| The increasing diversity in our schools forces educators to incorporate the strengths of diverse cultures into the existing curriculum while learning about diversity through firsthand experiences. It is critical to make every child feel that his culture is recognized and valued. These issues prompted me to create a study which explored young children's awareness of variations of English. This study can impact future language arts curriculum development, planning for teacher preservice/inservice education programs, and the development of instructional programs.;The purpose of this project was to explore first grade students' knowledge of language variations. Children's literature was the medium for opening conversations about language variations. I hypothesized that the students would demonstrate their metalinguistic knowledge as they found new ways to rephrase the dialect in the stories. In addition, I believed that using children's literature to teach about language variations would increase the students' sensitivity to language, enabling them to think about language on a higher level and develop new understandings about language.;Similar studies have been conducted with older students. My rationale for working with young children was to start a language instruction approach that builds on their linguistic knowledge upon entry to school. Previous studies using dialect materials for reading instruction differ from this project because they attempted to teach children to read in dialect. Here, the dialects were simply introduced in the stories, then used as a springboard for discussions and activities. The literature was carefully selected for the study.;The study format was a series of small-group sessions at two inner-city schools. During each session, I shared dialect literature as read-alouds, facilitated a discussion about language, and engaged the students in a language activity. The weekly sessions occurred over three months. The groups consisted of nine dialect-speaking children.;The major finding of the research was that young dialect speakers have a strong understanding of Standard English and variations. Introducing dialect literature and activities that bring subconscious knowledge to the conscious level increased their metalinguistic skills. Eight of the nine participants showed progress in their understanding about language through their responses and participation in the project. |
