Understanding the Way Students Speak: A Guide for Educators on Creating Culturally Responsive Environments for Linguistically Diverse Students

Dialectal diversity is an area of student diversity that is often overlooked in terms of how educators view students who speak nonstandard forms of English. Moreover, public school educators must explore the issue of dialectal diversity among students and how they are perceived based on their language variation. More importantly, educators must examine their perceptions about those who speak non Standard English and how their perceptions translate into classroom practices. This is a theoretical article that explores students’ language variations and its impact on their educational opportunities. More importantly, it examines the notion of teacher perceptions of students who speak nonstandard variations of Standard English and their classroom practices. The article explores the relationship between dialectal diversity and student achievements as well as the role of educators have in creating culturally responsive educational environments to maximize students’ potential. The article also provides guidelines for educators on how to create an optimum learning environment for students.