into increas- they fit within the language norms of hising contact with the general culture and its dialect. He has become exceedingly pro-language. In the home community the idio- ficient in detecting slight, subtle differenceslects, the personal languages of individuals, in speech sounds which are significant inwill cluster closely around a dialect proio- DIALECT BARRIERS TO READING COMPREHENSION 41 type. But the dialects of urban divergentseries of standard regional dialects, the speakers are much more varied and shadespeech of the cultured people in each area. off from distinct divergent dialects to stan- It's obvious that a teacher in Atlanta, dard speech. Variables such as family origin,Georgia, is foolish to try to get her children recency of migration, degree of isolationto speak like cultured people in Detroit or from influences outside the subculture, at-Chicago, just as it's foolish for any teacher titudes toward self, personal and parentalto impose universal standard pronunciations goals are some of the factors which maywhich are not even present in the teacher's determine idiolect. own speech. I'm referring to such hypoc- ricies as insisting that u before e must al- Divergent Languages or Dialects ways say its own name and therefore Tues- Languagediversityamong divergentday is /Tyuzdey/. Cultured speech, socially speakers complicates the task of under-preferred, is not the same in Boston, New standing the literacy problems which theyYork, Philadelphia, Miami, Baltimore, At- have. The basic problems will be the samelanta, or Chicago. The problem, if any, but the specific form and degree will varycomes when the Bostonian moves to Chi- among individuals. cago, the New Yorker to Los Angeles, the Teachers need to give careful considera-Atlantan to Detroit. Americans are ethno- tion to the separate characteristics of sev-centric in regard to most cultural traits but eral kinds of language divergence. Theythey are doubly so with regard to language. need to first differentiate immature lan-Anybody who doesn't speak the way I do guage from dialect-based divergence. Lan-is wrong. A green onion is not ascalron. I guage which is immature is always in transi-live in Detroit not Detroit. I can carry my tion toward adult norms. Teachers need notbooks to work but not my friends. Fear ends worry foo much about immaturity inlan-with an r and Cuba does not. Such ethno- guage since desired change is virtually in-centrisms are unfortunate among the gen- evitable. On the other hand whatever theeral public. They may be tragic among edu- teacher does to speed this change is in thecators. Too often we send children off to direction the child is moving. He can con-speech correction classes not because their firm the teacher's advice in the speech ofspeech needs correction but because it his parents. But if the teacher "corrects" theisn't like ours. Pity the poor child who finds dialect-based divergent language, this is athimself transplanted to a new and strange cross purposes with the directionof growthenvironment and then must handle the ad- of the child. All his past and present lan-ditional complication of learning to talk all guage experiencecontradicts what theover again. And, of course, if the child is a teacher tells him. School becomes a placemigrant from the rural South to the urban where people talk funny and teachers tellNorth, his speech marks him not only as you things about your language thataren'tdifferent but socially inferior. He is told not true. just that he is wrong but sloppy, careless, Another point that needs to be clarifiedvulgar, crude. His best defense is to be is the difference between standard regionalsilent. speech and some imaginary national stan- In his classroom the divergent speaker dard which is correct everywhere and al-finds several kinds of language being used. ways. No dialect of American English everFirst is the language or bundle of idiolects has achieved this status; instead we have awithin dialects which he and his classmates 42 DIMENSIONSOF DIALECT bring with them as individuals. Representeddetermines pronunciation. One child asked in their language or dialect is the languagehis teacher how to spell /net/. "R-a-t" she or dialect of their parents and their speechsaid. "No, ma'am" he responded. "I don't community. Next there is the language ofmean rat mouse, I mean right now." the teacher which will exist in at least two forms. There will be the teacher's informal,Points of Divergence Among Dialects unguarded idioleot and his version ofcor- Now if we examine the areas in which rect standard speech; the way he saysdialects differ we can perhaps shedsome things off guard; the way he strives to speaklight on the barriers divergent readers face. as a cultivated person. Another version ofLet us start with sound. the standard language will be the literary form or forms the child encounters in Sound Divergence books. To this we must add the artificial Intonation language of the basal reader. Artificial language is not used by anyone in any com- Dialectsdifferinintonation. Perhaps municative situation. Some primereseis what makes an unfamiliar dialect most dif- artificial to the point of being nonlanguage,ficult to understand is its unexpected pitch, not even a divergent one. stress, and rhythm. Teachers often com- plain when they first begin to work with The Consensus of Language and the Uni-divergent speakers that they can't under- formity of Print stand a word. But aftera short time they Two things are in the divergent child'sseem to tune in on the right frequency. favor. First, all speakers havea range ofThey catch on to the melody of the dialect. comprehension which extends beyond theSince intonation is essential in understand- limits of their own dialect. All of uscaning oral language, it is logical toassume that understand speech which differs from ourit must be supplied mentally by readers as own, particularly if we are in frequent con-they read in order for comprehension to take tact with such speech. As they grow older,place. How much comprehension is inter- urban children are in increasing contactfered with if the teacher insistson intonation with a number of dialects other than theirpatterns in oral reading which are unnatural own. Secondly, the English orthography hasto the divergent reader can only be con- one great virtue in its uniformity acrossjectured at this time. But there isno doubt dialects. No matter how words are pro-that this is a source of difficulty tosome nounced printers across the the countryextent. usually spell them the same. Though we get some mavericks like gui/ty and judgmentPhonemes we spell pumpkin the same whether we say Phonemes are the significant units of pagkin or pomplcon and something the samespeech sounds which are the symbols of whether we say sompthin or sompm. Thisoral language. All American dialects share standardization of print for a multidialectalmore or less a common pool of phonemes. speech suggests that part of the problem ofBut not all dialects use all these phonemes learning to read for divergent speakersin all the same ways. They pattern different- could be eliminated if teachers let childrenly in different dialects. Since phonemes are read in their own dialects and if teachersreally bundles of related sounds rather than got rid of the misconception that spellingsingle sounds, it is likely that the range of DIALECT BARRIERS TO READING COMPREHENSION 43 sounds that compose a particular phonemeletter is to be uniform throughout the read- will vary among dialects. Vowel phonemesing materials. For example, they might as- are particularly likely to vary. Even withinsume frog and log to have the same vowel dialects there aresome variations.sound and so teach the sounds to be the Good examples are words ending in -og,same when a student might well use /a/ such as /dog/, /fog/, /frog/, /log/;oras in father in one and /a/ as in caught in are they /dog/, /fog,/, /frog/, /bg/? In mythe other. The matched phonemic-graphe- own idiolect I find I say /frag/, /fog/,mic books assume that there is a uniform /dog/, /bg/, but I also say /cag/, /bag/,spoken set of sounds that can by ingenuity /smag/. and counting of data be inscribed with a Obviously phonics programs which at-uniform written alphabet. This is not true, tempt to teach a relationship between let-when the spoken language is viewed as a ters and sounds cannot be universally appli-national-international phenomenon or when cable to all dialects. The basic premise ofit is viewed as a local phenomenon in a phonics instruction is that by teaching aheterogeneous cultural country as one of child to associate the sounds which he hearsour urban centers. in oral language with the letters in written Transcription of the sound language in language he will be able to sound out ITA faces the same problems. It has a wider words. But a divergent speaker can't hearalphabet and can therefore transcribe more the sounds of standard speech in his non-literary and sensible English than the standard dialect because he does not havelimited lexicon of the American linguistic them or because they occur in differentreaders. The British ITA materials, how- places in his dialect than other dialects. Theever, cannot be read literally except with instruction may be not only inappropriatethe "received pronunciation" of the BBC. but confusing. When he reads the lesson heWhen as an American I read about "levers" may then be forced to sound out wordsin an ITA book I must say /liyverz/. The which are not words in his dialect. To il-principle that spelling is the same across lustrate: Take a child who normally saysdialects is sacrificed and ITA spelling re- /da/ rather than /tha/ and /nafin/ ratherquires pronunciation narrowed to one spe- than/naein/.Teaching him thatthecial classdialect. Teachers using these digraph represents the first soundmaterials need to make some adjustments in the and the medial consonant in nothingfor the dialects used by themselves and makes him pronounce words not in histheir students. There may be, no doubt is, dialect and throws a barrier across hisa spoken language in common but it is progress in associating sound and print. not so uniform as is the common spelling system. New Reading Materials and Sound Diver- Another place where sound divergence gence Among Dialects among dialects affects the handling of read- Recent attempts at producing beginninging materialsisthe traditionalsets of reading materials which have regular one-homophones.Homophones, wordsthat to-one correspondence between letters andsound alike, will vary from dialect to dia- phonemes will not solve this problem andlect. Been and bin are homophones in may actually compound it since there willmy speech. In another dialect been would be a tendency for teachers to assume thatsound the same as bean and in still another the matched correspondence of sound andBen and been would be sounded alike. C:

