INSTRUCTIONAL APPLICATION ONE 1

Target languag​e: English

Grade level​: 9-12

Proficiency level​: ​Level 3​-Developing At L3, students understand more complex speech but still

may require some repetition. They use English spontaneously but may have difficulty expressing

all their thoughts due to a restricted vocabulary and a limited command of language structure.

Students at this level speak in simple sentences, which are comprehensible and appropriate, but

which are frequently marked by grammatical errors. Proficiency in reading may vary

considerably. Students are most successful constructing meaning from texts for which they have

background knowledge upon which to build.

Standard 1​: English language learners communicate for social, intercultural, and instructional

purposes within the school setting.

Instructional Objective: ​The objective of this assignment is to give the student metalinguistic

awareness of the English language and a certain dialect of English. It should boost their ability to

switch between the two dialects and thus encourage bidialectalism.

Assessment of student learning following activity: ​See if students are able to successfully

translate their authentic utterances in AAVE into SAE.

Follow-up activity: ​See the implicit lesson on grammar, Instructional Activity II.

Outline how activity would be integrated into class​: This activity gives explicit instructions in

grammar. It is versatile and can be used with any lesson on grammar. Because it examines

AAVE in the same way that SAE is usually examined, it provides impetus for student

engagement.
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Can You Codeswitch???

Comparative Analysis

SAE to AAVE:

Student Directions: ​The following are excerpts from speech in Standard American English

(SAE). Translate them into African-American Vernacular English (AAVE). Give the unit of

speech that completes the same function in AAVE or lack thereof a fun name!

Teacher Directions: ​This assignment should be as natural as possible. Allow students to come

up with silly, but logical names for the grammatical construct. Discuss, in depth, the

characteristic. If you are unfamiliar with AAVE, this will require some research.

1. I attend morning worship every Sunday.

Explanation of grammar: Present tense used for habitual action

2. Are you at the school?

Explanation: A conjugated form of the verb ​be i​ s often used to connect the subject and its

complement.

3. ​Did you know that Charles worked there?

Explanation: The past tense is used with one subject to talk about one person. Notice that

it is phrased as a question.

4. ​He never eats any of his vegetables.

Explanation: The statement uses the affirmative voice with only one negative to express

negation.

5. ​She sings in the choir.

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Explanation: Third person verbs end in -s to signify singularity instead of the converse.

AAVE to SAE

Directions: ​Now, try it the opposite way! Simply translate the AAVE sentence into SAE. Get

ready to discuss the way that SAE fulfills the same function as AAVE.

6.​ So I start to wondering is the store open.

Explanation: ​Verb plus to​ does the job of the past tense. It also precedes direct quotations

and works as a conversation marker.

7. ​That lady that had that black coat on, this her car.

Explanation: AAVE sentences often begin with the complementizer phrase, which gives

the most important information. The subject is also repeated twice for emphasis.

8. ​She has her coat on.

Explanation: AAVE sentences often end in prepositions. Phrasal verbs can be divided

with the object of the verb in the middle.

9. ​She can go with us?

Explanation: Question formation is done with subject-auxiliary inversion.

10. ​I ​béen​ through with that.

Explanation: Stressed​ ​béen i​ s used to indicate longevity.

Answer Key (Answers may vary.):

SAE to AAVE

1. I be at morning worship (every Sunday).

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Explanation: The verb ​be​ in its infinitive form fulfills the role of habitual action in

AAVE. It is called ​habitual be. Always “​be” is a fun name for it.

2. You at the school?

Explanation: The copula is deleted for ease of communication. It is called ​copula

deletion. Invisible verb ​is a fun name.

3. You know Charles, he work there.

Explanation: The statement is phrased in a declarative manner instead of a question. It

leaves room for discussion, still, however. The subject is doubled. The present tense is

used. Two answers are possible for this one: There is no name for the ​conversation

invitation present​ :-). ​Double subject ​is the name of the other feature. A fun name could

be ​nominal-pronoun​ subject emphasis.

4. He never eat no vegetables.

Explanation: ​Double negatives a​ re used to emphasize negation in AAVE. ​Double trouble

negatives ​is a fun name for this concept.

5. She sing in the choir.

Explanation: Third person singular -s is deleted for singularity to make it agree with the

singular subject. ​S means plural ​third person singular -s is a fun name for it.

AAVE to SAE

6. I started wondering (to wonder) if the store was open.

7. This car belongs to the lady in the black coat.

8. She has on her coat.

9. Can she go with us?

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10. I was done with that a long time ago.