Caribbean

studies School
Based
Assessment
1

Name: Dimitri Mitchell

School: excelsior high

Center number:

Candidate number:

Year of examination: 2016

Acknowledgment
2

Thanks is extended out to all the persons who have helped me with the completion of this
project. Although the processes of completing was quite difficult, my teacher and friends stood
by my side and gave encouragement and help, of which I am grateful for. Special thanks is
extended out to my parents for providing the monitory fund which was needed in the completion
of this project.

Problem statement

An examination of the usage of the creole language in the teaching of sixth form students at the
Excelsior High School.

Table of content.
4

Title page 1
Acknowledgement. 3
Problem statement .4
Introduction 6
Literature review. 7
Data collection sources. 11
Discussion of findings. 12
Limitations, Recommendation, conclusion .15
Appendix .16
Bibliography 25

Introduction

The examination of the usage of the creole language in the teaching of sixth form students in
Excelsior High School is vital, because language has several functions and roles. This issue is
present in most contemporary high schools not just excelsior. The fragile minds of the students in
Excelsior sixth form cannot understand the long convoluted and unambiguous sentences in
Standard English, therefore it is broken down into patios, which is understood by them better.
The title of this study is the examination of the usage of the creole language in sixth form in
excelsior high school. The study will ask about the history of the creole language and the roles
and function of creole language in schools. It will also ask the respondents about their
understanding of the creole language and if it is suitable to be used to teach them.
The study has numerous educational values. As the creole language is a part of our everyday
lives. The researchers study will benefit, communication studies students and students who are
studying languages. University students of the languages department could also use the
researchers study to help further their research on the creole language itself.
Definition of technical terms
Convoluted- complex
Unambiguous- unclear
Patios- is any language that is considered nonstandard, although the term is not formally defined
in linguistics. It can refer to pidgins, creoles, dialects, and other forms of native or local speech,
but not commonly to jargon or slang.
Literature review
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Lelia Lord (2012) in her book, asserts that a language is a purely human and non-instinctive
method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of a system of voluntary
produced symbols. She also asserts that creole is vernacular in its own rite. This means that
creole is the native language of a speech community, often used to contrast with the
institutionalized standard language. In the same book it is also stated that Jamaican language is
distinctive, hence the creation of the Jamaican language continuum. The continuum characterizes
the different variety of language spoken by Jamaicans like the acrolect variety which is closest to
the Standard English to the variety in the middle which is the mesolectal variety to the variety
furthest away from the English language which is the mesolectal variety.
In that study by Leia lord she looks closely at the scientific aspect, and the different
characteristics of the creole language. In this study however the researcher would be looking at
the usage of the creole language rather than the scientific characteristics. Based on that study by
Lelia Lord she was able to draw a conclusion that creole is non instinctive thus it is purely
human. In this study however the researcher will draw the conclusion on whether creole is
understood better by sixth form students when it is used in teaching them.
Based on the website article www.debate.uvm.edu title: Jamaican patois and the power of
language in reggae music by Stacey Herbold, the perception that English-lexicon Creole
languages are a form of "bad English" still persists today. Jamaican patois continues to be
considered an unacceptable official language and an informal language not to be used for any
formal purpose. Creole speakers are often compared to those speakers of Standard English. The
similarity of Creole to English has led Creole speakers to be labeled as socially and linguistically

inferior, although Jamaica Creole is increasingly showing up in newspapers, once known for
their old-fashioned Standard English, on the radio, and in songs. Article written by Stacey
Herbold states that creole language is deemed inferior, however in the researchers area of study
the creole language is appreciated and is held of high an esteem.
Creole is similar to English in terms of vocabulary and most speakers are inferior in
socioeconomic terms, so it is easy to assume that Creole is a poor form of English. In the past 30
or 40 years linguists have finally begun to recognize Creole as a language in itself. After
investigating the history and use of Creole, linguists now believe that Creole languages are their
own individual language which have come about through their own histories, with mixed roots
from Europe and Africa. Although there has been more and more interest in Creole languages
and their identities, Creole however is now used in education or for official purposes in the
English speaking Caribbean. There is no standard way to write in Creole but this has not stopped
writers from publishing and creating poems in written in Creole such as, dub poetry, and
dialogue in novels, short stories, and plays. In most written Creole modified Standard English is
used. In this source of information, the researcher looked at the music industry.

