In 2021, we conducted a survey of college faculty and graduate students who teach content related to African American Language and Culture (AAL&C) in any discipline or content area.  Specifically, we were interested in anyone who teaches their students about spoken and signed language varieties that are used in the U.S. and are associated with descendants of formerly enslaved persons; such varieties have been given names such as African American Language (AAL), African American English (AAE), African American Vernacular English (AAVE), Black English, Ebonics, and/or Black ASL (BASL). This may include courses in departments such as African and African American Studies, Anthropology, Communication, Education, English, Linguistics, Sociology, World Languages, etc. 

A quantitative paper based on this work was recently published Open Access in the journal Linguistics and Education, and can be found here:

A qualitative paper based on this work is also currently under review. It examines the challenges that college faculty face in teaching about African American Language, examines student perspectives on these challenges, and offers specific suggestions for pedagogical strategies to address and begin to overcome these challenges.

This work is made possible by Spencer Foundation Small Research Grant #202100261, Science Teachers’ Experiences Learning about African American English (STELAAE).