Do Educators See and Honor Biliteracy and Bidialectalism in African American Language Speakers? Apprehensions and Reflections of Two Grandparents/Professional Educators

Educators often do not recognize biliteracy and bidialectalism in African American Language (AAL) speakers. Chronicling the experiences of twin four/fiveyear old AAL and emergent Standard English speakers, we discuss the importance of recognizing and building on the routines and identities of African American children and families. We present three strategies for supporting the learning of African American children who are biliterate and bidialectal. Using the academic literature which illustrates African American children's communicative virtuosity as a backdrop, we use language samples from twin AAL-speakers to illustrate key points. Emphasis is placed on the importance of building on African American children's communication styles in classrooms and helping them to negotiate and move between two different discourse communities for both oral and written language.