In this study conducted by Stacey Herbold she looks at the relationship between the English
dialect and the creole dialect. Thus she states that the creole language is said to be inferior to the
English language. In this study however the researcher will also be looking at the relationship
between the two languages to see if the creole language is really inferior to the English language.
The major difference between this study and the study conducted by Stacey Herbold is that her

study was conducted in the music industry while the researchers study will be conducted in the
education sector.
It is said by website article titles: a tale of two languages www.mona.uwi.edu that, in recent
years, it has been widely acknowledged that Jamaica is a bilingual society. The English as a
mother tongue approach that ignored the reality that we write a language we do not speak. We
speak a language we do not write was considered to be ineffective in Jamaicas learning
environment. As a result, the Language Education Policy (LEP) was developed in 2001 to
simultaneously promote oral use of the Jamaican Creole (JC) in schools and facilitate the
development of skills in Standard Jamaican English (SJE) (LEP, 2001). The Jamaican classroom
features students who entered the school system with SJE, JC or a mixture of both. The concern
about English language competence arises because of the the two Englishes. That is, the
closeness of the JC to SJE makes it problematic for Jamaican students when they learn English,
particularly as there is no distinction made in the classroom between the two languages. Without
sufficient attention paid to promoting language awareness to enable students to make this
distinction, students will continue to struggle in the Grade Four Literacy Test and Language Arts
examinations as well as in the oral use of English.
It is therefore clear that the issue of English language competence has implications for overall
school performance and possibly future success of our children. In the article tale of two
languages it is said that the closeness of the Jamaican creole and standard Jamaican English
makes it problematic for Jamaican students when they learn English. However, in the
researchers area of study it is evident that students can distinguish between the three varieties of
languages thus they use them sufficiently when the formality requires it. Furthermore, the

research being conducted by the research will look explicitly at how students distinguish
between the three languages and how they use it. In this source of information, the researcher
looked at the effects of the patios language and the standard Jamaican language on a student
learning the English language properly.
However, in this researcher the researcher will be looking at the effects of patios on learning the
English language and other important subject areas. This study examines the usage of creole in
schools across the island. It states that Jamaica is a bilingual country which speaks a language
they dont write and write a language they dont speak. This study highlights the fact that with
the existence of the two languages, there will be a problematic situation that will hamper the
learning environment in school. As a result, the study talks about steps the government toke to
resolve this problem. In the researchers study however the examination of the usage of the
creole; language will not be island wide but rather in one school. The researcher will aslo look at
ways in which the teachers can dissolve this problematic environment.

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Data collection sources

The method chosen for a research designed is solely based on the design of the research itself.
They are two types of research design, namely, pure research test theory and applied research
answer a specific problem. The research design of the study is that of an applied research that
answers a specific problem hence the implementation of a problem statement. Data used in
researches may either be quantitative and qualitative usage of these two types of data brings
about a well-rounded study. The usage of these two types of data is called triangulation.
Quantitative data is largely data obtained from large numbers example is the usage of the
questionnaire that is implemented in this study to examine the sixth form students of excelsior.
This data provides mainly statistics. Qualitative data however is in depth analysis of complex
situations like relationships or experiences. The main results are in words which are analyzed to
give new insights. In this study the data collection sources came from both the quantitative
aspect as well as the qualitative aspect. This thus includes for the quantitative aspect the
questionnaire and for the qualitative aspect the analysis of website articles pertaining to the
research problem and Structured questionnaire. This questionnaire was given to a well-known
teacher at the Excelsior High School. This teacher however is one of the many teachers in the
school who teaches the sixth form students. Twenty quantitative questionnaires with twelve
questions where given out randomly to students of the excelsior sixth form and all questionnaires
where received accordingly.

