Ebonics and academic achievement: The role of the counselor

A primary purpose of the school is to foster academic achievement, and a primary goal of the school counselor is to support the overall achievement of students by addressing problems and concerns that present impediments to their education. Regarding the language development of Ebonics-speaking African American youth, this article contends that school counselors must assume the role of consultants to and collaborators with teachers and students toward the fulfillment of two objectives: (a) increasing and improving students ' use of Standard English without depreciating their culturally based dialect, and (b) improving the teacher-student relationship in the language learning process.

INTRODUCTION

Successful communication between counselor and client is the modus operandi of effective counseling and helping. Communication is even more important in cross-cultural counseling situations such as when the counselor and the client come from different cultural backgrounds that suggest language or dialect differences. Bankart (1997) highlights the historical importance of language and culture in the dyadic counseling relationship, concluding that it is important not only for counselors to understand their clients' cultural world view but also to understand the linguistic system clients use to communicate that world view.

Proficiency in Standard English is a legitimate and viable learning goal for African American school youth. However, these students' common engagement with and fluency in Ebonics, or that dialect of English peculiar but not limited to African Americans, suggests that Ebonics is a real and legitimate community-based language system that cannot be ignored or devalued. Thus, whereas African American school youth should be expected and required to learn Standard English, Ebonics should be allowed in certain school-based learning activities. Moreover, as affirmed by the resolutions of the Oakland (California) Unified School District's (OUSD) (1996,1997)1 and the Linguistic Society of America (LSA) (1997), African Americans' use of Ebonics should be incorporated into these and other school activities without demeaning, discrediting, or repudiating its users. This position applies equally to issues related to Ebonics and Ebonics-speaking students in the school counseling setting.

The present article focuses on the school counselor's role as it relates to two areas:

(a) effective counseling of African American students who speak Ebonics; and

(b) consulting and collaborating with teachers to facilitate the effective teaching of Standard English to Ebonics-speaking students while preserving the integrity of these students' indigenous language system. Although the primary focus of this discussion is urban African American youth from preschool through grade 12, there are important secondary implications for African American higher education and adult learners.

THE NATURE OF EBONICS

Contrary to the Oakland school board's controversial 1996 resolution, which stated that language use, specifically that of African American students in urban settings, was "genetically based," language is learned or culturally based. (The OUSD's amended January 15, 1997, resolution acknowledges this and omits references to language as having any genetic basis.) Black English-speaking persons from different parts of the world speak varieties of English that are peculiar to their cultures or nationalities. Thus, the English spoken by Blacks in Nigeria differs in rules, sounds, and meanings from that spoken by Blacks in Jamaica. Similar disparities are evident in the English of Black South Africans and Black South Carolinians. Correspondingly, the dialect of English spoken by Whites from the Appalachian Mountains region of the U.S. differs from that spoken by Whites in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Variations within English, or any other language for that matter, often result from a combination of social, political, historical, geographic, and socioeconomic factors (Beaman, 1994). These factors frequently manifest as regional and social dialects.

Rules and Idiosyncrasies

Ebonics is a dialect or language system with its own distinct rules. It differs systematically from White American English dialects, not in complexity or efficiency, but in the rules of vocabulary, phonology (pronunciation), grammar, style, and communicative clarity that apply to it. The most obvious difference is in phonology. For example, in Ebonics, final consonant sounds are often reduced or deleted (e.g., "test" is pronounced "tes"). Linking verbs may also be deleted, as in the "He goin"' of Ebonics compared to the "He is going" of Standard English. Further, possession can be indicated in Ebonics without using the possessive suffix (e.g., "He John cousin," instead of "He is John's cousin"). Ebonics also permits deletion of the plural marker; thus, "five cents" is expressed in Ebonics as "five cent." Another syntactical rule that is often used in Ebonics but not prevalent in Standard English governs the use of the negative concord. As such, "He don' got none" is perfectly acceptable, for double negatives can be used to reinforce or emphasize a negation. Table I presents a schema for grouping these and other rules of Ebonics, along with examples that demonstrate each rule.

