WWC review of this study

The Effects of Dialect Awareness Instruction on Non-Mainstream American English Speakers

Johnson, L., Terry, NP., Connor, CMD., and Thomas-Tate, S. (2017). Reading and Writing, 30(9), 2009-2038 .

  • Randomized Controlled Trial
     examining 
    77
     Students
    , grades
    2-4

Reviewed: December 2018

No statistically significant positive
findings
Meets WWC standards without reservations
English language development outcomes—Indeterminate effect found for the domain
Outcome
measure
Comparison Period Sample Intervention
mean
Comparison
mean
Significant? Improvement
    index
Evidence
tier

Editing task (researcher created)

Editing vs. Business as usual

0 Weeks

Study 1: Editing vs. control;
77 students

83.08

73.68

No

--

Dialect Variation (DVAR)

Editing vs. Business as usual

0 Weeks

Study 1 - Editing vs. BAU;
77 students

45.78

49.21

No

--

Dialect Density Measure (DDM)

Editing vs. Business as usual

0 Weeks

Study 1 - Editing vs. BAU;
77 students

2.09

1.84

No

--
Show Supplemental Findings

Editing task (researcher created)

Editing vs. Business as usual

0 Weeks

Full sample (no 2nd graders);
64 students

80.13

71.87

No

--


Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.

Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.


  • 1% English language learners
    • B
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    Florida
  • Race
    Black
    95%
    Other or unknown
    3%
    White
    2%
  • Ethnicity
    Hispanic    
    2%
    Not Hispanic or Latino    
    98%

Setting

The study took place in 14 classrooms across two public schools located in Northeast Florida. The study included students in second, third, and fourth grade. (p. 2016)

Study sample

At the school level, approximately 93% of students received free or reduced price lunch. The study presented demographic information across all three study conditions. Eighteen percent of study participants received special education services and 1% were Limited English Proficient. About ninety five percent of study participants were African American, 2% Hispanic, 2% white, and 1% multiracial. (p. 2016)

Intervention Group

The Editing intervention was an instructional program developed specifically for the study that focused on implicit training around dialect shifting. The intervention described the mainstream American English (MAE) grammatical features that should be used in writing. The Editing program focused on receptive and expressive language activities in which students engaged in practices related to creating and editing sentences and stories. Students participated in the Editing program four days a week for four weeks. The program took place for 15 to 20 minutes per day in pull-out groups of two to four students. (pp. 2016-2017)

Comparison Group

Students in the comparison condition received business-as-usual instruction (BAU) and did not receive any implicit or explicit pull-out instruction related to dialect awareness. (p. 2016)

Support for implementation

The study relied on a team of research assistants to implement the intervention and monitor fidelity to the implementation. It required research assistants to complete a daily record of instructional program activities form. This form helped the authors keep track of the instructional program and any changes made to it. In order to measure how well the protocol was being followed, research assistants also audio recorded a full day of the instructional program once a week. The study's authors reviewed the recordings and also participated in weekly observation sessions of the instructional program. Authors provided as-needed feedback to the research assistants to support adherence to the intervention. (p. 2019)

 

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