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Discussion of findings
Creole is used for a wider range of reasons. It is used extensively in the education sector. In
excelsior sixth form program, students understand the lesson better when it is first broken down
into creole. Based on the information obtained from the question one of the questionnaire it
seems that the majority of the students in the sixth form program are of the age 17-18. This
shows that the student body in the program are of a certain intellectual level thus the usage of
both the creole and the standard English would be quite different from other students located in
the school. With reference to Leila lord (2012) it was discovered that creole has different
dialectal varieties. These varieties however may be influenced by a number of factors. Students
who are from different areas of Jamaica and who attend the sixth form program use a different
variety in comparison to those who are situated in the cooperate area. Question 3 on the
questionnaire ask the students, what language Varity their parents use mostly to communicate
with them. Majority of them stated that creole is the most used language at home. This
information could account for the reason why students in the sixth form program use the creole
language to address people of authority within the school. Since they use it to their parents and
the parents themselves are ok with it they thing using the creole language to address persons with
authority in the school would be ok.
In the sixth form program even teachers use the dialect to aid in bring across points to the
students. Question 5 of the questionnaire ask the students if they agree with the use of creole by
the teachers when teaching them. It was discovered that majority of the students agree to this.
The use of creole by the teacher makes long convoluted sentences easier to understand thus
students would learn much faster and the ability of them to apply themselves to what is being
learnt would also be easier.
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The extensive use of the creole however may affect the usage of the standard language. Website
article a tale of two languages reassures the point that the closeness of the Standard English
and the creole makes it problematic for students to make the distinction between the two
languages as a result the command of the Standard English is weaken.
However, question 2 of the questionnaire ask the respondents if they have a fair, good or poor
command of the English language. Majority of the respondents had a good command of the
language. Base on the interview that was conducted the researcher gained a better understanding
on the usage of the creole language at the sixth form level. Question one from the interview ask
the respondent what are some of the reasons why students cannot understand the lessons been
taught. One of the response is that the students most times dont understand the so called big
words used in the English dialect. The reason for this could be that the sixth form students are
not reading wide enough to get exposed to new words. Another reason also could be that students
are reluctant to try and understand the standard English as a result the cling to the creole
language. This would then make the language become more instinctive and they would then have
a problem when they a required to use the standard English. The second question ask the
respondent the methods which she uses to help student to understand the lesson been taught. The
respondent state that she breaks down convoluted contexts that are intertwined into the lesson by
giving examples the students can relate to. But however is this done in the standard English or
the creole language? Question three therefore asks if these methods are done in the creole. The
respondent stated that yes, these methods are done in creole because it is much easier to
understand. This thus give the creole language a purpose in the class room setting as it is used as
a medium to break down complex ideas that are expressed in the standard English. The
respondent is then asking to describe the effectiveness of the use of the language chosen. The

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respondent says that it has both a positive effect and a negative effect on the students. Yes, it
helps them to understand complex ideas expressed in the standard English but it affects the
overall usage of the English language. The respondent is then asked which type of language is
used by her when communicating with students in an informal setting. She stated that she uses
the creole language as it is the most suitable because often times students come to her with
personal issues and in order to relate to the student in need of advice the creole language would
be most suitable. This thus states that not only creole language is used in teaching but also on the
process of mediation with students.

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Limitations of the research

The funds to fund the research was limited.

Respondents for the questionnaire took long in returning the questionnaires, this however
delayed the analytical process.
Researcher could not get hold of respondents for the questionnaire due to the holidays.

Recommendations
The researcher recommends that creole should be taught in schools.
The researcher recommends that the creole language should also still be used in teaching.
The researcher recommends that students should know the difference between the two languages
and make every effort to try and not confuse the two.

Conclusion
It can be therefore concluded that the use of the creole language in the teaching of excelsior high
school sixth students is relevant as it plays a major role in making complex terminologies easier
to understand. As a result, the grades of the sixth form students has improved significantly. This
thus asserts that the creole language is very much useful in the teaching of the excelsior sixth
form students.

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Appendix

Introduction to structured questionnaire.

The questionnaires target respondent is a teacher of the excelsior six form. Confidentiality for
the respondent is guaranteed hence respondent is not required to write his/her name, grade
the/her teaches or any other personal information that would uniquely identify him/her. The
results of this questionnaires would be analyzed and used for educational purposes. Please
answer each question as truthfully as possible.

1. What are some of the main reasons why students cannot understand the lessons been
taught?
Response: reason to this is that the dont open their minds towards the lesson being taught or
they are distracted by devices they use in class or they sometimes dont understand so called
big words used in the English dialect.
2. What methods do you find most effective in helping students to understand the lesson
being taught?
Response: it helps when I break down complex contexts in the lesson by giving examples
they can relate to.