44 DIMENSIONSOF DIALECT Bidialectal studentsmay bring up new sets Not only suffixes vary, but also verb of homophones. One teacherasked herforms and verb auxiliaries. Whena child class to use so ina sentence. "I don't meansays,"I here teacher,"as the teacher sew a dress," she said. "I mean the other so."calls the roll he is not being incomplete. No "I got a soon my leg," responded one oflinking verb is needed in this type ofut- her pupils. terance in his dialect. There is a difference in the syntax of his dialect and other Amer- Grammar Divergence ican English dialects. Fortunately such dif- The Suffix ferences are minor in American English. One area of differenceseems to be the use Inflectional changes in words involveof verb forms and verb makers. Wewas using suffixes or internal changes in wordsgoing, They done it, We come home all to change case or tense. In certain dialectsare examples of this phenomenon. of American English speakerssay He see me rather than He sees me. They are notVocabulary Divergence leaving off an s. There isn'tany in their An area of dialect divergence that people dialect. Similarly, pluralsmay not use an sare most aware of is vocabulary. Most peo- form. I got three brother iscommon in Ap-ple are aware that gym shoes in Detroitare palachian speech. One teacher reported'co sneakers in New York, that in Chicagoyou me that her pupils could differentiate be-may throw but in Little Rock you chunk, tween crayon and crayons as written wordsthat a Minnesota lake would bea pond in and respond to the difference by selectingNew Hampshire. Perhaps thereisless plural and singular illustrations, but theyawareness .of words which have similar but read the words thesame, one crayon, twonot identical meanings in different dialects. /krk.eyan/. The problem is notan inabilityAll words havea range of meaning rather to see or say the s. It doesn'tseem to be-than a single meaning. Thisrange may shift long in the pronunciation ofcrayons. The from place to place. The meaning ofcarry inflectional endings to indicate plural ismay be basically the same in two dialects not in the grammar of this dialect. but some uses will be correct inone dialect Most Americans will add /az/ to formbut Lot in the other. plurals of words ending in /s/ /z/ /I/ Vocabulary differences among dialects N as in busses, mazes, washes, colleges,may cause reading difficulty and must be churches, but in the Blue Ridge Mountainscompensated for by the teacher whouses .this ending also goes with words endingin texts printed for a national market. /sp/, /st/, /s1c/ as in /waspaz/ /pohstaz/ I've dealt primarily here with the bar- /tteskaz/ (H. A. Gleason, An Introductionriers to learning how to read that result to Descriptive Linguistics, New York: Holt,when thereaders have divergentlane- Rinehart and Winston,p. 62). This kind ofguages. There are of course other important difference will be reflected in the child'sproblems which grow out of the differences reading. The eifferencesare systematicinexperience, values, and general sub- within the child's dialect. In terms of theculture of the divergent learners. Readers school and teacher theymay be divergent,can't comprehend materials whichare based or as we say, incorrect, but in terms of theon experience and concepts outside their reader and his speech community theyarebackground and beyond their present de- convergent, that is, correct. velopment. DIALECT BARRIERS TO READING COMPREHENSION 45 The Reading Program for Divergent The second alternative is impractical on Speakers pedagogical grounds in that the time required to teach children who are not aca- Let's address ourselves to a final question.demically oriented to another dialect of the What is currently happening as the diver-language, which they feel no need to learn, gent speaker learns to read? I've found thatwould postpone the teaching of reading too divergent speakers have a surprising tend-long. Many would never be ready to learn ency to read in book dialect. Intheir oralto read if readiness depended on losing reading they tend to use phonemes thattheir speech divergence in the classroom. are not the ones they use in oral language.The problem is not simply one of teaching Their reading often sounds even morechildren a new dialect. Children, the diver- wooden and unnatural than most beginners.gent among them, certainly have facility in There is some tendency to read their ownlanguage learning. The problem involves dialect as they gain proficiency, but in gen-the extinction of their existing dialect; one eral it appears that teachers are more suc-which receives continuous reinforcement in cessful in teaching preferred pronunciationsbasic communications outside of the class- than reading. What is lacking is the vitalroom. Labov's research in New York in- 1 link between written and oral language thatdicates that divergent speakers do not seem will make it possible for children to bringto make a conscious effort to use language their power over the oral language to bearforms which they recognize as socially pre- on comprehending written language. ferred until adolescence. Younger children There seem to be three basic alternativesmay hear differences but lack the insight to that schools may take in literacy programsrealize which forms are socially preferred. for divergent speakers. First is to write ma-Of course, teenagers may deliberately avoid terials for them that are based on their ownpreferred forms, too, as they reject adult dialect, or rewrite standard materials inways and adult values. their dialect. A second alternative is to In essence the child who is made to ac- teach the children to sneak the standardcept another dialect for learning must ac- dialect before teaching them to read in thecept the view that his own language is in- standard dialect. The third alternative is toferior. In a very real sense, since this is the let the children read the standard materialslanguage of his parents, his family, his in their own dialect, that is to accept thecommunity, he must reject his own culture language of the learners and make it theirand himself, as he is, in order to become medium of learning. The first alternativesomething else. This is perhaps too much seems to be impractical on several counts.to ask of any child. Even those who suc- Primarily the opposition of the parents andceed may carry permanent scars. The the leaders in the speech community mustschool may force many to make the choice be reckoned with. They would reject thebetween self respect and school acceptance. use of special materials which arebased onAnd all this must be accomplished on the a nonprestigiousdialect.They usuallyfaith of the learner that by changing his share the view of the general culture thatlanguage he will do himself some good. As their speech is not the speech of cultivationone teenager remarked to me, "Ya man, alls and literature. They want their children toI gotta do is walk right and talk right and move into the general culture thoughtheythey gonna make me president of the are not sure how this can 'ue broughtabout.United States." 46 DIMENSIONS OF DIALECT The only practical alternative I feel is the natural manner and present by ex- third one. It depends on acceptance by the ample the general language com- school and particularly by the teacher of munity, but the teacher must learn the language which the learner brings to to understand and accept thechil- school. Here are some key aspects of this dren's language. He must study it approach: carefully and become aware of the key elements of divergence that are I. Literacy is built on the base of the likely to cause difficulty. Langston child's existing language. Hughes has suggested an apt motto 2. This base must be a solid one. Chil- for the teacher of divergent speakers: dren must be helped to develop a "My motto as I live and learn, is dig, pride in their language and confidence and be dug in return." in their ability to use their language to communicate their ideasand ex- My own conviction is that even after literacy has been achieved future language press themselves. change cannot come about through the ex- 3.In reading instruction the focus musttinction of the native dialect and thesub- be on learning to read. No attempt tostitution of another. I believe that language change the child's language must be growth must be a growth outward from the permitted to enter into this processnative dialect, an expansion which eventu- or interfere with it. ally will encompass the socially preferred 4. No special materials need to be con-forms but retain its roots. The child can structed but children must be per-expand his language as he expands his out- mitted, actually encouraged, to readlook, not rejecting his own subculture but the way theyspeak.Experiencecoming to see it in its broader setting. Even- stories must basically be in theirlan-tually he can achieve the flexibilityof guage. language which makes it possible for him 5. Any skill instruction must bebasedto communicate easily in manydiverse set- on a carefulanalysis of their lan-tings and cri many levels. guage. I'd like to close with a plea. You don't 6. Reading materials andreading in-have to accept what I've said. I don't ask struction should draw as much as pos-that you believe or that you agree with my sible on experiences and settings ap-point of view. My plea is that you listen to propriate to the children. While spe-the language of the divergent. Listen care- cial dialect based materials are im-fully and objectively. Push your precon- practical, we may nonetheless need toceptions and your own ethnocentrisms abandon our notion of universallyaside and listen. I think that you'llfind usable reading texts and use a varietybeauty and form and a solid base for un- of materials selected for suitabilityforderstanding and communication. And as the particular group of learners. you dig you'llfind that you are indeed dug 7. The teacher will &peak inher ownin return. JUNE BYEM Using Poetry to Help Educationally Deprived Children Learn Inductively If, as Gretchen Wulfing (13) says, thereis not that of the traditionally oriented is no child who does not respond to poetry,reading lesson wherein new vocabulary is and if, as Helen M. Robinson (10: 14) says,introduced, children read silently, and then the so called "culturally different" childanswer questions from the teacher or other- tends to learn more readily by inductivewise interpret what they have read. In- than by deductive approaches, then is itstead, I provide each child with what the possible for a teacher to take advantage ofchildren have come to call "our poem of children's natural liking for poetry to helpthe day" and then I read it to them, asking children who are deficient in the languageonly that they try to follow the lines and skills necessary for success in school tophrases with their eyes. After that we read learn inductively to be better readers,the poem together. At times my pupils read speakers, and writers through daily par-in parts, asking and answering questions ticipation in choral verse work? as in "Pictures" (4: 103). At other times I think the answer may be yes. On thethey read solo lines as in "Old Roger" (4: basis of admittedly limited experimenta-52). Sometimes, however, they want to read tion, I have observed that such practicethe entire poem. Thus, for example "Poor has a tendency to help children to: (1)Old Lady" (11: 231) was one poem all fif- increase their feeling for and knowledge ofteen pupils insisted on doing en mane. the intonation of our language, (2) expandThough fully aware that May Hill Arbuth- their vocabularies, (3) use context clues,not (1: 191) has pointed out that this is (4) read for meaning, and (5) becomethe hardest type of choral reading, the more sldllful in using oral and writtenchildren were so carried away that I did language. not even try to stop them. I base these assertions on the following Sometimes this is all we do with a poem. experience. For some time I have beenIt's just for fun. But whether the children using poetry in a very short and on therealize it or not, they have had a reading whole enjoyable reading lesson with mylesson. They have heard, seen, and for the fifth- and sixth-grade remedial reading pu-most part have spoken the sentences cor- pils. I keep the lesson short because myrectly phrased. I feel I have achieved aim children are restless and have a short at-number one of the above goals. I find val- tention span. Even though May Hill Ar-idation for this claim in the words of buthnot (1: 166) warns against usingDonald Lloyd (5: 51): "It (reading in- poetry for the teaching of reading, I justifystruction) should Lest heavily on intonation my action on the grounds that my methodand the students should be provided with Mrs. Byers is a teacher in the Compensatoryintonation contours rather than be per- Education Project of the Oakland, Calif., schools.mitted to puzzle out their own." Elementary English XXXXII (March 1965), 275- 279. 47 48 DIMENSIONS OF DIALECT On certain occasions, after we read, thereceed. When I read to the children "The might be a short and seemingly off-handCamel's Lament" (11: 37) I omitted the lesson in vocabulary development. Here isword bestraddle. an illustration: Following the reading of People would laugh if you rode a giraffe "Buffalo Dusk" (2: 57), I wroteon the Or mounted the back of an ox; board the word pawed. I covered the ed It's nobody's habit to ride on a rabbit and asked the class to read the root word Or try to bestraddle a fox. But as for a camel, he's which they all lcnew. Then we hada very Ridden by families short discussion about what had happened Any load does for me. to the meaning of a word which the chil- I asked the children if anybody could dren usually thought of as the foot ofaread the word bestraddle as I wrote it on cat or dog. We discovered more wordsthe board, but no one could. I asked if could be changed in meaning by the addi-they could guess what it meant and they tion of ed. They offered knife, curtain,were able to do that. We talked of what needle, bottle, eye and many others. there was in the poem making it possible An excellent example of this type of les-for them to know the meaning of this son is offered in Children and Books (1:word. Then for the first time I pronounced 170), wherein May Hill Arbuthnot gives athe new word, they repeated it after me, detailed description of how to developand we read the poem straight through. I vocabulary with the poem "Dogs andthink the children relished their new word Weather" (2: 86). as they rolled it over their tongues. All this Another example of vocabulary building took less time for us to do than forme to was our use of the poem "I Like Noise"write about it, but I claim the children had (4: 161). There was an enthusiastic re-had a lessoir in using one type of context sponse to the reading of the poem and the clue. Constance McCullough defines other children quickly located all the words de-types in Elementary English Review (8 picting noise. Later I wrote the vocabularyand 9). words on a chart for the bulletin board. I expect to be able to repeat this type of ex- In addition to my pointing out how to perience many times, for poetry aboundsuse context clues, there is probably more in sensory images and we should be ableof this process taking place with each in- to collect words that tell of taste, smell,dividual child thinIcing inductivelyas we color, etc. read. In summary, I am led to believe that To help children read for meaning, aim poetry will help my children expand theirnumber four, I used "Crazy Horse" (3: 74) vocabularies, which is my aim number two.and "Clipper Ships and Captains" (3: 73). On some days my aim is the third oneThe sentences are simple and straightfor- listed in my introduction. I want to helpward with few obscure words or meanings. my children use context clues, to becomeThrough hearing a poem and reading it the good readers Constance McCulloughaloud in unison, the meaning emerges for (7: 225) describes when she says: "Wewe have read in thought units, not simply recognize that the good reader not onlynaming word after word as my children are observes words carefully if necessary, butin the habit of doing. For example, during also thinks of the relationship of thesethe short discussion following the reading words to each other and to the sense of theof "Crazy Horse" it was clear that the chil- whole." Here is an example of how I pro-dren knew who won the fight between the USING POEM TO HELP EDUCATIONALLY DEPIUVED CHILMIEN LEARN INDUCTIVELY 49 Indians and the soldiers and why, though fighting dogs and butterflies and treesand it was not explicitly stated in the poem. I cats and the library lady. am saying that the properphrasing, In 1763 on San Pablo, there were no cars or buses or houses or streets.People had to rhythm, and intonation with which we read walk on trails and pastures. There were brought the children to understand induc- Indians living there. They would wash in lively what they had read. This they have dirty water. They did not like to take a bath. not been able to do for themselVes. In 1963 there are streets and busesand And now I come to point number five, stores. And there are houses.We go to school on San Pablo Averme and teachers that is, poetry helps children talk and write teach us. There is a car wash and a Mobile better than they do without such a back- Station. ground. If, after reading a poem, there This admittedly is below fifth- or sixth- seems to be no interest inwhat the poemgrade level writing, but it shows more has to say or how the children feel aboutthought and organization than previous it, we drop it and go on to the next ac-writings. tivity. I never try to force any discussion. On the Monday following President On the other hand, if the pupils seem toKennedy's death, I read Walt Whitman's want to talk about their reactions, then we"0 Captain! My Captain!" (12: 271), and talk and sometimes we write. then we talked and talked and talked. I Each child has a loose-leaf notebookmade no assignment to write, but inthe made of bright construction paper in whichfree choice period my pupils wrote: he collects the stories I have typed for President Kennedy was a very good men. him, either from handwritten work or from He was killed on November 22, 1963.He stories dictated into the tape recorder. was a very goodPresident to all of us. We Here are some examples: After reading have a new President now and his name is "Indian Children" (2: 52), we talked briefly President Johnson. about how .strange it was to ponder the I am very sorry that President Kennedy is dead. He was our youngestPresident. fact that at the very spot where our class- And he was our 35th President. Weall room is, there mayhave been an Indian loved him. I'm sure of that. Mrs. Kennedy village. How different now! Our school is is sad and so are we. located on a very busy avenue, so we Dear Mrs. Kennedy, walked down to the end of our playground I am sorry that President Kennedy was to take a look at what may havebeen an shot in the head. And I am sorry that be was buried on hisson's birthday. And I im Indian trail in years gone by. Upon our sorry that he did notlive to see Thanks- return to the room, they wrote: giving. But I hope you and Carolineand Today Mrs. Byers took us to look at San John John have a nice Thanksgiving. My Pablo Avenue. And I saw a 55 Chevy. It name is Shirley Ardds. had mag rims* and moons* on it.And Dear Mrs. Kennedy, I saw a car wash and a parking lot. I feel the same way you do. Look up to Instead of Indians and prowling bears Heaven and smile for God is near and do today on San Pabh Avenue, there is a not fear. That is all for now. Mobile Statlon, a Mayflower truck and an Your friend, auto wash and a school and a ballhouse Gus Glass and policemen. And there is the sun and Lee Oswald was accused of killing John the moon and stars and skates and apples F. Kennedy, our President. And Jack Ruby and umbrellas and flowers and kites and killed Lee Oswald. Ruby was the judge and jury and executioner. *Special terms used by teenagers to define ornate Again, this writing is much below the hub caps. 50 DIMENSIONS OF DIALECT expected grade level, but forchildren ofthat choral verse work maybe one of the children. I heard this choronological age, it is writingwhichpaths to literacy for my Frank Rice say, as he explainedthe Ne- is coherent and honest. English, that con- On the day beforeThanksgiving we readbraska Curriculum for "Thanksgiving Day" ( II: 278).We hadtinued exposure to the best inchildren's sensitivity much to talk about for theminds of theseliterature would refine a child's naturally filled withto language. Iheard Lawrence Carrilloof boys and girls were that teach- thoughts of what the next daywould bring.San Francisco State College say reading are inseparable So we used the taperecorder. Here are aing language and dictated: and that such learning takesplace when a few lines which my children contact On Thanksgiving all my cousinsand un-child has sustained, continuing cles and aunties are coming overand we'rewith literary works of merit.And I heard going to have turkey, dressing,salad, andMadeleine L' Engle say that as achild she hot peppers. And after that my cousinsandhad learned many new wordsfrom her I are going outside to playand we mightwide reading experience. go riding. It must be conceded thatthere is no con- clusive evidence to substantiate myclaim Today is My name is Nasario Martinez. that choral verse work helpschildren learn November 27, 1963. Tomorrow isThanks- that such giving and my mother is goingto the storeinductively. I merely point out and buy us some corn. Andthen we'repractice may be effective inhelping those going to go to the meatmarket and buychildren whose language patternsdiffer some pig head so we canmake some tama-from the ones used in ourschools. Further les. And we're going tohave a twelveexperimentation is neededbefore making pound turkey and we're going tohave some pokato chips and we're going tohave bar-any conclusions. becue. My mother says we might eatout- Bibliography side. That's all. 1.Arbuthnot, May Hill, Chiklren andBooks. Chicago, Illinois: Scott, Foresman andCom- pany, 1947. On Thanksgiving we're going tohave a 2. Arbuthnot, May Hill, Time forPoetry. Chi- big turkey and after we getthrough having cago, Illinois: Scott,Foresman and Company, our turkey we'regoing to go to Palo Alto. 1959. We're going to see our cousins and goride 3. Benet, Rosemary andStephen Vincent, A on horses. Andwhen we get back, we're Book of Americans. Wisconsin:E. M. Hale going to see my grandmother.We're going and Company, 1933. to, have a big old Thanksgiving. 4. Hughes, Rosalind, Let's EnjoyPoetry. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1961. 5. Lloyd,DonaldJ."Sub-CulturalPatterns The ramblings and false starts andback- Which Affect Language and ReadingDevel- trackings which formerly appearedwhen opment," Language, Linguistics,and School Programs. Champaign,Illinois:National the children used the tape recorder are Council of Teachers of English, 1963. on the wane.These pupils are beginning to 6. Loban, Walter D., The Languageof Elemen- effec- tary School Children.Champaign, Illinois: be able to use oral language more English, "Com- National Council of Teachers of tively. Dr. Walter Loban (6) says, 1963. petence in the spokenlanguage appears to 7. McCullough, Constance,"Context Aids in be basic for competence inreading and Reading," The Reading Teacher, April 1958. 8. McCullough, Constance,"Context Aids in writing." I think my pupils are gaining a Reading," Elementary English Review,20 little in acquiring such competence. ( April, 1943). I recently heard remarksmade by sev- 9. McCullough, "Recognitionof Context Clues eral speakers that strengthen my conviction in Reading," Elementary EnglishReview, 22

