Teaching English to Caribbean English Creole-Speaking Students ...

Teaching English to Caribbean English
Creole-Speaking Students in the
Caribbean and North America
Lise Winer
McGill University
Montreal, Canada
KEY POINTS
Chapter 5
• Attitudes toward the vernacular and standard English among Carib-
bean natives.
• Language awareness approaches and resources used in the Caribbean.
• Social and psychological adjustments facing Caribbean immigrants in
North America.
• Placement/assessment issues and language programs geared for Car-
ibbean immigrants.
• Recommended principles of best practice for teaching Caribbean stu-
dents.
Over the last three decades, perceptions and treatment of Caribbean Eng-
lish Creole (CEC)-speaking students have undergone some overall positive
changes, while still maintaining a discouraging lack of progress. Though
many linguists and policymakers have encouraged the simultaneous accep-
tance of CEC and the better teaching of standard English, the implementa-
tion of informed practice by teachers and support by parents has often
lagged far behind. The reasons for this are to some extent linguistic, but
primarily, as in most educational situations, social and political. This chap-
ter summarizes current issues and practices pertinent to both the Carib-
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bean and to North America (Canada and the United States). 1 In the final
part of this chapter, a summary of best practice principles is provided.
ENGLISH AND ENGLISH CREOLE
WITHIN THE CARIBBEAN
The early 1960s saw the beginning of political independence for the British
colonies of the Caribbean. Along with formal independence arose national-
ism identified by and through culture and language. Vernacular language
forms that had long been castigated and scorned as substandard and bro-
ken, even by their own speakers, became a "badge of Antillean identity and
consequently a positive force" (Carrington, 1979, p. 103) to be valued, not
denigrated. Linguists working in the Caribbean pushed for recognition of
Creoles as legitimate language systems. This resulted in several advances.
One has been the production of crucial reference works such as the Diction-
ary of Jamaican English (Cassidy & Le Page, 1967, 1980) 2 and more recently,
Allsopp's (1996) Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage. 3
Another crucial development has been the formulation of language poli-
cies, such as that first put forward by the Trinidad & Tobago Ministry of
Education in 1975 that not only recognized creole language as the first lan-
guage of most school-age children, but also laid the groundwork for in-
creasingly progressive measures, including: (a) the development of Carib-
bean standardized secondary-school-leaving examinations to replace the
Cambridge O Levels, and (b) official curriculum guidelines that included
Caribbean English works of fiction with creole language as set texts.
Though the mainstream and popular cultures of the English Caribbean
are commonly and no doubt properly referred to as oral cultures, there is
nonetheless a long tradition of written creole language in the region
(Buzelin & Winer, in press). And, although a small elite have been fluent in
standard English—whether considered British or Caribbean standard—
from the mid-twentieth century onward there has also been increased ac-
cess to formal education and mass media, such that many people through-

out the region have developed high degrees of oral and written compe-
tence in English. This competence in English is still greatly uneven, with
location (both country and rural-urban) and socioeconomic class playing
considerable roles in educational results. This variation in levels of English
proves especially confusing when school systems in North America try to
deal with Caribbean students (this issue will be taken up later).
During the 1960s and 1970s, it was assumed by most Caribbean educa-
tors and the general public that the road to educational, and therefore po-
litical and economic, success of an individual was very much tied to that
person's ability to command a high level of formal standard English. Dur-
ing the subsequent period of relative economic prosperity, however, it be-
came evident that being a monolingual English-Creole speaker, perhaps
with heavily Creole-influenced English as well, was not a bar to economic
success outside some professions. Justification for trying to ensure greater
student success levels in schools then became closely linked to the argu-
ments that achievement and success, even locally, were dependent on the
understanding of written texts and information from, as well as opportuni-
ties for education in and business dealings with, contexts outside the re-
gion. Educators in the Caribbean have by and large accepted that
bidialectalism, in local English Creole and local standard English, is an im-
portant goal in the school system. Overall, however, educators are greatly
concerned about low levels of academic competence, especially in written
English and particularly at the post-secondary level.
Siegel (1999) has categorized programs specifically designed to respond
to teaching Creole speakers within such linguistic situations. In instrumental
programs, the vernacular is used only as a medium of instruction to teach
initial literacy and to transition into standard English. In accommodation pro-
grams, the vernacular is accepted for use in the classroom but not used as a
medium of instruction nor as a goal of literacy competence. In language
awareness programs, the vernacular is a specific area of study, usually within
a larger context of understanding language diversity.
