WHEN SHOULD STANDARD ENGLISH BE TAUGHT TO SPEAKERS OF NONSTANDARD NEGRO DIALECT?

Many culturally disadvantaged black children speak a variety of English which linguists have labeled “nonstandard Negro dialect.” Educators agree that the most significant education problem is to teach these children standard English; the age or grade level when this should be done, however, is controversial. The thesis of this paper is that disadvantaged black children should not be taught standard English until adolescence or the secondary grades. The paper specifically discusses some of the reasons standard English instruction should be delayed. The thesis is supported by discussing the difficulties of young children in learning another dialect of a language (because of the subtle differences between standard English and nonstandard Negro dialect); the difficulties of using second language instructional techniques (this is the only approach likely to be successful); and, the lack of a need and consequently motivation, for young disadvantaged black children to learn standard English.