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Although African American English (AAE) is not a written language system, African American children show evidence of use of AAE features in their writing. Research has focused to a large extent on the influence of dialect on reading. Writing skills of African American children have received limited attention, despite the significant impact of writing variation on academic and professional performance (Ivy & Masterson, 2011). The purpose of this study was to examine the features of AAE present in the writing of African American children who were identified as struggling with reading. 40 African American boys and girls enrolled in the third grade in a large southeastern urban city were administered a battery of language, reading and writing assessments. Writing samples were transcribed, and coded for the presence of AAE. Results indicated that children who struggle with reading also produce significant levels of dialect in their written language samples. Implications for assessment and intervention are discussed. |
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