By and large, progressive Caribbean educators are increasingly using the
language awareness approach, although the degree to which first language
literacy is a stated goal varies tremendously. Two recent studies, both carried
out in Jamaica, have examined programs that emphasize overt awareness of
language, in particular the differences between Creole and English, as a use-
ful way to increase students' linguistic competence and self-confidence.
Bryan's "Making Language Visible: Language Awareness in a Creole-Speak-
ing Environment" (2000) and Kouwenberg's "Bringing Language Awareness
into the High School Curriculum: The Opportunities Offered by CAPE
Communication Studies" (2000) both include highly focused analysis of ar-
eas of difference such as pluralization, tense marking, and pronunciation,
but within an overall framework of discussion of "language in society."
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In terms of teacher resources that are not linked to a particular school
curriculum, a very helpful work applicable to a variety of situations is
Craig's Teaching Language and Literacy: Policies and Procedures for Vernacular
Situations (1999), which focuses on CEC in the Caribbean as well as African
American Vernacular English (AAVE)/Black English (BE) in the United
States. It addresses both primary and secondary school levels, and includes
a review of various past and present approaches, as well as practical sugges-
tions for classroom teaching that will be referred to in more detail later.
Similarly, some textbooks aimed at secondary or post-secondary students,
such as Writing in English: A Course Book for Caribbean Students (Simmons-
McDonald, Fields, & Roberts, 1997), are also grounded in a language
awareness approach. This book addresses formal (academic) written Eng-
lish as a specific variety in itself; the principles and points of their approach
to discourse are the same as those in British or North American textbooks
of this type, the main differences being the explanation of language variety
from within a Caribbean context, and the use of some Caribbean topics and
written texts.
CARIBBEAN STUDENTS IN NORTH AMERICA
Although the general level of migration from the English Caribbean to
North America has declined somewhat in recent years, it is still quite sub-
stantial, particularly in large urban areas such as Toronto, New York, and
Chicago. 4 There are vast differences, both social and educational, in the
backgrounds of Caribbean students who immigrate to North America. In
the social realm, as discussed thoroughly in Caribbean Students in Canadian
Schools, Book 1 (Coelho, 1988), patterns of migration often lead to long peri-
ods of parent-child separation, with children often coming to join the im-
migrant parent(s) as older children or young adolescents. Furthermore,
their introduction to living in North America is usually their first experi-
ence with extensive racism, not just at the personal level, but systematically
in, for example, the absence of the non-white role models at every level of
the society as they were accustomed to previously.
Although some teachers in Caribbean schools still criticize or even pun-
ish use of Creole in the classroom, the Creole-speaking child in a Caribbean
school nonetheless expects to be and is understood by the teacher. In a
North American context, teachers routinely misunderstand students, lead-

ing to seriously strained classroom relationships. This is exacerbated, per-
haps even primarily caused, by the fact that the teachers—as well as many of
the students themselves—regard this speech as bad English, and thus do
not assume that there may be some other meaning or rationale for the stu-
dents' speech and behavior. 5 At a more global level of school culture, the
authoritarian tyrants so vividly depicted by Merle Hodge (1970) are still to
be found here and there, but the region has certainly moved beyond "rote
and rod" as the basis of pedagogy. On the other hand, a recently arrived stu-
dent from the Caribbean, faced with a typical North American classroom,
might well be excused for interpreting the more open classroom as chaos.
The immigrant student from the Caribbean who arrives at a school in
North America faces a number of possible ways of being treated (i.e. as-
sessed, placed, and taught) although there may or may not be many options
in any individual situation. What determines the presence of such options
depends on population demographics, educator/school awareness, and
funding.
In terms of the language-focus program types described above, the re-
action to CEC has not generally been supportive of either instrumental or
accommodation programs, except in a kind of default, given that almost
all the teachers of CEC-speaking students will not be able to use CEC in
these fashions. In terms of language awareness, historically there have
been several excellent programs developed, notably in Toronto (Coelho,
1991), Chicago (Fischer, 1992), and New York (Pollard, 1993), but many
of the excellent aspects of teacher training, materials development, and
general interest in this area have dwindled rather than blossomed. This is
overall due to a lack of political commitment to deal with these children
in an educationally sound way, and justified by reference to lack of eco-
nomic resources, particularly within the current atmosphere that does not
support much that is good in educational practice for these as well as
other students. Often, CEC speakers do not fit neatly into any of the typi-
cally available models or programs for students requiring extra help with
language issues.