Facts and Misconceptions

The following facts belie some of the common misconceptions about Ebonics and African Americans' use of Ebonics, particularly as they pertain to the school setting and language learning:

(1) Ebonics is just one dialect, variety, or vernacular of the English that is spoken by Blacks in the United States. It is used to some degree by the majority of African Americans, particularly urban African American school youth, who are in many ways isolated from mainstream Standard English-speaking cultures and communities. Learned and transmitted across generations, Ebonics has its roots in West African, English-speaking European, and Native American Indian cultures. The term "Ebonics" is synonymous with a number of other terms that have been advanced since the early 1960s to describe the language system of African Americans including "Black English," "African American Language" (AAL), "African American Vernacular English" (AAVE), "African Language Systems," "Black Sounds," or "Pan-African Communication Behaviors" (Beaman, 1994; Cain, 1995; Foster, 1992; LSA, 1997; OUSD, 1997; Wyche, 1979).

(2) The so-called Standard English spoken by most middle- and upper-class White Americans is not superior to nor is it a more sophisticated form of English than Ebonics. Nevertheless, it is the acceptable form of successful written and spoken communication in the U.S. and other English-speaking countries. The ability to speak, write, read, and spell Standard English is viewed as indicative of an "educated" person in these nations, and use of Standard English is vital to success in mainstream careers and social functioning.

(3) For the descendants of the Africans brought to the Western hemisphere as slaves, Standard English is the imposed language of racial oppression. Therefore, in the present day, care must be taken so as not to teach the terminology, phraseology, and symbolism of this form of English in ways that encourage further oppression or depreciation. By the same token, Standard English cannot and should not be devalued; nor should its importance to the educational processes of all American youth and adults-regardless of their ethnicity, cultural background, or social class-be minimized. Rather, research efforts must address and support means of teaching Standard English that help to improve the academic performance of African American and other youth in the United States, particularly in urban areas.

(4) Because Ebonics differs in many important ways from Standard English, its use is often at variance with the language norms of the school classroom, which are based on Standard English. However, for many African Americans, Ebonics is a more precise language system than Standard English in that it allows them a more comprehensive range of expression for communicating attitudes and feelings (Beaman, 1994). Thus, in some learning situations, African American students can derive both academic and personal benefits from the opportunity to express themselves in their culturally based vernacular. For example, use of Ebonics should be permitted in self-esteem-building learning activities such as creative writing or creative verbal expression (e.g., poetry and drama). Ebonics should also be acceptable in school situations that involve the communication of essential feelings, needs, and thoughts, or those in which the attainment of other behavioral or learning goals is more important than that of learning or using Standard English.

(5) Teachers cannot successfully teach African American students Standard English by persistently ignoring, demeaning, or failing to understand Ebonics or its importance in the lives of those who speak it. Effective teaching requires teachers to accept their students as persons and respect them as human beings. Therefore, teachers must develop an acute understanding of and tolerance for Ebonics if they are to be truly effective in teaching Ebonics-speaking youth.

EBONICS, ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, AND THE SCHOOL COUNSELOR

Some of the challenges students in U.S. schools face may not emanate from the students themselves but from the limitations of the counselors, teachers, curricula, instruction, and pedagogy to which students are exposed. Still others may arise, as Ogbu (1985) contends, when students come to school with styles of learning, communicating, and interpersonally relating that are different from those expected or promoted in the typical majority-groupnormed classroom. Ogbu subsequently maintains that school personnel need to know how to help African American and other minority children achieve academically without causing these students to experience a sense of loss of ethnic identity, self-esteem, or personal security due to cultural dissonance. Relative to the present article's focus, this means that teachers and counselors need to understand how ethnic identity and cultural frames of reference influence the language learning and use of their African American students.

The following examples, drawn from actual case studies (primarily those of the senior author in his role as counselor and practitioner), exemplify the types of problems related to language bias that many Ebonics-speaking students face and that are often brought to the attention of school counselors:

A White high school teacher was accused of not acknowledging Black students who wanted to make comments in class. When confronted, the teacher confessed that she assumed the Black students would give a wrong answer or would not be able to express themselves in Standard English. She claimed that she was trying to prevent the students from embarrassing themselves in front of the class.

