Center for Study of African American Language hosts workshop for teachers

Teachers, speech pathologists and researchers from around the country participated in the Summer Dialect Teacher Project (SDTP) sponsored by the Center for the Study of African American Language from July 9-11.

One of the goals of the SDTP, according to Lisa Green, associate professor of Linguistics and director of the center, was to provide a forum to address language use and literacy skills of school-age children who use African American English (AAE) as their major form of communication.

“The question about the correlation between the use of AAE and the development of literary skills has been addressed separately in disciplines such as linguistics and education for more than 40 years,” said Green. “However, the SDTP workshop provided one of the few opportunities for researchers and practitioners, such as classroom teachers and speech pathologists, to come together and discuss research and instructional methods that are beneficial in helping to improve reading and other academic skills. In addition to sharing in interactive presentation discussions, participants got hands-on experience by completing activities and mini-projects that they can use in teaching reading and language arts classes.”

Along with Green, workshop presenters were Anne Charity, College of William and Mary; Sonja Lanehart, University of Texas at San Antonio; Terry Meier, Wheelock College; Renée Price, St. Catherine’s School, Richmond, Va.; Angela Rickford San Jose State University; and Toya Wyatt, California State University, Fullerton. They conducted sessions related to AAE and education, classroom practice, and dialect and literacy.

Green said one of the highlights of the workshop was a presentation by Charity and Price, which featured new directions and insights in dialect research involving collaboration between linguists and teachers. “The presentation was a prime example of steps that are being taken to provide more accessible research-based information that teachers and speech pathologists can use in their classes,” she said.

Tom Roeper and Lisa Selkirk of the Department of Linguistics also addressed the audience about different angles of research on dialects and implications for education.

Through CSAAL and the Western Massachusetts Writing Project partnership, site director Anne Herrington and in-service coordinator Susan Biggs disseminated information about the SDTP to teachers in Massachusetts and other sites of the National Writing Project. Through the collaboration, teachers from Massachusetts who completed the SDTP workshop will be able to receive professional development credits, said Green.

Photos: Participants Carolyn Dukes Alexander (Skyline High School, Oakland, Calif.) and Catherine Grygorcewicz (Springfield Central High School, Springfield, Mass.) work on mini-project. Above, Linguistics professor Tom Roeper delivers a presentation during lunch. (Laura Holland photos)

August 18, 2008.

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