This paper provides a comparative analysis of the writing performance in English of African heritage students in Birmingham, England and Kingston, Jamaica. The study explores the effects of language use on the written production of English among African heritage students in two geographical locations, Birmingham, England and Kingston, Jamaica. Particular attention is drawn to the effects of Jamaican Creole usage in Jamaica and Creole/ Black British Talk in England, on the achievement levels of African heritage students.

This study was designed to investigate how an intervention of purposefully designed activities would affect the writing performance of a group of ten female grade eleven students at a non-traditional high school in Jamaica. The study examined the difficulties that the students encountered when writing and explored the factors that contributed to the students' writing difficulties. Data were collected from interviews, participant observations, students' journals and students' written work. 

This paper provides a comparative analysis of the writing performance in English of African heritage students in Birmingham, England and Kingston, Jamaica. The study explores the effects of language use on the written production of English among African heritage students in two geographical locations, Birmingham, England and Kingston, Jamaica. Particular attention is drawn to the effects of Jamaican Creole usage in Jamaica and Creole/Black British Talk in England, on the achievement levels of African heritage students.