In-Class Friday, Jan. 28: AAE practice texts

Since Wednesday, Jan. 28th, was a SNOW DAY with classes canceled, we will do the in-class activities planned for that day on Friday, Jan. 30th. This doesn't change the due dates of your homework. This means, the blog responses due for Wednesday, Jan. 28th, are still due on Wednesday; as well as your paragraphs about how you would teach the Asian ESL learner.

P.S. If you can't make it to class on Friday, Jan. 30th, due to the snow, take one of your 3 allowed sick days for it, and do the in-class assignment by choosing one of the text samples below that we did in group work, find the typical mistakes of AAE speakers according to what you have read so far (since you won't have the handout distributed in class), and email me what you think/can prove are typical AAE mistakes in Standard English. This way, you'll get the participation points the others got when they did the group work.
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In-Class Prompt for Friday, Jan. 30th:

In 10 minutes, find the typical mistakes in your text sample from AAE speakers writing Standard English (SE). They must be characteristic mistakes, mentioned in your "rules sheet" of AAE which I distributed in class. (Not the kind of mistakes every writer can make. You need to prove to your peers that it is actually a "rule" -- best by mentioning the page number on your "rules sheet" where you found the rule.) Find out to which "category" of typical AAE mistakes those errors belong, and present your findings to the class (2-3 min.). You can write on the board, or type an overview, email it to yourself, open it on the Smartboard PC, and show it on the Smartboard.

Here are the practice texts for our group work. They are drawn from AAE-speaking, first year college students' essays, written for an introductory expository writing course. Careful: there are not only "mistakes" in SE, but also characteristic stylistic features of AAE!!! Don't mark "non-typical" mistakes, such as typos.

Group I:

When entering a university or college, most students parents put a word or two into their child ear. If the student listen, its on him or her. But the advice your parents usually give you is right. Most students are introduce to drugs and alcohle and is put with the delima should they use it. Then start to think back at what they parent told them. They let it float in one ear and out the other.


Group II:

Big Blow Out Sale! Final Sale! Save 50% of entire store! Shop at Priceline.com for the lowest prices. Today that is pretty much all you see on television. Every channel was some advertisement about either shopping online or going to your local mall for a big blow out sale. To many people the mall is a disaster area that should never been seen. To other the mall is a haven, a chance to meet new people and get hands on sales associate. With the invention of computer and the internet been so powerful, online shopping has become the norm for many customer. These two shopping techniques can have their advantages and disadvantages.



Group III:

As the showed end for that week my friends and I were preparing to leave, but stop to socialize like everyoneelse was doing. For some strange reason we were singled out. "Gentlemen, cross the street", yelled the officer. We kept talking because we didn't know if he was referring to us. "Get off the property and cross the street", yelled the officer. So, I turned around and gestured to my friends lets leave and as we were crossing the street me friend Theron (Chocolate) got snatched up by an officer for no reason. The officer grabbed Choc threw him up against a car and twisted his arm behind his back for no reason. Choc ask what did he do and he said, "Shut up, your getting arrested tonight", and handcuffed him. Naturally, as friends we tried to help; in all the comotion my friend Chris got hancuffed also. So, they took Choc and Chris back inside the building.



Group IV:

Finally, If a child is not in the home or school, the community must serve as a rearing force. "It take a village, to rage a child" (African proverb), is correct. It also take a village to stop violence in community. These two thoughts will make the community a safe place to live. Neighbors should pay attention to the behavior of children in the community. If they see children misbehaving, don't be afraid to tell the child's parents. That same child could be the future drug dealer that destroys the community even more. Communities should also ban together to stop crimes. Programs such as neighborhood watch has reduce crimes by 30% in the Crenshaw Blv. Area (Compton, CA). Awareness is the key to reduce violence. Along with watching children, neighbors should also watch property. Keep an eye out for crime decreases the chance of it happening.


Group V:

We will never be free to be until we achieve the kind of freedom that does not make it easier to criticize than it is to contribute. We will never be free to be until we achieve the kind of freedom that does not make the rich even richer while the poor become poorer. We will never be free to be until we achieve the kind of freedom that encourages children to dream big things that may be difficult (but not impossible) to attain instead of small endeavors that pose no challenge. We will never be free to be until we achieve the kind of freedom that allows us to celebrate our history while looking to a better future. We will never be free to be until we achieve the kind of freedom that urges us to support one another in a united cause as opposed to everyone "doing their own thing." Only then will we be truly free to dream, free to make our dreams a reality, and simply free to be.