DIALECT IN SCHOOL

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Abstract
Terms of reference: Most of the observation, reading and discussion that has preceded this paper has been in the context of the particular educational needs of West Indian children in British schools. The home language of many West Indian children is an English based Creole. It is a question of debate whether Creole languages should be regarded as dialects or as languages in their own right. This is not the place to examine the arguments involved in that debate. In our work on the Project we have decided to regard these Creoles as dialects of English. This is because most of the children can with little conscious or systematic teaching modify their own language to the point where they achieve a classroom dialect that is relatively close to their teacher's standard. The point to remember is that most of the paper refers primarily to West Indian children and that many of these find themselves in an extreme dialect speech situation. The paper first of all considers the inadequacy of definitions of dialect speech which are too rigid. It then discusses some of the ways in which dialect can influence the performance of children in school. It goes on to consider the notion that dialect is an indication of linguistic deficit, and concludes by summarising the attitude of the Project towards dialect in the preparation of teaching materials.

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