Ebonics Effects on Language Development in the ECE

Ebonics’ Effects on Language Development in the ECE Classroom La. Keisha Stockton Theories of Cognitive Development December 3, 2007

Introduction African American children in the United States are doing worse that than other children of other races in education. 61% of 4 th graders received below basic in reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress That’s compared to the 27% percent of white 4 th graders who received below basic African American children receive below basic at higher rates than Asian and Hispanic children who have English as their 2 nd langauge

Introduction Why are these statistics so? Professor Basil Bernstein of the University of London’s Institute of Education stated that "if the culture of the teacher is to become part of the consciousness of the child, the culture the child must first be in the consciousness of the teacher”

Introduction The traditional approach to education is not working for African American students

Ebonics…What is it A term coined by psychologist Robert L. Williams in 1973 by George Washington University in St. Louis A combination of the 2 words ebony and phonics Synonyms: African American Vernacular English and Black English Linguistic educators generally agree that Ebonics is a legitimate language variety in its own right It is used by 90% of African American at some point

Ebonics… What is It? It is a reflection of African American history which has traces in West Africa and times of slavery and oppression Slavery created the need to code or disguise English from the white man, since slaves were forced to communicate in English Slaves created a way to change meaning of their words in the conversation without alarming the whites

Ebonics…. What is it? It is Euro-American speech with an Afro-American meaning, nuance, tone, and gesture It is a language that has retained many grammatical and other linguistic elements from their West African mother tongue

The Oakland Debate In 1997, the Oakland, CA unified school district made it’s Standard English Proficiency program mandatory Although this program had be been around for years and many teacher participated, it stirred up our country all the way to the Nation’s capitol

The Oakland Debate It was created to educate teachers who work with African-American children about the history of Black English After the teachers have been exposed to the history and the linguistic foundations of black communication, the program gives teachers some techniques that may help students learn to code switch

The Oakland Debate Teachers are also given the tools to understand what children are saying that they may not have otherwise understood This program acknowledges the equal footing of Ebonics and Standard English both as valid communication systems.

Ebonics in the Classroom Some outcomes of Ebonics programs throughout the country show that when teachers are trained in Ebonics, African-American children are learning better Teachers must have high expectations for Ebonicsspeaking children It is important for students who speak Ebonics to be willing to learn an additional way of communicating with a wider community. It is also important for them to be motivated to learn Standard English

Ebonics and Literacy Ebonics can be used as a bridge to teaching Standard English although this should not be its only merit teaching a second language, Standard English, and not fixing the home language, Ebonics, that children bring to school

Ebonics and Literacy Having an environment that is rich in literature helps students learn Standard English and be proud of their own language. Incorporate works of Paul Laurence Dunbar and Langston Hughes who have works in both Standard English and Ebonics

Ebonics in the ECE Classroom Students perform better when test are administered in there home language One study found that students performed better when they were exposed to some of the techniques common for the African American community This study also found that effectiveness of the use of these techniques depend on the experiences with and knowledge of African American culture The use of word flash card drills, phrase drills, and sentence drills are also effective

Ebonics and Language and Literacy Development the auditory language memory of a child is set by age three or four To distinguish effectively between Ebonics and Standard English students must hear and develop an ear for both languages

Ebonics and Language and Literacy Development a child’s usage of Ebonics did not directly correlate with their preparedness for literacy development overall linguistic skill is a better predictor of students’ reading than whether or not the linguistic skills children uses are Ebonics or Standard English

Conclusion It is important for teachers of African American students to have extensive experiences with the African-American culture and traditions outside the world of school if they are to be successful in connecting with their students Teachers should embrace African-American techniques to reach African-american students

Conclusion Current Research on the Oakland Standard English Proficiency is needed to this show program’s success Some of the research presented in this essay has shown that language and learning have improved when Ebonics and African-American culture have been included in curriculum.

Some Leading Articles Anderson, P. J. (1999). The real Ebonics debate: Power, language, and the education of African American children. Multicultural Education. Retrieved November 19, 2007 from www. findarticles. com. Bohn, A. P. (2003). Familiar voices: Using Ebonics communication techniques in the primary classroom. Urban Education, 38(6), 688 -707. Conner, C. M. & Craig H. K. (2006). African American preschoolers’ language, emergent literacy skills, and use of African American English: A complex relation. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 49, 771 -792.

Some Leading Articles Embracing Ebonics and teaching standard English: An interview with Oakland Teacher Carrie Secret. (n. d. ). Rethinking Schools Online. Retrieved November 19, 2007 from http: //www. rethinkingschools. org/pbulication/ebonics/eb secret. shtml Getridge, C. M. (1997). Our story of ebonics: A tale of language, lieracy, and learning. School Administrator. Retrieved November 19, 2007 from www. findarticles. com. Perez, S. A. (2000). Using Ebonics or Black English as a bridge to teaching Standard English. Contemporary Education, 71(4), 34 -37.

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