Effects of Pattern Drill on the Phonology, Syntax, and Reading Achievement of Rural Appalachian Children

Abstract

Recently, increased attention has been directed toward the influence of nonstandard dialects on school performance (Baratz, 1968; Garvey and McFarlane, 1970; Loban, 1966, 1968; Stewart, 1964). Some educators and linguists contend that possession of a nonstandard dialect has direct effects on school learning. Stewart (1964) and Labov (1970), for example, maintain that a nonstandard dialect constitutes a source of interference for a child entering the public schools where standard English constitutes the vehicle of at least adult-child communication. Not only may communication problems be expected, but as has been suggested (Baratz, 1968; Loban, 1968; Shuy, 1968; Stewart, 1967), learning to read may be hindered by specific dialect features which deviate clearly and systematically from standard English. Even many of the instruments employed by educators to assess student progress require some degree of facility in the use of standard English (Garvey & McFarlane, 1970). Research focusing on dialect is confronted by sensitive political, social, and historical factors from which spring several complex issues. Discrimination is one such issue. Speakers of nonstandard dialects often encounter discrimination in their contacts with society at large. Educators in confronting this issue sometimes fail to recognize it for