A CIDLDREN LEARN INDUCTIVELY 51 USING POETRY TO HELPEDUCATIONALLY DEPIUVED Poetry, New York: GoldenPress, 1959. (January, 1945). 12.Whitman, Walt, Leaves of Grass,New York: 10. Robinson, Helen M.,"Characteristics of the American Library Underachiever," The Underachiever inRead- Signet Classics, The New of World Literature, Inc.1955. ing, SupplementaryEducational Monograph, for Poetry, The University of Chicago Press,Number 92, 13.Wulfing, Gretchen, Find Time Oakland Public SchoolsCurriculum Guide, December, 1962. 11. Untermeyer, Louis, TheGolden Treasury of 1960. Ii

LILA SHEPPARD Talk Written Down When I went to New Zealandon a Ful-easel ready with a sheet of 18x24 paper. bright Exchange I was givena class of 41Select one story told bya child that all five-year-olds and told, "We teach them towere interested in, and say, "Let's write read at five." I managed to look unruffledJimmy's story. Jimmy, please tell us again." while the headmaster explained that each As Jimmy tells, you print, saying each child is exposed to reading as soon as heword as you print. Then say, "There! We enters school on his fifth birthday, on thehave Jimmy's talk written down. Let's read assumption that naturally he'll learn to readit." And you move your hand along under as soon as he writes. the writing as the children read. Under the extremely able guidance of 2. Integrate Activities. A free activity the infant mistress I managed to comeuphour is essential for individual develop- to expectations. And after six months Iment. The materials are those of any well- came away feeling slightly dazed at thestocked kindergartenplayhouse,blocks, ease with which 33 of my 41 youngsterspuzzles, sand and water play, cuisinaire, were readingat 33 levels, of course. paint, clay, etc. I've used the writing method of teaching You set up centers of interest with such reading in remedial work as described bysigns as, NUMBER TABLE, READING Grace Fernald in "Techniques in RemedialTABLE, NATURE TABLE, CUTTING Reading," and I have my fourth gradersAND PASTING TABLE, WRITING AND write a great deal. Now I keep asking,DRAWING TABLE. The children gravi- since we know that self-education is thetate toward their interests, and you can best education, and that reading is talkkeep track of what each one does from written down, why do we impose readingday to day. processes on children rather than drawing With free use of these materials, each out from their own resources? As one sec-child developsskills. He developshis ond grader put it, "Teaching is when youpersonality. He uses all mediums of com- want me to know something; learning ismunication with other children. He learns when / want to know something." the social limits of behavior in order to get along with the others. He has plenty to How to Start Beginners think about, talk about, write about, and read about. With the Class Excursions, science, social studies, num- 1. Morning visiting time isideal forber workall activities enrich his reading dramatizing talk written down. Have theas new experiences build and expand his vocabulary. Mrs. Sheppard teaches fourth grade in the West 3. Make Your Own Books. You can give Hill School, Ithaca, New York. She is author of a monograph, Classroom Climate, and a book foryour classwork unity by having a theme of teachers, Dancing on the Desk Tops, both pub-the weeknot rigid, but a track to run on if lished by Row, Peterson, and Company. This paper ideas are scarce. A theme helps children is based on her experiences as an exchange teacher in New Zealand in 1962. About twenty percentfollow a line of thought, and developnew of her class of forty-one students were Maoris. ideas and new vocabulary. Some sugges- Elementary English XXXXI ( January 1964), 40- 43, 61. 52 $;.M.Z,:MWR

Tmx WRITTEN DOWN 53 tions: my family, my pets, our house, things Sometimes you might suggest that a that go, or a class trip to the grocery store.youngster take home a book he especially Each day you write a story on the theme,likes. Many fast learners need no more with the class, using 12x18 paper. Oneencouragement than this to be able to read child illustrates the story and you hangbooks with little assistance. Mom and Dad it up to be saved for the Weekly Book. Atshould know your aim and method so that the end of the week or theme, tie the pagesthey understand they are not to put on together, make a cover and title. Read it to-any pressure. gether, as you underline with your hand. 6.First DictionaryRoom Signs and Hang the books on low pegs so the chil-Labels. The familiar technique of labelling dren can help themselves as they wish toshould be done while the children watch. read. Some possible titles: Days of TheYou might say, "Watch me write my talk. Week, Zoo Animals, Trees on Our Play-'You may paint here." Then hang the sign ground, Songs We Sing, Numbers Weon the easel and let the children read it Know. aloud. Whatever you write, emphasize that 4. Read-Aloud Books and Charts. Ofyou are writing your talk. course you will read and read and read to In this way the room literally becomes your children. Sometimes you read picturethe children's first dictionary. As they be- books just for looking and listening. Nur-gin to copy and write their own stories, sery rhymes, poems, and finger plays arehelp them see that they can find the words learned by rote, then played, dramatized,they need by going around the room. You'll or pantomimed. be surprised at how quickly the faster Familiar rhymes printed on wall chartslearners will do this. And they are eager make wonderful reading for beginners. Soto show the others how. do the verses of songs they sing. Even Very soon a few children will begin to though they are memorized, the childrencomment on the letters of the alphabet. get a powerful feeling of reading whenWilliam says, "Window has the same be- they see them in print. ginning as my name." So now it's time to You may use large print reading books todisplay the alphabet. Present a letter or demonstrateleft-to-righteye movementtwo each day, using one large card for and smooth phrase reading. Hold the bookeach letter. A single line and picture will against your chest, move your hand along a do: is for airplane. Or you and the as you read, then let the children read back A to you. They love this rote reading. youngsters can make up a rhyme: 5. Library Books. The library rack in A your room is prominent from the first day of school. The range should be from pic- a is for airplane ture books, through easy-to-reads, primers, See it fly! and up to second or third level. The chil- My jet plane dren should have free choice of books, to Can go very high. look at, ask questions about, perhaps ask You start phonics when some children you to read. If time doesn't permit yourobserve that two words sound alike at the reading at the moment, promise to do so atbeginning. You simply follow their ob- library time. This can be a period set asideservation, saying, "Yes, toy and train start for book browsing if the children don'tthe same. They say T. That letter is called have ample book time during free activity.t in the alphabet. This is big T and this is [1"