In another case:

A White female community college instructor refused to read the paper of a Black student. She explained that the essay was "too well written," and she did not believe a Black student could have produced an essay of that caliber. The student brought the problem to a Black counselor who consulted with the instructor, whereupon the instructor agreed to allow the student to write another paper while sitting in her office, where she could verify his writing proficiency and authorship.

Generally, the research literature provides no clear-cut evidence that Black students' use of Ebonics interferes with their learning to read or write Standard English. What has been shown in the literature is that the language and other learning of students who speak Ebonics can be negatively affected by the negative attitudes of school personnel toward non-Standard English use and their lack of understanding about Ebonics specifically. Washington and Miller-Jones (1989) examined the classroom interactions of two secondgrade teachers who differed in their knowledge of and attitudes toward Ebonics. They sought to determine whether these teachers differed in their responses to African American students who showed strong (high) as opposed to weak (low) Ebonics usage. Their study concluded that the teachers' knowledge of the phonological, syntactical, and stylistic features of Ebonics was significantly related to the ways they responded to the reading miscues of Black children demonstrating different levels of Ebonics use. The teacher who was more knowledgeable of Ebonics evidenced more behaviors considered to be supportive of the reading development of Ebonics speakers. The teacher who was more negative toward Ebonics use was less constructive in response to the miscues of strong Ebonics speakers and less supportive of their reading development.

Strickland and Ascher (1992) reviewed the research on Ebonics and language interference, and concluded that available data do not support a systematic effort to use techniques for teaching reading, writing, and grammar to African American students other than direct instruction in Standard English. Foster's (1992) content analysis of the literature indicated that due to the paucity of research, only nondefinitive conclusions about the implications of Ebonics for learning contexts can be made. However, verbal style characteristics of Black culture (e.g., rhythmic language, repetition, and alliteration) have been found to be significant factors in efforts to improve the academic performance of lowachieving African American students (Foster, 1992).

The Role of the Counselor

A primary purpose of the school is to foster academic achievement, and a primary goal of the school counselor is to assist in promoting and supporting the overall achievement of students by addressing problems and concerns that present impediments to their education. With regard to the language development of African American youth, the role of the counselor is that of a consultant to and collaborator with teachers toward the goals of (a) increasing and improving students' use of Standard English without depreciating their culturally based dialect, and (b) improving the teacher-student relationship in the language learning process.

To be truly successful in these roles, counselors should first familiarize themselves with the literature delineating research, curricula, instructional methodologies and techniques, materials, and innovations related to teaching Standard English to Ebonics-speaking African American youth. They should consult with the appropriate school committees and with teachers, especially English and foreign language teachers, to solicit their feedback and possibly involve them in implementing various initiatives targeting this goal. Counselors should also consult with teachers on the use of a number of counseling-related techniques that may be adaptable to language instruction and use in the classroom setting. These include the following, which can be applied in either Standard English or Ebonics: role playing, behavioral rehearsal in simulated settings, writing and performing sociodrama skits on popular social problems, story writing and journaling, writing and reciting poems, organizing student-led discussion groups on topics such as values and attitudes, brainstorming on a problem in the school or in students' neighborhoods, and critiquing books or newspaper articles. These activities serve to build students' verbal skills in both Standard English and Ebonics while allowing for exciting exploration of culturally meaningful information, thoughts, values, and attitudes within the classroom setting.

Additionally, because youth gain much of their language from the adults within their homes and neighborhoods via the mechanism of imitation or observational learning, school counselors should also be enlisted to initiate and / or coordinate afterschool learning programs designed to help improve the Standard English skills of African American students' parents and other adults in the school community. Such programs have the added benefit of providing the significant adults in these children's lives with opportunities for educational advancement.

