The gap in reading achievement between minority children and their majority peers is well-documented. Difficulty with reading impacts every aspect of academic achievement in every subject. Ultimately it undercuts employment and every life choice in adulthood.

The Humanities Center at Wayne State University will present a lecture on this gap in reading achievement on Wed., Jan. 18th, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. The lecture which is free and open to the public will be in room 2339 of the Faculty Administration Building on campus.

The lecture, “Language and Literacy: When the Two Don’t Intersect for Minority Children,” by Julie A. Washington, professor of Audiology and Speech Pathology, will examine the role of language in this epidemic.

Washington is the author of “Performance of Elementary-Grade African American Students on the Gray Oral Reading Tests” and “A language screening protocol for use with young African American children in urban settings.” She will examine the role of language in this “epidemic,” which has received renewed interest among educators and language specialists. The focus of this colloquium will be the “reading problem” in the United States as it relates to African American children and the purported contribution of language differences.

For more information contact Dr. Walter Edwards, at the Humanities Center at (313) 577-5471 or www.research.wayne.edu/hum/.

Wayne State University is a premier institution offering more than 350 academic programs through 11 schools and colleges to more than 33,000 students.