• Background
• Objectives

• adhere to MOYEC guidelines for Language Arts Education in SJE
• translate the existing MOYEC Language Arts, Science, Math and Social Studies materials for grades one to six into Jamaican
• select three experimental primary schools
• train forty-eight teachers in three primary schools in the speaking, reading, writing and comprehension of Jamaican
• through teacher training, reinforce the existent methodologies and curriculum for Language Arts in English
• implement a bilingual Language Arts programme in three Jamaican primary schools
• support the teachers in the experimental primary schools through ongoing workshops
• evaluate, compare and contrast experimental school results at Grades One and Four with three comparable schools using existing MOEYC achievement tests
• evaluate Jamaican language competencies for experimental schools
• determine the strengths and areas of improvement for the Bilingual Education Project for primary aged students
• raise the levels of literacy in the experimental schools in Jamaican and Standard Jamaican English through:-
  i. improved understanding of first language (Jamaican) and how it differs from Standard Jamaican English
  ii. the teaching of Jamaican as a subject and its use as a medium of instruction
  iii. testing, evaluating and adjusting the bilingual education programme in response to teacher and learner needs
  iv. create literacy skills in Jamaican in Grades 1 - 4
  v. Improve literacy in Standard Jamaican English in Grades 1 - 4
  The Bilingual Education Project has as its overall goal:-
  • the increase in literacy among experimental schools
  • improved performance and competence in the content subject areas (Math, Science
  and Social Studies)
  • fluency in language use of Jamaican and English

Project Outcomes :

• Baseline data on primary students performance in bilingual learning – teaching contexts to
  inform future policy and practice
• Practical benchmarks and guidelines for achieving full bilingualism in the primary grades
  in JC and SJE
• Course materials for Grades 1 – 4 in Jamaican for the content subjects of Math,
  Science and Social Studies as well as Jamaican language Arts
• An effective teacher training programme for Specialist Bilingual teachers in Jamaican at the University of the West Indies