African American English and Writing Instruction

This action research study examined the effects of African American English on writing in school and how it attributes to students’ attitudes toward writing. Research was conducted in two fourth grade classrooms during writing instruction. The data was collected through teacher and student questionnaires, observations, and student writing samples. The findings showed that teachers were not explicitly teaching students how to dialect shift between African American English and Standard English; however teachers were sensitive to their students’ needs based on their language variations. In order to ensure that writing instruction is culturally relevant for all students, it is important to use knowledge of students’ language variations while planning instruction