Ebonics and the Counseling Process

It is critical for counselors to understand their clients' language systems if meaningful communication is to occur during the counseling process (Beaman, 1994). Teyber (1997) notes that clients will feel more understood by their counselors "when the counselor can find a common meaning that links together the client's concerns and / or distills the central feeling in his or her experience" (p. 41). Without this mutual level of understanding, error can occur and possibly have a negative impact on outcomes of counseling. Moreover, Gladding (1992) concludes that errors in counselor judgments can result from a counselor's misunderstanding of behaviors that are linked directly to language. Some cross-cultural language differences can even be misinterpreted by counselors as resistance. Therefore, it is essential for counselors who work with African American youth to know the meanings of their clients' words and the context in which they are delivered. For these reasons, Beaman (1994) asserts that language considerations should be an important aspect of counselor training, noting that an emphasis on understanding language and communication differences can not only help counselors to better understand their own language system but also that of speakers of other dialects.

Harper and Bruce-Sanford (1989) maintain that paralinguistic cues2 and other nonverbal communication behaviors are very important in understanding the messages conveyed by African American clients in the counseling setting. Sue and Sue (1990) note that the language system of Ebonics is "high-context"-that is, the meaning of a message is highly linked to the situation or physical context from which the message originates (p. 46). They further contend that low-socioeconomic-status urban African Americans in the counseling setting typically use fewer words to communicate the same content than the middle- and upper-class Whites upon whom most counseling norms are based. They note that such African American clients frequently maintain a level of resistance, especially when talking with White and/or middle-class counseling professionals, until they are confident such counselors have demonstrated a genuine interest in helping them.

Minrath (1985) asserts that counselors must be careful not to allow a client's use of Ebonics to engender negative perceptions, faulty judgments, and unjustified expectations about that client. He further suggests that counselors explore the Ebonics-speaking African American client's sociocultural background through exploration of the client's language use and idioms. This technique, he notes, serves three purposes: (a) it impresses upon the client the counselor's desire to establish a bond between the two of them; (b) it facilitates the building of client trust in the counseling relationship, and (c) it facilitates counselor empathy and insight during the counseling process.

A caveat worth noting here is that it cannot be assumed that all African American counselors understand the Ebonics spoken by all African American clients. Just as there are cross-cultural language differences, there are also intraracial dialectical and vernacular differences among African American English-speaking persons due to differences in geographic residence, social class, educational level, and age, among other psychosocial factors. By the same token, it cannot be assumed that all European American counselors do not understand Ebonics, although Whites are less likely than Blacks to be effective in cross-cultural communications with Ebonics speakers. Depending on the counselor's own ethnicity and language sensitivity, he or she may or may not have a problem communicating with African American student-clients who speak Ebonics. However, communication problems often arise when there is significant disparity between the Ebonics used by the client and the Standard English spoken by the counselor, especially when that client or student is not able to "code switch" to a level of Standard English that the counselor can fully understand.3 Therefore, it is essential that school counselors working with Ebonicsspeaking students be able to accurately perceive what their clients are attempting to communicate to them in both spoken language and nonverbal behaviors. If the counselor's and the Ebonics-speaking client's language systems are distinctly at odds, the counselor should consider referring the client to another counselor who understands Ebonics.

DO'S AND DON'TS FOR COUNSELORS OF EBONICS-SPEAKING STUDENTS

Recommended Approaches

(1) Hold high expectations for Ebonics-speaking students' learning and language development. Employ positive reinforcement techniques (i.e., approval, reassurance, and encouragement) when apprising their efforts to learn and use Standard English.

(2) Communicate the need to know and practice Standard English to Ebonics-speaking clients, while emphasizing that they need not be ashamed of or embarrassed by their own way of speaking. Effective counseling assumes an acceptance of the client as a person; this includes an acceptance of the clients language and communication style. Avoid any behavior that communicates a demeaning or rejecting attitude toward African American students' use of Ebonics.

(3) Exercise caution when interpreting Ebonics-speaking clients' communicated content, feelings, and behaviors to ensure that faulty inferences based on misperceptions about Ebonics speakers in general do not mar those interpretations. Help those teachers with punitive or negative attitudes toward students who speak Ebonics to better focus on helping students learn and practice Standard English without rejecting or punishing them for using their naturally learned language system.

