Teaching Language and Literacy to Caribbean Students : From Vernacular to Standard English

In many parts of the world there are situations where the majority of the people speak a vernacular which differs significantly in grammar and idiom from the official language with which it coexists but nevertheless share the majority of a common vocabulary. This is the case in the Caribbean where childhood speakers of English-based Creole languages have significant difficulty in acquiring Standard English and literacy in English. However, pedagogical approaches to the plight of such children have not achieved a generally accepted theoretical position and have lacked consistency over the years resulting in a high level of educational failure in the children. This book uses the English-speaking Caribbean as a case study in its presentation of a rational theoretical framework for classroom procedures in language and literacy teaching. It provides suggestion for the kind of detailed syllabi that need to be implemented at the primary, immediate post-primary and the secondary levels of schooling but goes beyond that with end of chapter notes, questions and even suggestions for practical study and research activities. Teaching Language and Literacy is ideally suited to be used as a textbook for intending as well as practising teachers of language and literacy, as well as language educations students generally at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Although the book focuses on the English-speaking Caribbean, it will have relevance in similar vernacular situations where English is an 'official' language, most notably in parts of North America and Britain where there are significant migrant populations form the Caribbean but also in African American communities of the USA where 'Black English' is the everyday norm of speech. Table of Contents 6 List of Illustrations 11 Preface 12 Acknowledgements 14 Abbreviations 16 Relevant Situational Characteristics 18 The Language and Literacy Education of Vernacular Speakers 28 Learners’ Needs and the Components of School Programmes 53 The Background of Language –Teaching Perspectives 78 Literacy in TESORV 105 Procedures For The Primary Level 152 Procedures for Post-Primary Situations Characterized by Inadequate Primary-Level Achievement 184 Procedures for the Secondary Level 218 Syllabus Resources 246 References 287 Index 299