THE ABILITY OF BLACK ADULTS TO LEARN TO READ STANDARD ENGLISH IS HAMPERED BY STRUCTURAL INTERFERENCE FROM BLACK VERNACULAR; I.E., THE LEARNER MAKES ERRORS IN STANDARD ENGLISH THAT ARE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE GRAMMATICAL RULES AND PHONOLOGY OF BLACK VERNACULAR. A TEACHING TECHNIQUE AND LITERACY SKILL CURRICULUM DESIGNED TO DEAL WITH THIS PROBLEM WERE TESTED IN THE PRISON SCHOOL OF A MAXIMUM SECURITY FACILITY, WHERE 10 BLACK MALE INMATES ABOUT TO BE RELEASED RECEIVED 12 WEEKS (150 HOURS) OF LITERACY SKILL INSTRUCTION. PHOTOGRAPHS SELECTED BY THE INMATES SERVED AS THE BASIS FOR DISCUSSION-DICTATION-READING DRILLS IN WHICH MAJOR MISMATCHES BETWEEN BLACK VERNACULAR AND STANDARD ENGLISH WERE BROUGHT TO THE ATTENTION OF THE STUDENTS. THE INSTRUCTION WAS CONDUCTED IN THREE PHASES, WITH STANDARD ENGLISH GRADUALLY REPLACING BLACK VERNACULAR. BASIC LITERACY SKILLS WERE INTRODUCED IN THE SECOND PHASE AND APPLIED TO PRACTICAL SITUATIONS (E.G., APPLYING FOR A JOB) IN THE THIRD. AT THE END OF THE 12 WEEKS, THE INMATES HAD A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF STANDARD ENGLISH AND A GREATER APPRECIATION OF BLACK VERNACULAR. THEY WERE USING STANDARD ENGLISH WITH GREATER PRECISION, BUT WERE NOT PROFICIENT. THE TRANSITION FROM BLACK VERNACULAR TO STANDARD ENGLISH OCCURRED GRADUALLY AND WAS EASIER FOR THE BETTER READERS AMONG THE SUBJECTS. O'DONNELL ADULT INFORMAL READING INVENTORY SCORES SHOWED THAT THE SUBJECTS IMPROVED THEIR READING ABILITY BY TWO GRADE LEVELS IN THE COURSE OF THE PROGRAM. LIMITATIONS OF READING TESTS FOR BLACK ADULTS ARE NOTED, AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH ARE OFFERED. DETAILS OF THE CURRICULUM AND TEACHING TECHNIQUE, SUPPORTING DATA, A LITERATURE REVIEW, AND A LIST OF REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (LKM)