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1; 54 DIMENSIONS OF DIALECT littlet. Can you find any otherwordsstories"house" being a favorite. Accept it around the room that start with t?" Match-for a few days, then try a leading question. ing sounds quickly becomes a fascinating"Is it your house? Tell me more about your game with a few children,and the othershouse," or "What happened at your house?" will catch their interest. Some children remain in the word and phra:'e stage for quite some time. How to Do It After you've read to the children from books they will usually begin to form sen- With the Individual tences. If not, you may need to give some 1. The Art Lesson. Before the childrenhelp. But be sure to get it from the child draw or paint fold up a two-inch stripnot impose your sentence onhim. along the bottom of the paper. "This is a Each day the youngster rereads his fence. You musn't paint over the fence."former stories. He may read to you, to him- When the pictures are finished you letself, or to a friend. Two or three youngsters, each child tell you about his picture. Youoff in a corner swapping news, are ex- print with black crayon exactly whattheperiencing real communication. child says. You read it to him saying, "This Perhaps once a week the newsbooks is your talk." Then he reads itback to you.could go home to be read to Mom and You remark casually, "You maytake aDad. black crayon and trace your story if you'd 4. Individual Vocabulary Books. These like to." Show him what trace means butare optional and maybe started if you don't pressure him to do it. wish to supplement your program with a 2. Blackboard Writing. Divide theblack-basic reader. Wait until you can form a board into sections. Write the children'sgroup of children whohave progressed to first names in the sections. They may go toa point of legibly copying their ownstories, their places and write their names if theyand of khowing some of their own vo- wish. Agab, no pressure. The last namecabulary. may be addedwhen the individualis T he vocabulary books may be clime store ready. If the child uses his section for draw-notebooks, 6x9 or 8x10, or made from ing, you label his story for him; then en-primer paper. The idea is that you print courage him to read, trace,and copy. the word to be developed for the day, then print a sentence using that word. Or you 3. Individual Newsbooks. Eachchild has a newsbook. This should be aboutmay print the wordand let each child tell 9x12 unlined paper, and may be pur-you his sentence. Leave a space onthe chased or made from drawing paper, news-page so the child can illustrate.Then he print, or wrapping paper. Eachday thetraces and copies. child draws his personal news. This maybe As you develop this reader vocabulary, the same as he told at morning news time,print the words on a large chart and display or anything else hewishes to draw. it on the wall. It becomes part of your You write his story exactly as he tells it,room dictionary. then help him read it back. Show him how Caution! Proceed with Care to trace. Very soon manychildren wilI not only trace, but try copying below your You will need to be as sensitive as a printing. Geiger counter in detecting the hidden Slower starters may have only one wordtreasure in your youngsters.And you'll 'Lux WRITTEN DOWN 55 need to guard against using pickaxe meth-their newsbooks and nod their heads, or ods of drawing out the wealth. rock back and forth as they crooned out the I believe that I had the advantage ofwords. Verbalizing,I thoughtshouldn't acute awareness because I was working inI stop it? an unfamiliar situation with an unfamiliar So one day I stopped them and said, age group. At any rate, when I made mis-"Watch me read silently," and I put on a takes, the reactions of the children showeddemonstration of moving eyes and motion- me my errors at once. less lips. I found myself making inane statements They obliged with a good imitation. such as, "Oh, that's good, Mary!" or "HowWhen they finished reading I asked, "What lovely!" or "Isn't that nice?" Such remarkswas the story about, Eric?" are quite meaningless, and they tend to put Eric answered in surprise, "I don't know. your stamp of approval on some children's I couldn't hear myself read it." Discovery 0 $ work to the exclusion of others. Muchfor mebeginners need to verbalize. better to comment, "I enjoyed reading your Most of the children pointed as they story, Anne," or "Your swim in the lake read.Myfirstthoughtwas,"they sounds like fun. Are your going again thisshouldn't." But as I watched their body Sunday?" action I thought, "why not?" If it .was Show your interest and enthusiasm, butnatural to read with their whole being, don't kill a story for a child by belaboringthen it must be extremely meaningful and it with questions. If he wants to talk aboutsatisfyingand that's what we want readit, he'll approach you. If you approach himing to be. Pointing would stop along with and he doesn't respond, drop it. He hasearly manifestations of motor learning like either gone on to something else, or hasrocking, nodding, and verbalizingwhen exhausted Lis ideas on the subject. the right time came. Accept what the child says as he says it. Tracing and copying is motor learning, Too soon you will notice a discouragingdirectly related to the satisfying sense of tendency on the part of children to holdtouch. "Don't touch!" we say. Instead we back their own spontaneousstoriesinshould be saying, "Do touch. Feel this. favor of the stilted sentences of some books.Pinch, caress, tap, squeeze, cuddle, push One little boy told such stories as, "That'slearn through your hands!" Cod watching my Daddy in his truck." But 'Don't count on your fingers," we say. after he had read a primer he said, "ThisIn heaven's name, why not? Why are we is a truck." bent on trying to deprive children of their Should you correct errors in grammar?natural, personal ways of learning? It dependson the child, the error, and on the way you do it. Better to let a mistake Progress Through the Grades go by than to discourage a child who is As the child progresses through the slow to express himself. Usually you cangrades he should do original writing every say, 'Idon't got' doesn't sound quiteday. In checking reading skills and com- right. Could you say, 'I don't have?' " Thenprehension, his own writing should take be sure he says it before you print it. precedence over prepared materials such I was fascinated to see how the littleas workbooks and work sheets. Howmuch ones put their whole bodies into the act ofmore valuable are his own thoughtsand reading. They would sit on the floor with 56 DIMENSIONS OF DIALECT reactions to the writing of others, than thement is a natural onespelling,punctua- routine of filling in blanks and answeringtion, phonics, dictionary use, variousforms true-fal s el of writingeach is learned as a needfor Many teachers find a diary invaluable.self-expression. It can be secret or shared, and it provides The self-confidence that is acquired is a a constant mediumof self-expression. tremendous factor in fluency of communication. Children grasp the conceptthat what they think about they can write, Valuable Concepts Gained what they write they can read or letothers read. In turn they can listen to the thoughts With the talk written down methodof reading, the child does not develop anof others, or read them. early fear that he can't read. If he writes, Children grasp the concept of the unity he knows that the words hereads will beof all language skills. One day I wrote on the same that he uses himself, sonaturallythe board for my fourth graders: he can read them. j talk 3 write Because this method permitsthe in- 1 listen 1 read. ability, the dividual free use of his innate I pointed ont that these are language twins, slow learner, the fast learner, the immature, and the emotionally disturbed can startand that they can't be separated. After a and proceed at their own pace,withoutlittle discussion, one boy bested me. He of pressure. said, "Why, they aren't twinsthe four Each step taken in languagedevelop-them are quadripplesl"

[;! 11 ALLISON DAVIS Teaching Languageand Reading to Disadvantaged NegroChildren A hopeful young teacher, trained inthefinds most of her college preparationuseless theory and methods taught in ourbestin a classroom where her pupils appear to colleges and universities, often has tobegincome from adifferent language world and her teaching in a school wherethe majoritya world ofdifferent values and goals, does of the pupils come fromdisadvantagedactually suffer a period of deep anxiety, Negro families. This is normalcentral-officeresulting from both moral and emotional procedure in rnost cities. New teachers are shock. assigned to the schools in the lower socio- In spite of his emotional spontaneityand economic neighborhoods because mostofexpressiveness, the Negro childfrom the the experienced teachers"transfer out" oflow socideconomic groups is likely tolack these lower-class schools as soon astheyconfidence in his ability and in hisfuture. may. Most ofthem have found it impossibleHis parents usually do not encouragehim to understand thepupils of the masses.to compete in school, sothat he usually They have been puzzled by thelanguage oflacks the drive to achievement,the prime these pupils, by their attitudestowardincentive which middle-class parentsseek school work and toward the teacher;byto teach ,,their children. their indifference to the curriculumandin Moreer, the school program itself, in- the later grades, by the pupils' sullen resent-cludingtheso-called(butincorrectly ful behavior. If the experiencedteacherLermed) reading-readiness tests, theeduca- flees from these nhools, it is a mysterytional-aptitude tests, the primers, readers, what the central offices expect tohappen toand the curriculum as a whole soondamage the beginning teacher, who is givenher firstseverely the confidence and the basicself- assignment in a school in a lowersocioeco-esteem of the Negro orwhite child from low nomic area. We know whatactually hap-socioeconomicgroups. Finally, hislow pens to mostsuch new teachers. Going fromplace in society and that of his parents, her college classes on theory andfrom herfriends, and neighbors tends to weakenhis shelteredpracticeteachingintotheseself-estccm. This self-depreciition istypical schools of the masses, the newteacher ex-of all .Aatus groups, and is theresult of periences a cultural shock, a traumaof fear,their ha lig been severely stigmatized in disillusionment, and frustration from whichmost relationships withdominant groups. It she only slowly, if ever, recovers. This initi-results in a poor self-image for the Negro ation trauma of theinexperienced, middle-child and adolescent and in hiddenself- class teacher has been studied at theUni- contempt beneath the facadeof stupidity versity of Chicago. The newteacher, whoand resentment. These children need, most of all, teachers the Uni- Dr. Davis LI a Professor of Education at who will encourage them to try, to hope, to versity of Chicago. Elementary English XXXXII (November1965), 791-797. 57 58 DIMENSIONS OF DIALECT believe in their futures, and to believe in But both groups have improved markedly themselves against the dead weight of thein the last generation. The average I.Q.of social and economic pressures which drivewhite children of unskilled and semiskilled them down to self-depreciation and sullenparents in Chicago is 102.3, actuallyabove resentment. the national average for all children.3 The The chief obstacle to school achievementaverage I.Q. of Negrochildren born in by the Negro disadvantaged child is hisPhiladelphia, New York, or Chicago is 97.4 first-learned culture, that language and wayKlineberg and Lee have shown, moreover, of life which he already has learned in histhat the I.Q.'s of Negro children born in the family. In school, the child is expected toSouth improve steadily with length of resi- change the behavior which his own father,dence in New York or Philadelphia.3 This mother, and peer group have taught him.trend is statistically significant and continu- He has to learn to speak and understand aous. Such improvement,in an overall new language,"standard" English, and tomeasure of educationalaptitude, indicates learn increasingly complex middle-class be-the great power of acculturation, both in havior, with respect to study habits, controlthe school and in the community, in chang- of aggression, and sexual values. ing language and cognitive skills. For both white and Negro low status We need, however, to accelerate the pace groups, the school is oneof the most power-of acculturation of these groups in our ful factors in changing their culture. But the schools. In presenting a tentative plan for schools and our whole educational system such acceleration, I wish first to consider the are operating at thelevel of only a half ofrelationship between the teacher and the their potential effectiveness in training thesedisadvantaged Negro or white child. children. It seems clear that the first thing we have We know, for instance, that a third of theto do, if we are to help students improve white children of unskilled and semiskilledtheir attitudes toward themselves and to- families in a midwestern city already areward the school work, is to vhange our retarded in grade placement by the timeattitudes toward them. If they are to de- they are nine and ten years old.1 By the timevelop hope for their futures and faith in white children from these lowest occupa-their ability to achieve a useful life, we tional groups are in their tenth year, theymust have faith in them. No onedoes any- are about one yearbehind the children fromthing well in life unless he feels that some- the top occupational families in reading,one has faith in himand in his ability to and ten points lower in LQ. ratings. Negroachieve. children of the lowest economic group are But it is difficult for teachers tobelieve about a year behind the white lowest eco-in culturally disadvantaged studentswho nomic group in reading, and six pointsare loud and aggressive.These pupils, the lower in LQ. at age ten? teacher learns, are uninterested in the silly and dull primers, in social studies texts 'Kenneth Eells, Allison Davis, Robert J. Havig- hurst, Virgil E. Herrick, and Ralph W. Tyler, under the chairmanship of Allison Davis, Intelligence and 91. Cultural Differences. Chicago: University of Chica- 'Exerett S. Lee, "Negro Intelligence and Selective go Press, 1951, P. 112. Migration," American Sociological Review, 16 'Robert D. Hess, An Experimental Culture-Fair (1951 ), 231; also Hess, op. cit. Test of Mental Ability, Unpublished doctoral dis- 'Otto Klineberg, Negro Intelligence andSelective sertation, Committee on Human Development,the Migration. New York: Columbia University Press, University of Chicago, 1950, p. 97. 1935, p. 59. Also E. S. Lee, op. cit., pp. 231-232. 1 414

