One of the defining markers of Jamaican students’ academic success (for teachers and students) is their ability to speak Standard Jamaican English (SJE) fluently. However, SJE fluency is challenging for many majority-speaking Jamaican Creole (JC) boys who experience language conflicts within their social and educational contexts.

This paper examines the speech of Jamaican Creole (JC)-speaking two-year-olds in urban Kingston, with specific reference to interactions using the ‘wh-’ question constructions ‘Whose?’, ‘Where?’, ‘What is X doing’ and their JC equivalents. Of interest here, is a consideration of the range of JC and Standard Jamaican English (SJE) question constructions understood by the children, as well as the forms of the answers provided by them. Findings are that code-mixing of JC and SJE is characteristic of the speech of these children.

This research investigated curriculum provisions made for the treatment of Jamaican Creole (JC) throughout the education system in Jamaica and the views and practices of teachers involved in the delivery of Language Arts throughout that system; providing insights of the research gained through classroom observation with regard to the efficacy of teachers' practices in relation to these provisions; and highlighting the significance of the insights gained for language education planners in Jamaica, the wider Caribbean and the territories outside of the Caribbean, which share similar language

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.

Although the Language Education Policy 2001 (LEP) developed by the ministry responsible for education in Jamaica has not passed through all the channels for official adoption, it represents the clearest indication yet of an articulated national policy on language education by the government of Jamaica. The aim of the draft policy is to provide a framework for dealing with language concerns in educational institutions with a view to improving language and literacy proficiency.

In Jamaica, from grade 1 up, patterns of the Standard Jamaican English (SJE) sound system are taught in classes with a view to helping children become conscious of the different shapes of sounds. The aim of this article is to examine one of those patterns: the pronunciation of (-t, -d) consonants in word-final consonant clusters in words such as must, went, accident, cold, left. Twenty-four children-seven years of age and one teacher were studied.

In this paper the 'subjective consciousness' of 'Bettina' (who begins from a place of self-conscious obedience to the edict that teachers should always 'speak proper English' and battles cognitive dissonance as she attempts to use the students' home language, Jamaican Creole as the medium of instruction) is interwoven with the subjective consciousness of students participating in her JC/SJE bilingual project. This dialogue of perspectives exposes some of the complexities of the classroom as sociolinguistic and emotional psychological space.

In this article curriculum provisions made for the treatment of Jamaican Creole (Mother Tongue) throughout the education system in Jamaica and the views and practices of teachers involved in the delivery of Language Arts throughout that system are investigated.

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 paper presents aspects of the acquisition of the determiner systems of Jamaican Creole (JC) and Jamaican English (JE) used by Jamaican children from Creole-speaking communities in their first year of basic school. It shows that mixing within the Determiner Phrase of the native language—JC, with the second language—JE, is highly systematic, and suggests ways in which the language and literacy teacher may capitalize on this.