The most common traditional ways of dealing with immigrant children
from the English Caribbean, have been the mainstream ("sink or swim")
model, special education, or ESL programs. In cases where the CEC child is
the sole such individual in a school, or one of what the school system per-
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ceives to be an unworkably small number of students, 6 schools still have the
choice of treating even individual students with one of these approaches.
The mainstream model, also used for all kinds of other students for
whom special resources are not made available, too often depends for its
success on the chance individual background of teachers. CEC speakers
perceived as persistent bad English speakers are generally not given appro-
priate recognition and explanations or examples.
The categorization of CEC speakers into remedial, let alone special edu-
cation programs sends a clear message to both students and parents that
their language is deemed to reflect underlying cognitive deficiencies. 7 Simi-
larly, the referral of CEC speakers to speech therapists implies that linguis-
tic differences are an individual's pathology. This is, of course, not to say
that such children may not indeed have learning, hearing or speech disor-
ders, but simply that such diagnosis must be carried out by people qualified
to recognize the difference between a speech variety and a speech impedi-
ment.
Most CEC-speaking students who are deliberately placed into language-
oriented classrooms have been placed in ESL classes. This is on the one
hand a result of educators' recognizing that the students' language is sys-
tematic and legitimate; on the other hand, it is often the result of funding
structures in which only students whose first language is not English are en-
tided to additional support. The difficulties of such placement have been
well documented (Coard, 1971; Coelho 1988, 1991). The most obvious dif-
ference is that incoming students already perceive themselves as English
speakers (in some cases, as bilingual Creole/English). They are astonished
and resentful at being treated in this fashion. At beginner and intermediate
class levels especially, CEC-speaking students have a much greater knowl-
edge—especially receptive—of English than "real" ESL students. Nonethe-
less, CEC students may end up being eventually outperformed by ESL stu-
dents who have started with less English, because of persistent errors.
Continued problems involve both transfer from CEC and subsequent direct
or approximative forms in English, as well as problems common to any stu-
dent learning formal written English (see Nero, 2001).
Apart from the students' resentment at being classified as "non-English"
speakers, there are two main additional features of the inappropriateness

of ESL classes for CEC students. The first is the difficulty drat many teachers
have in analyzing errors and devising strategies for them. It is nothing short
of perplexing that a well-trained ESL teacher can deal effectively with a
class of 28 students with 28 first languages, none of which is known by the
teacher, but that same teacher cannot apply the same processes of analysis
to the language produced by CEC speakers. To a great extent such diffi-
culty is based on the misleadingly large amount of English these students
know compared to regular ESL students. A consistent approach of suspect
(that students are using rational strategies) and respect (their language and
their processes) regarding any student whose language is different (or
wrong in regard to a particular target) is a good policy.
The second problem is the difficulty that some teachers have in dealing
with "non-white" students—either in terms of the usual forms of institu-
tionalized racism, or by lumping them together with speakers of AAVE,
who are faced with a huge array of stereotypes and historical backlashes
(discussed elsewhere in this volume). (One notable point is that by no
means all "non-white" Caribbean students are "black"—many, especially
from Guyana and Trinidad, are of (East) Indian descent and many are
mixed-race.) Although some linguists have argued that, essentially, AAVE
is structurally the same as CEC, the social contexts of the two general lan-
guage varieties are very different. However, within the Caribbean, few lo-
cal people truly do not use and understand some level or variety of the lo-
cal Creole language, whereas the same is not true of AAVE in North
America. 8 Moreover, CEC and AAVE speakers are often inclined to mu-
tual distancing in order to avoid concomitant stereotyping (Winer & Jack,
1997). In terms of educational implications, not only are many of the lin-
guistic features and patterns of language usage significantly different, but
the mainstream view of the groups also differs.
STANDARD ENGLISH AS A SECOND DIALECT
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In an attempt to address the linguistic needs of Caribbean students, classes
termed Standard English as a Second Dialect (SESD) began in the late 1960s in
England, and were well developed in areas including Toronto and Hartford
during the 1970s and 80s. However, cuts to educational funding have man-
aged to terminate most of these special programs except in cases where
"numbers warrant" and where educators are both aware of this approach
and able to carry it out. Successful continuing programs (Fischer, 1992)

112
have been able to show direct benefits to the school system by having stu-
dents in such (part-time or complementary) programs improving at greater
than expected achievement rates in regular classes. This approach is based
on intense language awareness work and a strongly contrastive approach,
focusing on those elements of the differences between CEC and English
that are held to most strongly penalize CEC student performance (e.g. verb
tense marking, pluralization); they also focus on recognition of and pride
in CEC as a legitimate and cultured language variety that has much to offer
anyone.