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TEACHING LANGUAGE AND READINGTO DISADVANTAGED NEGRO CHILDREN 59 or in arithmetic problems unrelated to theirSuggestions for Improving the Teaching lives. of Language and Other Cognitive Processes To stimulate new learning in these pupils,to Disadvantaged Negro Children we need first a new relationship between These proposals are designed both (1) the teacher and the student. The teacherto increase the familiarity of the child with will have to initiate thisnew relationshipcultural objects and symbols and,at the by trying to understand the student and hissame time, ( 2 ) to increase the child's desire strange, stigmatized culture. The teacherto learn in school. must also remember that the processes by( A) All authoritieson this subject have which human beings change their behavioragreed that the school behavior of children (learn) ate extremely complex, andarefrom the Negroor white lower economic usually slow. groups is characterized by: The major principles involved in the student's learning what the teacher has to 1. Their relative lack of attention to the teach may be stated as follows: problem as a whole, and its details. Inre- 1. All learning is stimulatedor hinderedsearch on an individual test of problem- by the teacher's feelings toward thesolving ability conducted by RobPrt D. student. They must trust and haveHess and myself, wewere struck by the faith in each other. fact that, in the test situation, theaverage 2. All school learning is influenced bysix-year-old child from the Negro loweco- theculturalattitudeswhich thenomic groups looked out of the windowor teacher has toward the student, andat the pictures on the wall, or sat passively, which the student experiences towardwhile the average middle-class child asked the teacher. Often in rejecting thequestions about what was expected of him, student'scultural background, thehandled the toys and other test materials, teacher appears to reject the studentand repeatedly asked whether he had made himself, as a human being. In return, the correct response. The "lack of attention" and as early as the first grade, theby low economicgroups is a cultural factor, student may reject the culture of theand is related to their lack of identification school, and of the teacher. Bothwith the school,itsactivities, and its teachers. teacher and pupil must learn tore- spect the ability and position of the 2. Their lack of apparent interest in and other. desire to learn the school activities and 3. All school learning is influenced by tasks. the degree of interest and drive with 3. Their lack of competitive drive and respect to schoolwork which the stu-confidence with respect to achieving in dent has learned in his family andthe classroom, and peer group. 4. Their relatively poor work habits. 4. All school learning is influenced by As stated in my reports of research in the presence, or absence, of intrinsic testing both low and middle socioeconomic motivation in the curriculum itself.groups of white and Negro children, the Neither the teacher nor the studentlacloof attention and of desireto learn and can create interest in dull, unrealisticto compete in school, on the part of the low- texts in reading, social studies, orincome groups, result in part from their arithmetic. cultural handicap. They discoverat the very 60 DIMENSIONS OF DIALECT beginning of their school life that they doand writing whichnow become invested not know many objects, words, pictures,with the importance and the feeling which and concepts whichmany of the otherthe child attaches to the teacher, andto (middle class ) children know. whatever she values. From the good rela- An equally powerful deterrent to achieve-tionship with the teachercomes interest in ment, however, is their fear and distrust ofthe school, in the materials, andeven in the the school and the teachei., which constituteworkbooks. It is this spark, struck by the an alien environment, and their failure torelationships with the teacher, which illumi- identify with the stranger (the teacher ) andnates and enlivens the world of the mind her behavior. The so-called lack" ofatten-even in the first grade. Therefore we need tion, lack" .of desire to learn, and "lack" ofto bring the Negro and white chilti from competitive drive in schoolare expressionslow economicgroups into a relationship of urgent realities: of fear and feelings ofin-with such a teacheras early as possible, and adequacy, and the consequentresentmentto structure this relationshipas rewarding toward the teacher and the school tasks. to both pupil and teacher. The primary emphasis in the kinder-( B ) The courageous and effective teacher garten and the primary grades, therefore,will shift from the so-called "basic reader" shouid be placedupon the establishment ofprogram. In this rigid program, the goals a strong relationship of trust and mutualare simply (1) decoding these materials, acceptance between the teacher and pupil.and (2 ) doing so ata certain pace. The ma- The first step in education isto train theterials in these primers and readers, how- pupil to like the teacher. If he likestheever, exert little or no intrinsic stimulation teacher, he will later learnto respect theupon Negro or white children from cultur- teacher and will want to win her approval.ally disadvantagedgroups. These stories It is generally true that middle-class chil-arouse neither imaginative nor dramatic dren have this positive feeling fortheinterest. As we know, the pupilscome to the teacher(inspite of frequent parentalfirst grade unprepared for the languageen- criticism of their teachers ). The feeling ofvironment of the classroom, and for most of liking for the teacher developsinto respectthe other cultural demands and activities of and the desire to win her approval. Itis justthe school. this step which is missing in the earlyschool As a result, we find in the low-income life of most Negro children fromlow socio-schools and in the central cAy schoolsa economic groups, and which must be built-conflict between the culturally alienated in at the preschool and primary level.En-pupils, who can find nothing appealing, joyable informal activities, suchas story-meaningful or exciting in the primers and reading and games; the child's freedomtoreaders, and the teacher who findsit im- tell his own stories about hisown life orpossible to succeed,or to maintain the re- fantasies, in whatever words he knows,to-quired pace, using materials which inher- gether with songs, dances, and little playsently are lacking in fantasy, excitingaction, can establish a bridge between the cultureemotional appeal, and the other qualities of the teacher and that of the low-statuswhich children enjoy. child. The problem, however, is not merelyto Across this bridge the teachercan leadreplace one set of primers and readers with the child intonew learning and new be-another,which merely change minor havior, into a new world of letters, numbers,aspects of the pictures, and use thesame TEAMING LANGUAGE AND BEADING TO DISADVANTAGED NEGRO CHILDREN 61 uninteresting situations with the postmanSapir, wrote, is a more basic process than ( who seldom has any letters for the slumlearning to use language. Thinkingpre- family ) or with the milkman ( whonevercedes expression. Language is only the delivers milk to these homes since it costsclothing of thought. Learning to think,as I three to four cents more a quart, when de-pointed out in Social-Class Influencesupon livered ). Learning, many years ago at Harvard, is The problem is, first, to help these chil-the prime goal of early education. The child dren learn to speak and understand oralis in school, first of all, to learn how to English in the kindergarten and the pri-think; that is to learn to observe, toper- mary, so as to learn to understand the lan-ceive; to recognize relationships, differenc- guage of the teacher. To be effective, thees and similarities between his observations; teaching of reading must begin with theand to make inferences whichwe regard as teaching J English vocabulary and usage,reasonable. both in the kindergarten and primary. The basic changes in the education of the Teachers of reading and of kindergartendisadvantaged Negro or white child, there- must learn to become teachers of speech.fore, will be the sameas those in good They should specialize in the field of chil-education generally. First, children have to dren's speech, and have had some traininglearn to understand and to speak language in the use of the phonetic techniques andbefore they can read it wellor intelligently. equipment familiar to teachers of speech,Speech training and learning to understand and of a foreign language. speech will come before reading. Secondly, The time is here when the obsession withmuch more time will be given to learning to reading in the first three gradesthe readingobserve, to classify, to discriminate between of nonsense in the primers and readersanobservations, to reason, and to engage in obsession which has contributed to there-expressive verbal activities than will be tardation of Negro and other disadvantagedgiven to the rigid, outmoded textbook children by two wholeyears when theymethod. Elsewhere, the writer is publishing have been in school less than six yearshascognitive, emotional, and social criteria for been recognized as a waste of time andthe development of sequences, and mate- money in vast amounts. Speaking and un-rials in the field of speech and reading. derstanding spoken languagecome first.(C ) With regard to methods for teaching The basic language is the spoken language,language: as linguists agree. Kindergarten through (a) Pictures, objects, stories, and tele- third grade will increasingly emphasize thevision shows are to be used to develop in- teaching of speech, which results in a muchterest on the part of the child in learning to more rapid learning of both vocabulary andidentify and name objects, animals,groups, syntax. etc., and to raise and explore problems. The Secondly, in addition to shifting theem-teacher approves his interests and efforts, phasis from the visual to the oral and audi-and supplies words to name objectsor tory language in the first three grades, thedescribes experiences, but she does not kindergarten and primary must devote farshow him how to solve a problem unless he more time to helping children learn tohas exhausted his own approaches. think, that is to guide cognitive ( intellec- (b ) With regard to the learning of lan- tual) development. Learning to think, asguage, objects, slides, and pictures should the great student of language, Edwardbe used just as they are by good foreign- 62 DIMENSIONS OF DIALECT language teachers to make clear the mean-usually knows nothing about the actual ing of a .new word. The child's slum dialectvalues, motives, and feelings of the lower word may be incomprehensible to thesocioeconomic community. Teachers may teacher. This makes no difference, for thelearn these facts by individual case studies child will learn the teacher's( standardor by informal talks with the pupils in their English ) word for it, when she gives himclasses. Or the faculty, as a whole, may co- practice in naming the object as she does.operate in a study, using census data on the This method will apply only to nouns andcommunity, and questionnaires and inter- to those verbs, adverbs, and prepositionsviews with parents and students. which may be illustrated by moving objects. (2) Inservicetraining of teachers. All The use of pictures and of slides also willsuccess in improving schools depends upon help arouse the child's interest in identify-the willingness of teachers to learn from ing and naming objects, animals, and cate-each other. To improve any aspect of gories of people and of actions. teaching or learning in the school, the ( c) After the child has a basic group ofadministration must provide for serious in- words and concepts, he is ready for narra-service training of teachers. Groups of tive. By far the most powerful stimulusteachers should analyze their own class- to his desire to learn concepts, experiences,room experiences, the problems which they and words is the story. The story enableshave met in their daily work. For any of him to extend his experience of nature andthe problems I have mentioned, there is no people vicariously, and gives him the lan-effective start toward a solution without the guage of action which is far more interest-participation of the majority of the most ing to him at this age than the language ofinfluential teachers in prolonged in-service categories, description, or exposition. training programs. Stories may be presented (1) through (3) Reading. Here is an exciting oppor- the teacher's telling (or reading) thosetunity for the sensitive, alert, and construc- appropriate to this development stage, (2) tive teacher:( a ) In learning the real in- through the acting, singing, or dancing outterests and experiences of children and of nursery rhymes and simple stories likeadolescents, and (b )in selecting stories "The Three Bears " or "The King and theand reading materials in the social studies Dairy Maid" by tne cnildren themselves,and in psychology which will meet these and (3) through "children's programs" oninterests. New reading materials of this television, records, tapes, or radio. The userealistic, exciting kind will not come usually made of the stories, like that made of thefrom college and university professors. They identification of objects, models, and pic-will come chiefly from classroom teachers tures, is in encouraging and stimulating thewho are in daily contact with children and child to talk, to extend his vocabulary andadolescents. Any alert teacher can find such his concepts, and to increase the complexitystories or materials and test their value by of his thinking and verbalization of relation-use with her classes. ships. (4) The curriculum. What I have said of For the inservice education of teachers, Ireading applies to the content of the rest of should suggest, in addition, the followingthe curriculum. New materials in literature, steps: the social studies, home economics, and (1) Study of the school's community.even mathematics, which deal with both The young teacher, just out of college,life and fantasy, as the pupils know it, are TEACHING LANGUAGE AND READING TO DISADVANTAGED NEGRO CHILDREN 63 greatly needed, but I haveseen few textserations in America, for full participation in which have interest for students. Onlythe educational, economic, political, and school staffs who know children and adoles-cultural life of the United States. cents, their interests and communities, can In this highly complex process of accul- select these new curricular materials. Letus turation, which operates over decades and have the eyes to observeour students, thegenerations, some teachers and schools have interest to use our observations in findinglabored hard, though at times blindly. pertinent materials, and the courage to useTeachers have made sacrifices, have given them in experimental dittoed form,as atheir heatts to their work, but often have part of classroom work. We have hadbeen discouraged. Looking at the results of thirty years of talk about a new curriculum.their hard, nerve-wracking work in one Where is the new curriculum? We want toclass period, or one semester, or one year, develop it, and write itnot talk about it.they sometimes have felt that their lives (5) Teaching method. Discussion andhave been wasted. participation: this is another field in which But the sacrifices have not been in vain. much has been said and little done. WeTime and work are telling. In just one gen- need a method by which the students of alleration, the I.Q. of Negro children in Phila- groups, and all socioeconomic levels willdelphia, New York, and Chicago has in- be drawn into classroom discussions in eachcreased about ten points. Furthermore, as subject. At present, the teacher usually fearsrevealed by Special Monograph, No. 10, allowing the low-status students to talkVolume 1, on Special Groups, by the Selec- freely; she is afraid of their English, or oftive Service System( 1953, Washington, the subjects they raise out of real life, or ofD. C., Government Printing Office, p. 147 ) her own reactions. But the best classes Ithe Negroes drafted in Illinois and New have seen in the hundreds of schools I haveYork had a far lower rate of failure on the visited have been those in which there waseducational test used by Selective Services free discussion. than did the whites in fifteen southern The process of cultural learning which is states. raising the hopes and lifting the aspirations What we, as teachers, must always re- of the Negro masses in America cannot bemember is that man is a learner. No matter stopped, although it is being impeded. Itshow handicapped he may be, he still pos- working is inevitable. It is only in thesesesses the highest of human capacities, the terms of cultural change that one can beginability to improve himself by learning. to understand the tremendous efforts ofGiven the opportunity, he will learn his way Negro Americans, after nearly fourteen gen-up. Mu:own]) THOMPSON Teaching Englishto Indian Children The 1965 meeting of the National Coun-posure to Indians stops with the Thanks- cil of Teachers of English held in thispar-giving story. This leaves them witha "Pil- ticular locale, on a Thanksgiving holidaygrim view" of Indians which is seldomap- weekend, provides an unusually appropriatepropriately broughtup to date in their study setting for a discussion of the subject,of history lateron in the grades. Usually "Teaching English to Indian Children."their notion of Indians is further warped by Here, we are meeting only a short distancethe Westerns they reador see, picturing from the very spot where in 1620 a groupIndians as wild and bloodthirstysavages. of American Indians was exposed for theIndians today liveno more like the corn- first time to the English language; yet to-planting Squanto thanwe live like the Pil- day, almost three and one half centuriesgrims of Plymouth days. Theyare no more later, several thousand American Indianslike the Indians seen in most Westerns than speak English only as their second language.we are like the stagecoach drivers or the Some do not speak it at all. Many of thevillains who robbed the mails. more than 500,000 Americans who identify themselves as Indians on census rollsare strangers to most other Americans. They are strangers in the very land that was first theirs.If American Indians todayare strangers to you, I hope that this discussion on teaching English to Indians will accom- plish a second and, perhaps, a more significant purpose; namely, to introduce you to Indians because truly you should know your fellow citizens, the American Indians. I hope, too, if this is your first introduction to today's Indians, you will not make it a casual acquaintanceship but that you will FRANCIS M. MCKINLEY learn more about Indian life as it is today. Getting ready to enter school in the fall. This Thanksgiving holiday, elementary- grade children all over America will re- Scattered throughout this land, living in enact the First Thanksgiving in whichtowns and cities in every state, thousands Indians played a prominent partwhich isupon thousands of American Indians live well and goodbut unfortunately for tooand work like their non-Indian neighbors. many of these school children, their ex-Many of them have long since severed their tribal ties; others have not. Theycan be Mrs. Thompson was Chief, Branch of Education, found in the professions; in business; in Bureau of Indian affairs, U. S. Deparbnent of thetrades and industry; in public service; and Interior prior to her retirement in 1985. This paper was presented at the Fifty-Fifth Annual NCTEin the arts. Many have attained distinction Convention in Boston, November, 1985. in their field: Congressman Reifel, the con- Elementary English XLIII (April 1966), 333-340. 64 TEACHING ENGLISH TO INDIAN CHILDREN 65 gressman from South Dakota, is a Sioux;English in Bureau of Indian Affairs schools, Maria Tallchief, the ballerina, is an Osage;the Bureau as a rule does not provide edu- William Keeler, vice-president of Phillipscationalservicesfortheir descendants. Petroleum Company, is a Cherokee; Dr.Their children and grandchildren attend Edward Dozier, professor of anthropology,public and private schools just as do the is a Pueblo Indian; Annie Wauneka, who re-children of other citizens. Today over two ceived the President's Freedom Medal, is athirds of the Indian school population Navajo. The catalog of famous Indiansattend public or church-operated schools. could go on and on. Others are just ordi-The Bureau does, however, provide educa- nary citizens like you and me. tional services for a certain segment of the Many of the Indians living and workingIndian populationa segment cf the reser- side by side with the rest of us learned thevations' population whose members in the English language as their second languagepast have lived culturally andgeographi- afterthey startedschool.Congressmancally isolated from other Americanswho Reifel's first language, for example, washave had limited exposure to modern living Sioux which he learned from his Sioux-who have been overlooked when educa- speaking mother.Last year when wetional opportunities were passed out or who appeared before the Subcommittee on Ap-refused the opportunities when offered propriations of which he is a member, he who have limited, if any, knowledge of paid tribute to the teachers in the BureauEnglishwho lack skills or jobswho have of Indian Affairs for the start and encour-experienced extreme frustration and failure. agement they gave him. CongressmanIt is their children, numbering over50,000, Reifel's command of English would makerepresenting about one third of the Indian any teacher proud. Certainlyteachers whoschool age population, who attend Bureau taught him English as his second languageschools. Not only do these children have should be doubly proud because he speaksEnglish language learning problems, but English with distinction. they have many other learningproblems as well. Consequently, all education in Bureau of Indian Affairs schools comes underthe category of special education;that is, education specially tailored to theneeds of children who must be taught a second language; who must be helped to overcome the scars of poverty and failure;who must be helped to find their waybetween two ctiltures. Ours is a compensatory typeedu- cationcompensatory for thechildrenbut more so for theteachersbecause nowhere, yes, I repeatnowhere, can teachers find the challenges and satisfactions to compensate for their hard work that can befound in DONALD J. MORROW Librarian helping sixth-grade Sioux students select working with Indian children andyouth. books in the Bookmobile. What greater satisfaction could any teacher Although many of the individuals I'vehave than to have a student expresshis been describing had their first exposure tofeelings and thoughts in words like these: 66 DIMENSIONSOF DIALECT Pima Land mentscomplexadjustmentsadjustments them. They arefaced the land of theoften confusing to Out in the sunlit West is with learning different waysof living, and Pima. different ways of making aliving, so that It lies beneath the purplearches keep up with thede- of the sunset sky. they can catch up and mands of the twentiethcentury. A good The singing of the wild birds, than ever the crying of the wild animals command of English, more so ring through the air in thisdesert land.before, is a key tool totheir successful tran- twentieth-century living.Educa- The voices of the people, sition to the sound of the drums and therattles,tional programs in Bureauof Indian Affairs the tunes of the native songs schools at all gradelevels place heavy em- are heardaround the camp fire phasis on both Englishlanguage teaching in the dark stillness ofthe night. and curriculum contentrelated to newer The mountains glow in thesunlight. ways ofliving. This paperdeals with En- The lazy Gila River creeps slylyby glish language teaching. on this ancient warground of the Apache Indian children who comefrom Indian where the Aw-aw-tam now live in peace. homes where the Englishlanguage is spoken have language problems verymuch like the problems of other Americanchildren. An Indian child who grows uplearning and speaking English at home entersschool at six years of age with six yearsof exposure to English. Some experts saythe average six year oldhas acquired 50 percentof his language developmentby the time he enters school. At anyrate, regardlessof his level, the school canbegin at whatever development happens to ,K`q. point his language be when he starts his school careerand develop it to higher levels yearby year. For DONALD J. MORROW rie In anticipation of their return tothe Navajo Res- ervation, ninth graders ofIntermountain School, Brigham City, Utah, examine artifactswed during "The Long Walk." r. . That poetry was written by anIndian stu- _-.. dent who learned English ashis second language. When a teacher hassucceeded to this degree with a studentwho is express- ing his feelings in hissecond language, she has everyrightto be proud ofher achievement. "P41 I Certain aspects of reservationlife, especially in the economic sector, nolonger adequately serve Indians.Consequently, DONALD J. MORROW like the rest of us, except to afar greaterSecond graders at jemezDay School, Jemex, degree, Indians must makerapid adjust- New Mexico.

