Art Un ticle I.1 ited Sta In the ates News - Woodring College of ...

• Underscore the importance of situation, audience or topic during communication.• Indicate that oral communication activities will be included throughout the total curriculum.• Have a clear language and communication focus.• The Richmond and Los Angeles school districts in California and Dade County PublicSchools in Miami, Florida, have developed lessons and support materials for implementingSESD programs.How Can Aides and Parents Help?The teaching of a second dialect cannot be solely the responsibility of the classroom teacher, nomore than it can be limited to the language arts classroom. Teacher aides and parents can supportthe instructional process and assist children's language development in general and SESDinstruction in particular by:• Encouraging children to speak in a variety of situations and before many audiences;• Establishing talking as a frequent, enjoyable and secure activity;• Modeling and expanding students' speech into language appropriate for the topic, situationand audience;• Pointing out what language and communicative behaviors are appropriate as situations occur;• Discouraging teasing about speech;• Not over-correcting students' speech;• Linking corrections of speech to the situation;• Providing the school and teachers with examples of speech used in the home and communityto incorporate in instruction, assessment and teacher training;• Reinforcing writing or reading activities with activities that include talking;• Providing an abundance of verbal stimuli for students irrespective of language orcommunication competencies;• Encouraging students to engage in conversations with a variety of people and on a variety ofsubjects; and• Encouraging students to recount their experiences in narrative form as often as possible andbefore a variety of audiences.Communication Differences, Test Performance and Educational PlacementVirtually all tests and assessment procedures used in schools and classrooms require students tomanipulate information using tools of communication. Often these tests and procedures presumecompetence in standard English and in the communication rules of the educated segment ofsociety. Much discussion and research in the last decade have focused on test bias and onculturally fair methods for assessing students" behavior and knowledge. Indeed, a number ofcourt cases and legislative initiatives have prohibited the use of culturally discriminatory testsand assessment procedures, e.g., Public Law 94 142: the Education for All HandicappedChildren Act. Culturally biased tests can adversely affect students from many cultural groups,particularly those who do not speak standard English. For example, these tests can contribute to:• Lowered expectations of student performance;© 2008 Dr. Catherine CollierAll Rights Reserved70