(4) Employ counseling techniques that facilitate verbal expression and language-skills building such as autobiographical essay writing, play counseling (or play therapy), and bibliocounseling.

(5) Counsel students in mixed groups comprised of both Standard English-speaking and Ebonics-speaking students. Such groups provide Ebonics speakers with the opportunity to observe, imitate, and learn from peers or role models who speak Standard English. They can be theme-centered, focusing on vocabulary and interpersonal skills building via role playing, or they can focus on general discussion, behavioral rehearsal, and individual presentations.

(6) Engage Ebonics-speaking students in activities that facilitate their exposure to Standard English learning situations (i.e., conferences, business offices, universities) and learning media (i.e., films, internet sites, computer programs).

(7) Assign Ebonics-speaking students homework that forces them to engage in problem solving while simultaneously developing Standard English skills (e.g., ask clients to maintain a diary of day-to-day activities or to bring in photographs as a means of generating verbal discussion and diagnostic insights).

Potential Pitfalls

(1) Do not attempt to use Ebonics when speaking with an Ebonics-speaking client, his or her parents/ guardian, or peers in an effort to better relate to or identify with them. An occasional word or idiom as appropriate may be acceptable to facilitate rapport; however, improper use or overuse can backfire.

(2) Do not "correct" the Ebonics-speaking client's English in the individual counseling setting unless doing so is agreed upon by both counselor and client. In normal counseling situations, a client's failure to use Standard English should not be the counselor's primary concern. Repeated corrections interrupt the natural, normal flow of communication and the expression of thoughts and feelings between counselor and client. Feel free, however, to ask for clarification if you do not understand what the Ebonicsspeaking client is attempting to communicate.

(3) Do not correct the Ebonics-speaking client's English in the group counseling setting, except in cases when an individual's or the group's language use is a topic or focus of group discussion. Doing so can result in the client's embarrassment in the presence of his or her peers as well as distraction from the theme of concern. It can also cause client resistance and withdrawal from the group process.

(4) Do not correct the Ebonics-speaking client's English during outreach counseling in the client's natural setting (i.e., among friends or at home with a parent, parents, or guardians). This can also be perceived by these significant others in the client's life as demeaning, disparaging, and/or as an outright rejection of their culture or ethnic identity.

CONCLUSION

African American students, especially those residing and attending school in U.S. inner cities, often face racial discrimination, intolerance, and an educational system that rewards the middle class and punishes the lower class. They also often find themselves at a language disadvantage. Attributing deficiencies of intellect and character to students who speak dialects that are different from mainstream Standard English can have negative ramifications for African American learners (e.g., low academic self-concept, diminished self-efficacy, and poor academic progress). Even those African American students who are proficient in Standard English are at times questioned regarding their proficiency, while those who speak Ebonics or are not able to appropriately code switch to Standard English are at times unchallenged, ignored, or disparaged in school.

Educators and counselors have the ultimate responsibility of equipping students with the educational and social tools they need to be productive contributors to society. Teachers must assume responsibility for creating learning environments that are culturally sensitive to students' dialects while simultaneously providing an environment that prepares students to enter the mainstream of society. Counselors have the obligation to use a broad range of techniques that facilitate rapport and effective communication when working with clients from diverse populations. The dyadic interaction between teacher and student and between school counselor and student-client may be two of the most significant determinants in the learning and personal growth of youth. A teacher or counselor must enter into his or her relationship with a child or youth with a positive attitude toward helping that young person to learn and to grow. As such, students should not be prejudged, discriminated against, or channeled into lower-level academic groups based solely on their use of a nonstandard form of English.

1 The OUSD amended its controversy-generating December 18, 1996, resolution on January 15, 1997. This article refers to the amended version unless otherwise noted.

2 Paralinguistic cues include nonverbal behaviors such as tone of voice, spacing of words, emphasis, inflection (pitch/loudness), pauses, and various other uttered sounds that qualify how a word or verbal message is sent or received.