f TEACHING ENGLISH TO INDIAN CHILDREN 67 Engtsh-speaking Indian children, Englishchildren in the Bureau's school system speak development at school, in turn, is supportedany English at all whenthey enter school. and strengthened by English usage at home. The Bureau of Indian Affairs, in its 100 The child who comes from an Indianyears of working withthe English language home where no English is spoken is in quiteproblem, has evolved methods on the basis a different situation. He sheds his six yearsof what will work and what will not work, of language development in his nativebut the Bureau does not claim to have all of tongue at the school door, and begins histhe answers. There is a continual search for school career deaf and mute to the lan-new and bettermethods, and in this search guage of the classroom. His ears, althoughthe Bureau encourages experimentation, physically receptive to sound, cannot asso-However, experimentation so far has af- ciate English sounds meaningfully with anyfirmed, rather than negated, the basic prin- thing in his Indian language background.ciples and premises on which the Bureau's He possesses a sound code for his nativeEnglish language program for the early ele- language, but his language code unlocks nomentary grades has evolved. Thesefunda- meaning when applied to English. Until hementals are: can learn the English code, he isunable to 1. The development of spoken English comprehend the message the code carries. precedes the development of English read- He is faced not only with learning a new ing and writing skills. The Bureau sets language, English, but also a new culturz, aside the first year of school for the develop- the culture of the classroom. This is an ex- ment of oral English, and oral English is emphasized throughout the grades. Teach- tremely heavy learning load for a six-year- ers who implementthis principle with un- old child. By comparison with English- derstanding have better success when later speaking children, he starts his school career they teach the reading and writing of six years behind in English language de- English. velopment His home gives hbn no support 2. Spoken English in the early elementary in learaing English since English is never grades should be developed in association spoken in his home. This describes for you with classroom, home, and community ex- the nature of our problems in teaching En- periences. This practice recognizes that language learning accrues from experience, glish because relatively few of the Indian and in the beginning from concrete experiences. U. 3. Experiences provide the meaning content of language. Oral English expression should be welded to meaning since expression and meaning are inseparable in the communication of thought. Drill is important to establish English patternsof expression, but pattern drill is introduced in close association with meaning. Oral language development requires that the inlividual learn to recognize and to produce the complete sound system of . . English, to make the correct association between meaning and expression, and to make HILDEGARD THOMPSON English patterns of expression a matter of Sixth grade Wahpeton Indian students use a listening center in Brigham City, Utah. habit. The learner acquires ability to speak

