A LINGUISTIC FIELD SURVEY OF THE ENGLISH SPOKEN IN THE CULTURAL-GEOGRAPHICAL AREA OF APPALACHIA SHOWS THAT THERE ARE AT LEAST TWO MAJOR NONSTANDARD DIALECTS IN CURRENT USE. THE DIALECT FAMILY MOST COMMONLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE APPALACHIAN REGION IS MOUNTAIN SPEECH. ALTHOUGH WELL STRUCTURED AND EXPRESSIVE IN ITS OWN RIGHT, IT HAS COME TO BE CONSIDERED INFERIOR, UNGRAMMATICAL, AND OF LOW SOCIAL STATURE. THE NEGRO DIALECT SPOKEN IN APPALACHIA HAS EVEN LESS SOCIAL STATUS AND IS OFTEN MISTAKENLY IDENTIFIED WITH MOUNTAIN SPEECH. PROGRAMS FOR TEACHING STANDARD ENGLISH IN THIS AREA SHOULD BE BASED ON A UNDERSTANDING OF WHICH ETHNIC AND CULTURAL GROUPS USE THESE DIALECTS, HOW EACH OF THE DIALECTS CONTRASTS WITH STANDARD ENGLISH, AND THE SPECIAL LINGUISTIC TECHNIQUES WHICH HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED FOR TEACHING STANDARD ENGLISH TO SPEAKERS OF NONSTANDARD DIALECTS. THE AUTHOR BRIEFLY OUTLINES A WIDE RANGE OF RESEARCH, MATERIALS, AND ACTION PROGRAMS WHICH COULD BE UNDERTAKEN BY THE APPALACHIAN REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL LABORATORY TO IMPROVE LANGUAGE TEACHING. HE ALSO APPENDS A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ARTICLES, BOOKS, AND PAMPHLETS CONCERNED WITH LANGUAGE AND LANGUAGE-RELATED SOCIAL STRUCTURE IN APPALACHIA. THIS DOCUMENT IS ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE LANGUAGE IN EDUCATION PROGRAM OF THE CENTER FOR APPLIED LINGUISTICS, 1717 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE, WASHINGTON, D.C., 20036. (JD)