Hassan Basarally 806007430 EDLA 3111 Ms.

Jaggernauth 1

Factors Which Affect the Teaching and Learning of English in the Anglophone Caribbean

Factors Which Affect the Teaching and Learning of English in the Anglophone Caribbean

Hassan Basarally

806007430

Principles, Approaches and Methods in Teaching English in the Caribbean- EDLA 3111

17th April, 2009

Semester 2, 2008-2009

Faculty of Humanities and Education

Department of Liberal Arts

University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad

 Hassan Basarally 806007430 EDLA 3111 Ms. Jaggernauth 2

The Anglophone1 Caribbean region poses a unique linguistic situation and with it unique

challenges which affect the teaching and learning of English. The term English refers to the

Standard English2 that has been adopted as the official language of the territories. Language

learning is affected by different factors: teaching factors, learning factors and sociolinguistic

factors. Factors that affect English language learning are the multilingual nature of the region,

language attitudes of teachers, and students’ perceptions of Creole and English.

The Anglophone Caribbean is not monolingual. It is multilingual, consisting of English

Lexicon creoles in Grenada, French Lexicon creoles in St. Lucia and Dominica and Neo Indian

creoles such as Garifuna in Belize. In addition Trinidad and Tobago has a Trinidad English

Creole and Tobago English Creole. In addition, the creoles3 spoken are the first language to the

majority of the student and teacher population. The result is that English was taught as a native

language to an audience who in reality has it as a second language. The student in the region is

different to other non native learners of English as the Creoles share the lexicon and many

aspects of the structure of English. Hence, Robertson (1995), disapproves of the second language

label, so “bi dialetalism” (Nero, 2000, p. 501) could be used or “linguistic schizophrenia” (p. 20).

The fact that the region can be classified as multilingual, bi dialectal etc. has implications for the

nature of language acquisition. Simmons-McDonald and Robertson (2006) hold that cognitive

development is hindered when first language is ignored, ease of second language acquisition is

dependent of first language competence and “initial literacy is best acquired in the first

language”4. Despite these linguistic realities language teaching and learning in the region has

been mostly monolingual in the official language, there is complete immersion in English in the

classroom with no use of Creole. The result is that teachers fail to apply appropriate second

language learning techniques and theories in the classroom. Development of skills in all domains
 Hassan Basarally 806007430 EDLA 3111 Ms. Jaggernauth 3

of language is sought, i.e. reading, writing, speaking and listening. It cannot be achieved as the

skills need to be developed in both the first and target language.

Language attitudes of the teacher determine classroom practices and shapes student

perception of language. Attitudes are a result of language awareness of teacher, student and

society at large. In the region, language awareness is responsible for an individual’s perception of

Creole in the classroom. For a long time in the history of the education system in the region, the

creole speaking students were considered “linguistically and cognitively deprived, and

consequently low in mental ability” (Craig, 2006, p. 11). As a result of this mentality, teachers

were not motivated to use Creole in language learning and attempts were made to eradicate

Creole from the classroom. Teachers may also have no training in dealing with classes whose

students are Creole speakers or even sufficient knowledge of English. Parents also, view

education including creole as hampering learning of English. This impacted on the language

learning ability of students as the most effective teaching is done in the students’ first language.

Robertson (1995), states that “the linguistic norm for transmission of cultural items which

distinguish the Caribbean is therefore, non-standard” (p. 20). Also not utilising the creole as a

method of instruction denies the child the right to be taught in the first language.

Student language awareness and attitude determines the intrinsic motivation to learn

English. The presence of the creole continuum affects students’ motivation to learn English. The

continuum holds that decreolisation takes place and a creole moves towards the standard. This

means that there is a basilect which is farthest from the standard, a mesolect in the middle and an

acrolect close to the standard. As many students use English based creoles there is no perception

that the creole is very different from the standard. In addition, Barbadian English Creole and

Trinidad English Creole are acrolects, making students think there is even less difference. The

student is unaware of the phonological difference between English and Creole, e.g. the Creole
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use of [d] instead of [ɵ] as in ‘dis’ instead of ‘this’. Or syntactic differences, e.g. the placing of

the negative particle before the verb phrase or noun phrase as in ‘No woman like no poor man’

while English has it before the verb phrase alone. In addition the region has a high instance of

code switching and varilingualism. This has students interchanging the use of Creole and English

depending on the situation, many times incorrectly. Students are only required to utilise English

for examination purposes, hence everyday use is minimal. As communication with peers and

other members of the society can be conducted in Creole, English learning is deemed purely

academic. This attitude is not helped by various education ministries having no language policy,

or even recognising the multilingualism of the territories. This is now changing g with territories

such as Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and St. Lucia utilising Creole in the classroom. However,

the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) allows optional Creole use in a limited role in

creative writing, showing that Creole is still of little importance. Due to the close resemblance of

the Creole and English, the bi dialectal term can be applied. In addition, the superficial similarity

between the creole and English causes teachers great difficulty in presenting the features of

English that must be learnt as different from that of the students’ language.

The Anglophone Caribbean is multilingual, with English being the official language and

Creoles occupying first language status. Stigmatisation of Creoles has led to attempts at its

removal from classroom. In addition, teacher knowledge of the similarities and differences

between English and Creole hamper effective teaching. Student motivation is affected by the

closeness of English and the Creole, seeing no distinction and the limited functional use of

English in life; students assume they already speak English. These factors compose the main

challenges to teaching English in the region.

Works Cited
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Craig, D. (2006) Language teaching & literacy to Caribbean students: From vernacular to

standard english. Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle Publishers.

Nero, J. S. (2000). The Changing Faces of English: A Caribbean Perspective. TESOL Quarterly,

34 (3), 483-510.

Robertson, I. (1995) Teaching the official language (english) in the caribbean: some

perspectives.

Simmons-McDonald, H. & Robertson, I. (Eds.). (2006). Exploring the boundaries of Caribbean

creole languages. Jamaica: UWI Press.

Endnotes
1The Anglophone Caribbean is both a political and linguistic demarcation. Politically, it refers to
British territories or now associated states, independent nations or republics. Linguistically, it
refers to territories whose official language is English; in addition it refers to territories that have
the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) as the regional examinations body. The territories are:
Anguilla, Antigua/Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica,
Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts/Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent/Grenadines,
Trinidad/Tobago and Turks/Caicos.

2There exists in the region several English lexicon Creoles in addition to English, hence the need to
classify English as Standard English.

3Creoles, in this sense, can be defined by Nero (2000, p. 486) as “a combination of phonology,
morphology and syntax of West African and other ethnic languages, with the largest contribution
to the lexicon coming from British English”.

4This is also held by Craig (1977), Simmons-McDonald (1996) and Shields-Brodber (1997).