,tl- --A 68 DIMENSIONSOF DIAL= English by imitating English-speaking mod-conducted by experienced teachers working els. His ear must be taught to hear anddis-with littlechildren in actual classroom tinguish English sounds ( auraltraining ); hissituations. speech muscles must be trainedto produce We try to provide teachers with the the sounds in proper patterns ofexpressionsspace, equipment, and teaching tools to ( oral training), in terms of themeaning hework with beginners. All of the classrooms wishes to express ( cultural content). in our new schools for beginnersare spac- ious, contain movable tables and chairs, bulletin boards,a record player or a piano, or both, a slide projector, Andmov- able charts. Each beginner'sroom has a small washroom with facilities scaledto child size.

f '

Studying dormitory room, Flagstaff Dormitory, Arizona. We bring into our systemover 200 teachers each year. Few have had any training or experience in dealing with the type of language teaching problemswe face. In our teacher orientation programswe try to give teachers entering the systemsome degree of undertsanding of the problems ofa non-Mrs. Frances Longwood, teacher, assisting boy English-speaking child through role playingwith his selection from library tableat Cheyenne in a simulated beginners' classroom. TheEagle Butte School, South Dakota. new teachers take the role of children and We also expect our teachers tocreate an an Indian-speaking teacher conducts theactive classroom environment through the class activities inone of the more than 150use of a great variety of materials of interest Indian languagesor dialects spoken today.to primary-grade children suchas toys, Naturally the new employees understandblocks, art materials, and naturalscience nothing. As they try toguess at the instruc-materials. Songs andgames are an impor- tions the native-speaking teacher gives, andtant part of the daily activities. Activities fail, she repeats the instructions in louderdeveloped with these teaching materials and louder tonesacommon error made byprovide interesting experiences thatgive teachers when children fail to comprehendmeaningful content to the oral English that their instructions in thenew language.is being learned. About 30 minutes of this type of experience The experienced demonstration teacher puts the teachers in an understanding moodshows the new recruits howto use these for observation in demonstration classesmaterials to develop English. After teachers TEACHING ENGLISH TO INDIAN CHILDREN 69 are assigned to their own classroomsfor Have we expected the oral English language regular teaching duties we ask them to eval- development adequate for grades 1-4 to serve upper elementaryand high school uate their own performance by keeping be- levels? fore themselves questions such as these: Am I relating my oral English teaching to Are we using teaching methods that are firsthand experiences? inadequate at these upper-grade levels? Do I make use of the everyday things chil- Do we provide sufficient opportunities at dren do at school? each grade level for oral English practice? Do I provide children with a wealth of experiences to enrich their background? Have we presented upper-grade and high Do I use these experiences as the basis of school English in a hit or miss fashion, thus my English language development? neglecting proper control and sequence? Do I help children hear English sounds correctly? (This calls for many listening Have we tried to teach English at upper- activities.) grade and high school levels in the same way we teach English to native English Do I show them how English sounds are speakers? produced? Do I provide the practice they need to What are we doing about achievement gap produce English thought patterns cor- at upper-grade levels? rectly? We provide one whole year of this type First, two years ago, we analyzed the of oral English instruction to give Indianprinciples upon which our English lan- children in our system a start for the first-guage program is based in comparison with grade work. This places them, in age, onelinguistic approac.:es. This analysis indi- whole year behind their English counter-cated to us that the basic principles in our parts in first grade, but their achievementapproach are sound in accordance with parallels that of English-speaking childrenpresent day thinking of linguists on the until English becomes the primary tool forsubject. further learning, usually about fourth grade. Second, we are working toward the devel- At this point they begin to fall behind, andopment of an English language program the gap becomes progressively wider untillaid out in sequential increments beginning by the time they reach the upper elemen-with the primary grades on through high tary and high school grades they are two toschool grades. This is a monumental task four grades behind national norms. which will take time, but we are convinced Inability to achieve at adequate levels inthat it must be done. It is unfair to teachers upper grades and high school is aseriousto expect them to develop the level of problem, and one which seems to beEnglish language capability required today generally true of all groups that do notwithout guides that indicate the oral lan- speak English as their first language. Whyguage to be taught at each grade level. does it happen? What can be done about Third, we have several groups experi- it? We are asking ourselves: menting with newer materials and experi- Have we failed to build a solid oral Englishmental methods, but we are not abandoning base for upper-grade English? our own approaches until we find better Have we introduced abstract learning tooand more successful methods to replace fast? them. 70 DIMENSIONS OF DIALECT

Fourth, we are developingdrill materialsgovernmental agencies broaden the cultural to use at upper-grade levelsand experi-and educational horizons of upper-grade menting with them ina language laboratoryand high school students. at our largest boarding school. We have One learns to meet people bymeeting postponed putting languagelaboratoriesthem. In many ofour schools, students serve in other schools untilwe have first devel-as guides to explain their school to visitors, oped programs touse in them. We believeand attend public meetingsto tell about it is wise to invest our efforts first in thetheir school activities. Bankingcomes alive development of programswiththe invest-when students haveseen the inside work- ment in hardware tocome later. We do,ings of a bank. Inour schools the students however, emphasize theuseoftapeoperate a school bankas a safe place recorders in every classroom. to keep their funds,as well as to provide Fifth, we are building librariesandexperiences to develop the habit ofsav- material centers in all ofour larger schools.ing. We use experiences suchas these to These are to be learning centers equippedprovidecontentforEnglishlanguage and stocked with all kinds ofvisual aids, aslearning. well as books and other readingmaterials. We expect these centersto be the heart of our schools. Sixth, we are extendingcontacts of our students with non-Indiansthrough field trips,excursions,exchangevisits,and MN_

61.

DONALD 3. MORROW Fourth-grade Navajo students havinga reading lesson. We are coming faceto face with the problem of English languageteaching to a HILDEGARD THOMPSON degree that we havenever faced it before, Second-grade Taos Indian childrenarranging the for the simple bulletin board. reason that we are getting more students in high school, more students summer programs. These expanded experi-finishing high school, andmore students ences are providing at the upper-gradegoing on to college and post highschool level the firsthand experiencesthat bringtraining. As a matter of fact, by1970 we meaning to formal classroom work. Ifprop-hope to have 90 percent of Indianstudents erly planned and used for theireducationalin our schools finish high school, withall of value, trips to museums, to concerts, to artthem going on to training beyondthe high galleries, to offices, to factories,and toschool in colleges anduniversities, or tech- TEACHING ENGLISH TOINDIAN CHILDREN 71 fellow citizens, nical and vocational schools.When we setbetter acquainted with your of those whothe American Indians.Historically, Indians this goal, only 52 percent of life, entered the 9th grade remained tograduate;have contributed greatly to our way English failures werebut their contributionshave lost much of thus, our most serious people in who left us. In 1985, fivetheir Indian identity. How many in the 48 percent example, know that In- years later,the holding power hasbeenthe corn belt, for completing highdians of the Americas gave uscorn? How increased to 77 percent politicians school. Fifty percent of ourhigh schoolmany of ourstatesmen and of Iroquois had graduates are continuingtheir education.know that the Six Nations a highlyorganized form of government These statistics indicate progress. Fathers bor- But we are notsatisfied. We have muchfrom which our Founding rowed some of theirideas in developing Ii further to go. We hope toadd experts to speed up the preparationofthe structure of our owngovernment? our staff to America today. curriculum guides andEnglish language Indians have much to give hope to employ aIndian cultureanii onlyIndian culture materials of all kinds. We erica. As such it can corps ofspecially prepared teachers,hope-is indigenous to Ail in teachingadd a quality to thefobric of American life fully teachers with experience should not lose that English as a second language, towork withthat is distinctive. We materials,distinctiveness; instead weshould enhance students at all levels, to try out individual Indian de- approaches. it by helping each and experiment with various the fullest. By Perhaps what I've saidwill challengevelop his innate capacities to problem to seekso doing, notonly will Americanlife be teachers interested in this demonstrate to employment with the Bureauof Indianstrengthened but we will the world how much wevalue the individ- Affairs. In closing, may I again urgeyou to getual and his right to behimself. ELDONNA L. Ev Ems Annotated Bibliography of Books for Elementary Children in English and Foreign Language Editions

The following bibliography is divided into three sections; books that have both an English and a foreign language edition; single volumes thatare written in both English and a foreign language; picture dictionariesor books that are wrliten in English with selected words, phrases, orpassages written in a foreign language. Teachers may use these books to help pupils maintainor improve an ability to read a foreign language or to acquaint pupils with the fact thatmany stories enjoyed in English-speaking countries bring equal pleasure to children in foreign countries. A pupil who is learning English as a second languagecan move from a story he can understand in his own language to seeing, hearing, and'understanding the story in English. Many teachers may wish touse these books to illustrate' variations between the syntax or the structure of one language and that of another.

