Well, uhm, it’s like, you know, the Congress, like, you know, uhm, they
meet, right? And, uhm, they talk about stuff, you know, and uhm, like, the
stuff gets written down, you know, and, well, like, that’s how it happens.This student clearly has a problem with logical thinking, but logical thinking
is linked to language in important ways. The imprecision, particularly the ab-
sence of a vocabulary that allows him to convey what he knows, is characteris-
tic of restricted code. Healy (1990) argued that nonstandard usage among our
students “may account for many of the problems in logical thinking ... that are
becoming so evident in our high schools” (p. 110). She went on to note that “the
most difficult aspect of writing clearly ... is that it demands the ability to orga-
nize thought” (p. 111). In a similar vein, Orr (1987) suggested that many school
problems are rooted in the fact that nonstandard speakers do not know what
words mean. Reporting her experience as a teacher, Orr stated:
In a chemistry class a student stated that ... the volume of a gas would
be half more than it was. When I asked her if she meant that the volume
would get ... larger, she said, “No, smaller.” When I then explained that
half more than would mean larger, indicating the increase with my
hands, she said she meant twice and with her hands indicated a de-
crease. When I then said, “But twice means larger,” ... she said, “I guess
I mean half less than.” (p. 27)A few studies and much anecdotal evidence suggest that the number of stu-
dents who speak restricted-code nonstandard English is increasing, that their lan-
guage is becoming ever more impoverished (Bohannon & Stanowicz, 1988;
Healy, 1990; Vail, 1989). As a result, teachers must look even more closely at
their goals and methods than they did in the past. Not all nonstandard speakers
use a restricted code, but growing numbers of standard speakers do, which is
alarming. For those who do not, instruction in the standard conventions can lead
to measurable improvement in language skills, especially with respect to writing,
but the real key lies in strategies that improve vocabulary and logical, precise use
of language. For those who use a restricted code, like the two students just men-
tioned, their language limits their ability to communicate beyond the most super-
ficial level and raises serious obstacles to academic success.
Dialects and Education
Because socioeconomic status is closely tied to level of education (Herrnstein &
Murray, 1994), nonstandard speakers tend to be undereducated, and they also
DIALECTS 233