African American Vernacular English: Should It Be Implemented In Our Schools?

1. African American Vernacular English: Should It Be Implemented In Our Schools? Kathia Darius Education 703.22 Professor O’Connor Spring 2010

2. Table of Contents • Introduction 3 • Statement of the Problem 4 • Review of the Literature 5 • Statement of the Hypothesis 6 • Methods 7 • Participants 7 • Instruments 8 • Procedure 9 • Experimental Design 10 • Threats to Validity 11 • Data Analysis 12 • Discussion 14 • Implications 16 • References 17

3. Introduction • African American Vernacular English signifies an example of the formation of culture in the African American community. • Research and evaluation programs continue to demonstrate that black children do not do well in school . • Black English is linked to reading deficiencies in African American children.

4. Statement of the Problem • Many black children speak a nonstandard variety of English; and African American Vernacular English (AAVE) has been widespread and evident in their respective communities. In schools, teachers should recognize that AAVE exists, but should also find the best way to integrate Standard English (SE) to speakers of AAVE, while at the same time respecting their native dialects.

5. Review of Related Literature • The school system should support the usage of AAVE Pros: • School boards should heighten teacher awareness such that students who speaks AAVE could be identified and given special attention while learning to read Standard English ( Barnes, 1998). • Sociolinguists have convincingly argued that the difficulty of Black students with the Standard English lies partly in the differences in social meanings and use of dialects ( Barnes, 1998). • The school system should be against the usage of AAVE Cons: • According to certain news accounts, the Oakland resolution resulted in a nation wide ridicule. One news columnist referred to Ebonics as gibberish and believes that Ebonics is a dialect and not a language ( Leo, 1997), ( McGrory, 1996). • A task force established by Oakland Unified School District in 1996 concluded that the differences between Black children’s home English and the school standard English were the cause of low test scores ( Ogbu, 1999).

6. Statement of the Hypothesis • HR 1 • Evaluating the knowledge of AAVE with twenty second grade students over a six-week period at P.S. X, will demonstrate that the students are fully conscious of AAVE, that they use AAVE, and their acknowledgement of the difference between African American Vernacular English and Standard English.

7. Methods Participants • Twenty second grade students • Seven girls • Thirteen boys • Ethnicity • Seven Latino/Hispanic Americans • Thirteen African Americans • Parents/Guardians • Public School in Brooklyn, New York

8. Methods Continued • Instruments • Comprehension Tests ( Sweet Clara… & Helen Keller) • Comprehension surveys • Student and Parent

9. Methods Continued • In late February, consent forms were sent out to parents. • From early March- Mid March, students were introduced to a historical fiction book using AAVE and a non-fiction biography using Standard English. • Excerpts from both books were placed on an overhead projector; due to constant negative activities research was postponed. • From Early April- Mid April (twice a week), students were re-introduced to the historical fiction book and non-fiction biography. • Early May, students watched a scene from “Shark Tale” and “The Princess and the Frog”. • Comprehension surveys were given to students to see if they were aware of the African American vernacular used in the films. • Parental surveys were distributed to obtain parents/guardians views on AAVE.

10. Experimental design • Pre-Experimental Design • One-Shot Case Study • Symbolic Design: XO • The study involves one group of students who will be exposed to a treatment (X) and post-tested (O).

11. Threats to Validity Internal Threats • History • Maturation • Instrumentation • Selection-Maturation Interaction External Threats • Experimenter effects • Multiple treatment effect • Generalizable conditions

12. Data Analysis Although the students didn’t realize that they speak AAVE, they scored higher on the Sweet Clara test than on the Helen Keller Test.

13. Data Analysis Continued • Student survey question # 1: • Pay attention to the way ‘Ray’, the firefly speaks, is it different From the way you speak or the same? • 1. The same • 2. Almost the same • 3. Somewhat the same • 4. Different With a correlation of 0.21rxy, there appears to be no correlation between with question # 1 and the results from the Sweet Clara test.

14. Discussion • The results of this study demonstrated that the students understood African American Vernacular English and Standard English, but the use of AAVE was more prevalent. • Movie Survey • Fourteen students participated in the movie survey. • Two students were pulled out to take assessments. • Two students were assigned to other classes due to negative behavior. • Two students were absent.

15. Discussion Continued • Comprehension Tests • Fifteen students took the comprehension tests on Sweet Clara and Helen Keller. • Two students refused to take the tests. • Three students were absent. • Parental survey • Eleven parents completed the survey on AAVE.

16. Implications • The results of this study suggests the following inferences: • A need for a larger sample size. • More longitudinal studies.

