AFRICAN AMERICAN ENGLISH AND CULTURE

I. GENERAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION

** Former student Sharee McCoy:

educated family in Elk Grove; she was called an N---

N--- was written in chalk in front of her house

Mark’s friend Jack (1/4 AA, ¾ White) harassed and bullied in junior high for being an N----

Former student Zenzele Shakir:

**AAs have a strong work and family ethic

Unfortunately, there still remains an educational and income gap between AAs and other ethnic groups

Poverty continues to be an issue for many AA children

Today…

Many African Americans…** Are deeply religious

The church plays a major role in their lives

AAs most likely to report a religious affiliation

Many hours a week may be spent at church, including all day Sunday

When we work with elderly AAs especially, it can be helpful to include the pastor, church members, friends from Bible study etc.

II. EDUCATION AND LITERACY**

AA families value education and literacy; it is important to them that their children work hard and do well in school. College may be another story.

“Latasha N.” graduating from our program with her B.S.—friends would not attend graduation; family didn’t understand importance

Most teachers are White women; there may be some cultural differences between them and AA children, especially males

Lautrell S., recent student:

Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce: **

People with a Bachelor’s degree make 84% more $$ over a lifetime than high school graduates

Translation: college graduate makes $2.3 million over a lifetime; high school graduate makes $1.3 million

Statistics show: ** The high school graduation rate for African

Americans has increased in the last few years

In 2011, for young adults with Master’s degrees, Asians earning $73,000 a year; African Americans earned $50,000 a year (National Center for Education Statistics, 2013)

It is important to address educational discrepancies which

affect AA children** One way to do this is to

provide early intervention (e.g., Head Start, good preschool programs)

If AA students use African American English (AAE), there may be issues with reading, writing, and spelling in mainstream English

We have to be aware of…***

The impact of use of AAE in mainstream schools where MAE is the language spoken

Worldwide dialects & languages of business:**

Philippines: Odionganon—TAGALOG

Germany—Schweitzer Deutsch, HOCH DEUTSCH

Arab nations—colloquial Arabic, STANDARD/CLASSICAL ARABIC—Koran

China—Taishanese, MANDARIN

U.S.—African American English, MAINSTREAM AMERICAN ENGLISH

Youtube video

African American English Michael Blythe

A very interesting research study about AAE and school

performance**

Craig, Zhang, Hensel, & Quinn (Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research) “African American English-speaking Students: An examination of the relationship between dialect shifting and reading outcomes”

Questions the authors asked:

Ivy, L.J., & Masterson, J.J. A comparison of oral and written English styles in African American students at different stages of writing development. Language,

Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 42, 31-40.**

Studied use of oral and written AAE in 3rd and 8th graders

Question: did kids use AAE less as they got older?

ASHA Johnson et al., Impact of Dialect Use on Student Writing**

They studied 141 2nd-4th graders at two Title 1 elementary schools in Northeast Florida

95% of the children were eligible for free/reduced lunch (welfare)

They got written language samples from these students

Findings of the study:

Recent research (discussed in the book) concludes:

III. HEALTH CARE AND DISABILITIES**

A major problem for many AAs is lack of health insurance

AA babies are more likely than babies from other races to be premature and to die from nutritional deficiency

Older adults who have neurological disorders may have difficulty getting therapy

Low-SES African American children are susceptible to:

If children are diagnosed with disabilities…**

Many AA families are accepting

They tend to have intergenerational support as well as strong religious beliefs

IV. FAMILY LIFE** Extended family members are very important in AA

culture

Although many homes are headed by single women, there is intergenerational support. Grandmas are often very involved in ch raising.

Child-raising styles in AA families tend to be more authoritative than in other groups; may employ ↑use of corporal punishment

Lautrell S. (former student) shared with the class:**

Lots of physical punishment—belt—last spanking at age 13

For punishment, when Lautrell ws 16, her mom took her bedroom door off its hinges

Lautrell’s brother was born when their mom was 15; at 42 years, she is a grandma

Lautrell’s friends—”How dare you speak White?” (she has to codeswitch)

V. COMMUNICATION STYLES

VI. AFRICAN AMERICAN ENGLISH**

Use of AAE is impacted by many factors: SES, education, geographic location, and others

AAE is NOT a substandard form of Mainstream American English (MAE)

It is rule-governed and predictable

VII. ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT

CONSIDERATIONS** We have to be extremely careful when we

assess the articulation and language skills of AAE-speaking students

Many tests are biased

Language samples are encouraged; picture description can be especially effective

AA boys are overdiagnosed with ADHD—they tend to be quite physically active

For the test, please be very familiar with…

Pages 77-80—language and articulation differences

(For the PRAXIS & working world, this is critical information!)

VIII. IMPLICATIONS FOR PROFESSIONALS

Help students learn the difference…

Youtube video Dr. Noma LeMoine

Shows AA children being taught contrastive analysis between AAE and MAE

Notice that it is nonjudgmental and fun!

Lovelace & Stewart (American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology) “Effects of Robust Vocabulary

Instruction and Multicultural Text on the Development of Word Knowledge Among African American Children”**

The subjects were 2nd grade AA children who had below average vocabulary skills

They used storybooks to contextualize new words that the subjects were learning

Procedures for teaching new words in a “robust” way:

The study found that:

Lovelace and Stewart suggested that SLPs can:

Remember Larry P. vs Riles:** Began in 1971

AA parents in San Francisco filed in federal court

They claimed that their children were wrongly placed in the EMR (Educable Mentally Retarded) class

The parents claimed that…** IQ tests were culturally biased and

discriminatory

AA students were disproportionately represented in EMR classes

AA = 28.5% in gen ed; 66% in EMR

Judge Robert Peckham: SFUSD prohibited from using IQ tests (or their substantial equivalent) to place AA students in EMR classes**

Decision upheld on appeal in 1984

In 1984, the court expanded the ruling for all of CA by banning use of IQ testing for all AA students for any special ed purpose

So, what does this mean for us?

The CA Diagnostic Center said that possible OK tests might be…**

CELF-5 (Clinical Evaluation of Lang. Fundamentals)

Diagnostic Evaluation of Language Variation (DELV)

Preschool Language Scale-4 (PLS-4)

Comprehensive Test of Spoken Language (CASL)