Malik Goes to School: Examining the Language Skills of African American Students from Preschool-5th Grade » (1st Edition)

Craig (language and literacy, U. of Michigan) and Washington (audiology and speech language pathology, Wayne State U.) summarize findings from their decade-long research program at the U. of Michigan, focusing on the language skills of African American children in the elementary grades. After situating their research within the context of underachievement by African American students, the authors provide an overview of other research on child African American English (AAE), and discuss their own findings regarding the features of child AAE; major sources of variations in the production of features; nondialectal aspects of oral language; an appropriate, culture-fair language evaluation process for African American students; academic underachievement of African American students; and the importance of oral language to literacy acquisition. For practicing professionals in speech-language pathology and education. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

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Reviewer:Irene Shetzline Jackson, M.A., CCC-SLP(Theraplay, Inc.)
Description:This book combines the research completed on African American students and examines its effect on assessment, diagnosis, and intervention for students who speak African American English (AAE). The authors provide a framework for implementing appropriate services for African American children in schools.
Purpose:The purpose is to present speech-language pathologists and educators with the research findings concerning language development in African American children. Up until now, information about this topic was primarily available through research journals. This book synthesizes and interprets this information, making it available to a variety of professionals working with these children.
Audience:The intended audience includes speech-language pathologists, educators, and students entering these professions. This book is appropriate for these individuals and anyone working with African American children in an educational setting. The authors are prominent researchers in African American language and literacy development and intervention.
Features:The book identifies features and properties of African American English and discusses expressive and receptive language differences and appropriate ways to assess these skills in schools. The authors' research protocols are clearly defined and the appendixes further describe and support their findings.
Assessment:This is an excellent resource for all professionals working with African American students in an educational or clinical setting.