College students' experiences studying African American English - Quentin Sedlacek
Abstract: Lessons addressing dialect diversity in the United States are an increasingly common feature of college-level coursework in linguistics, English, teacher education, and other disciplines (e.g. Baker-Bell 2013; Mallinson, Charity Hudley, Strickling & Figa 2011). A common central element of such lessons is discussion of African American English (AAE), one of the best-studied varieties of American English (Labov 1972; Rickford & Rickford 2000; Wolfram & Schilling-Estes 2006). Given the stigma often associated with AAE both historically (Hoover 1978; Sledd 1969) and in the present day (Johnson 2015; Purnell, Idsardi & Baugh 1999), classroom study of this language variety seems likely to create unique opportunities for students to critically examine beliefs about language, race, and racism--with potential academic and social benefits similar to those of rigorous ethnic studies coursework (Sleeter 2011). Previous studies of college-level courses with AAE content have sampled course instructors (Weldon 2012) and students in teacher education programs (e.g. Godley, Reaser & Moore 2015). This ongoing mixed-methods, repeated-measures study seeks to expand beyond these populations, examining the experiences of college students making sense of AAE content from many different disciplinary perspectives. The researcher hopes this work will generate useful insights for linguists, sociologists, and educators.