Language awareness programs are a good idea for any classroom; spe-
cific emphasis can be shifted depending on the make-up of the class and
available resources. The work carried out by Wolfram in the southern U.S.
(see Wolfram, Adger & Christian, 1999) is a model of how to develop chil-
dren's analytical and reflective skills in any situation where their own
speech is considered to differ (i.e. negatively) from that of the mainstream.
Generally speaking, teachers who are themselves of Caribbean origin or
background can be excellent resources for schools and students. They can
provide a bridge that is both cultural and linguistic. On the other hand,
some of these teachers may not have kept up with more progressive devel-
opments in awareness of language variety in the Caribbean, may not have
an overt or explicit understanding of linguistic features, or may not be fa-
miliar with the current school situations that Caribbean children are now
experiencing. Like many North Americans, they may be overly invested in a
romantic image of the Caribbean frozen in time.
Most materials developed specifically for Caribbean students in North
American schools have tended to focus on grammar from a contrastive per-
spective, and to focus on those points of grammar that are persistent and
difficult to keep separated—pluralization, subject-verb agreement,
relativization, pronoun usage, etc. The most interesting and promising ap-
proaches are developed from within a framework of literature and dis-
course styles (e.g. Coelho, 1991; Pollard, 1993; Winer, 1990), and focus on
developing competence in both standard English and Creole.
THE CONTEMPORARY CARIBBEAN STUDENT
Although many North Americans regard the Caribbean as a vacation para-
dise of lovely beaches, sleepy villages and isolated islanders, the Caribbean
countries contain a very wide range of social, cultural, historical, linguistic,
economic, political and educational situations. More educational options
are available now for some students in the Caribbean than previously, but
the range in quality of schooling is considerable. The amount and type of

language training that students have now also varies depending on the re-
gional, national and local situation. Thus, it is important not to make as-
sumptions about the extent or nature of students' linguistic abilities or so-
cial proclivities.
The general (and police) perception of (black) immigrants from the
Caribbean as increasingly associated with criminal elements such as drug
posses is a dangerous stereotype. Attitudes toward school and schooling
amongst Caribbean-background students vary, just as they do within the
rest of the population. Questions about the value and relevance of educa-
tional structures should be examined openly within schools and class-
rooms. A classroom that allows discrimination against language—whether
by tests or peer ridicule—is not good for anyone. A classroom that values di-
versity in language as well as other areas is good for everyone. Awareness of
variation in language should be based on the linguistic dexterity that stu-
dents already have, and should develop to include better understanding of
both standard and creole language. Bilingualism or bidialectalism does not
need to be equal in all domains, though Creole should not be limited only
to the functions of amusement.
PRINCIPLES OF BEST PRACTICE
Given the foregoing discussion, it is impossible to predict every single even-
tuality or uncertainty or conflict in any classroom; neither is it possible to
predict every utterance that will be made or strategy that will be used by
Caribbean students or language learners in general. Nonetheless, general
guiding principles can help frame considerations and actions of educators,
in a wide variety of situations with a wide variety of individuals. The follow-
ing eight principles of best practice are particularly applicable for assess-
ment specialists and classroom teachers. These principles are based on re-
search and practice in a number of classrooms and school boards which
have actively attempted to treat Caribbean background students in a posi-
tive and productive manner. 9 They are meant to serve as starting or refer-
ence points within any specific situation.
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Principle 1: Use Appropriate Language Proficiency Testing
• As with all students, a native language assessment should be carried
out, by someone native or fluent in the student's language.
• Assess proficiency in both Creole and standard English. English-only
assessments must be designed and interpreted with great caution.
• Do not confuse oral reading with reading comprehension.
• Ensure that reading texts—oral or written—do not contain culturally
unfamiliar or infrequent topics, vocabulary, etc.
• Make sure students are familiar with the test question format.
• Ensure that the content of (simplified) texts is age-appropriate; rewrite
test passages to adapt content if necessary.
• In test writing—if student has demonstrated some competence in
reading—a narrative may be enough, or you may want to use a cloze
passage to focus on particular target areas.
