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| Learn or Teach Oral and Written Standard English as a Second English Dialect for Better Grades, Test Scores, Jobs and Pay. |
Welcome, and thank you for visiting! Our nationally-praised workshops, books and CDs teach nonstandard English-speaking children and adults to become "Bi-Dialectic" - to master oral and written standard English for school, standardized tests and work - and to "code-switch" back to their first speaking styles for whenever it would be more comfortable, appropriate or beneficial for them to do so.
Research, experience and observation have consistently shown that nonstandard English-speaking students earn better grades and higher test scores if we learn to teach them to use oral and written standard English in school. The same is true for adults in the workplace, who receive longer interviews, better job offers, higher pay and more frequent promotions if they are able to use standard English when interviewing and when on-the-job.
And now, once again, new research proves the validity of our bi-dialectic approach!
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| A 2009 study from the University of Michigan concludes that when elementary school African American English-speaking students learn how to become bi-dialectic - how to code-switch into American Standard English - their Reading Achievement Test Scores increase in proportion to their dialect-shifting skills! |
Learn more details about this new study - and link to its abstract or entire article - by clicking on our Educator/Parent Info page.
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| Our materials and methods "start with speech" because nonstandard English-speakers - if raised in English-speaking homes - read, write and test in English the way they speak it. |
| Hundreds of thousands of intelligent nonstandard English-speaking students have been inappropriately labeled as "language-disordered." Implementing our SchoolTalk / FriendTalk lessons can prevent language-biased Special Education placements. |
One example of how our methods and materials have helped children read, write and test in a manner which is commensurate with their real intelligence took place in Los Angeles. The elementary school was situated in a very poor, under-served neighborhood, and the school district had designated the student-population as "at risk." The faculty and principal of this K-5 school attended one of our two-day teacher-training workshops, shortly before their school year started. Subsequently, they used the Teach Standard, Too manual's 95 SchoolTalk / FriendTalk scripted lessons for the entire school year. The principal reported that the faculty observed almost immediate improvement in their students' reading and writing performances. After the standardized tests were administered in the spring, the principal also reported that the students' scores reflected a school-wide increase of thirty percentile points. This improved testing performance prevented any mislabeling and/or inappropriate special education placement. For a more detailed version of this report, click on the Educator/Parent Info page.
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| Millions of intelligent and talented Americans are nonstandard English-speakers. |
You or your students may have grown up speaking Appalachian English, or one of the many Native American English-styles like Navajo-English, or one of the African American English Vernacular styles, or a specific neighborhood style like Brooklynese - all of which are historical, rule-governed and derived American English dialects. Or, perhaps you or your students/their parents recently immigrated to America and speak English with a "foreign accent" - speaking styles which are influenced by your former country's language - just like the above-mentioned dialects.
Regardless of the reason for a dialectic difference, millions of intelligent and talented nonstandard English-speakers experience frustration and failure while trying to compete for good grades and test scores in school, or for promotions and better pay at work.
And that's where we come in!
For Older Students and Adults, who want a self-help program in order to do better in school and become more marketable in the workplace, you can use Speak Standard, Too - a classroom text or self-help program with accompanying CDs. Click on Books/CDs/Lessons, Sample Text/CD Lessons and Customer and Educator Reviews to find out more about that product.
For Educators, who want nonstandard English-speaking students to master oral and written standard English, our teaching-techniques and training programs were written with you and your young/adult students in mind. Click on Workshops & Classes, Workshop Testimonials, Books/CDs/Lessons, Customer & Educator Reviews, Educator/Parent Info, Sample Workshops, Blog: A Family's Ordeal and Our Mission for more detailed descriptions.
Enjoy the site, and thanks for your interest!
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| Call 800.528.5244 - or - email mberger@orchardbooksinc.com |
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