Letter of the Day | Should teaching be in English or Patois?

THE EDITOR, Madam:

I have been following the ongoing debate on whether teaching should take place in Jamaican Patois or in English. Initially, I argued that students should learn to be competent in English, as it is the language of business. Therefore, I held that teaching should take place in English and not Patois.

However, in recent times, I have come to realise that the native tongue – whatever that might be – is best suited for a child to receive instructions. It makes sense, as this is the first formal language to which a child is exposed.

My position on this matter started to change after understanding the difficulties faced by students to understand instruction given in English, when they are still learning the rules of the language. Instead, it will make more [practical] sense for students to receive formal instructions in their native tongue, while at the same time being taught English.

Last week, I was attending a summer camp event when one of the volunteers pulled a child aside to reprimand her for speaking dialect! The child was reminded that only English was to be used to communicate at the camp. It occurred to me that if the child has not yet mastered English, she will most certainly have a difficulty communicating.

The incident had me thinking further, and wondered if this – lack of understanding of English – was a probable cause for students’ inability to master other subjects, including mathematics. Perhaps it is time that education officials review this outdated approach to teaching and learning?

DERRICK NICHOLAS

Antigua and Barbuda