Anglund, Joan Walsh. A Friend Is Someone Who Likes You. New York: Harcourt,Brace & World, Inr1958. The original English version of a reflectionon the world of reality, as viewed through the eyes of a child. Un Ami, C'est Quelqu'un Qui T'aime. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1965. The French translation of A Friend Is Someone Who Likes You; literal translation of text, with identical layout and illustrations. Brown, Marcia. Stone Soup: An Old Tale. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1947. An English version of the Old French tale, retold and illustrated by Marcia Brown. Une Drole de Un Vieux Conte. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1960. The French translation of Stone Soup, with identical format and illustrations. Lionni, Leo. Swimmy. New York: Random House, 1963. The original English version of the adventures ofa little black fish whose friends are all swallowed by a hungry tuna. .Nageot. French translation by Catherine David. New York: Random House, 1963. The French translation of Swimmy, with identical format and illustrations. Suimi. Spanish translation by Teresa A. de la Haba. New York: Random House, 1963. The Spanish translation of Swimmy, with identical format and illustrations. Dr. Evertts is Associate Professor of Education, University of Illinois, and AssistantExecutive Secretary, National Council of Teachers of English. 72 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHYOF BOOKS FOR ELEMENTARY CHILDREN 73 Plenn, Doris Troutman. The Green Song. Illustrated by Paul Galdone. New York: David McKay Company, 1965. The original English version of a fantasy story about a little Puerto Rican tree frog who takes a plane to New York City in his effort to see the world. La Canción Verde. Illustrated by Paul Galdone. Sharon, Connecticut: The Troutman Press, 1956. The Spanish edition of The Green Song, arranged in different format and pagina- tion but with identical illustrations. Po liti, Leo. Pedro, the Angel of Olvera Street. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1946. The English version of a Christmas story for children, telling abouta small boy who lives in the Spanish sector of Los Angeles. .Pedro, el Angel de la Calle Olvera. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1961. The Spanish translation of Pedro, the Angel of Olvero Street, arranged in similar format and with identical illustrations. A Spanish-English glossary is appended. Rey, H. A. Curious George. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1961. The original English version of the antics of a small African monkey when he first arrived in the United States. Jorge el Curioso. Translated by Pedro Villa Fernandez. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1961. The Spanish translation of Curious George, with Spanish-English vocabulary printed at the bottom of each page and a Spanish-English glossary appended.. Robbins, Ruth. The Emperor and the Drummer Boy. Illustrated by Nicolas Sidjakov. Berkeley, California: Parnassus Press, 1962. The English edition of a story describing a young drummer boy and his encounter with Napoleon. L'empereur et le Tambour. Illustrated by Nicolas Sidjakov. Trans- lated by Marie Byrne. Berkeley, California: Parnassus Press, 1962. A translation of The Emperor and the Drummer Boy, written in French with format and illustrations identical to the English edition. Saint-Exupery, Antoine de. The Little Prince. English translation by Katherine Woods. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1943. The English translation of the original French fantasy describinga visitor from another planet. This edition is identical in format to that of the original French edition. Le Petit Prince. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1943. The original French story of The Little Prince. Vacheron, Edith, and Virginia Kahl. Here Is Henri! New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1959. Three short stories, written in English, about Henri, a French boy, and hiscat friend, Michel. Voici Henri! New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1959. The French edition of Here Is Henry! The format and illustrationsare identical with a French-English glossary. Vacheron, Edith, and Virginia Kahl. More about Henri! New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1961. An English sequel to Here Is Henri! Four additional stories about kienriare included in this one volume. Encore Henri! New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1961. The French edition of More about Henri!, with identical format and illustrations. A French-English glossary is appended. 0 0 0 * 0 0 0 * Baldner, Gaby. Joba and the Wild Boar [Joba und das Wildschweird. Illustrations by Gerhard Oberlander. New York: Hastings House, 1961.

44. 74 DIMENSIONS OF DIALECT A story about a little German girl anda baby wild boar that becomes her pet. The text includes both English and Germanside-by-side on the page. Barenbaum, Simon and Ruth. Le Secret du GrandHangar [The Secret of the Grand Hangar]. Photographs by Edward Freeman.New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1966. Large, black-and-white photographs illustratethe story of preparation for the French Carnival and the excitement of thefestival itself. Captionsare written in French, with the English translationsgiven as an appendix. Francois, André. Crocodile Tears [Larmes deCrocodile]. New York: Universe Books, 1963. A nonsense story foryoung children, written in English with the French translation printed under the English. Frasconi, Antoaio. The House that Jack Built[La Maison que Jacques Abatie].New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1958. A traditional nursery rhyme printedin both English and French, with theFrench text appearing directly below the Englishon each page. English questions about the poem, with theanswers in French, are included at the end of the book. Frasconi, Antonio. The Snow and the Sun [LaNieve y el Sol]. New York:Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1961. An old South American folk rhyme withcolored woodcut illustrations, printed side-by-side in English and Spanish. Klein, Leonore. Huit Enfants etun Bébé [Eight Children and One Baby]. Illustrations by Michael Foreman. New York:Abelard-Schuman, Lt'd,1966. A story of a large family and theevents that tal,e place when they tryto solve the problem of over-crowded livingquarters. The text is written in simple French with an English translation at the end of thebook. Pullet, Roger A. Andre Francois Villeneuve.Chicago: Follett PublishingCompany, 1965. A story in informal French using expressionsappropriate to everyday conversation. The English translation is available inthe back of the book. Prieto, Marianna. Ah Ucu and Itzo. Illustrationsby Lee Smith. ,New York: TheJohn Day Company,, 1964. The story of a small Mayan Indian boyin eastern Mexico and the troublethat results when his petmouse eats the food that has been left for the "LittlePeople," who determine whetheror not there will be a good harvest. Thestory is written in English, with the Spanish translationwritten at the bottom of eachpage. An English and Spanish vocabulary, withphonetic pronunciations, is included. Prieto, Marianna. A Kite for Carlos. Illustrationsby Lee Smith. New York: TheJohn Day Company, 1966. The story of a Spanish-American boyand the kite that his grandfathermakes him for his birthday. The story is printedin English on the left- and in Spanishon the right-hand pages. Spanish and Englishphonetic pronunciation vocabulariesare appended, as well as informationalnotes concerning Spanish culture. Prieto, Marianna. The Wise Rooster [ElGallo Sabio]. Illustrated by LeeSmith. New York: The John Day Company, 1962. The story of the night the animals talkedis told in English and in Spanish, withthe English versionon the left-hand pages and the Spanish translationon the right. Priolo, Pauline. Bravo Marco! Illustratedby Betty F. Peterson. Italiantranslation by Arnolfo B. Ferruolo. Berkeley, California:Parnassus Press, 1963. A story about a little Italian boyand how he persuadesa stubborn donkey to pull his new cart. The story is writtenin English, followed byan Italian translation on each page; an English-Italian vocabularyof useful expressions is appended. Rider, Alex. A la Ferme / At theFarm. Illustrated by Paul Davis.New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1962. A story of two children who spendthe summeron a farm. The story is given in English on one page, with theFrench translation printedon the facing page. ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF BOOKSFOR ELEMENTARY CHILDREN 75 An alphabetical English-French vocabulary and a pronunciation guide are appended. Rider, Alex. Chez Nous / At Our House. Illustrated by Isadore Seltzer. New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1962. A story about everyday happenings familiar to any little American or French child. The story is printed first in English and then, on the facing pages, in French. An English-French vocabulary and a guide to pronunciation are appended. Ritchie, Barbara. Ramon Makes a Trade. Illustrated by Earl Thollander. Spanish translation by Kenneth Edwards. Berkeley, California: Parnassus Press, 1959. The story of how Ramon, a Mexican boy, manages to buy a parakeet and cage through some skillful bargaining and trading. The English version is given at the top of each page, with the Spanish translation printed at the bottom. A glossary of useful expressions in English and Spanish is appended. Ritchie, Barbara. To Catch a Mongoose. Illustrated by Earl Thollander. French translation by Marie Byrne. Berkeley, California: Parnassus Press, 1963. A story of two Caribbean children who caught and tamed a mongoose and then tried to sell him. The story is written in English, with the French translation given at the bottom of each page. Sokol, Camille. La Pluche. Illustrated by Bill Sokol. New York: Holt, R:nehart & Winston, Inc., 1963. Impressions about the everyday life of La Pluche, a lackadaie,cal father, is told in French, with the English translation given at the bottom of each page. Steegmuller, Francis. Le Hibou et la Poussiquette [The Owl and the Pussy-Cat]. Illustrated by Barbara Cooney. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1961. A free translation in French of Edward Lear's poem, "The Owl and the Pussy-Cat." A French-English glossary is appended, as well as the original English version of the poem. Steegmuller, Francis, and Norbert Guterman. Papillot, Clignot et Dodo [Wynken, Blynken and Nod]. Illustrated by Barbara Cooney. New York: Ariel Books, 1964. A free French translation of Eugene Field's "Wynken, Blynken and Nod"; an English text is included at the end of the book. Trez, Denise and Alain. Le Petit Chien [The Little Dog]. Illustrated by Alain Trez. Cleveland: The World Publishing Company, 1961. A French story about a little dog that was robbed of his bones by his nine brothers, yet who heroically saves his brothers. The English version begins with the back cover; thus both versions end in the middle of the book. The illustrations are identical for both versions. Trez, Denise and Alain. Le Vilain Cat [The MischievouS Cat]. Illustrated by Alain Trez. Cleveland: The World Publishing Company, 1965. A French story of a cat who played naughty tricks on the other animals. The French text is presented at the beginning of the book with the English version under the back cover and reading toward the middle of the bnok. The illustrations are identical for both versions.

Brunhoff, Laurent de. Babar's French Lessons. New York: Random House, Inc., 1963. A story of an elephant teaching French to children. The story is to7id in English, with important or useful phrases given in French immediately following the English word or phrase. Brunhoff, Laurent de. Babar's Spanish Lessons. Spanish words by Roberto Eyzaguirre. New York: Random House, Inc., 1965. A story of an elephant teaching Spanish to children. The story is told in English, with important or useful phrases given in Spanish immediately following the English word or phrase. 76 DIMENSIONS OF DIALECT Frasconi, Antonio. See and Say: A Picture Book in Four Languages. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1955. A selection of familiar words, given in four languages: English, Italian, French, and Spanish. The words are illustrated with large, colorful woodcuts. Frasconi, Antonio. See Again, Say Again: A Picture Book in Four Languages. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1964. A sequel to See and Say, with familiar words listed in four languages and illustrated with large, colorful woodcuts. Joslin, Sesyle. Spaghetti for Breakfast. Illustrated by Katharina Barry.New York: Har- court, Brace & World, Inc., 1965. An Italian vocabulary guide for children, witha common Italian phrase given on each page, followed by a pronunciation guide and the English translation.A picture is used on each page to demonstrate the time and placein which the phrase would be used. Joslin, Sesyle. There Isa Bull on My Balcony. Illustrated by Katharina Barry. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1966. A Spanish vocabulary guide for children, with familiar phrases givenin Spanish, accompanied on each page by a pronunciation guide, the English translation,and a picture to demonstrate the use of the word. Joslin, Sesyle. There Is a Dragon in My Bed. Illustrated byIrene Haas. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1961. A French vocabulary guide for children. Acommon French phrase is given on each page, with pronunciation and the. English translationgiven directly below. A picture demonstrates the Hme and place in which the phrasewould be used. Filloux, Odette, translator. The Cat in the Hat Beginner BookDictionary in French. New York: Random House, Inc., 1965. A dictionary for children learning French idiom, with large illustrationsfor English entry words. English and corresponding French sentences illustrate theuse of each word. This book is basedon the original Beginner Book Dictionary. Shannon, Terry. A Trip to Mexico. Illustrated by CharlesPayzant. Chicago: Childrens Press, 1961. Two American children describe theirrecent trip to Mexico. Spanish vocabulary and useful phrases are given above the Englishtext, along with punctuation guide and English translation for each word. Shannon, Terry. A Trip to Paris. Illustrated by CharlesPayzant. Chicago: Childrens Press, 1959. A story about American children takinga trip to Paris. French phrases are given above the English text, along witha pronunciation guide and English translation of each phrase. Shannon, Terry. A Trip to Quebec. Illustrated byCharles Payzant. Chicago: Childrens Press, 1963. A story about American children takinga trip to Que,Jec. French phrases are given above the English text, along witha pronunciation guide and English translation of each phrase. Steiner, Charlotte. A Friend Is "Ainie." New York: AlfredA. Knopf, Inc., 1956. A story about two little girls who became friendsin spite of the fact that they spoke different languages. The story is writtenin English, with the French girl's vocabulary included and indicated bya color key. French words with English equivalents are shown with large illustrationsin the front and back of the book.

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