A Conversation with Dr. Julie Washington: Dialect, Literacy, and Equity

In this episode Ryan speaks with Dr. Julie Washington to explore language, literacy, and reading development. Drawing on decades of research focused on African American English, dialect variation, and reading acquisition, Dr. Julie Washington unpacks how language evolves within communities and what educators often miss when implementing the science of reading. Together, they discuss linguistic distance, the critical role of oral language, the need for meaningful reading time and integration, and how schools can better support diverse learners by rethinking schedules, instruction, and collaborations.Dr. Washington is a Professor in the School of Education at the University of California – Irvine (UCI). She is a Speech-Language Pathologist and is a Fellow of the American Speech Language Hearing Association. Dr. Washington directs the Learning Disabilities Research Innovation Hub funded by the National Institutes of Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute on Child Health and Human Development. She is also director of the Dialect, Poverty and Academic Success Lab at UCI. ResourcesAmerican Federation of TeachersLanguage Variation and Academic Success Lab