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3. When using these methods, do you use the creole language? Give reason for your answer.
Response: yes, because the creole language is much easier for students to understand.
4. Describe the effectiveness of the use of the specific language chosen.
Response: the usage of the creole language is effective as it is a simple language hence it
becomes instinctive. It has a major effect on students as it enables them to understand the
lesson but however it affects the overall usage of the English language in the class room.
5. What type of language Varity do you use to communicate with the sixth form students in
an informal setting and explain why you use that specific language variety?
Response: I use the creole language because students come to me with personal issues
thus the creole language would be much suitable. However, the distinction is being made
when it comes onto a formal setting. The standard English is most likely to be used.

Introduction to quantitative questionnaire

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The questionnaires target respondents are the students of the excelsior six form. Confidentiality
for each respondents is guaranteed hence students are not required to write their names, grade or
any other personal information that would uniquely identify them. The results of these
questionnaires would be analyzed and used for educational purposes. Please answer each
question as truthfully as possible.
Instructions: please selected your answer to a question by the indication of a tick placed in
the box provided.
1. How old are you?
17

18

19

20

2. How good is your command of the English language?

Good

Fair

Bad

3. What type of language does your family use most?

English

Creole

4. Do you like when creole is used when people communicate to you?

Yes

no

5. Do you agree to the use of creole by teachers when communicating to you as a student?
Yes

no

6. Do you understand something better when it is explained in English or creole?

English

creole

7. Should teachers use creole in teaching?

Strongly agree

strongly disagree

8. Do you think the excessive use of creole would affect a person usage of the English language?

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Yes

No

9. In our society is creole

Under use

over used

10. What do you think would happen if we disregard creole as a language?

It would affect our culture

It would be forgotten

It would still remain

Nothing at all
11. Should creole be taught in schools?
Yes

No

12. Why do you speak creole?

Because it is instinctive

because it is easier to speak in comparison to English it self

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Presentation and analysis of data

Responses to question 1 of the questionnaire.

Question from the questionnaire: How old are you?

Pie chart showing Responses to question one of the questioniare

17-18 19-20 16-17 19-20

44%

56%

This shows that majority of the respondents are of the age of 17 and 18. However the minority of
the respondents are of the ages of 19 and 20.

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Responses to question 2 of the questionnaire.

Question from the questionnaire: How good is your command of the English language?

Colum Graph showing the responses to question 2 of the questionaire

12
10
8
6
4
2
0

Good

Fair
Good

Fair

Poor
Poor

This shows that majority of the respondents has a good command of the English language while
the minority had fair command of the English language. However, none of the respondents had a
poor command of the English language.

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Responses to question 3 of the questionnaire.

Question from the questionnaire: What type of language does your family use mostly?

Bar Graph showing the responses to question 3 on the questionaire

other

Creole

English

6
English

8
Creole

10

12

14

other

This shows that majority of the respondents families use creole in communicating while the
minority use Standard English. None of the respondents families uses other forms of languages.

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Responses to question 5 of the questionnaire.

Question from the questionnaire: Do you agree to the use of creole by teachers when
communicating to you as a student?

Line graph showing the responses to question 5 from the questionaire

16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Yes

N0
Yes

Column1

This shows that the majority of the respondents agrees to the usage of creole by teachers when
communicating to them. The minority is the one who disagrees with this idea.

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Responses to question 7 of the questionnaire.

Question from the questionnaire: Should teachers use creole in teaching?

Diagram showing the responces for question 7 of the questionaire

Strongly agree Strongly disagree Somewhat agree

100%

This shows that all the respondents agree to the usage of creole by teachers in teaching.

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Bibliography
Bryan, B. (2011, January 10-12). A Tale of two languages. Retrieved from Jamaican
Creole and Jamaican Standard English: http://www.mona.uwi.edu
Herbold, S. (2010, Febuary 12). The Dread Library. Retrieved from Jamaican Patois
and the power of language in reggae music: http://www.debate.uvm.edu
Lord, L. (2012). CAPE Communication Studies. Kingston: Pearson
Education,llimited,2012.

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