The Coalition Government took office on 11 May 2010. This publication was published prior to that date and may not reflect current government policy. You may choose to use these materials, however you should also consult the Department for Education website www.education.gov.uk for updated policy and resources. Excellence and Enjoyment: learning and teaching for Black children in the primary years Unit 2B: Learning and teaching: language and learning
Transcript
The Coalition Government took office on 11 May 2010. This publication was published prior to that date and may not reflect current government policy. You may choose to use these materials, however you should also consult the Department for Education website www.education.gov.uk for updated policy and resources.
Excellence and Enjoyment: learning and teaching for Black children in the primary years Unit 2B: Learning and teaching: language and learning
Excellence and Enjoyment: learning and teaching for Black children in the primary years Unit 2B: Learning and teaching: language and learning
Excellence and Enjoyment: learning and teaching for Black children in the primary yearsUnit 2B: Learning and teaching: language and learning
First published in 2008
Ref: 00061-2008BKT-EN
Disclaimer
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In these materials icons, logos, software products and websites are used for contextual and practical reasons. Their use should not be interpreted as an endorsement of particular companies or their products.
The websites referred to in these materials existed at the time of going to print.
Please check all website references carefully to see if they have changed and substitute other references where appropriate.
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Who are our Black children?In this guidance, the term Black refers to children of Black Caribbean, Black African, mixed White/Black Caribbean and mixed White/Black African heritage. These descriptions of groups are used in the collection and analysis of data by schools as part of the annual schools census (ASC) and are valuable in checking the impact of what we do in our work on raising Black children’s achievement.
Black child or children are used in this publication to refer to children with at least one Black parent, grandparent or great grandparent who was born in Africa, the Caribbean or South America (Guyana). Schools should find out about their children’s heritage, as the various terms used to identify Black children incorporate a range of different cultures, histories, experiences and needs.
Like all children, Black children have a range of influences that extend beyond ethnicity. The Diversity and Citizenship Curriculum Review (Ref: 00045-2007) identifies that:
‘ ... while it is important to understand a pupil’s religion, culture and ethnicity in order to appreciate more fully who they are, it is simplistic to define them merely by one of these alone.’ (DCSF, 2007)
It is vital that schools recognise and acknowledge these multiple influences and thereby break the cycle of cultural stereotyping of Black children and their parents, which can have a negative impact on relationships, expectations and ultimately, attainment.
Parents and carers of Black children is a term which makes clear that Black children, as defined above, may have parents who are Black or may have one parent who is not Black. In addition, the primary carer for the child might not be the parent and the primary carer may not be a Black person.
The picture is complex, and children often juggle numerous identities in their everyday lives, switching from one to the other as necessary.
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AcknowledgementsWe are fortunate to have been assisted in this work by many people from across the country; in particular we acknowledge the contribution of staff from the following local authorities:
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PrefaceThis publication aims to support schools and settings in promoting the progress and achievement of all learners.
It is underpinned by the three principles of the National Curriculum inclusion statement:
setting suitable learning challenges ●
responding to pupils’ diverse learning needs ●
overcoming potential barriers to learning and assessment for individuals and groups of pupils. ●
The Primary National Strategy model of three circles of inclusion illustrates these three principles in practice, and has been used to ensure that this publication will support the diverse learning needs of all children and in particular Black children.
Learningobjectives
Teachingstyles
Access
Inclusion
Teachers will need to further adapt the materials for individual children. Some examples of how this has been done have been provided and exemplified in the elearning modules which accompany this booklet. These are examples only; the particular choice of appropriate learning objectives, teaching styles and access strategies lies with the informed professionalism of the teacher working with the children, teaching assistants, other professionals, parents and carers.
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Key principlesThere is no inherent reason why Black African and Black Caribbean children should not achieve as well ●
as the majority of other children.
Improvements to the achievement of Black African and Black Caribbean children will occur through ●
the combined efforts of school, child, home and community.
High-quality teaching and effective Assessment for learning as well as appropriate specialist ●
interventions, supported by school leaders, are key factors in improving the achievement of Black African and Black Caribbean children, as a group and as individuals.
Progress, so far, has been too slow.
Momentum measure: educational attainment If the achievement of 11-year-olds at Key Stage 2 continues to improve at its current rate of progress, how long will it be before children from these groups close the attainment gap in English and mathematics?
2010
2014
2017
2025
2045
2053
Bangladeshi
Mixed White and Black Caribbean
Pakistani
other Black
Black Caribbean
Black African
Fairness and freedom: the final report of the equalities review Cabinet Office, 2007
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General introductionThis booklet is the second unit on learning and teaching in the set of materials, Excellence and Enjoyment: learning and teaching for Black children in the primary years. There are links between this booklet and modules 2 and 4 of the elearning materials.
The materials consist of the following:
Introductory guide: Supporting school improvement
Leadership and management ●
About data ●
Unit 1: Conditions for learning
School culture ●
Transition and transfer ●
Partnership with parents, carers and the community ●
Unit 2A: Learning and teaching: planning, assessment and the curriculum
Pedagogy ●
Assessment for learning ●
Inclusive curriculum ●
Unit 2B: Learning and teaching: language and learning
Language for learning ●
Using the Primary Framework: literacy and mathematics ●
36 photographs to support continuing professional development (CPD) modules and for classroom teachers
A flier: Information for school governors
A poster: route map providing an overview of and some guidance for using these materials
The elearning tool – www.nationalstrategiescpd.org.uk
A DVD-ROM linked to the elearning modules
Introductory guide: Supporting school improvement:Leadership and management•
About data•
Unit 1: Conditions for learningSchool culture•
Transition and transfer •
Partnership with parents, carers and the community•
Unit 2A: Learning and teaching: planning, assessment and the curriculumPedagogy•
Assessment for Learning•
Inclusive curriculum•
Unit 2B: Learning and teaching: language and learningLanguage for learning•
Using the Framework: literacy and mathematics•
36 photographs to support CPD modules and for classroom teachers
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Pauses for reflection and action points are included in the guidance, enabling headteachers and senior leaders to identify priorities and areas to develop within whole-school systems and classroom practice.
The photographs in this pack are intended to support professional development of teachers and practitioners and can be used in conjunction with the Excellence and Enjoyment: learning and teaching for Black children materials.
The photographs may also be used by classroom teachers to support and enhance children’s learning and to stimulate discussion about school with children or parents and carers. The photographs will particularly support the development of effective school policy and practice to take account of Black children and what school ’feels like’ for Black children, their families and the adults that work there.
These materials should be used in conjunction with other Primary National Strategy materials:
Excellence and Enjoyment: learning and teaching in the primary years ●
Excellence and Enjoyment: learning and teaching for bilingual children in the primary years ●
Excellence and Enjoyment: social and emotional aspects of learning ●
Practice guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage setting the standards for learning, development and ●
care for children from birth to five
And with reference to the requirements of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act, 2000.
