Res Humanitariae

This paper examines language policy options as they relate to post-colonial primary education in Creole-speaking multi-ethnic Caribbean states. It first discusses the different roles of English and vernacular languages, the former as the language of instruction in formal education and the latter as interactional languages within local communities. It concludes with theoretically based practical notes on language teaching appropriate to each policy option. This paper uses as an illustrative example the language policies in bi-ethnic Guyana and addresses the critical issue whether the Ministry of Education, through social aspects of its policies, should take responsibility for community languages or ignore community languages in order to focus on early proficiency in the English language. The controversial decision is to what extent primary education should emphasise high English inputs for early academic attainment or prioritise community language inputs for promotion of social equity. This paper considers three language policy options, one policy option matching each of these extremes and one addressing the middle ground. Each policy option is contingent on three decision criteria: density of entry languages, available resources and the extent to which communities value their languages. These policy options are: (i) English language immersion, (ii) Transitional language policy and (iii) Bilingual policy. The three policies options are illustrated with comparative examples from several pluri-ethnic states.