ABSTRACT
The previous chapters focus on how educators should consider dialects when addressing various kinds of literacy skills or in assessing students’ educational performance and achievement. But language variation can also be a fascinating area of study for students that helps them learn how language is structured and how it is used in different regional and social contexts. Many educators and linguists are now encouraging the active study of dialects—including vernacular ones—as a regular part of the curriculum for all students. Indeed, the standards for the English language arts developed jointly by the International Reading Association (IRA) and the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) include the statement that “Students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns, and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions, and social roles” (NCTE/IRA, 1996, p. 3). Many of the state standards for what students should know and be able to do have a similar focus. Furthermore, the NCTE/National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) program standards (NCTE/NCATE Program Standards, 2003) include explicit guidelines and expectations for teachers’ performance related to language diversity (see Table 8.1).
