In an ostensibly ‘English only’ language policy in a dominant Creole speaking linguistic situation, teachers and students involuntarily shift from the official linguistic expectations of the school. This paper is a preliminary venture to discover the social and pedagogical factors causing the shift. The results of a language atitudes survey carried out by random stratified sampling of primary schools in Guyana are presented. The results reveal that while there is no uniformity in primary school teachers’ atitudes to the use of Guyanese language in schools, there is general indication that they  are favourably disposed to using it to promote comprehension during lessons. The study also indicates that there is some uncertainty on teachers’ part about the value of Guyanese as a language for literacy development, although a small majority is favourably disposed to using it as such. The findings reinforce Craig’s (2007) identification of a confusion of goals at the leadership levels of the education system that is unsupportive of teacher effectiveness and indicate the urgent need for educational leaders in Guyana to take an unambiguous position with respect to language education policy.