Puzzling talks in education
The learning of a language is influenced by the desire to communicate with others. This is a universal concept as the native language is the familiar language so it is one of the first forms of English that a child learns. A teacher in a classroom in the Caribbean is able to make sense of a child’s utterances in the native tongue or dialect once they are aware of the context in which it is being used. The dialect can be seen as necessary whether it be speaking it or just being able to understand it in order to communicate with others in your environment. This perspective informed my language ideology that someone who speaks dialect or someone who uses poor grammar is uneducated or incapable of speaking Standard English. When I hear someone making terrible grammatical errors I get the impression that they have not interacted with an environment or social context that has furthered their basic comprehension and that they will have problems transitioning. Their social class also comes into question because there is that idea that ghetto people do not speak and are incapable of speaking Standard English, so they are automatically put into a bracket.
The family and community are important in the language development of a child because they spend most of their time within these environments, so there is a great influence from these social contexts. In the 2009 census Barbados was ranked as the third most literate country, from age fifteen and over being able to read and write. I think that the incorporation of music into teaching of the Language Arts in the Caribbean classroom would be very useful. The songs should not only be catchy and fun but also articulate the necessary syntax and semantics that will aid the child in language acquisition. Children love and enjoy music and are able to learn lyrics quickly. Another goal to aid in language development would be to implement programs that make more resources available for not only students but their parents as well, because they are influenced greatly by their parents or guardians. It is difficult for a child to learn language when their parents are not interested in the language they are learning or who unable to do so due to lack of knowledge. Having more resources available like books or discussion groups would be beneficial. This partnership between the different settings will lead to greater achievement in the classroom.
Finally, teachers could implement various teaching methods in the teaching of Language Arts so that every child and their abilities are catered too. Whether it is including more songs, dance, and images or working in groups, teachers need to pay attention to their students to be able to figure out what is necessary. The governments in the Caribbean countries need to implement policies where children do not just go into a classroom and are not engaged or where they are pressured to learn something that may take them more effort or time than others. This new type of interaction actually allows the child to learn and understand rather than just study and regurgitate information and so that they enjoy learning. After all learning is meant to be fun!