Additional Publications: Articles

As we continue to honor Black History Month, this week’s Tuesday Teaching Tip examines the relationship between dialect and learning to read.

“Language can seem mundane because we learn it as children and use it every day without having to think consciously about it” (Curzan & Adams, 2012, p. 2). To put it simply, language is the words we use and how we use them to share ideas and get what we want. All languages have variations, such as accent and dialect. Accent is the way a word is pronounced– po-ta-to, po-tot-o! Dialect is a “variety of a language, whether regional or social, systematically different from other varieties of the same language in structural or lexical features” (Cruzan & Adams, 2012, p. 494). Every person has a dialect, and as Julie Washington (2022) reminds us:

Wherever there is language, there is dialect.

By far, the most well-documented language variation, or dialect, is African-American English (Washington and Seidenberg, 2021). African-American English is a systematic, rule-governed cultural dialect with specific features across all language domains – phonological, morphological, syntactic, and lexical (Cruzan & Adams, 2012). “Dialect occurs on a continuum from low to high use” (Washington & Seidenberg, 2021, para. 9), and teachers should be aware of dialect density within their classroom. A high-dialect density is when 50% or more of oral language is influenced by a dialect whereas a low-dialect density is when a dialect influences 10% or less of spoken language (Washington & Seidenberg, 2021). High-dialect users have a larger linguistic distance from General American English (GAE) resulting in a greater cognitive load for students. “Simply put, linguistic distance influences how much instruction and practice a child is likely to need to bridge the differences between oral language at home, oral language spoken by the teacher, and the written language of books and other texts” (Washington & Seidenberg, 2021, para. 9).

Key take away for teachers: there is no ‘right’ way to speak. 

Teachers must honor and affirm the language students are loved in at home. A culturally and linguistically responsive teacher:

• Empowers students oral dialect usage to flourish.
• Recognizes the potential benefits of using AAE to identify and teach the differences (Washington, 2022).
• Acknowledges that it may take more time and practice for high-density dialect users to master reading, writing, and spelling.

In summary, “language matters, but language variation also matters” (Washington et al., 2018). Embracing a research-to-practice mindset, the implications for teachers who work with AAE speakers are multifold. The same evidence-based instructional strategies that are used to teach all students to read are the same for dialect speakers, with adjustments made in order to value and build upon their oral-language foundation.

Dr. Julie Washington is a member of AIM's Research Advisory Board. To learn more from Dr. Washington, feel free to review a presentation she provided at a previous AIM Research to Practice Symposium entitled Language and Literacy in Low-Income African American Students.