17. References • Alexander, F.C. (1980) Black English Dialect and the Classroom Teacher. The Reading Teacher, 33 (5), 571-577. Retrieved on December 13, 2009, from JSTOR database. • Barnes, L. S. (1998) Ebonics and Public Awareness: Who Knows? Who Cares? Journal of Black Studies, 29 (1) 17-33. Retrieved on May 20, 2010, from JSTOR database • Billings, C. A., (2005) Beyond the Ebonics Debate: Attitudes about Black and Standard American English. Journal of Black Studies, 36 (1), 68-81. Retrieved on December 13, 2009, from JSTOR database. • Black English (1975) Oceanic Linguistics Special Publications, No.14, A Bibliography of Pidgin and Creole Languages, 481-529. Retrieved on November 1, 2009, from JSTOR database. • Black English and Other Dialects: Sociolinguistic Implications for Reading Instruction Authors): John G. Barnitz Source: The Reading Teacher, Vol. 33, No. 7 (Apr., 1980), pp. 779-786. Retrieved October 1, 2009, from JSTOR database. • Cunningham, P (1976-1977). Teachers’ Correction Responses to Black-Dialect Miscues Which Are Non-Meaning-Changing. Reading Research Quarterly, 12 (4) 637-653.Retrieved October 1, 2009, from JSTOR database

18. References Continued • Jacobson, R. (1972) The Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages and/or Dialects: An Oversimplification. TESOL Quarterly, 4 (3) 241-253. Retrieved on December 13, 2009, from JSTOR database. • Kochman, T (1975) Review: Grammar and Discourse in Vernacular Black English. Foundations of language, 13 (1) 95-118. Retrieved December 13, 2009, from JSTOR database. • Labov, W (1982) Objectivity and Commitment in Linguistic Science: The Case of the Black English Trial in Ann Arbor. Language in Society, 11(2) 165-201. Retrieved November 1, 2009, from JSTOR database. • Labov, W. (1973) The Linguistic Consequences of Being a Lame Author. Language in Society, 2 (1) 81-115. Retrieved on December 13, 2009, from JSTOR database. • Morgan, M (1994). Theories and politics in African American English. Annual Review of Anthropology, vol.23 325-345. Retrieved October 1, 2009, from JSTOR database. • Myhill, J (1988) The Rise of BE As an Aspect Marker in Black English Vernacular. American Speech, 63 (4) 304-325. Retrieved on December 13, 2009, from JSTOR database. • Ogbu U.J; (1999) Beyond Language: Ebonics, Proper English, and Identity in a Black-American Speech Community. American Educational Research Journal, 36 (2) 147-184. Retrieved on December 13, 2009, from JSTOR database.

19. References Continued • Ogbu, U. J. ( 1999) Beyond Language: Ebonics, Proper English, and Identity in a Black- American Speech Community. American Educational Research Journal, 36 (2) 147-184. Retrieved on May 20, 2010, from JSTOR database. • Palacas, L.A; (2001) Liberating American Ebonics from Euro-English. College English, 63 (3) 326-352. Retrieved on December 13, 2009, from JSTOR database. • Rickford, R.J (1997) Unequal Partnership: Sociolinguistics and the African American Speech Community. Language in Society, 26 (2) 161-197. Retrieved on November 1, 2009, from JSTOR database. • Shores, L.D; (1974) Black English and Black Attitudes. South Atlantic Bulletin, 39 (4) 104-112. Retrieved on December 13, 2009, from JSTOR database. • Shuy W. R (1973) The Study of Vernacular Black English as a Factor in Educational Change. Research in the Teaching of English, 7 (3) 297-311. Retrieved on November 1, 2009, from JSTOR database. • Siegal, J (1999) Stigmatized and Standardized Varieties in the Classroom. Interference or Separation? TESOL Quarterly, 33 (4) 701-728. Retrieved on October 1, 2009, from JSTOR database. • Smith, B.R; (1974) Research Perspectives on American Black English: A Brief Historical 49 (1/2) 24-39. Retrieved on October 1, 2009, from JSTOR database.Sketch. American Speech. • Speicher, L.B.; Bielanski, R.J (2000) Critical Thoughts on Teaching Standard English. Curriculum Inquiry, 30 (2) 147-169. Retrieved November 1, 2009, from JSTOR database.

20. References Continued • Speicher L. B; McMahon, M.S. (1992) Some African –American Perspectives on Black Vernacular. Language in Society, 21(3) 383-407. Retrieved on October 1, 2009, from JSTOR database. • Tamura, H.E. (2002). African American Vernacular English and Hawai’i Creole English: A comparison of Two School Board Controversies. The Journal of Negro Education, 71 (1/2) 17-30.Retrieved October 1, 2009, from JSTOR database. • Tarone, E. E., (1973) Aspects of Intonation of Black English. American Speech, 48 (1/2), 29-36. Retrieved on December 13, 2009, from JSTOR database. • Wolfram, W; Thomas, R.E; Green, W.E (2000) The Regional Context of Earlier African American Speech: Evidence for Reconstructing the Development of AAVE. Language in Society, 29 (3) 315-355. Retrieved on October 1, 2009, from JSTOR database. • Wright, E (1990). School English and public policy. College English, 42(4) 327-342. Retrieved October 1, 2009, from JSTOR database. • Zeigler, B.M; and Osinubi, V (2002) Theorizing the Postcoloniality of African American English. Journal of Black Studies, 32 (5) 588-609. Retrieved on December 13, 2009, from JSTOR database.