We, as teachers, usually find it difficult to accept the oral language patterns that some of our pupils bring to school. “We are prone to inject an element of morality into our pseudo-standard of English.” (Cheney 1976, p.58).

As Hall (1959) so ably comments, “Our native speech is inextricably bound to our perception of friends, community, religion, nation and other peoples.”

Basically, non-standard dialects are viewed either as a deficit form of standard English or a different but equal language system. These are basically the two main models. Wolfram (1973, p.68) says that, in the deficit model, speech differences are viewed and described with reference to a norm and deviation from that norm. The control group norm is, of course, middle-class speech or standard English. Nonconformity to this norm is seen as an indication of retarded language acquisition or under-developed language. Nonstandard dialects are considered as the pathology of non-organic speech deficiencies, and the patterns of these dialects are labelled with such terms as ‘misarticuiations’; ‘deviations’; ‘replacements’; ‘faulty pronunciations’ and the like.

The ‘difference’ model sees non-standard dialects as self-contained systems in their own rights. They have their own phonological and grammatical rules and are equally legitimate both socially and psychologically, as well as being syntactically functionally equivalent to standard English.

Townsville, North Queensland is the setting for a unique innovation in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island education. A number of parents have opted out of the State education system in favour of developing a school which reflects their culture and which aims to provide a program better suited to black children.

The Black Community School was established in October 1974. Initially it aimed to provide for children late in their primary schooling because parents recognised this as the most critical stage. However, by January 1975, it was realized that it was difficult to finance the extensive resources required at secondary level. Therefore the school amended its original aim and now operates to provide the best possible early education up to secondary level, by which time it is hoped successful transfer can take place.

Havighurst (1970) talks of an implicit contract between the home and the school. By this he means that –

Watts (1972) notes that this could be particularly true of “the socially disadvantaged parents of this country, nearly all of whom fail to meet the terms of the contract”, but points out that the schools also fail “by failing to understand how the children of these families can learn most successfully”.

A one and a half year study of listening and reading among rural children in north-west New South Wales, indicated marked differences among Aborigines and whites in listening and reading. A Motivation for School Schedule, included in the initial test battery predicted over fifty per cent of variance in listening comprehension, administered at the end of years 2 and 3, for Aboriginal girls, and was significant in a multiple regression with Aboriginal girls’ end of year three reading scores as the criterion. The schedule contributed little, if anything, towards predicting reading success for white children or Aboriginal boys.

The research underlines the importance of teachers understanding the conflict some girls from minority groups face when attending schools organized by the dominant culture, particularly when the vocabulary of the dominant language is assumed to be understood by all children in the same way.