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The questions remained constant: what kind of languagedo the participants in these classrooms speak? Where dothese ideas and perceptions of the language come from?What is the historical background to the choices made aboutlanguage teaching? What is the socio-cultural context thatthe teacher needs to understand, to connect the society’slanguage goals with the individual’s needs? How does theteacher promote competence in the target language whilemaintaining confidence in the mother tongue? What doesgood practice in this context look like?Dr Bryan sought the answers to these questions inconducting her own research and reviewing that ofCaribbean and international practitioners. The researchwas conducted over a number of years in several differentprojects, focused on secondary schools. It draws onhistorical sources, observations, interviews and surveys.However, Dr Bryan has taken into account the ideas andpractices of classroom teachers, because in this way theprofessional knowledge and expertise that underpins goodclassroom practice is recognised.Publishing the ResearchDr Bryan wanted to share her findings with English teacherswho were confronted with the challenges presentedby the Jamaican Creole/English speaking students. Shedocumented all her findings in a book entitled BetweenTwo Grammars: Research and Practice for LanguageLearning and Teaching in a Creole-speaking Environment.It is towards enriching the practice of these teachers ofEnglish in secondary schools that a substantial part of thisbook is addressed. The first aim is to present an enrichedview of the multiple meanings of language and Englishin teaching in the Caribbean, considering the differentways language is viewed - in particular the language thatsecondary students are acquiring. It is understood thatteachers need to be provided with the tools to navigatethe arena, so that they can interrogate their responses tolanguage.achievement in literature. What is more important, or as important, in this Creolespeakingenvironment, is TLA. Dr Bryan’s research suggested that some intuitiveunderstandings were already there. After all, most teachers have been involved in thelinguistic struggles their students face. But the objective is to make that knowledgeexplicit to the teacher and enrol her in the project of language teaching.No Single SolutionDifferent approaches are reviewed in this book, based on the research carried outin classrooms. The approaches cover teaching language as communication; the useof literature in the language classroom; and the central value of language study. Theimplementation of these approaches is analysed in relation to the principles outlined,so that teachers can make theoretically sound pedagogical decisions about what theyoffer students. Finally, what is offered to the teacher are ways of working that she,as empowered professional, can take and own. Ultimately, the goal is to empowerteachers to develop a critical reflective perspective on their practice that allows themto see such practice in a wider system of meaning-making.Thus, while the difficulties of language teaching are recognised, it is also appreciatedthat the findings, discussions and solutions suggested are multi-faceted.Beverley Bryan is the head ofthe Department ofEducational Studiesbeverley.bryan@uwimona.<strong>edu</strong>.jmSo once the findings are examined, the aim in the second halfof the book is to go beyond the presentation of one singlemethod for achieving proficiency in English. Apart fromknowledge of subject, teachers need an understanding ofthe principles of knowledge and learning that would allowthem to make theoretically sound and rigorous pedagogicaldecisions about what they offer to students. Principlesare strands of curriculum thinking, drawn from secondlanguageresearch and practice that are robust enough togenerate teacher action at more than one level: they spiralthrough the curriculum and offer guidelines to the teacherin approaching her practice.To apply the principles, teacher preparation must deepenteacher expertise; development of teacher languageawareness (TLA) is required for language and literacyteachers of English. Many teachers come with a facilitywith language generally expressed in a love for and16 17
R E S E A R C H F O R D E V E L O P M E N T 2 0 1 1RoseDavies“Based on how I see these early childhoodteachers teach and the methods they use,the children must learn.”Who Should Teachat the Lower PrimarySchool GradesThis was the view expressed by the principal of aninner city Primary and Junior High School in Kingston,Jamaica, during an interview with Dr Rose Davies,Senior Lecturer and Head of the Institute of Education,UWI, Mona. Dr Davies was collecting data for a casestudy research on the principal’s teacher deploymentinitiative aimed at improving the standard of teachingand learning in grade one.The principal had embarked on an initiative toplace teachers trained as early childhood <strong>edu</strong>cationspecialists in all his grade 1 classrooms. Why? Heexplained that in his first years as principal hebecame increasingly concerned about the lowperformance levels of children coming into grade 1from the community and their failure to demonstratesatisfactory progress by the end of grade 1. This wasparticularly acute in the area of literacy developmentand he was seeking for some way to improvethis situation. He acted on an ideathat came to him after observing anew teacher he had employed fora special grade 1 class of slowlearners.18 19
Page 3 and 4: Contents814182226FACULTY OFHUMANITI
Page 6 and 7: R E S E A R C H F O R D E V E L O P
Page 9: R E S E A R C H F O R D E V E L O P
Page 14 and 15: Industries’ Commitment to Educati
Page 16 and 17: That we are about to enter the 10th
Page 18 and 19: In keeping with its remit to facili
Page 20 and 21: The population movement that has at
Page 26 and 27: F A C U L T Y O FPURE ANDAPPLIEDSCI
Page 28 and 29: It was discovered, after carrying o
Page 30 and 31: The lionfish (Pterois volitans and
Page 32 and 33: Often, the ultimate carcinogen is f
Page 34 and 35: Mapping the AreaA major aim of the
Page 36 and 37: Physiological Fluid DynamicsPhysiol
Page 38 and 39: Health Effects of Cell Phone Radiat
Page 42 and 43: F A C U L T Y O FSOCIALSCIENCESDr.
Page 44 and 45: Data collection was mainly through
Page 46 and 47: The research conducted by By Dr. Li
Page 48: • The majority of businesses stat

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