Teaching literacy to Creole-speakers: Problems and possibilities
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Date
Apr-Sep. 1984
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Abstract
Literacy education in Jamaica lacks an officially accepted policy and methodology for teaching Creole speakers. This has led to a low literacy level across the population. This paper seeks to explore the question of interference with specific reference to the Jamaican Creole dialect and varieties similar to it. It examines the difference between Jamaican Creole and Black English Vernacular, which has been the main focus of studies on dialect interference. The problems that exert a significant influence on the reading achievement of Creole speakers are presented and discussed. Further, the paper comments on implications for teaching and methodology and ends with a brief discussion of a project that has been implemented in the early grades of Jamaican primary schools since 1978