Holly K. Craig|Lingling Zhang|Stephanie L. Hensel|Erin J. Quinn
African American English–Speaking Students: An Examination of the Relationship Between Dialect Shifting and Reading Outcomes
University of Michigan–Ann Arbor|Google (United States)|University of Michigan–Ann Arbor|Google (United States)|University of Michigan–Ann Arbor|Google (United States)|University of Michigan–Ann Arbor|Google (United States)
study authors evaluated contribution made dialect shifting reading achievement test scores african american english aaespeaking students controlling effects socioeconomic status ses general oral language abilities writing skillsparticipants 165 typically developing african american 1st 5th graders half male half female one third lowses homes twothirds middleses homes dialect shifting away aae toward standard american english sae determined comparing aae production rates oral written narratives structural equation modeling evaluated relative contributions aae rates ses general oral language writing skills standardized reading achievement scoresaae production rates inversely related reading achievement scores decreased significantly oral written narratives lower rates writing predicted substantial amount variance reading scores showing significant direct effect significant indirect effect mediated measures oral language comprehensionthe findings support dialect shiftingreading achievement hypothesis proposes aaespeaking students learn use sae literacy tasks outperform peers make linguistic adaptation