Principle 2: Make Appropriate Classroom Placement
• If possible, students should be placed in a Standard English as a Second
Dialect type of class for part of the day.
• In ESL placements, students will know much more English than begin-
ner ESL students, but will have more persistent errors in English than
advanced ESL students.
• Mainstream class placement can be good if there is a program of lan-
guage awareness for the class, and if a variety of readings are used, in-
cluding ones from all students' backgrounds.
Principle 3: Address the Immigrant Child's Social and Psychological Needs
• Do not make assumptions about the child's family situation.
• Do not make assumptions about the child's cultural background or af-
finities, e.g. that all Jamaicans are drug dealers.
• Involve parents or guardians in the school process—this may mean un-
conventional hours or places for conferences.
• Address problems of racism within the classroom and school commu-
nity.
Principle 4: Make Classroom and School Rules Explicit
• Organize a formal orientation to school practices, including rules and
disciplinary procedures. (Make sure the guidelines reflect school real-

ity.) It is helpful to provide this in writing as well, but make sure that
students understand orally.
• Organize buddy systems for newcomer students. A buddy is usually
someone from the same cultural and linguistic background, who has
previously followed a path similar to the newcomer's.
• Support peer mediation processes throughout the school.
Principle 5: Get and Use Appropriate Resource Materials
• Get beyond the "sun and fun" view of the Caribbean yourself. Provide
background reading in both fiction and nonfiction for teachers and
school personnel.
• Provide classrooms with appropriate reference resources, such as Car-
ibbean dictionaries.
• Use Caribbean oral and written literature as part of the texts of English
classes. Include content from the Caribbean outside literary topics
(e.g. Winer, 1983).
Principle 6: Use a Language Awareness Approach
• Make language variation a part of the school language arts curriculum,
including regional and class dialects.
• Give Caribbean students' language particular support in terms of legit-
imacy and variation.
• Emphasize the appropriateness of different language varieties for dif-
ferent situations.
Principle 7: Respect the Logic of a Student's Language
• Always suspect that a student is applying a rule, consciously or uncon-
sciously, in the production of language.
• Become aware of common false friends, and have reference sheets or
posters for student reference. For example, "Mind you bring your
book on Monday" might well mean, to a Jamaican student, that she
should not bring her book then. If a Trinidadian child asks to meet
with a teacher in the "evening," this can refer to 3:00 p.m.
• Focus on different aspects of language on different assignments; make
it clear what that focus is.
Principle 8: Embed Linguistic Targets in Situational Discourse, Especially
Literature
• Discuss language variation in literature, particularly in dialogue.
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• Use a focused contrastive approach to common errors resulting from
transfer between Creole and English.
• Use good Caribbean literature for all students as an opportunity to ex-
amine language usage, as well as discuss literary themes and styles.
These principles of best practice can be useful in any classroom, even
when language variation per se is not on the course syllabus, since we all
vary our language, most commonly by what we consider appropriate to a
particular situation (register). Looking at the relationship between orality
and literature, the representation of speech, the differences and similarities
among language varieties, should be an integral part of any language arts
program.
Why should we, then, pay special attention to the role of teachers in
teaching learners of English who are speakers of Caribbean varieties of
English and English Creole? As discussed above, the main reasons are the
misunderstandings caused by misperceptions of the similarities and differ-
ences between two closely related language systems: we think we under-
stand when we may not, and we do not understand when we might. Aware-
ness, and "awareness of awareness" is even more important in this situation,
compared, for example, to a recognizably two-language system used by a
speaker of Chinese. Finally, because the societies in which these language
varieties are used, and thus the languages themselves, have traditionally
been devalued, stigmatized, misunderstood and viewed negatively, both
within and outside those societies, and because these languages cut across
ethnic and racial boundaries, it is important to value, and be seen to value,
these particular speakers, and hence their languages.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND REFLECTIVE
WRITING
1. In addition to language, Winer highlights some of the social/psycho-
logical challenges facing Caribbean students in North America (e.g.,
racism, parent-child separation, and so forth). How might these is-
sues affect the school performance of Caribbean students, and what
responses would you propose in this regard?
2. What are the implications of the categorization quandary of Carib-
bean Creole English speakers (remedial, special education, ESL) as
discussed by Winer?
3. In pairs or groups, discuss ways in which you would implement
Winer's principles of best practice in your own classroom. You can
also add principles of your own and justify them.

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