Stigmatized and Standardized Varieties in the Classroom: Interference or Separation?

Abstract

The public tends to view pidgins, creoles, and minority dialects (such as African American Vernacular English) as corrupted or degenerate forms of standardized languages and to fear that their use interferes with students' acquisition of the standard. As a consequence, stigmatized varieties are banned from most classrooms. This article critically examines this popular view by summarizing research on educational programs in which stigmatized varieties have been used in the classroom and by reviewing relevant theory and research in psycholinguistics and second language acquisition. The research on educational programs shows that, contrary to the prevailing viewpoint, using the stigmatized variety in formal education seems to have a positive rather than a negative effect on the acquisition of the standard.