The patois experiment... Mek we trai di patwa

[Harold F. Schiffman]

>>From the Jamaica Observer

The patois experiment... Mek we trai di patwa
Devonish tries to prove Jamaicans bilingual in primary school project

BY ARLENE MARTIN-WILKINS Sunday Observer Reporter
Sunday, November 20, 2005

THE education ministry has approved the experiment by a university team to
teach children using Jamaican Patois and English in four primary schools,
but appear to have no plans to adopt the strategy in the formal school
system, no matter the results of the study. In fact, education minister
Maxine Henry Wilson implied in a Sunday Observer interview that too heavy
a stress on Patois as a first language could hurt Jamaican children in the
long run.

"We are open for views from persons, but we must be mindful that we are
still in an environment where English is still the dominant language,
whether broken or the Queen's English," said Henry Wilson. "So, we have to
be careful we do not rule ourselves out." Professor Hubert Devonish and
his team of about 10 associate researchers are hoping to prove, through a
four-year Bilingual Education Project (BEP), that instructing in the
native tongue can lead to improved "performance and competence" in the
content subject areas - that is, mathematics, science and social studies -
and "fluency in language use of Patois and English." Devonish is with the
Department of Language Linguistics and Philosophy at the University of the
West Indies, but his team is drawn from across faculties of the
university.  The project involves using Patois and English to teach
students of grades one to four in the participating schools. Each English
lesson is reinforced by the same lesson in Patois.


The language specialists have begun their experiment with the assumption
that Jamaicans are bilingual. The team is guided by a survey conducted by
the department, which found that the majority of Jamaicans recognise
Patois as a language, have declared themselves bilingual, and felt that
ministers of government should deliver speeches in Patois to allow for
better understanding of national issues. According to the survey, 79.5 per
cent of the respondents agreed that Patois was a language, with 68.5 per
cent saying it should be Jamaica's official language alongside English.
Additionally, 71 per cent of the population polled would prefer to have
bilingual schools, with 78.6 per cent declaring themselves bilingual.
"Full bilingual education actually works out to children being better at
both languages," Devonish, BEP's principal researcher, told the Sunday
Observer.

The project, which is expected to run until 2008, was initially
implemented at Hope Valley Experimental in Kingston and the Portmore-based
Bridgeport Primary, but has since been introduced at the Rollington Town
and St Peter Claver primary schools. The project, said Devonish, was
developed in the context of the Ministry of Education's draft policy,
which states that the ideal was to have a full bilingual education system.
He notes, however, that the policy says that such a system would not be
possible in the Jamaican scenario. The BEP project is meant to disprove
that assumption. "Once we recognised that, we decided that this was the
right way and developed the project to show them (the Ministry) how they
could do it,"  he said.

"People the world over speak three, four different languages and Jamaicans
are no different," he added. But Henry-Wilson, though acknowledging that
while the new education policy speaks to some of the issues discussed by
the researchers, was noncommittal about implementing bilingual instruction
on a formal scale after Devonish's project wraps up in 2008. "They are
doing some fieldwork through the formal education system and we would like
to see whether in fact the views expressed are true, that is, whether they
will prove that the students would be more productive," said the education
minister. "But we must be mindful that English is a global language;
Patois isn't,"  she added.

"India has their local dialect, but the country recognises the importance
of speaking English," she continued. "One of the assets we need to
optimise is that we do have English as a formal language, it's universal,
and we need to ensure that our children are able to mine that advantage."
Kay Osbourne, the general manager of the RJR Communications Group who
recently emphasised the importance of delivering lessons in the official
language, has softened her position somewhat, and now agrees that Patois
could be useful in instruction. But she still has some reservations. "My
own opinion is that using Patois as a means to engage students could be
useful if the primary goal is to move the kids as swiftly as possible into
competence in Standard English," she said. But while the debate rages on,
Professor Devonish is content that the results of the project would put
all concerns to rest.

He is not daunted by the fact that the native tongue, even today, is
scorned by many. Neither does he appear too concerned about the ministry's
position that it could affect Jamaica's comparative advantage in a world
dominated by English speakers. The professor and his team are intent on
improving the competence levels of participating students who might not
necessarily have problems reading English, but might be challenged to
speak it fluently, and vice versa with their native Patois. Professor
Devonish is content that the results of the project will put all concerns
to rest.  "Science, mathematics and all other subjects are taught in other
languages; why not Patois?" he queries rhetorically.

"We would love to give the students an option. It is not about pushing it
down the throats of all students, but we are working to make this a valid
options for the students, teachers and parents," he told the Sunday
Observer. In the meanwhile, the professor is hopeful that some funds will
trickle in the project, as the only cash so far has been put up by his
department. The BEP team has translated several of the education ministry
approved textbooks written in English for use in the project, and has
provided training for participating teachers to ensure that they are
comfortable with the pronunciation and delivery of written Patois.

"We have a great need in terms of book production and teacher training.
the books are not coming out as quickly because we do not have the money
and are just using creative means to get by," said Devonish. "In the
medium to long term, we are looking for resources which could come from
the ministry or the private sector to allow us to push this forward as an
established, viable option," he said.


http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/html/20051119T200000-0500_92873_OBS_THE_PATOIS_EXPERIMENT____MEK_WE_TRAI_DI_PATWA.asp