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Contents
Section 1 Language and learning: meeting the needs of Black children
This section explores the issues of language and learning with a focus on raising the attainment and accelerating the progress of Black children. It offers some key messages about language and learning for school staff to consider and highlights potential challenges and barriers to the progress of Black learners.
Section 2 Using the Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics to support the achievement of Black children A focus on literacy A focus on mathematicsThis section consists of an introduction to literacy and mathematics and key messages with regard to raising attainment and accelerating progress of Black children, and an exploration of the specific demands of reading, writing, speaking and listening and mathematics in the context of Black learners.
Appendix 1 Caribbean Creole languages and patois
Appendix 2 Creole and standard English Grammatical and syntactical differences Pronunciation differences
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Language and learning: meeting the needs of Black childrenThis section explores the issues of language and learning with a focus on raising the attainment and accelerating the progress of Black children. It offers some key messages about language and learning for school staff to consider and highlights potential challenges and barriers to the progress of Black learners. There is an opportunity to reflect on current practice before considering possible points for future action.
‘Language is an integral part of most learning and oral language in particular has a key role in classroom teaching and learning.’
Speaking, listening, learning: working with children in Key Stage 1 and 2
Children need to be able to use language to communicate. They need to develop cognitive language to be able to classify, analyse, hypothesise and generalise and use abstract language as needed to investigate, explore ideas and solve problems. They need to develop academic language to access a range of learning across the curriculum. In particular:
language is integral to learning both as a ●
medium for learning and as part of the learning process itself
alongside their basic fluency in ●
communication in English, children need to develop cognitive and academic language proficiency to support their learning
socio-cultural and affective factors are important to all learners: ●
children need to feel secure, valued and understood –
expectations must be kept high –
curriculum contexts should be relevant and motivating –
teachers’ awareness of the cultural and linguistic demands of Black African and Black –
Caribbean heritage children, and how they plan to address them, is crucial to successful learning and teaching
tasks can be made more or less supportive by ensuring that children are able to build on their –
previous experience, by scaffolding and crucially by providing opportunities to listen and speak in a wide range of situations across the curriculum.
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Given that data shows underachievement and slower progress of children from Black Caribbean heritages in particular, it is important to understand and address the issue of language and learning for this group of learners both in terms of the curriculum offered and the language used to explore and engage with that curriculum in order to reverse the continuing downward trend.
The language experiences and expertise of Black children are diverse and the needs of different groups of Black children and of individuals within those groups should be recognised. Ethnicity and Education: The Evidence on minority ethnic pupils aged 5-16 (Ref: 0208-2006DOM-EN) states that the majority of children of mixed heritage and of Black Caribbean heritages identify themselves as speaking English as their first language compared with 40% of children from Black African heritages.
Whether English is first or main language by ethnicity (%)
Yes – English only
Yes – English first/main and speaks other languages
No, another language is respondent’s first or main language
Respondent is bilingual
White British 98.8 1.1 0.0 0.0
Mixed heritage 89.6 6.5 2.5 1.4
Indian 20.1 52.2 18.1 9.6
Pakistani 9.6 50.3 26.8 13.3
Bangladeshi 4.6 38.0 40.9 16.6
Black Caribbean 97.2 1.9 0.9 0.0
Black African 40.0 27.6 25.9 6.5
All 78.6 11.6 6.9 2.9
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When children enter a nursery or Reception class most settings take the opportunity to find out as much as possible about their language backgrounds. It is often reported that families from Black African and Caribbean backgrounds state that the only language of the home is English. Where this is not standard English, or where the dominant language is one which families do not acknowledge at school because they feel it has no currency in England and will therefore be of no concern to schools, practitioners may not be aware that children have additional language learning needs which need to be considered so that the child can fully participate in the range of provision. Practitioners, parents and children need to understand that there are notable differences in language use which should be understood. To give a name to a language is to recognise and accept its use; this is a key part of a child’s identity. Schools will benefit from finding ways to help families name additional languages and explore and celebrate their use in the learning environment.
Children from recent African backgrounds, particularly those who are new arrivals to England, may have a language profile which has much in common with the wider group of children for whom English is an additional language. It has long been recognised that children learning English as an additional language have particular and specific challenges in developing academic and cognitive language and that specific pedagogical approaches have proved beneficial in supporting English as an additional language learners. Guidance about these strategies is provided in Excellence and Enjoyment: learning and teaching for bilingual children in the primary years.
However the messages about language, teaching and learning might also apply similarly to some Black children who may be operating in Caribbean Creole or patois or a mixture of Creole and standard English. While the vast majority of schools and settings do recognise and value a child’s first language and use it to build on further learning, there is a particular issue around the recognition and value of Caribbean Creoles or patois as a valid first language or as an influence on a child’s use of standard English. The language skills and needs of children of mixed or Black Caribbean heritage are often not recognised or valued in the school, setting and classroom context. At the most basic level, there is a need to remember the differences between accent, dialogue and language (standard English) and the impact of these on Black African and Black Caribbean children’s written and spoken English. There is also a need to exploit the richness and creativity that Creole offers for example and the contribution made to a positive sense of self when Creole is used within whole-class teaching.
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A child's language profile‘My dad is from Jamaica and Mum is from Trinidad. They sometimes speak to me in Huddersfield dialect. That’s Yorkshire. Mum speaks to me with a Yorkshire dialect because she was born in England. Dad speaks to me sometimes like a Jamaican, especially when we are at Grandma and Grandad’s house. I can understand what they say. Sometimes I speak to them using Jamaican. I can’t use it properly. Some of the words I can’t understand.
At school I don’t use Jamaican. That would be embarrassing.
With my English and Asian friends I speak Yorkshire. Some of them know how to speak a bit of Jamaican. Especially when we are good mates. Some people though think it’s just cool to speak Jamaican. Ansar my best friend teaches me Urdu words like ‘Shabaj’. He learns Jamaican from me.
We are learning French at school. My mum sang me songs in French when I was little. I can still remember them. I try to say ‘Bonjour’ to my aunts when they phone my mum from Trinidad. I even tried a bit of French when I went on holiday but most people speak English anyway.’
For further information on the historical context of and background to Caribbean Creoles and patois see Appendix 1 of this unit.
Recognising individual needs and personalising learning is key to securing the attainment and progress of all children. When reflecting on the specific learning needs of Black children in their class, teachers will wish to consider not just the linguistic and cultural content of the curriculum but also the pedagogical approaches they use, the classroom culture they promote and the learning needs and styles of their learners. Teachers will then plan appropriate teaching strategies which recognise these learning needs and styles but without stereotyping or labelling children as having a single ‘fixed’ style of learning. For a more detailed exploration of learning processes, including learning theories and personalising learning, see Section 1 part 1 of Excellence and Enjoyment: learning and teaching in the primary years, creating the learning culture: classroom conditions, and personalisation.
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Pause for reflectionWhat do I know of the language experiences, expertise and needs of the Black learners in my class ●
or setting?
How do I use this knowledge when planning, teaching and assessing children’s learning? ●
Are there specific aspects of language (vocabulary and linguistic structures) which are more ●
challenging for Black learners in my class/setting? If so, what are they?
How effectively do I plan for explicit teaching to address the identified language needs of Black ●
learners in my class?
What do I know of the children’s views of their own language proficiency and repertoires? ●
How do I show that I value the languages that children bring to the classroom? ●
How do I work with parents, carers and the wider community to share views on language and ●
learning and the use of African and Caribbean languages in a classroom context?
Action pointsAnalyse children’s language performance to identify particular barriers to achievement and ●
progress in terms not just of vocabulary and linguistic structures but also the application of these in different contexts and for different purposes. Are there specific aspects causing particular challenges to Black learners?
Use the Primary Framework to identify the relevant learning strands, plan specific units of work ●
and teaching approaches to address these aspects.
Monitor and evaluate the impact of this targeted teaching on an identified group of learners. ●
Carry out a survey to find out the children’s views of their own knowledge of language and when ●
and how they use their first language or other linguistic registers in different contexts.
Read Appendices 1 and 2 of this unit to learn more about Caribbean Creoles and patois and their ●
potential influence on children’s use of standard English.
Set up systems to ensure parents, carers and the wider community can discuss aspects of ●
language use in the classroom and ways to support their children’s language and learning at home.
Language and learning across the curriculum
Making links between curriculum subjects and across areas of learning can deepen children’s understanding by providing opportunities to reinforce and enhance learning. Connections across learning enrich the curriculum, support achievement and enjoyment and provide a rich source of experience and stimulation and real purpose to support language and learning.
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Connections occur in a number of ways:
by building concepts: children meet the same or related information in different ways ●
by providing opportunities for practising skills: skills such as skimming and scanning, analysing data ●
taught in one curriculum area and practised through purposeful use in others
by assisting memory: giving opportunities to practise and use information in different contexts ●
by providing opportunities for application of knowledge: applying knowledge in new contexts ●
involving children in using higher order thinking skills such as reasoning and problem solving
by providing opportunities for learners to recognise and develop key aspects of learning: aspects of ●
learning such as reasoning, empathy, communication, problem solving, self-awareness, social skills, motivation, enquiry and information processing should be developed in all learning and teaching across the curriculum.
Requirements for the Communication, Language and Literacy area of learning include: ‘Children’s learning and competence in communicating, speaking and listening, being read to and beginning to read and write must be supported and extended. They must be provided with opportunity and encouragement to use their skills in a range of situations and for a range of purposes, and be supported in developing the confidence and disposition to do so’.
And under the theme ‘enabling environments’, practitioners are advised to ‘Plan an environment that is rich in signs, symbols, notices, numbers, words, rhymes, books, pictures, music and songs that take into account children’s different interests, understandings, home backgrounds and cultures.
Provide time and relaxed opportunities for children to develop spoken language through sustained conversations between children and adults, both one-to-one and in small groups and between the children themselves. Allow children time to initiate conversations, respect their thinking time and silences and help them develop the interaction.
Show particular awareness of, and sensitivity to, the needs of children learning English as an additional language, using their home language when appropriate and ensuring close teamwork between practitioners, parents and bilingual workers so that the children’s developing use of English and other languages support each other.’
Practice guidance for the Early Years
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Learning is most likely to be enhanced when the links are clear and recognisable to the children see Excellence and Enjoyment: learning and teaching in the primary years for a more in-depth exploration of language and learning across the curriculum.
Pause for reflectionAm I aware of the language demands of the curriculum and the learning tasks and activities I set ●
for Black children in my class?
Do I set learning tasks which are sufficiently cognitively challenging for the Black learners in ●
my class?
Do I make explicit the intended learning by modelling the process? ●
Do I scaffold the learning to ensure that it builds on previous experiences and all children can ●
access the next step in their learning?
Do I ensure planned links across the curriculum maximise language learning opportunities for ●
Black learners?
Am I aware of the impact of my teaching strategies and learning tasks on the attainment and ●
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Section 2
Using the Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics to support the achievement of Black children
Children deserve:
to be set appropriate learning challenges ●
to be taught well and be given the opportunity to learn in ways that maximise their chances ●
of success
to have adults working with them to tackle the specific barriers to progress they face. ●
Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics
In renewing the Primary Framework there is a very clear agenda for raising the attainment of all children by improving the learning and teaching of mathematics and literacy. The case is made very clearly for closing the gap between the highest and the lowest attaining children by accelerating the progress of underachieving children.
The organising of the literacy and mathematics curriculum into strands of learning objectives (seven strands for mathematics and twelve strands for literacy, including speaking and listening) provides a clearer structure for literacy and mathematics teaching and makes progression in learning much more explicit. It will support teachers in understanding national expectations and assessing the attainment and progress of individual and groups of children within and across year groups.
Given that nationally, children of Black African and Black Caribbean heritages underperform, and there is a marked deterioration in the attainment of this group as they move from Key Stage 1 through Key Stage 2, Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4, the concept of a continuum of progress and year-on-year improvement, which is fundamental to the approach of the Primary Framework, is particularly helpful in identifying the underperformance of these groups of children very easily. Teachers can use the learning objectives, planning guidance and assessment opportunities embedded within the Primary Framework’s units of work to tailor their teaching to the needs of specific individuals and groups of children, monitoring closely its impact on identified and target groups such as the Black learners in their class.
In terms of using the Primary Framework to address underperformance and support the achievement and progress of Black children, the following messages, to be found in The Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics: core position papers, are particularly relevant:
greater momentum in mathematics and literacy across the primary phase with increased flexibility to ●
secure stronger links across the curriculum
guidance on planning units of work in mathematics and literacy, which include the skills of speaking ●
and listening, that can be extended over two or three weeks to ensure that teachers and children are given sufficient time to secure and develop their understanding
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the importance of seeing children’s achievement across a continuum, referring to the learning ●
objectives from the previous year and the learning objectives for the year ahead; this should encourage teachers to be even more ambitious for children’s achievements and to be clearer about the areas which need to be reviewed to enable a child to make best progress
the importance of speaking and listening as a tool for learning ●
making links between the interdependent skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing ●
the importance of understanding the reading process: the simple view of reading, identifying ●
word recognition as one key aspect of reading and language comprehension as the other vital component which is of particular relevance for children from different linguistic communities
guidance on teaching both dimensions of the reading process: decoding and developing ●
comprehension
clearer guidance on the use of calculators and standard written methods of calculation. ●
Focus on literacyLiteracy lies at the heart of the primary curriculum and is fundamental to all learning. If children are to move forward confidently through each key stage into the world beyond school, they need secure skills in all four aspects of language: speaking, listening, reading and writing. Nationally, across Key Stages 1 and 2, the attainment in English of many Black children is too low and progress is too slow. Many schools however enable their Black learners to achieve well and we can learn from these schools. This section sets out some key messages about literacy and Black children and encourages practitioners and leaders of schools and settings to reflect on their own practice in order to improve the literacy learning, and hence the life chances, of their Black children.
Key messagesTeachers need to identify the precise aspects of literacy learning which are proving challenging ●
for Black learners and then devise appropriate teaching strategies and curriculum content to secure the necessary improvement.
Effective Assessment for learning processes, together with quality first teaching, are key to ●
securing the progress of groups of and individual Black children.
Children develop their literacy skills, knowledge and understanding not only in literacy lessons ●
but in all their engagements with learning and teaching across the whole curriculum.
The challenges of supporting the literacy achievement and progress of Black children therefore ●
apply to all learning and teaching across the curriculum, with specific subjects making particular demands on children’s developing literacy skills.
It is however in the direct teaching of literacy skills that teachers can best identify and address ●
the specific challenges and barriers facing children from different heritages and different linguistic communities.
ReadingReading requires word recognition as well as language comprehension. Rose (2006) draws on Gough and Turner’s ‘simple view of reading’ as consisting of decoding and comprehension to provide a conceptual framework. Decoding is the ability to recognise words presented singly out of context using phonic rules. Comprehension is language comprehension, ‘the process by which word information, sentences and discourse are interpreted: a common process is held to underlie comprehension of both oral and written language’ (Rose 2006).
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This framework is represented diagrammatically to show the two dimensions in the form of a cross to emphasise that both word recognition processes and language comprehension processes are essential at all points during reading development and in skilled reading.
POOR GOOD
GO
OD
POO
R
Language comprehension
processes
Word recognition processes
Word recognition processes
Language comprehension
processes
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Rose suggests that the simple view of reading supports teachers in planning their teaching of reading as it:
makes explicit that different kinds of teaching are needed to develop word recognition skills from ●
those that are needed to foster comprehension
offers the possibility of separately assessing performance in each dimension to identify learning ●
needs and guide further teaching.
Rose also suggests that the balance of learning needs across the two dimensions of word recognition and language comprehension changes as children become more fluent and automatic readers of words. That is, establishing the cognitive processes that underlie fluent automatic word reading is a time-limited task, and involves acquiring and practising certain skills, whereas developing the abilities necessary to understand and appreciate written texts in different content areas and literary genres continues throughout the lifespan.
There is detailed guidance on teaching word recognition skills within the context of an effective Early Years curriculum, both in the guidance papers on the Primary Framework and the sections on teaching early reading in the literacy elements of the electronic framework.
Alongside the deployment of a range of teaching strategies, factors such as text selection and the linking of language and experience through role play and shared/play reading are of critical importance to the success and engagement of Black children in reading.
The cultural context of texts is crucial in engaging children and supporting them in understanding the meaning of what they read. Texts from culturally familiar contexts build on children’s own experiences and create an ethos where children feel confident in attempting to make sense of texts set in less familiar contexts. Language comprehension can be developed through planned opportunities for speaking and listening across the curriculum, focusing perhaps on specific aspects of language such as vocabulary development or extending understanding and use of syntactic structures. For more details on text selection, see Excellence and Enjoyment: learning and teaching for bilingual children in the primary years Unit 2 pp. 37-38 and Appendix 1 in this unit.
Why do some children have reading comprehension difficulties?
In order to overcome challenges and barriers to learning for Black children, teachers need to reflect on the reasons for lack of progress in reading comprehension. The Primary Framework core guidance paper on reading comprehension suggests there are three main reasons why children will fail to progress in comprehension:
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inefficient word-level reading skills ●
poor oral language skills ●
lack of print experience and/or negative attitudes to reading. ●
Teachers of Black children will also want to ask themselves if any of the difficulties in comprehension are related to the specific linguistic or cultural demands of the chosen text and, if so:
Is this text set at an appropriate level of challenge for the reading levels of the children? ●
Are there specific linguistic elements which will be particularly challenging or inaccessible to the ●
children of Black African and Black Caribbean heritages in my class?
Are there cultural references which make this text particularly challenging or inaccessible to the ●
children of Black African and Black Caribbean heritages in my class?
The teacher can then reflect on how best to provide the teaching support to enable the child or children to access the text at an appropriate level. It may be that additional explicit teaching of vocabulary, or idiomatic or figurative language for example, may be helpful. Certain linguistic structures in the text may be less familiar to some children and may be interfering with understanding and again will need explicit teaching to enable children to access the meaning more easily.
National data shows a picture of poor progress in reading for Black African and Black Caribbean children from the end of Key Stage 1 to the end of Key Stage 2. A close analysis of a range of assessment data will tell teachers if these patterns of underachievement by certain groups of children are mirrored in their own data. It is only by careful and systematic on-going monitoring of the performance of specific groups and individual children that the teacher will be able to identify possible underperformance or lack of progress and address it swiftly within the context of high quality first teaching. If additional support is needed, teachers will be able to plan specific and time-limited interventions to ensure these children are back on track to make the progress they need to reach national expectations by the end of Key Stage 2.
Guidance on the nature of comprehension and relevant teaching strategies which best support the development of children’s comprehension skills are provided in:
Developing reading comprehension ● guidance paper (www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/primaryframeworks/literacy/papers/learningandteaching/reading-comprehension)
Understanding reading comprehension 1: What is reading comprehension ● (Ref: 1310-2005)
WritingWriting involves children in a complex and sophisticated language activity. They first of all need to have something to say and to have an idea of how they wish to communicate their thoughts, feelings and ideas and with whom. They need to understand the concept of genre to understand how language is used to achieve particular purposes in a range of situations. Each genre has an overall pattern or shape which is related to its purpose. Children need to gain control over those genres which are required for writing across the curriculum and for active participation in the world beyond school. To support them to do this, teachers need to make explicit the ways in which language is shaped and framed to achieve different purposes.
When focusing on teaching and improving writing, it is important to remember the interdependence of the four aspects of communication: speaking, listening, reading and writing. Speaking and listening, as well as being important skills in their own right, underpin reading and writing development. Hearing, reading and exploring high quality texts will motivate and inspire children to write. It is important to remember that as children mature, their vocabulary development is strongly influenced and enhanced by the written texts they encounter. They need to experience a wide range of texts, written in different genres and for different audiences and purposes, to build up their language repertoires and to enable them to become fluent and effective writers themselves.
Most children try out ideas in talk long before they are able to try to pin them down in writing. Reading aloud helps children to become familiar with the cadences and uses of English. For many children expressing ideas orally is easier than in writing, where it is more complicated to orchestrate all the necessary skills. The discipline of writing, which involves precision and clear articulation of meaning for a distant reader, aids clarity in oral communication, too. Reading gives children models of language, and discussion of texts helps them to take such language into their own repertoire. So, speaking and listening, reading and writing are not only interdependent, but also mutually enhancing.
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Teaching writing There is a growing evidence base of ‘what works’ in supporting children’s writing development in more general terms and the references below all provide accessible, ‘tried and tested’ and relevant guidance to support you in improving the teaching of writing in your own context.
When the Year 5 boys were given the opportunity to write in Creole through thestimulus of the Anansi story the boys wanted to write in Creole, read it out and act it out. Boys wanted to continue writing.
It may be useful to highlight just some of the key messages from this evidence base when reflecting on how best to support the writing development of Black children.
Speaking and listening is an important part of writing not just as oral rehearsal for writing but as ●
a means for children to explore ideas and decide what they want to say and what they want to write about.
Talk for writing should be used across the curriculum. ●
Drama is a successful tool to stimulate writing at all ages. It encourages empathy and engagement ●
and allows access in contexts which may be culturally less familiar to children from different ethnic groups.
From the Foundation Stage onwards ‘real’ writing activities should be planned for. Demonstrate how ●
skills learned in word-level and sentence-level teaching are applied in ‘real’ writing activities.
Children need to experience language being used in order to be able to use it effectively themselves. ●
Modelling and scaffolding the range of writing the children need to be able to use are key teaching strategies and especially important for children who do not experience standard English models of writing in their home contexts. The teacher/practitioner’s own talk can be a powerful way of demonstrating writing.
Using first language supports the writing process. The active promotion of Caribbean Creoles and ●
patois in the classroom is much less common than the use of other first languages. Creoles and patois are not always recognised as valid languages and are sometimes indeed disregarded or discouraged within the classroom context.
Boys and girls and different ethnic groups may communicate in different ways. Make the most of the ●
differences by planning a variety of different groups, pairings and seating arrangements.
Create real opportunities for audience involving parents and carers who play such an important role ●
in supporting their children’s learning.
Involving children in creating success criteria for writing provides them with clear expectations. ●
Paired assessment and self-assessment are ways of engaging children in understanding their progress ●
in learning, and identifying next steps.
Whole-group shared marking allows for discussion and analysis in a secure environment. Explicitly ●
recognising the possible influence of first languages, including Creoles and patois, on children’s writing can prove a useful strategy in developing language awareness and focusing children on those aspects of language they need to pay particular attention to in their writing.
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Case studyA unit of work was developed focusing on Caribbean poetry using performance, writing, group and paired work. The work was planned by the class teacher, the ethnic minority achievement coordinator, the Black Children’s Achievement programme consultant and a visiting poet. Partnership teaching was used to put the plans into place in the classroom. A local Caribbean poet was invited to the school to deliver a session to all the Year 4 classes. She continued to work with one of the classes; the other two classes worked with their class teacher, school Ethnic Minority Achievement coordinator, and local authority Ethnic Minority Achievement advisory teacher.
A video of a Caribbean poet performing was used to motivate children to perform, analyse, and discuss poetry. Children asked their families for playground rhymes and songs which they knew and then shared these with their class.
Remembering and sharing rhymes was also done by teachers and teaching assistants. Resulting poems were performed at assembly. Pupils were given an opportunity to evaluate the unit and were very positive.
The impact of the work in the school
Boys are more motivated in lessons. ●
Teachers have a good model for extended writing and are more aware of Caribbean poetry. ●
Children enjoyed writing and performing poetry and produced good quality work. ●
Children wrote poems at home and brought them to school to share. ●
Children now know more about quality Caribbean poetry and poets, bring in poetry and borrow ●
more poetry books from school library stock.
Bilingual children had a good opportunity to use their home language in lessons. ●
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Teachers who are successful in engaging their Black learners in the writing process are careful to ensure that the selection of texts, use of visual aids and graphic organisers, the setting of writing purposes and audiences relate to the needs and interests of these groups of children. They are sensitive to the affective as well as the academic and cognitive aspects of learning, aware of the cultural dimensions of communicating through the written word and the particular and specific challenges these young learners face. They also have assessment systems and structures which enable them to monitor closely the progress of groups and individual children. They quickly spot any patterns of underachievement or lack of progress and do something about it as a matter of urgency. They have high expectations of all their learners and set challenging targets which enable the children to achieve at least in line with national expectations by the end of Key Stage 2.
Detailed guidance on teaching writing can be found in the publications section of the Primary Framework (www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/primaryframeworks/). Materials such as Developing Early Writing (Ref: 055/2001), Grammar for Writing (Ref: 0107/2002), Grammar for Writing leaflets (NLS 893), Literacy flyers (Ref: 0771/2003G) and Boys’ Writing flyers (Ref: 1170-2005G) all provide relevant support material to help teachers plan and teach writing skills in effective and engaging ways. These publications need to be read in conjunction with the guidance on teaching reading which is also available on the Primary Framework website and the recommendations of the Rose Report1.
Speaking and listeningSpeaking and listening learning objectives are now identified distinctly within the literacy learning objectives of the renewed Primary Framework and are explicitly addressed in exemplar planning for units of work in both literacy and mathematics.
1 Rose, J. (2006) Independent review of the teaching of early reading- final report (Ref: 0201-2006DOC-EN)
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‘Language is an integral part of most learning and oral language in particular has a key role in classroom learning and teaching. Children’s creativity, understanding and imagination can be engaged and fostered by discussion and interaction. In their daily lives, children use speaking and listening to solve problems, speculate, share ideas, make decisions and reflect on what is important. Most social relationships depend on talk, and in the classroom children’s confidence and attitudes to learning are greatly affected by friendships and interactions that support them ... The requirement to teach speaking and listening is found in the programmes of study for English, but best practice embeds this teaching in all subjects across the curriculum. This is particularly important as different subjects offer opportunities for different kinds of talk, so that teachers can maximise the effective use of time … Giving a higher status to talk in the classroom offers motivating and purposeful ways of learning to many children, and enables them and their teachers to make more appropriate choices between the uses of spoken and written language.’
Speaking, listening, learning: working with children in Key Stages 1 and 2 (Ref: 0627-2003)
Although speaking and listening is located within the National Curriculum programmes of study for English, it is important to remember that children’s oral language skills are developed across the whole of the curriculum and across all facets of school life. Whilst there are specific opportunities to develop speaking and listening skills within literacy, children need to apply, develop and extend these skills in a range of contexts and for a variety of audiences and purposes.
Best practice in planning for the development of speaking and listening for all children is based on an understanding of the child’s starting points and previous experience and the knowledge of the learning steps needed to support that child’s oral language development in line with national expectations. When thinking specifically about developing the oral language skills of Black children, awareness of the diverse language experiences and expertise that individual Black children bring to the learning context is crucial. As can be seen from the child's language profile on page 13, a Black child’s language background can be complex. The status of that language background can also be an issue in many contexts. Black children may learn English as an additional language, they may speak Caribbean Creoles or patois or they may speak English which is strongly influenced by Creoles or patois. For other Black children their language will be influenced by the ever-developing Urban or Black British English which has claimed some of the words or features of Creole or patios. Recognising and valuing these language skills is a vital aspect of recognising and valuing the child’s culture and worth as an individual.
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‘The notion of ‘language deficit’ appeared in the 1960s as an explanation of underachievement in schools. It was first applied to Caribbean Creoles, but soon after to white urban working class dialects. Crude judgements were made based on linguistic ignorance. For example, sentences with double negatives (I didn’t see nobody), or with ‘is’ or ‘are’ omitted, were declared not only bad grammar but also illogical – though nobody made these comments about French or Russian, which do the same. Wiser linguists understood that Creoles and Cockneys also have grammars, only different ones.
John Richmond and his colleagues in Lambeth …realised the force of prejudice: Black and white working class students would face serious disadvantage without competence in standard English, both spoken and written. He argued, however, that this could only be achieved on the basis of respect for their other forms of speech and encouraging its use for school learning.’
A common struggle, Terry Wrigley in Tell it like it is: how our schools fail Black children Ed. Brian Richardson, 2005
Teachers need to actively plan to teach speaking and listening as well as providing structured opportunities for language development in literacy, mathematics and across the whole curriculum. They need to provide opportunities to develop children’s language through experiential learning approaches, guided talk sessions, the use of talk partners and talk frames in shared and guided teaching sessions across the curriculum.
Monitoring and assessing the individual child’s progress in speaking and listening is a key part of ensuring that Black learners make appropriate attainment and progress overall. Careful and detailed assessment of a child’s use of language will enable teachers to identify aspects of spoken English which will need support and specific targeted teaching. Storytelling and dramatic play will enhance language learning, as will the setting up of curriculum learning areas where key vocabulary and subject-specific structures can be displayed and referred to in order to provide contextually appropriate language learning.
Evidence shows that many Black children enter nursery as confident and social learners but that over time this confidence and oral fluency diminishes. A strong focus on supporting and enhancing speaking and listening skills is needed to reverse this downward trend.
For more guidance on teaching speaking and listening, see the Primary Framework (www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/primaryframeworks/), Speaking, Listening, Learning: working with children in Key Stages 1 and 2 (Ref: 0627-2003), Excellence and Enjoyment: learning and teaching in the primary years Creating a learning culture: Classroom community, collaborative and personalised learning (Ref: 0522-2004G) and Excellence and Enjoyment: learning and teaching for bilingual pupils in the primary years, Unit 2 Creating the learning culture: making it work in the classroom (Ref: 2133-2006DCL-EN).
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Focus on mathematics National data for 2006 and 2007 shows that attainment for Black African and Black Caribbean children in mathematics at level 4+ is not only below that of most other Black and minority ethnic groups but that the gap between Black African and Black Caribbean children’s attainment in mathematics compared with all children is much wider than the gap between their attainment in English and that of all children. The learning of mathematics by Black children in Britain is however an area in which there is little published research.
The reasons for this are unclear but it is likely that a renewed focus on good teaching, suitable high expectations, effective tracking of pupil progress and intervention mapping will lead to improved progress and attainment.
Initial findings from the Black Children’s Achievement programme identify the following areas as ones which teachers need to address:
improving the quality of teaching of mathematics in all classrooms; poor teaching seems to ●
disproportionately impact on Black Caribbean and Black African attainment
raising expectations of Black children’s attainment and progress ●
ensuring Black children’s engagement in lessons by using effective teaching and assessment for ●
learning strategies and a culturally relevant curriculum; poor behaviour sometimes leads to intermittent exclusion from lessons – with knock-on effects on attainment of discontinuous learning and teaching
analysing grouping and setting arrangements, both in terms of which sets children are placed ●
into and which teacher teaches each set
emphasising aspects of language and literacy, including speaking and listening, in mathematics ●
classrooms
challenging the perception that mathematics is a subject you can or cannot do and that failure is ●
acceptable in mathematics; the explicit use of Black mathematical role models such as actuaries, analysts or accountants will raise Black children’s expectations
using appropriate additional targeted support and intervention in mathematics. ●
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‘Thousands of students in the United States and elsewhere struggle though mathematics classes, experiencing repeated failure. Students often disengage from mathematics, finding little intellectual challenge as they are asked only to memorise and execute routine procedures.’ Boaler 2002
A five-year study by Boaler into different approaches in the teaching of mathematics and the impact on learning revealed a school where:
‘students learned more, enjoyed maths more and progressed to higher levels. Evidence of how this was achieved with specific reference to teaching and learning and classroom practice showed:
teachers deliberately and carefully discussed teaching approaches, including good questions ●
resulting in a more varied range of questioning to students
success in reducing the achievement gap between students of different ethnic groups ●
no gender differences ●
students learned to value those from different backgrounds as a result of mathematics classes.’ ●
Improving Black children’s interest and engagement with mathematics is a particular challenge for teachers. It requires excellent subject knowledge and a confidence in finding creative ways to help children enjoy and learn mathematics successfully particularly focusing on developing reasoning and justification. Making connections with other subjects enables children to apply their learning and see mathematics in the context of their world and everyday experience. If children are taught to value mathematics, see its usefulness and are able to apply it in activities that are a part of their daily routines then they are more likely to make progress in their learning. Activities should therefore also reflect the children’s cultural, linguistic and social experiences and this will present its own challenges in some situations.
Mathematics is often perceived as a neutral subject; it is necessary to ensure that it is presented in a way that demonstrates its historical and cultural roots from many parts of the world. Staff should aim to develop a mathematics curriculum that takes account of its historical background and provides activities, tasks and problems which reflect children’s cultural, linguistic and social experiences. Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics provide numerous mathematical problems and their solutions and show the high level of sophistication of Egyptian mathematics; Egyptian multiplication based on doubling remains a useful strategy. Further suggestions are made about using culturally appropriate materials in Unit 2A.
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Case studyOne school interviewed their Black children about mathematics and identified the following:
Most pupils said they were good at mathematics and that they liked their mathematics lessons. 1.
Most pupils prefer working with a partner and think this helps them with their learning. 2.
Pupils want work to be matched to their ability.3.
Most pupils want to be challenged. 4.
Teacher explanations are vital to pupil understanding. 5.
Modelling methods is important. 6.
Many pupils find it hard to work in groups. 7.
Practical apparatus and resources such as number lines and cubes help learning. 8.
Pupils tend not to find displays very helpful. 9.
It is important to give children the opportunity to talk about the mathematics they are learning. Asking questions, trying to explain a mathematical idea and using correct mathematical language helps children to think about the mathematics they are doing. Explaining a mathematical idea is a sophisticated skill and children will need to develop and practise this area of mathematics.
Pause for reflectionWhen considering the impact of their teaching on the achievement and progress of the Black children in their class, teachers may wish to consider the following prompts:
Does the data show an issue about the attainment and progress of groups of or individual Black ●
children in my class?
Is the gap between attainment in reading and writing and between attainment in English and ●
mathematics narrowing for groups of or individual Black children?
Are my expectations of the attainment and progress of Black children sufficiently high? ●
Are Black children sufficiently represented in the high achievers group in my class? ●
Is there over representation of Black children in my lower set/group? ●
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If there are issues concerning the attainment and progress of groups of and/or individual Black children, teachers may wish to reflect on the following questions:
Does my analysis of data lead to effective intervention for these identified children? ●
Have I identified specific aspects of learning and teaching which are particularly challenging for ●
these learners?
Are intervention packages tailored appropriately to meet the needs of Black children at risk of ●
underachieving particularly in mathematics?
Are appropriate, engaging and relevant speaking and listening activities planned as part of a rich ●
and diverse primary curriculum
Do I support and monitor the progress of Black children as part of my quality first teaching? ●
Am I using a range of appropriate strategies for teaching literacy and mathematics which are ●
effective for Black children?
Are grouping/setting arrangements for literacy and mathematics (if any) appropriate, both in ●
terms of which group/sets children are placed into and which teacher teaches each group/set?
Have I sufficient knowledge of the lived current context of Black children and is this reflected in a ●
relevant, culturally appropriate curriculum?
Do I select activities which engage and motivate Black learners? ●
Do I place sufficient emphasis on teaching and developing aspects of language and literacy, ●
including speaking and listening, across the curriculum?
Are my lessons sufficiently engaging for Black children? Is there any difference in the behaviour ●
and attention of this group of children compared with other learners in the class?
Am I making effective use of Assessment for learning when I plan lessons and during teaching? ●
Do I personalise my teaching so that the needs of individuals as well as groups of children are ●
recognised and met?
Do I encourage children to take responsibility for their own learning, thus increasing motivation ●
and engagement?
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Action pointsCollect and analyse a range of Assessment for learning data, including day-to-day assessments and statutory and optional test data, to identify any issues with attainment and progress of Black learners in my class and any differences in attainment across reading, writing, speaking and listening and mathematics.
Carry out an audit of my literacy and mathematics teaching and learning strategies to evaluate their effectiveness in meeting the needs of Black learners.
Review my selection of texts across the curriculum to ensure appropriate engagement of Black learners and a culturally relevant literacy curriculum.
Use the renewed Framework to support literacy and mathematics planning and teaching, looking particularly at those strands and learning objectives which I have identified as presenting most challenges for Black learners.
Set up a pupil tracking system using the tracking sheets from the Primary Framework (www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/primaryframeworks/) to enable me to monitor and evaluate the progress of specific groups and/or individual Black learners.
Plan and teach a unit of work, with specific focus on meeting the needs of my targeted group of learners and monitor their progress on a termly or half-termly basis
Review the effectiveness of my revised teaching and incorporate the most effective features in future planning.
Seek out the views of Black children in my class to evaluate the effectiveness and relevance of the literacy and mathematics curriculum and their enjoyment of and engagement with literacy learning.
Meet with parents and carers to ensure that we have a shared understanding of the attainment and progress of their children and to acknowledge their views on future literacy and mathematics learning and teaching.
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Appendix 1
Caribbean Creole languages and patoisContext and background to Caribbean Creole languages and patois
In order to identify and support the language learning needs of children from Black Caribbean and mixed heritages, it is helpful to understand the history and nature of Caribbean Creoles and patois and the impact of speaking these as a first language on using standard English as the school language for communication and learning.
Historical perspectives
The colonisation of the Caribbean islands began at the end of the 15th century. Columbus was searching for India when he ‘discovered’ the Caribbean which explains why the Europeans called the islands the ‘West Indies’. During the 17th and 18th centuries, European countries, mainly Spain, Holland, France and England, captured the islands and fought each other for them to the extent that some of them changed hands on a regular basis. The islands were inhabited by the Ciboneys followed by the Arawaks and Caribs who gave their name to the sea: the Caribbean. These people are now commonly known as the Amerindians and they inhabited the islands for many centuries. The Europeans who settled on the islands used their knowledge of crops, animals and machinery to change the economy of the islands, which made them rich with the production of mainly sugar, coffee and cotton. The European plantation owners brought people from Africa to work as slaves on the islands. These people were taken from different villages and families and tribes were deliberately separated to ensure that they could not communicate with each other. The new forms of communication which developed amongst the African slaves on the Caribbean islands developed into what we now call Creoles.
Pidgin is a reduced language that has evolved from a group of people with no language in common. The language evolved through the desire to communicate for social reasons in order to serve their needs. Pidgin languages were developed by traders who needed to communicate with speakers of other languages.2
Creole is a language spoken by a new speech community and can be described as a language that has been developed through a geographical displacement, where socio-cultural identity has been partially broken. The Creoles that have developed in the Caribbean are now recognised as languages in their own right. Although standard English, French, Spanish and Dutch are the official languages of many of the Caribbean islands used in schools and by the government, most people also speak Creole languages.
2 Hymes, D. Pidginization and Creolisation of Languages Cambridge, 1971
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The Caribbean should not be seen as a homogenous area. There are over a hundred islands spread out over a million square metres, stretching across the Atlantic and Caribbean seas. Each island holds its own food, culture, language, religion, political influence and history. Jamaica, for example, was originally inhabited by the Arawak Indians who gave the island the name ‘Xaymaca’. The island had Spanish settlement from 1523, bringing with them slaves and then the British invaded in 1655. As the population of settlers grew including people from Nevis and Barbados and refugees from Suriname, there was a marked linguistic impact on the island. The importation of Twi and Fante speaking slaves further influenced the Jamaican Creole. Holm (2000) describes Jamaican Creole as a language developed through a diverse history of different settlements in Jamaica.3
After the abolition of slavery, many slaves retreated to inaccessible mountain areas and maintained their Creole language with little external influences. Although English continues to be spoken widely in many parts of the world, it also forms the basis for the largest number of pidgin and Creole languages.
Jamaican independence in 1962 made little difference to the language and its widespread use. The country continued to adopt the standard English language as the national language of speech and communication in education, the media and government. Guyana’s linguistic journey was similar, in that the first English settlement recorded was in 1650.4 Guyana is the only English speaking area in South America, but is very much considered and included as the Eastern Caribbean region. The indentured labourers from a variety of European and African backgrounds determined and influenced the English Creole spoken in Guyana. The Anglophone Creole languages were therefore solely oral and were not transferred to a written medium. For many years after the emancipation of slaves, the language was still often seen as having a low status even by its speakers. Creole has been identified with slavery and other social factors like lower classes and lack of education.
Creole languages in the British context
In Britain today, the majority of people of Black Caribbean heritage will have been born and grown up here but many have maintained strong cultural and family links with the Caribbean. A variety of languages has developed amongst the Black British communities. The parents of these groups of young people may be native speakers of a range of Caribbean Creoles: Jamaican, Grenadian, Trinidadian, Guyanese, St Lucian, Dominican and many others. While some of these Creoles have French, Dutch and Spanish connections, the Black British communities are predominantly speakers of standard English. However, in some homes Creole languages would be spoken in a more anglicised form, whereas in other households original Creole languages would be the norm. British Creole languages are now widely spoken by the younger generation of Black people. These vary from city to city and are unique to the region of the speakers.
Why Creole languages?
Many of the second and third generation West Indian descendants in our schools will have accents and linguistic registers from their English regions. However, at some point in their upbringing they will be exposed to a Creole repertoire that has been influenced by adults from their community or older siblings who speak Creole to a lesser or greater extent. They too may speak Creole in the playground and outside school with other peers. ‘They are already the possessors of a rich language which can be harnessed to form a base from which to extend all areas of languages’.5 Many people of Caribbean heritage see Creole as a valued aspect of their culture.
3 Holm, J. An Introduction to Pidgins and Creoles Cambridge, 2000.4 Holm, J. 20005 Graham, B. Language Matters CLPE, 1996.
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The Plowden Report (1967) is often quoted as stating that no child should be expected to cast off their language on entering school. While we advocate this for English as an additional language learners it is sometimes the case that as educationalists we have not recognised and valued Creole languages to the same extent.
Including Creole languages of Black Caribbean children in the classroom
Caribbean writers of fiction have only been represented in print in the last 100 years. As a large proportion of the writing is represented as novels and poetry, the themes and sequence of events informs the reader of the Caribbean uniqueness. The telling of stories is common in Caribbean culture, and telling one’s own story can inform others of their history.
The teaching of Caribbean literature should be an exploration of the language as well as covering the meaning of the novel or poem. Pupils could translate the Creole words into standard English which may lead on to research into the pronunciation of words and their African origins. They could also try writing their own Creole poetry using the poet’s style and use of language. The oral tradition of the poems is crucial to the recitation of them, so pupils should be encouraged to perform their poetry.
Narain has emphasised in Contemporary Women’s Poetry, that Caribbean writers have brought their poetry to Britain and to a Black British audience to revive and maintain the Creole language.
There are notable writers who have contributed to this field of work, namely Valerie Bloom, Grace Nichols, Linton Kwesi Johnson and Benjamin Zephaniah.
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With thanks to Wolverhampton EMAT Language in Jamaica, reprinted in the Lambeth EMAT publication Enhancing the Literacy of African-Caribbean Pupils, Rosemary Campbell and Clare Warner, 2007
Grammatical and syntactical differences
Differences Standard English Jamaican Creole
Past tense of irregular verbs
Yesterday I ran for the bus Yesterday I run for the bus
Past tense of regular verbs
The car stopped at the lights The car stop at the lights
Subject and verb agreement in third person singular present tense
That shop sells eggs That child always causes trouble
That shop sell egg That child always cause trouble
Auxiliary verbs We have spent all the money We spend all the money
The verb ‘to be’ The baby is tired The ball is red
The baby tired The ball red
Plural nouns Give me four bottles Give me four bottle
Passives The food is finished He is frightened of the dog
The food finish Him frighten dog
Use of ‘is’ It is five o’clock Is five o’clock
Pronouns I told the man The man told her He told the woman everything
Me tell the man The man tell she Him tell the woman everything
Possessives Tom lost his coat Sally lost her coat She reads the girl’s letter
Tom lose him coat Sally lose him coat She read the girl letter
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Pronunciation differences
Differences in pronunciation between Creole and English may influence new arrivals' attempts to spell unfamiliar words. Some of these differences are shown in the following table:
Differences from standard English Examples
th pronounced as t thick is pronounced tick three is pronounced tree thing is pronounced ting
th pronounced as d them pronounced dem that pronounced dat there pronounced dere or dear
Addition of initial h is pronounced his angry pronounced hangry until pronounced huntil
Initial h not pronounced hot pronounced ot or at high pronounced igh
Final consonant not pronounced first pronounced firs bend pronounced ben
Because of the difference between Creole pronunciation and standard English, Creole speakers may confuse pairs of words which English speakers would not find confusing. This can be because they sound similar in Creole but not in English.
bus/boss
coal/cold
far/four
here/hair
pier/pear
through/true
beer/bare
cut/cot
fear/fair
hole/howl
phoned/found
tooth/toot
both/boat
death/debt
fine/find
luck/lock
star/store
while/wild
card/cord
ear/air
fourth/fort
mile/mind
soul/sold
with/wit
cheer/chair
faith/fate
goal/gold
mind/mine
steer/stair
wind/wind
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References A systematic review of the impact of summative assessment and tests on students’ motivation for learning EPPI, 2002
Achievement of Black Caribbean pupils: three successful primary schools HMI 447, Ofsted, 2002
Africa Counts: number and pattern in African culture, Claudia Zaslavsky, A Cappella Books, 1999
An Introduction to Pidgins and Creoles Holm, J. Cambridge, 2000
Caribbean and African Languages Dalphinis, M., 1985
Caribbean and African Languages: Social history, language, literature and education Morgan Dalphinis, Whiting and Birch, 2000
Caribbean Literature in English, James, L. 1999
Contemporary Women’s Poetry Narain, deCaires, D., 2002
Enhancing the Literacy of African-Caribbean Pupils, Rosemary Campbell and Clare Warner, Lambeth EMAT, 2007
Creating Mathematical Futures through an Equitable Teaching Approach: The Case of Railside School, Boaler, J. and Staples, M., 2005 www.sussex.ac.uk/education/documents/boaler_6_-_creating_mathematical_futures.pdf
Ethnicity and Education: The Evidence on Minority Ethnic Pupils aged 5–16 (ref: 0208-2006DOM-EN)
Excellence and enjoyment: learning and teaching for bilingual children in the primary years Unit 2 (Ref: 2133-2004DCL-EN)
Excellence and Enjoyment: learning and teaching in the primary years, Creating a learning culture: classroom conditions, and personalisation (Ref: 0523-2004G)
Experiencing School Mathematics: Teaching Styles, Sex and Setting Boaler, J. 1997 Open University Press: Buckingham, England
History of the Voice, Brathwaite, E.K., 1984
Language Matters, Graham, B. CLPE 1996
Pidginisation and Creolisation of Languages, Hymes, D. Cambridge 1971
Recent research on the achievement of Ethnic Minority Pupils, Ofsted, Dadzie, D. 2000
Role of teachers in the assessment of teaching, Assessment Systems for the Future Project, Nuffield Research Foundation, 2006
Speaking, listening and learning: working with children in Keys Stage 1 and 2 (Ref: 0626-2003)
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Page 31, Extract from Creating Mathematical Futures Through an Equitable Teaching Approach: the case of the Railside school, J. Boaler and M. Staples. Used with kind permission.
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