3 When an individual utilizes Standard English in some settings (e.g., classroom situations and job interviews) and Ebonics (or some other language or vernacular) in other settings (e.g., family activities and social talk with friends or peers), that phenomenon is called "code switching" (Agerton & Moran, 1995). Agerton and Moran observed code switching in a study in which they varied the race of and dialect used by language assessment examiners to determine the impact of these factors on the language usage of 17 African American preschoolers. Their study revealed that Black children as young as four years of age engaged in this language phenomenon according to the race and dialect of the examiners. They found that the children were more likely to use Standard English when evaluated by a White or Standard-English-speaking examiner, and more likely to use Ebonics when evaluated by a Black or Ebonics-speaking examiner. Herring (1997) has noted that while some African American students can effectively code switch between their usage of Ebonics and Standard English, many of their teachers, counselors, and other school personnel use and understand only Standard English. These and other studies confirm the importance of ensuring that Standard English is learned and practiced by African American students. They also point to the pertinence of educating African American youth about the appropriate times and places to implement code-switching practices. Even more importantly, they indicate the critical need for teachers and other school personnel to become familiar with the features and uses of Ebonics and to appreciate the significance of the vernacular to Ebonics speakers.

REFERENCES

Agerton, E. P., & Moran, M. J. (1995). Effects of race and dialect of examiner on language samples elicited from southern African American preschoolers. Journal of Childhood Communication Disorders, 16, 25-30.

Bankart, C. P. (1997). Talking cures: A history of western and eastern psychotherapies. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Beaman, D. (1994). Black English and the therapeutic relationship. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 16, 379-386.

Cain, R. A. (1995). Alain Leroy Locke: Crusader and advocate for the education of AfricanAmerican adults. Journal of Negro Education, 64, 87-99.

Foster, M. (1992). Sociolinguistics and the African-American community: Implications for literacy. Theory into Practice, 31, 303-311.

Gladding, S. T. (1992). Counseling: A comprehensive profession (2nd ed.). New York: McMillan. Harper, F. D., & Bruce-Sanford, G. C. (1989). Counseling techniques: An outline and overview. Alexandria, VA: Douglass.

Herring, R. D. (1997). Counseling diverse ethnic youth: Synergistic strategies and interventions for school counselors. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace.

Linguistic Society of America. (1997). LSA resolution on the Oakland "Ebonics" issue [On-line]. Available: http:// www.lsadc.org/ web2 / ebonicsfr.htm

Minrath, M. (1985). Breaking the race barrier: The White therapist in interracial psychotherapy. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 23, 19-24.

Oakland Unified School District. (1996, December 18). Resolution of the Board of Education Adopting the Report and Recommendations of the African American Task Force; A Policy Statement and Directing the Superintendent of Schools to Devise a Program to Improve the English Language Acquisition and Application Skills of African American Students. Oakland, CA: Author.

Oakland Unified School District. (1997, January 15). Amended Resolution of the Board of Education Adopting the Report and Recommendations of the African American Task Force; A Policy Statement and Directing the Superintendent of Schools to Devise a Program to Improve the English Language Acquisition and Application Skills of African American Students. Oakland, CA: Author.

Ogbu, J. U. (1985). Research currents: Cultural-ecological influences on minority school learning. Language Arts, 62, 860-869.

Strickland, D. E., & Ascher, C. (1992). Low-income African-American children and public schooling. In P. W. Jackson (Ed.), Handbook of research on curriculum (pp. 609-625). New York: Macmillan.

Sue, D. W., & Sue, D. (1990). Counseling the culturally different: Theory and practice (2nd ed.). New York: John Wiley.

Teyber, E. (1997). Interpersonal process in psychotherapy: A relational approach (3rd ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Washington, V. M., & Miller-Jones, D. C. (1989). Teacher interactions with nonstandard English speakers during reading instruction. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 14, 280-312.

Wyche, L. G. (1979). A critique of studies on the effect of social experience on language development. Journal of Negro Education, 48, 182-186.

Frederick D. Harper, Kisha Braithwaite, and Ricardo D. LaGrange, Howard University

Copyright Howard University Winter 1998
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved